A Calm Before the Storm, Irish Music Party w/Mark Dignam; Pittsburgh Playwrights Staging ‘Findings’ (Fri., 3/10/17)

1) If you prefer a fun yet more dignified celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, then Club Cafe‘s sixth annual The Calm Before the Storm – A Night of Irish Traditional Music and Song with Mark Dignam & Friends might be just the ticket for you. Mark Dignam was raised in Finglas, a North Side Dublin suburb, where he showed early aptitude as a singer. At 18, he moved to Dublin and began busking on Grafton Street. The Waterboys, Van Morrison, and Sinéad O’Connor have watched him perform. Dignam released his debut LP, Poetry and Songs from the Wheel, in 1995. He is now Pittsburgh-based and has appeared on KDKA’s “Pittsburgh Today Live.” He and his band, The House of Song, released Re-Build in 2014. On his Facebook page, he called his Calm Before the Storm “a beautiful, beautiful night,” where he gets to celebrate his culture “(properly) with some of my most cherished (talented, singers, musician and poet) friends.” 8 p.m. 56 – 58 S. 12th St., South Side. (CM)

2) As the name implies, Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company produces plays by writers from Pittsburgh. And though best known for its strong interpretations of August Wilson’s work, PPTCo is heading into spring with a contemporary triple-header: three consecutive premieres of brand new works. First up is Findings by poet and playwright Arlene Weiner. This play concerns a woman who prides herself on having a positive outlook no matter what, but finds her ability to see silver linings challenged by a series of unfortunate events. Findings will be followed in April by Steve Hallock’s Lights Out, an ensemble comedy/drama about passengers stranded by a power outage in the trolley tunnel under Mt. Washington. In May PPTCo is presenting Michael A. Jones’ Hercules Didn’t Wade in the Water, set against the backdrop of Hurricane Katrina. Sounds like a disaster-intensive trilogy for our stormy-weather times! Performances through March 19. Findings can be found in the Pittsburgh Playwrights theater at 937 Liberty Ave., Cultural District. (MV)

3) The Duquesne Light Home & Garden Show begins today and runs through  March 19. Billed as the “largest home event in Pennsylvania,” the show is held every year at the David Lawrence Convention Center. The Home and Garden show features over 1,600 exhibitors, stage appearances by local and national home and garden celebrities, and twice daily, jazz performances by the CAPA High School House Band (6 and 8 p.m. today.). 10 a.m.- 10 p.m. 1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd., Downtown.

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