Point Park Staging ‘The House of Bernarda Alba’; ‘Drowsy Chaperone’ at CMU (Sat., 2/24/18)

Federico Garcia Lorca, assassinated in 1936, wrote ‘The House of Bernarda Alba’ as his last play.

1) Is The House of Bernarda Alba becoming a hot item? An intense drama from 1930s Spain, the play is regarded as a classic in Spanish-speaking countries, and recently it’s been revived (in English) by various companies in the U.K. and U.S. One possible factor is the surge of interest in theater that spotlights women. The House of Bernarda Alba has a sizable cast, and all the characters are women. Bernarda, a proud matron, rules like a tiger over her brood of eligible but unmarried daughters. After her husband’s death she invokes a severe tradition: eight years of mourning, which includes no socializing with men, and thus no sex. The girls rebel in a battle of wills and wits that’s sometimes comical but turns tragic. Written by Federico Garcia Lorca shortly before his own tragic death in the Spanish Civil War in 1936, Bernarda Alba is seen as a crackling inquiry into themes such as social and sexual repression. Point Park Conservatory Theatre presents The House of Bernarda Alba. Pittsburgh Playhouse. 2 and 8 p.m. Continues through March 11. 222 Craft Ave., Oakland. (MV)

2) Carnegie Mellon’s School of Drama re-opens its mainstage season with The Drowsy Chaperone. This 2006 winner of five Tony Awards is both a parody of old musicals and a tribute to them, written as a play within a play. The central character is a shy fellow who sits at home alone listening to vintage recordings of Broadway tunes from the 1920s. When he puts his favorite onto the turntable—the soundtrack of an exuberantly hokey fictional show called, well, The Drowsy Chaperone—the cast members magically appear and start performing the show. Songs and music are by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison; book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar. Philip Chosky Theater at Carnegie Mellon. 2 and 8 p.m. Performances through March 3. 5000 Forbes Ave., Oakland. (MV)

3) The Pitt men’s basketball team and Coach Kevin Stallings—whose had a challenging job of trying to rebuild a new team with his style of play this season— take on the highly ranked Virginia Cavaliers this afternoon. Hopefully the young Panthers will do a better job on offense and defense. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. Hail to Pitt! Petersen Events Center, 3719 Terrace St., Oakland.

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