Pittsburgh Public Theater Welcomes New Horizon Theater To The O'Reilly For 32nd Anniversary Season

New Horizon Theater, Inc. board chair Joyce Meggerson-Moore and Pittsburgh Public Theater Managing Director Shaunda McDill announced today a partnership to bring New Horizon Theater's 2023/2024 Season to Downtown Pittsburgh, utilizing The Public's space to help New Horizon Theater's work reach broader audiences in an exciting new setting.

"We can't wait to bring this exciting season to life in the Helen Wayne Rauh Hall and continue to forge deep partnerships with Pittsburgh arts organizations like The Public, and with like-minded leaders like Shaunda and Marya," Meggerson-Moore said.

New Horizon Theater was founded in 1992 and brings the greater Pittsburgh area high-quality cultural events reflecting African-American points of view. The theater provides an ongoing venue for ethnic writers and performers to further their professional development.

"Marya and I both are thrilled that New Horizon Theater chose The Public as its 2023/2024 performance space," McDill said. "Partnerships like these are what we mean when we talk about sharing our resources with groups whose mission and ours align."

New Horizon Theater's 2023/2024 season begins September 28 with Layon Gray's award-winning WEBEIME and will feature three plays and one special event celebrating New Horizon's 32nd Anniversary Season. Performances are limited engagements presented in the Helen Wayne Rauh Rehearsal Hall in the O'Reilly Theater at 621 Penn Ave. in Downtown Pittsburgh.

New Horizon Theater's 2023/2024 Season

WEBEIME

Written and Directed by Layon Gray
September 28 - October 1, 2023
Thursday, Friday, Saturday | 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sunday | 3:00 p.m.

A man is on death row - and his life is seen through 8 different phases of his life - played by 8 different personalities on his last day of living. The portrayal of one man coming to terms with the repercussions of the decisions that he has made in life before the inevitable happens. With little time on his side, he searches his soul for inner peace and his mind wanders back down the road that put him in his current predicament.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION 2024

 

Directed by Herbert Newsome
February 8 - 18, 2024
Thursday, Friday, Saturday | 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sunday | 3:00 p.m.

In New Horizon Theater's tradition of celebrating Black History Month, this production will introduce some historical information, at times combining history, comedy, and drama. The production will be consistent with those presented in previous seasons that have introduced some of the outreach programs to underserved participants learning about some powerful characters or situations from history that may not be known to the audience. The actors will bring alive and make these historical, figures and situations powerful pieces, interesting to the audience.

NEW HORIZON THEATER SPECIAL ANNUAL EVENT

 

May 4, 2024
7:30 PM (one night only)

New Horizon Theater, Inc. presents its Special Annual Event at the beautiful Pittsburgh Public Theater. Please make plans to celebrate New Horizon's 32nd Anniversary Season featuring a national/international performer, introduced by longtime supporter, Chris Moore of Chris Moore Communications, Inc., KDKA Radio. Proceeds will assist New Horizon Theater and its mission.

THE NACIREMA SOCIETY*

 

Written by Pearl Cleage
Directed by Eileen J. Morris
May 31 - June 16, 2024
Friday, Saturday | 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sunday | 3:00 p.m.

In the winter of 1964, ten years after the Montgomery bus boycott, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is planning a massive voter registration drive that promises to put the city back at the center of the Civil Rights Movement. Among those watching closely is Grace Dunbar, pillar of Montgomery's African-American aristocrats and doyenne of the Nacirema Society, an organization poised to celebrate its 100th anniversary by presenting an exclusive group of debutantes at their annual cotillion. Assisting Grace is her lifelong friend, Catherine, who hopes the cotillion will prompt her grandson to propose to Grace's granddaughter. Of course, neither woman considers the fact that their grandchildren have their own plans. The anticipation is overshadowed by the arrival of Alpha Campbell, daughter of the Dunbar family's late maid. Alpha has plans to blackmail the Dunbars into financing her own daughter's education. But Alpha's story is closer to the truth than anyone could have imagined, and Alpha is surprised. So is Janet Logan, a visiting reporter from the New York Times who finds herself in the middle of a story that Grace will do anything to suppress. *Permission requested.

New Horizon Theater, Inc. (NHT) was founded with the mission to bring to the greater Pittsburgh area consistent, high-quality cultural events, reflecting the African-American points of view, and to provide an ongoing venue for ethnic writers and performers to further their professional development. In 1992, one production per season was presented as New Horizon made its gradual ascent to its present five events per season. In 1997, New Horizon applied for and received its 501(c)(3) tax exempt status under the Board leadership of Chairperson, Dr. Joyce Meggerson-Moore and Vice-Chairperson, Barbara H. Naylor. Ernest McCarty served as Artistic Director from 1994 until 2008. New Horizon Theater, Inc. has provided opportunities for more than 500 persons in all phases of theater production.

Pittsburgh Public Theater strives to serve as a true public theater to the Pittsburgh region, producing more than 120 performances each season and welcoming more than 70,000 guests through the O'Reilly Theater's doors every year. The theater is renowned for its exceptional mix of programming, featuring international classics, fresh new works, and favorite musicals. Its commitment to education and engagement initiatives is a hallmark and includes the signature Shakespeare Monologue & Scene Contest and innovative community partnerships. The organization, under the leadership of Artistic Director Marya Sea Kaminski and Managing Director Shaunda McDill, celebrates its 49th season in 2023.

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