Pittsburgh Playhouse CTC Announces Highly-Anticipated New Season

Point Park University will open the doors to its brand new four-story, state-of-the art Pittsburgh Playhouse with a highly-anticipated season featuring multiple award-winning, show-stopping productions including Cabaret, Sunday in the Park with George and History Boys.

This history-making season runs Oct. 26, 2018, through April 14, 2019, at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, 305 Forbes Ave., in Downtown Pittsburgh. The new Pittsburgh Playhouse, showcased by beautifully preserved historic facades and a stunning, painstakingly restored stained-glass ceiling in the Stock Exchange Building, is a 24/7 operation with three different academic and theater spaces, a large scene shop, sound stage, prop shop, costume shop and café. The PNC Theatre seats more than 500, the newly-named Highmark Theatre seats 200, and the black box theatre, 100. The Playhouse also has a 10,000-square-foot production area, and 11,147 square feet of tech space for technical theatre and cinema arts programs.

Uniquely connected to Downtown life and community, the new Pittsburgh Playhouse will offer the public an intimate view of the making of art, as large windows offer an unobstructed view of performance venues typically shielded from observation. A hangar door connects one theater inside the Playhouse to the outdoor courtyard, providing students the opportunity to perform for the Downtown public at large.

"For the inaugural season in our beautiful new home, we chose groundbreaking productions that explore themes of politics, gender identity and culture which seem particularly fitting for these turbulent times," said Ronald Allan-Lindblom, Artistic Director, Conservatory of Performing Arts and Point Park University Pittsburgh Playhouse. "Seminal works like Cabaret and History Boys will encourage not just students but also audiences to examine how aspects of life and performance transform for entertainment and learning."

Point Park University's Pittsburgh Playhouse's 2018-2019 Conservatory Theatre Company season includes:

Cabaret

Music and Lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb

Book by Joe Masteroff

Directed and Choreographed by Zeva Barzell

Oct. 26 - Nov. 11, 2018; preview Oct. 25

"Willkommen! And bienvenue! Welcome" to the Kit Kat Klub in 1930s Berlin. This Tony Award-winning musical follows free-spirited cabaret singer Sally and American writer Cliff through brassy favorites like the title song, "Cabaret" and "Maybe This Time." As their understanding of life and love is changing, so is the world around them, as fascist ideals are growing. Zeva Barzell takes on this 1998 version of the Broadway classic with the talented students of the Conservatory. Welcome --in every language and every way-- to the first production at the new Pittsburgh Playhouse, "Cabaret."

Coram Boy

Adapted by Helen Edmundson, based on the novel by Jamila Gavin

Music by Adrian Sutton

Directed by Tomé Cousin

Nov. 16 - Dec. 2, 2018; preview Nov. 15

Based on Jamila Gavin's Whitbread Award-winning novel, The New York Times calls Coram Boy a "rollicking melodrama" that is "a tale rich in sentimental unions and sinister deeds, heart-tugging partings and gob-smacking coincidences." This dramatic piece takes place over the course of several years in 18th century England and follows the lives of people from very different backgrounds; some with a longing for a career in music, and a father and son who are murderous scam artists. Dark twists and turns of this English classic, accompanied by the music of Adrian Sutton, are in store for this story of the Coram Hospital for Deserted Children.

Vinegar Tom

By Caryl Churchill

Directed by April Daras

Feb. 22 - March 10, 2019; preview Feb. 21

A remarkably timely piece, Vinegar Tom, written in 1976, explores issues surrounding gender inequality with inspiration from the 17th century English witch trials. Alice's pet cat, Vinegar Tom, is blamed for what the town believes is witch-craft after she and her mother have several altercations with their neighbors. Other women in the town quickly come under fire for witch-craft that seems to be more of an attack on the refusal to conform rather than magic. Travel through history with this timely piece that will leave audiences thinking about how the themes of the show pertain to today.

Sunday in the Park with George

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Book by James Lapine

Originally directed on Broadway by James Lapine

Directed by Michael Rupert

March 15 - 24, 2019; preview March 14

"White, a blank page or canvas ..." splattered with love, obsession, critics and the music of Stephen Sondheim creates the Tony Award-winning masterpiece that is Sunday in the Park with George. This musical which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1985, is about a fictionalized version of real life artist, George Seurat, and the creation of his most famous piece, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. Experience his successes and struggles to balance his personal life and artistic vision through song and dance. Audiences will learn life lessons with every stroke of his paint brush during this relatable journey.

History Boys

By Alan Bennett

Directed by Sheila McKenna

April 5 - 14, 2019; preview April 4

The stakes are high at Cutlers' Grammar School in England as the boys are preparing for entrance exams to Oxford and Cambridge. With the guidance of their three history teachers bringing different methods of educating the young men --some more unconventional than others, the boys discover the use of education to inspire personal growth and wisdom, and to help them through painful experiences. This drama, which won the Tony Award for Best Play in 2006 is sure to leave a lasting impression on audiences.

Stay tuned for information about the REP professional theatre company production that will run Feb. 1-17, 2019, and information about the Conservatory Dance Company season to be announced soon.

Subscription deposits are now being accepted. The six-show season subscription packages start at $84 for Preview performances (starting at 7:30 p.m.), $96 for Thursday evenings, and Saturday and Sunday matinees, and $108 for Friday and Saturday evenings. Subscription benefits include the opportunity to pick your seats, flexible exchange policy and exclusive presales to non-Conservatory shows. If you purchase three subscriptions, you'll receive a fourth subscription free. In addition, full price season subscribers will receive a complimentary season parking pass at the PNC Garage - just steps from the new Pittsburgh Playhouse (one pass per account).

Students can save more than 20 percent by purchasing a Student Season Subscription for just $60. Individual tickets prices range from $20 to $30 (senior tickets are $15-$20, students are $13) and go on sale at 10 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 1 in person at the Playhouse box office, online at www.pittsburghplayhouse.com or by calling 412-392-8000.