First Lady at Carnegie Stage

Pittsburgh International Classic Theatre presents another U.S. premiere to launch PICT’s 2025-26 season:

First Lady
U.S. Premiere
By Sedef Ecer, translated by Amelia Parenteau
October 2 – October 11, 2025
Carnegie Stage
Directed by Adil Mansoor

About the play:
FIRST LADY is a satirical romp through the last vestiges of power of an imaginary Mesopotamian country.

Queen Ishtar lives in a bubble, oblivious to the uprising of an enslaved people. Half goddess in a sanitized cocoon, half guinea pig in an experimental aquarium, she will be the unwitting catalyst for an explosive reaction. A revolution is brewing in the streets, but no one told the First Lady, who is enjoying a holiday at her summer palace with Gazal, her beloved trans stylist. Everyone in the palace is abandoning ship, so the Advisors decide to do a live, televised interview with the clueless and unpredictable First Lady, to assure the public that all is well in the country when it is complete chaos. Elish, the harried Chief of Staff, is called in to make sure she does not stray from their prepared script, while also monitoring Yasmine, the young journalist they dug up from a fishing magazine, to make sure she does not mention politics as the farce ramps up into full manic energy. Ecer’s timely play speaks to the delusive nature of power, corruption, and cronyism in a scathing, hilarious critique of this seminal moment in global politics. As waves of political unrest sweep through the United States, it is easier than ever to see the fault lines in our democracy and envision what its unraveling might resemble.

About the playwright:
Born in Istanbul, and Parisien resident for forty years, novelist, playwright, and screenwriter Sedef Ecer practices several forms of writing in Turkish and French. Her novel, Trésor national, (Lattès 2021, Poche 2023), won literary prizes and received an enthusiastic response from critics and booksellers alike. Her plays have been produced in France and abroad, and received staged and radio readings at international festivals, in public and private theaters, public spaces, libraries and schools. Ms. Ecer has written more than 500 articles or opinion pieces for the press, novels, screenplays, explored new genres and translated Montaigne, Charlotte Delbo and Saint-Exupery’s works into Turkish. Winner of numerous prizes and grants, Ms. Ecer was included in the “Universal Dictionary of Creatives” in 2014 (UNESCO). She is a member of the SACD and a founding member of the Parlement des Écrivaines Francophones.

About PICT:
For almost thirty years, PICT Classic Theatre has engaged regional audiences with a plethora of plays from the classic canon. An internationally recognized theatre company, PICT has produced more than one hundred plays, including world, U.S. and Pittsburgh premieres. PICT’s mission is to engage with, entertain, and serve the Pittsburgh community by examining current social issues through the lens of classic text. PICT officially changed its name to Pittsburgh International Classic Theatre to better represent our organization’s mission.

About Carnegie Stage:
Carnegie Stage is a prime performing arts facility just outside Pittsburgh city limits. Carnegie Stage’s mission is to encourage and support the artist and the appreciation of all arts, and to provide visiting artists with a home in which to present live theater, dance, music, and comedy. Located at 25 West Main Street in Carnegie, Carnegie Stage is completely ADA accessible. PICT Classic Theatre is currently a theater in residence at Carnegie Stage.

Ticket pricing:
$20 Student/Artist Rate
$35 Senior Rate
$45 Adult Rate

For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit PICT’s website at www.picttheatre.org. PICT’s box office, at Carnegie Stage, will be open one hour prior to each performance. Ticket price range is $20 - $45. Opening Night is Thursday, October 2, 2025.

For media information, additional production information, or sponsorship opportunities, please email Carolyn Ludwig, development and relationship manager, at cludwig@picttheatre.org.

Cast:
*Elizabeth Elias Huffman as Ishtar
Milia Ayache as Yasmine
Doren Elias as Elish
*Treasure Treasure as Gazal

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

Production Designers:
Sasha Jin Schwartz – Scenic Designer
Madeleine Steineck – Lighting Designer
Scott Andrew – Projection Designer
Anthony Del Grosso – Sound Designer
Alex Keplar – Properties Designer

Authors

• George S. Kaufman
• Katharine Dayton
• Phil Hall
• Tony McDowell