Prime Stage Theatre to Present Broadway Star Carla Bianco in Concert

Contemporary Christian music artist and former Broadway star Carla Bianco will perform a special concert highlighting Prime Stage Theatre's world premiere of Speak at New Hazlett Theater on Monday, May 4, 2026, at 7:30 p.m.

Give Voice: Carla Bianco in Concert showcases the Pittsburgh resident's original songwriting and latest solo album, You Love Me As I Am.

The concert highlights the May 1-10 world premiere run of Speak, an original Prime Stage Theatre production that has adapted the acclaimed young adult novel by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Cast into dramatic form by Pittsburgh playwright Tammy Ryan, Speak follows the transformative journey of a troubled teen who uses a paint brush to reclaim her literal voice and emotional balance following a devastating personal trauma.

The play features original music composed by Bianco, currently a voice and musical theatre professor at Point Park University. For Give Voice: Carla Bianco in Concert, she will be joined onstage by Point Park students Lexi Casey, Bella Corea, Ruth Waiwaiole and Morgan Ziedman.

While attending New York University in the early 1990s, Bianco was signed to a record deal by legendary pop producer Jellybean Benitez, releasing three studio albums and several singles on Atlantic and Sony Orchard Records and co-writing The Lover That You Are, a #1 Billboard dance hit for Antoinette Roberson & Pulse.

Bianco's vocal versatility and natural acting skills accelerated her transition into musical theatre, where she starred on Broadway and Off-Broadway as Maureen in RENT, Wendla in Spring Awakening and Mary O'Brien McCann in Bright Lights, Big City and appeared in Hollywood films including Promised Land (with Matt Damon), Unstoppable (with Denzel Washington) and George Romero's Deadtime Stories.

"We are thrilled to have Carla add her songwriting talents to Speak and present this unique concert during the run of the show," said Dr. Wayne Brinda, artistic director of Prime Stage Theatre. "The play's theme centers on a girl trying to find her voice as a person and an artist, and Carla's music expresses that with compassion and clarity."

Speak runs for 7 shows May 1-10, 2026 at New Hazlett Theater.

The show is directed by Dana Hardy Bingham, and features a 12 person cast including Milena Casciani, Jacqueline Germer, Grace Gouwens, Jeff Johnston, Sadie Karashin, Eamonn McElflesh, Justin Mohr, Anne Marie Sweeney, Evan Vay, David Wang, Zora Rose, and Aylee Gardner as the heroine, Melinda.

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