November 2023 Theater Guide: Take a Stand for Great Theater This Month

‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ is onstage for the PNC Broadway series. Pictured here having fun are: (L to R) Axel Bernard Rimmele (Christopher Hillard), Giselle Gutierrez (Lydia Hillard), Rob McClure (Euphegenia Doubtfire), and Kennedy Alexandra Pitney (Natalie Hillard). Photo by Joan Marcus.

To write a great play, a playwright must take a stand. He or she must stake a claim on a truth immutable, one that stands up to time immemorial, one that resonates now (and likely will forever). To take that stand, the playwright often imbues the central character with principles––sometimes flawed, other times heroic––which cause the action to prove the claim. On the Pittsburgh stage this November, there’s a lot of cause and action, and some awesome stand-up characters. From the animated Mr. Burns (of Fox TV’s “The Simpsons” fame) to the redoubtable Mrs. Doubtfire (first brought to cinematic life by Robin Williams), there are lessons to learn about community and family. And there are hard-won battles fought principally for love. It takes a Miracle Worker to bring reason to a seemingly helpless child, just as it takes two adamant cops (Green & Blue) to reason their differences. 

Sometimes a character paints a lofty picture of lovers Cha-galled by their arranged marriage; other times he foretells of murdering a stranger out of Poe-etic madness. And then there are those who, oppressed by social conditions, stand up to save forsaken souls (The Flying Dutchman, The Wiz), to rail against the economy (Almost Equal To), to cheat the system (American Buffalo) or just to let their hair down, dropping the pretenses of wealth and worldliness (Miss Bennet). Of course, there is no way one can take a stand if not first seated. Which is to purposefully suggest that each of these suggestions for great theater in Pittsburgh this November requires you to buy one first. As such, our theater recommendations conveniently link you to their respective box offices.

Shows are previewed below in three sections. Spotlight Picks for the month are followed by Other Shows of Interest, and then a look-ahead to Big Shows on the Horizon. Productions are listed by run dates within each category.  The Theater Guide outline is created by the theater writers and theater editors of Entertainment Central. Mike Vargo (M.V.) also contributed to this guide. 

Spotlight Picks

MR. BURNS, A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY (comedy) by Anne Washburn. Little Lake Theatre. November 2 – 19. 

The cast of ‘Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play’ will be lighting up the stage this month in Little Lake’s production. (Photo: Hawk Photography and Multimedia LLC)

What if the apocalypse comes and Western culture is kept alive mainly by a group of survivors who re-enact, from memory, an episode of “The Simpsons”? Specifically, the “Cape Feare” episode, which parodies the 1962 movie Cape Fear and its 1991 remake? Furthermore, what if the practice of re-enacting gets passed along to future generations, mutating as it grows, to enlighten the post-apocalyptic world? There you have the plot of Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play. Adding to the intrigue are these odd facts: New York playwright Anne Washburn and a team of actors devised the initial concept in an empty bank vault deep under Wall Street. And, although Mr. Burns is a comedy, critics have praised it for its levels of serious meaning, upon which they have commented at length. The play premiered in 2012 in Washington, D.C. and was first staged in Pittsburgh by 12 Peers Theater. Now, at a time when cultural relevance is more relevant than ever, Little Lake Theatre brings Mr. Burns to life in the living flesh. 500 Lakeside Drive South, Canonsburg. (M.V.) 

THE MIRACLE WORKER (drama) by William Gibson. Prime Stage Theatre. November 3 – 12.

Kendall Knotts, left, (portraying Helen Keller) and Holland Taylor, right (plays Annie Sullivan) in Prime stage’s production of ‘The Miracle Worker.’

The 1950s were a golden age for theater based on real events and people. Winners of the Tony Award for Best Play included The Crucible (Salem witch trials), Sunrise at Campobello (about FDR), and The Diary of Anne Frank. Then, late in 1959, a play premiered that would receive the 1960 Tony and have enduring theatrical impact: William Gibson’s The Miracle Worker. Adapted from the autobiography of Helen Keller, it focuses on the dramatic period when young Helen was turned from an unruly, destructive child to someone capable of achieving great things despite being deaf and blind. The title character—the  woman who made that miracle happen— was Helen’s teacher, Annie Sullivan. The Miracle Worker is at times stormy and even violent, as in the famous table-manners scene (played with extreme gusto in the movie version). But it’s also a profoundly moving play that has more than stood the test of time. Prime Stage Theatre presents The Miracle Worker with Holland Adele Taylor as Annie Sullivan and 5th grader Kendall Knotts—already an experienced performer, and one who knows ASL—as Helen Keller. At the New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, North Side. (M.V.)

GREEN & BLUE (drama) by Laurence McKeown. Produced by Kabosh, Belfast’s famous independent theater, presented by City Theatre. November 9 – 11.

Based on real-life interviews with former policemen of Northern Ireland’s Royal Ulster Constabulary and the once-opposing Garda Síochána of Ireland, two officers, dressed in their traditional green and blue uniforms (respectively), confront each other in a distant farm field to hash out their ideological differences. The play Green & Blue is set in 1994, just before the IRA ceasefire. Eddie and David, otherwise protecting a man-made border from either side, meet on common ground to share their fears and outrages, their sympathies and sentiments, as well as the history of bloodshed in their divided land. Critically acclaimed in both London and Dublin, the Irish Times awarded the play 4 stars. Two of Ireland’s finest actors, James Doran and Vincent Higgins, reprise their original roles in the play that premiered at the Belfast International Arts Festival in 2016. Sponsored in part by the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, with touring support from Culture Ireland, City Theatre presents Green & Blue in its Dr. Vernell Lillie Theatre. 1300 Bingham Street, South Side. (C.P.O.) 

THE FLYING DUTCHMAN (opera) by Richard Wagner. Pittsburgh Opera. November 11, 14, 17 & 19.

Pittsburgh Opera’s ‘The Flying Dutchman’ is a haunting love story with a dramatic score from Wagner. (Photo: Dana Sohm for Utah Opera)

One of the more bizarre legends upon which to write an opera, the tale of The Flying Dutchman is as old as the Nordic Seas. A daring ship captain, upon swearing an oath to the Devil, is forever banished to sail the seven seas, except that once in every seven years he may go ashore to find a bride. If he is so fortunate, and if his bride remains faithful to him until her dying day, the two will earn everlasting peace in the heavenly skies above. And so, the ghostly captain and his invisible crew, during a terrific tempest, grapple onto another ship, commanded by Captain Daland, who just so happens to have a young and virtuous daughter. Of course, that daughter, Senta, already has an interested beau who is not a sailor, but a fine huntsman. Yet, Senta, like every Norwegian fixated on the sea, knows well the woeful doom of The Flying Dutchman. Pittsburgh Opera stages this Wagner classic for the first time in more than 20 years. Benedum Center, 237 7th St.,  Cultural District. (C.P.O.)

≈ [ALMOST EQUAL TO] (comedy) by Jonas Hassen Khemiri. Pittsburgh Playhouse. November 15 – 19.

Celebrated Swedish novelist and playwright, Jonas Hassen Khemiri, thinks that the economy is rigged. Well, he doesn’t just think it, he shows it. Through a group of characters trying to live the life they were all but promised could be theirs, ≈ [Almost Equal To] confronts the roadblocks, glass ceilings, and daffy detours that confound our everyday dreams of prosperity and good fortune. There’s an economics professor who fights to keep his job, while his girlfriend fantasizes about living off-the-grid. Meanwhile, there’s a young immigrant who can’t find work at all. There’s also a street hustler who may be worth more than he appears. Oh, and there’s an office worker who fears she may have caused a co-worker’s death. The numbers just don’t add up. Or, at the least, the sum is wholly irrelevant. Khemiri is one of Sweden’s most acclaimed novelists, but he also studied international trends at the Stockholm School of Economics. Point Park University’s Pittsburgh Playhouse seeks your investment in a fun night of theater. 350 Forbes Ave., Downtown. (C.P.O.)

AMERICAN BUFFALO (drama) by David Mamet. barebones productions. November 17 – December 10. 

Are you ready for a David Mamet revival? The onetime Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright is still alive and working, but he’s a changed man lately, drawing fire for his bizarre sociopolitical remarks and for plays that haven’t clicked. The thing to remember is that peak Mamet is really good. And out of his many past hits on stage and screen—such as Glengarry Glen Ross, which took the the 1984 Pulitzer for Drama, and House of Games, the spellbinding film in which a con man meets a psychiatrist—there are Mametophiles who say American Buffalo is their favorite. This early (1975) play, like some later Mamets, features small-time hustlers who try to get ahead by getting over on people. Three guys plan to steal a coin collection that includes a rare and valuable buffalo nickel. When the scheme doesn’t unfold smoothly, the question is: Who’s really getting buffaloed? Barebones productions presents American Buffalo in the barebones black box. 1211 Braddock Ave., Braddock. (M.V.) 

MISS BENNET: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY (comedy) by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, directed by Kyle Haden. City Theatre. November 25 – December 17.

Mary, the bookish middle sister of the five Bennet sisters whose “high station” antics comprise most of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, celebrates Christmas at the palatial estate of her brother-in-law, Fitzwilliam Darcy, married now to Elizabeth. The story unfolds two years after the conclusion of Austen’s 1813 novel. All of the Bennets, Darcys and Bingleys are flitting around somewhere when an unexpected guest is welcomed into the festive fray. Mary manages to lift her nose from a book to take notice. If, indeed, she “admires the activity of [the man’s] benevolence,” she certainly intends not to “depreciate the pleasures.”  Which is all to suggest that City Theatre’s holiday offering is steeped––like a welcome cup of Earl Grey––in the rich and restorative joys of Jane Austen’s classic world. 1300 Bingham St., South Side. (C.P.O.)

MRS. DOUBTFIRE THE MUSICAL (musical comedy) adapted from the 1993 movie, with music and lyrics by Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick, and a book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, directed by Jerry Zaks. National touring company at the Benedum. November 28 – December 3.

When down-on-his-luck actor Daniel Hillard loses custody of his three children in divorce, he schemes a way to stay in their lives by becoming the family’s nanny, the inimitable Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire. The Twentieth Century Studios film that helped immortalize the late Robin Williams is also a musical, and its Broadway stars, Rob McClure (two-time Tony nominee) and real-life wife Maggie Lakis (Avenue Q), are on the road to Pittsburgh. With more than 17 numbers performed by a cast of 25, Mrs. Doubtfire The Musical proves that most fathers will do anything for their kids, even if it means cleaning the house and scrubbing the toilets. “Let Go” and “What the Hell” are perhaps the best songs of the show; titled together they are apt advice to buy your tickets now before it’s too late. PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh series at Benedum Center.  237 7th St., Cultural District. (C.P.O.) 

Continuing

THE TELL-TALE HEART (drama) adapted from Edgar Allen Poe’s short story by Alec Silberblatt. Pittsburgh Public Theater. Through November 19. 

Baltimore’s favorite ghost-whisperer comes to Pittsburgh to tell his tale of murder and madness. Through our misgiven local dialect, Alec Silberblatt, Pittsburgh playwright and actor, performs The Tell-Tale Heart in a dark place under the Pittsburgh Public Theater’s main stage. Perhaps there are floorboards overhead, always a clever place to have pried open so as to give access to a dark, convenient hiding space. And while there’s no black and purple raven to fear in this harrowing tale, beware the steely blue vulture eye of the innocent. Directed by Marya Sea Kaminski, this heart-thumping adaptation of Poe’s classic doesn’t miss a beat. Pittsburgh Public Theater-goers will be escorted to the underbelly of the O’Reilly Theater stage, 621 Penn Ave., Cultural District. (C.P.O.)

THE FLYING LOVERS OF VITEBSK (musical) by Daniel Jamieson and Ian Ross. Quantum Theatre. October 28 – November 26

First produced in London in 2016, Daniel Jamieson’s The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk is a musical mosaic of the lives of Marc and Bella Chagall; he the Jewish modernist painter whose flying figures (angels, cattle, young lovers) float in deep blue skies, she the poet (nee Rosenfeld) who fell in love with Chagall and wrote their life stories (pogroms, Moscow, Paris) in Burning Lights. Both born in the humble village of Vitebsk (now in Belarus), they met when twenty and married just as the Russian border closed for WWI. Quantum’s production of The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk is set to Klezmer, the simple, yet rich music most often associated with Jewish folk songs. Furthermore, Quantum’s revival of Jamieson’s most popular work will be staged at Rodef Shalom, Oakland’s most prominent synagogue.

But you don’t have to be Jewish to love Lovers. Jamieson’s work is itself a floating vision of the artistic spirit, inspired by deep pain and soaring ambition. After all, art, like truth, is universal. Also honoring the Violins of Hope project, Quantum Theatre brings it all to life. Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Ave., Oakland. (C.P.O.)

THE WIZ (musical) by Charlie Smalls and William F. Brown, with added material by Tina TIppit and others. Touring company at Benedum Center. Oct. 31 – Nov. 5.

On its way back to Broadway since its first run of 1,672 performances (1975 to 1979) helped inspire the sensational film adaptation (1978) starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, the all new revival of The Wiz lands at Benedum Center for eight nearly-sold-out performances over six days. Newcomer Nichelle Lewis is slated for the role of Dorothy, the shy girl from Kansas who befriends a Scarecrow (Avery Wilson,) a Tin Man (Phillip Johnson Richardson) and Lion (Kyle Ramar Freeman) on the Yellow Brick Road to Oz. With an ensemble of more than 20 cast members, this Broadway-bound production features the fabulous funk, Gospel, pop, and toe-tapping favorites that made it one of the greatest box office bonanzas of all time. PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh series. Benedum Center, 237 7th St., Cultural District. (C.P.O.)

Other Shows of Interest
(listed by opening date)

Wednesday, November 8
Sh!t-faced Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet (Pittsburgh Cultural Trust)

Thursday, November 9
Crazy for You (Stage 62)

Saturday, November 11
Pearl Presents (Kelly-Strayhorn Theater)

Saturday, November 18
WIP Choreography (Texture Contemporary Ballet)

Big Shows on the Horizon
(listed by opening date)

December 7
A Christmas Story: The Play (Pittsburgh Public Theater)

December 8
The Nutcracker (Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre)

December 13
A Musical Christmas Carol (Pittsburgh CLO)
A Lyrical Christmas Carol (Pittsburgh Musical Theater)

C. Prentiss Orr writes about theater for Entertainment Central. He has worked in theater management and has also taught theater. 

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