Cirque Éloize Staging ‘Hotel’ for Festival of Firsts; ‘Chatterton’ Continues at Quantum Theatre (Wed., 9/26/18)

Montreal’s Cirque Éloize premieres ‘Hotel’ in Pittsburgh. (Photo:courtesy of Cirque Eloize: Hotel )

1) Is everyone in Montreal a circus performer or does it just seem that way? The city is home to Canada’s National Circus School, plus the world-famous company Cirque du Soleil, and the somewhat less known but equally mesmerizing Cirque Éloize. Now the latter company visits Pittsburgh for the world premiere of a new show, Cirque Éloize Hotel. Set in a classically grand hotel—the kind that many of us can only dream of staying in—the production mixes myriad feats of physical artistry and stagecraft to conjure up the dream. Among other things, expect to see a dance performed with the Cyr Wheel. Daniel Cyr, a cofounder of Cirque Éloize, developed the technique of using a large aluminum hoop to do enhanced cartwheels, ballet-like spins, and other graceful moves. Hotel is a featured attraction in the Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts. 7:30 p.m. Pre-show event: Know the Show Before You Go. Performances continue through September 30. Benedum Center, 237 7th St., Cultural District. (MV)

Helena Ruoti isn’t sure what to trust in ‘Chatterton,’ and small wonder. (Photo: Jason Snyder)

2) In a year that’s been riddled with talk about “fake news”—not to mention true news of real deceit, and the statement that “Truth isn’t truth”—perhaps it is fitting that Quantum Theatre opens its season with the play Chatterton. Thomas Chatterton was a teenaged prodigy, a gifted young British poet in the 1700s. He was also an intriguing prankster. Before his tragic suicide, at the age of 17, he won notice by writing poems in a weird, self-invented form of archaic English, and convincing many people they’d been written by a medieval monk whose work he had discovered.

Quantum’s play deepens the intrigue. Adapted from the novel Chatterton, by Peter Ackroyd, it spins a tale of a modern-day writer who discovers that the young man may have faked his death—and then went on to ghostwrite poetry which was wrongly credited to other famous writers. More bafflement ensues, as the story grows into a multi-layered dark-comic detective saga. The original adaptation is directed by Karla Boos, Quantum’s artistic director, and features an all-star cast of Pittsburgh-based actors. Part of the Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts, Chatterton is performed in immersive style at Trinity Cathedral Pittsburgh. Dinner is served during the show’s intermission and this weeks celebrity chef providing spectacular food is Chef Bob Sendall of All in Good Taste Productions. 7:30 p.m. Performances continue through October 28. 328 6th Ave., Downtown. (MV)

RADical Days 2018

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh: Historical Tours of Main Library
Free admission: 11AM-noon; 1-2PM
See description on September 24^th.

Pittsburgh Public Theater and Wilkinsburg Public Library
Free admission: 4:00pm
An interactive experience for students ages 7-13 to learn about the theater and try improv techniques. Space limited; rsvp at leet2@einetwork.net
605 Ross Ave. (Wilkinsburg)

Associated Artists @ BFA Exhibit at Point Park University
Free admission reception: 6-8PM
Artworks juried and curated by Jeff Jarzynka, a Pittsburgh-based creative and curator, at the Tomayko Gallery at Point Park University.
201 Wood Street (Downtown)

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