Pittsburgh Playhouse Previews Full Slate of Theater and Entertainment Offerings

Pittsburgh Playhouse preview event.

The Pittsburgh Playhouse and Point Park University recently held an event at The Playhouse complex for subscribers and the media to announce a full year of over 30 multi-disciplinary arts and entertainment works from performers who will come from near and far for the 2022 – 2023 season.

The Playhouse’s Conservatory Theatre will be producing six theatrical productions over the season. Some are very well known and a few are lesser known, but of high quality. The featured offerings include Sondheim on Sondheim, Kentucky by Leah Nanako Winkler, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Disney’s Newsies, Men on Boats by Jacklyn Backhaus, Sense and Sensibility by Kate Hamill.

Stephen Sondheim taking a smoke break during work in the 1970s.

Sondheim on Sondheim (October 19 – 23, 2022) is an onstage revue and tribute to master music composer and lyric creator, Stephen Sondheim. Kentucky (November 16 – 20, 2022) revolves around two sisters, one is 30 years-old, estranged from her dysfunctional family in Kentucky and living in New York; and the other is a 22 year-old born-again Christian who is engaged to be married. The older sister tries to keep the marriage from happening so her sister can have a brighter future. And we all know the next production of the season, the story of Cinderella (December 7 – 11, 2022), but it’s always glorious to see it onstage and with the Rodgers + Hammerstein treatment. Disney’s Newsies (February 22 – 26, 2023) details the newsboys strike of 1899 in New York City and its demands for better pay and working conditions. Men on Boats (March 15 – 19, 2023) is a story based on mainly true events of a one-armed captain and his crazy, but loyal crew and their 1869 mission to explore the Colorado River. Closing out the season is the stage adaptation of writer Jane Austen’s much-loved novel, Sense and Sensibility (April 12 – 16, 2023), which follows the ups and downs of the Dashwood sisters.

Conservatory Dance offers six productions with the culmination being the season finale, the Spring Dance Concert with works by Camille Brown, Bob Fosse, Susan Stowe, and Twyla Tharp. Conservatory Dance begins its season on October 5. The playhouse will continue to offer National Theatre Live, a series of broadcasts live via satellite from the Royal National Theatre in London. 

Toshi Reagon’s ‘Parable of the Sower.’

The Media Innovators Speaker Series features media changemakers and leaders in the field  who are noted for their contributions to journalism, storytelling, and free expression. The events feature two speakers from National Geographic Live Speakers Series—Bryan Smith and Ami Vitale; Wall Street Journal opinion columnist, Jason Riley; and Vietnamese activist, and now Pittsburgh resident, Mai Khoi. Begins September 15.

The Playhouse Presents brings talented professional performing artists from around the world to Pittsburgh. Featured programs include: Urban Bush Women’s Hair and Other Stories, The Peking Acrobats, Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra Holiday Jazz Concert, Machine de Cirque’s La Galerie, MALEVO—The South American Sensation, and Toshi Reagon’s Parable of the Sower, and Alicia Odewale—Greenwood: A Century of Resilience. Starts September 9.

When you see Quebec’s Machine de Cirque you’ll want to flip too.

Additionally this summer The Playhouse will be hosting its Inside/Outside Summer Concert series. Among those slated to perform are Hugo Cruz Latin Dance Party, Chatham Baroque, 1Hood Media, slowdanger, MCG Jazz with Lucas Ashby and Rose Morares, and The Pillow Project. The Concert series kicks off Saturday, June 18.

Tickets and subscriptions for all events are on sale now at the Pittsburgh Playhouse website or by calling (412) 392-8000.

Photos courtesy of the artists and the Pittsburgh Playhouse except Stephen Sondheim.

Rick Handler is the executive producer of Entertainment Central.

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