Donnie Iris to Rock Monroeville Convention Center; ‘The Playboy of the Western World’ Staged by CMU Drama (Fri., 10/11/16)

1) Area native Donnie Iris, aka King Cool, is performing at the Showroom at the Monroeville Convention Center this month with his band, The Cruisers. Sure to be on the set list are top favorites including “Ah Leah” and “Love Is Like a Rock.” Iris was once a member of the Pittsburgh group The Jaggerz in the early ’70s and had a monster hit with the “The Rapper,” which reached no. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. He went on to more success as a member of the Stuebenville, Ohio band Wild Cherry, which with Iris on the roster had a no.1 hit with “Play That Funky Music.”  8 p.m. 209 Mall Plaza Blvd.. Monroeville.

2)  Irony, folks, irony. The Playboy of the Western World may sound like a high-society comedy of manners, but this landmark Irish play set off riots when it premiered in 1907, and it’s a working-class satire full of wicked twists. One night in rural County Mayo, a handsome young stranger stumbles into a small town’s pub. He says he’s been on the run from the family farm, where, in a fit of passion, he killed his old dad by smiting him with a spade. The first twist is that the renegade becomes a hero to the townspeople—including to the young women, who see his dire deed as an act of daring and are charmed by his gift of gab. Further twists follow when it turns out the deed did not go down as he had described. Dublin theater fans were outraged. They felt playwright John Millington Synge had painted an insulting picture of Irish commoners (and it didn’t help that Synge, though Irish himself, was an upper-class Protestant). But The Playboy of the Western World has endured, with audiences worldwide finding it a multi-leveled lampoon that speaks to many times and cultures. Carnegie Mellon’s School of Drama is performing the play to open its 2016-17 mainstage season. 8 p.m. Performances through October 15. In the Philip Chosky Theater on the Carnegie Mellon campus, 5000 Forbes Ave., Oakland. (MV)

3) Dancing Queen will put people on the dance floor at Jergel’s Rhythm Grille. The disco/funk band takes the stage at 8 p.m. 285 Northgate Dr., Warrendale.

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