Pittsburgh Theater Reviews Page 2

Review: MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG Finds the Funny at Front Porch Theatricals
by Greg Kerestan - August 23, 2023

Sondheim's backwards tragicomedy may be notoriously prickly, but Daina Michelle Griffith's production shines by emphasizing the humor over the nihilism....

Review: GUYS AND DOLLS Resurrects the Golden Age at Benedum Center
by Greg Kerestan - August 15, 2023

The time period may be ambiguous in the classic Damon Runyon musical, but the laughs are undeniable....

Review: ONCE ON THIS ISLAND Exceeds All Expectations at Benedum Center
by Greg Kerestan - July 30, 2023

The CLO production proves once and for all that this is the best musical you've never heard of....

Review: BITES AND PINTS FESTIVAL 2023 Brings Music and Food Back to Kennywood Park
by Greg Kerestan - July 22, 2023

After two pandemic years, life has returned, sometimes better than ever, at Pittsburgh's theme park staple....

Review: SOME ENCHANTED EVENING Brings a Touch of Class at Saint Vincent Summer Theatre
by Greg Kerestan - July 21, 2023

The summer institution shakes up its image with a lightly sophisticated musical revue....

Review: THE SOUND OF MUSIC Climbs Every Mountain at Benedum Center
by Greg Kerestan - July 13, 2023

A heightened comic sensibility makes this old classic feel fresh to even the most cynical viewer (namely, me)....

Review: MOON OVER BUFFALO Brings Classic Laughs at Saint Vincent Summer Theatre
by Greg Kerestan - June 30, 2023

Summer isn't summer until there's a classic farce onstage at Saint Vincent....

Review: Pittsburgh CLO's INTO THE WOODS Restores the Weirdness at Benedum Center
by Greg Kerestan - June 30, 2023

Forty years of productions and a Disney movie have made the show cuddly, but this CLO production restores the weirdness and wackiness at the show's edges....

Review: Pittsburgh CLO Sets Sail with ANYTHING GOES at Benedum Center
by Greg Kerestan - June 15, 2023

Almost every time you see a major production of Anything Goes, it'll vary in some way from the last one you saw. There are at least three licensable editions of the show, from as far back as the 1930s and as recent as 2022. The song stack is in perpetual flux between a long list of Cole Porter great...

Review: THE ANDREWS BROTHERS Blends Farce and Revue at Saint Vincent Summer Theatre
by Greg Kerestan - June 03, 2023

The summer institution's season opener effortlessly blends the two genres the venue is most famous for....

Review: FALSETTOS at Front Porch Theatricals Pairs a Warm Heart with a Cold Shoulder
by Greg Kerestan - May 24, 2023

William Finn's neurotic queer musical epic isn't necessarily user-friendly, but Pittsburgh's best local playhouse still manages to find the warmth amidst the dysfunction....

Review: YOUNG AMERICANS Takes a Road Trip at Pittsburgh Public Theater
by Greg Kerestan - May 08, 2023

Lauren Yee's time-bending new play shows the power of identity, family and a really good mixtape....

Review: MANDY PATINKIN IN CONCERT: BEING ALIVE Is Uncompromisingly Unique at Pittsburgh Playhouse
by Greg Kerestan - May 06, 2023

There's a reason Patinkin is a legend, and it's because he is so permanently himself and no one else....

Review: TINA Rocks and Rolls Down the River at Benedum Center
by Greg Kerestan - April 08, 2023

This jukebox rocker may not be 'simply the best' in the genre, but its energy and surreal touches make it stand out from the pack....

Review: BEETLEJUICE Brings Big Demon Energy to the Benedum Center
by Greg Kerestan - February 24, 2023

Go see Beetlejuice. Go see Beetlejuice. Go see Beetlejuice. Okay, storytime! I have a personal connection to the Beetlejuice musical on two levels. First, when I was a senior in high school and a freshman in college, I followed Stephen Sondheim's advice on learning how to write by adapting an existi...

Review: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM IN HARLEM Shakes Up Shakespeare at Pittsburgh Public Theater
by Greg Kerestan - February 10, 2023

Justin Emeka's riotous reimagining is the best Shakespeare in Pittsburgh since 'Othello' at the Public....

Review: WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME Combines Brecht and NPR at City Theatre
by Greg Kerestan - February 09, 2023

Pleasantly disorienting, this pseudo-docutheatre raises questions large and small....

Review: KINKY BOOTS Rocks its Regional Premiere at The Lamp Theatre
by Greg Kerestan - February 06, 2023

A stripped-down presentation and some local grit (plus actual queens) helps this show find its footing in a small production....

Review: HAIRSPRAY at Benedum Center Is A New Golden Oldie
by Greg Kerestan - January 06, 2023

This super-sixties musical continues to feel fresh, while also seeming like it's been around forever....

Review: A CHRISTMAS STORY Is A Perfect Salty Cookie at Pittsburgh Public Theater
by Greg Kerestan - December 09, 2022

The smartest, stupidest, most beloved Christmas tale of the twentieth century comes to life, and then some, in Michael Berresse's farcical production....

Review: FRONT PORCH CABARET Reunites Old Friends at Front Porch Theatricals
by Greg Kerestan - November 30, 2022

Front Porch announces a season of Finn and Sondheim, in an evening of song and stories. As far as I'm concerned, if you want to measure the pulse of the Pittsburgh theatre scene, you will feel it the most intensely and regionally in Front Porch. The company's mission to produce exciting musicals spe...

Review: HADESTOWN Exceeds the Hype at Benedum Center
by Greg Kerestan - November 20, 2022

The gritty folk-opera sensation isn't the second coming of Hamilton, it's the second coming of RENT....

Review: FRANKENSTEIN Resurrects a Classic at Prime Stage
by Greg Kerestan - November 11, 2022

What did our critic think of FRANKENSTEIN at Prime Stage? I'm a lifelong horror buff, devouring the Famous Monsters of Filmland on celluloid and printed page, as well as the artsy, philosophical 'elevated horror' that has become a literary and cinematic movement in the last decade. Both the schlocky...

Review: FROZEN Is an Icy Blast at Benedum Center
by Greg Kerestan - October 13, 2022

Disney's biggest 'princess show' ever is weirder and more fun than you remember. When Frozen fever hit a decade ago, it was inescapable. No matter how you felt about Anna, Elsa and Olaf, they were quickly overexposed. Bizarre Frozen merchandise is still on the shelves to this day- Frozen cereal, Els...

Review: GRAND HOTEL Seasons Melodrama with Melody at Front Porch Theatricals
by Greg Kerestan - August 24, 2022

The New Hazlett is the perfect place for this sophisticated, wildly ambitious, almost overstuffed, musical soap opera....