“Brewed” Still Perking at No Name Players; Padres vs. Pirates (Wed., 7/8/15)

1) If you want dark comedy, Brewed is super-dark, and what’s brewing is not artisanal coffee or any such sissy stuff. This play by Pittsburgh native Scott T. Barsotti—which stunned Off-Loop audiences in Chicago two years ago—puts a capital D on “dystopian.” Brewed is a surreal tale of six weird sisters doomed to perpetually stir a bubbling pot of something-or-other while failing to get along rather spectacularly. Sister Nannette races stock cars while Babette spews venom from a wheelchair; Roxette (for some reason) brings home her new girlfriend to meet the family; there are fistfights and more. In other words it’s just the kind of play that audiences love to see from No Name Players, and they’re doing Brewed at off the WALL Theater. 8 p.m. Through July 11. 25 W. Main St., Carnegie. (MV)

2) Our beloved Buccos take the diamond again today for the last game in three-game series against the San Diego Padres. Starting tomorrow the Pirates play a four-game homestand against division leading St. Louis Cardinals.  7:05 p.m. PNC Park, 115 Federal St., North Shore.

3) Jurassic World — Am I wrong or wasn’t the underlying message of the Jurassic Park series a caution against being blinded by greed? Well, director Colin Trevorrow, along with a pack of writers, throw said caution to the wind and bring us Jurassic World, the fourth installment of this saga about dinosaurs scientifically brought to life in the modern world. Here’s the plot: The “Jurassic World” dino-theme park on Isla Nublar has been highly successful for the last decade. Here’s the problem: People are bored and attendance is slipping.

Yes, you read that right. Nobody’s going anymore because they’re all, like, “dinosaurs … whatever.” So the company creates a new giant genetic mutant to entertain the crowds. What could possibly go wrong? Hasn’t anyone seen the previous films? The second movie, The Lost World: Jurassic Park ended with a T-Rex running loose through the streets of San Diego so what kind of whackadoodle would even consider going to Isla Nublar? The same sort of person, I guess, who has grown bored looking at a “regular” dinosaurs. (Try not to cheer when the mutant eats them.) Chris Pratt, Vincent D’Onofrio, B.D. Wong, and Judy Greer star. Will it be a hit? Or will it bring to mind the tag line from the Stephen King film Pet Sematary: “Sometimes, dead is better”? Check Fandango for screens and times. (TH)

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