‘Good Kids’ Playing at Pitt; Walnut Grill Debuts New Menu Items (Wed., 11/18/15)

1) It’s a long way from ancient Greece to Steubenville, Ohio, but that is where Naomi Iizuka’s artistic journey has led. Iizuka, a California-based playwright, has written about teenagers in modern American society by using themes from Greek myth. Her play Anon(ymous) is based on Homer’s Odyssey, except the hero is a young refugee from a war-torn country adrift in the United States. And in Polaroid Stories, such mythical figures as Orpheus, Eurydice, and Narcissus are re-imagined as homeless teens in a big city where the only grownup who cares about them is the drug dealer and the wine god Dionysus.

Good Kids, Iizuka’s new play, does not rely so heavily on mythology. Its story is drawn from unhappy true events of recent times: the Steubenville High School rape incident, the social-media frenzy that followed, and similar cases in the news. When Good Kids premiered last year at the University of Michigan, a new tradition was set. Audience members were told to leave their cell phones on. 8 p.m. Performances through Sunday.  This feeds the disorienting experience of the play, which you can tweet about if you see Good Kids done by Pitt’s Department of Theatre Arts. Heymann Theatre in the Stephen Foster Memorial, 4301 Forbes Ave., Oakland. (MV)

2) Popular Pittsburgh fresh casual dining chain Walnut Grill recently announced a few additions to their menu. Corporate executive chef Randy Simpson and his team have created several new appetizers, entrèes and desserts. Highlights include: appetizer: Baked Lobster Mac and Cheese with Campanelle Pasta, Four Cheese Alfredo, and Maine Lobster Meat ; entrèes: Pumpkin Ravioli with Asparagus, Spinach, Lemon-Garlic Butter Sauce, Grilled Chicken, and Gorgonzola- Cranberry Relish; Petite Filet Mignon with Rosemary Demi-Glaze, and a Gorgonzola Bacon Butter Crust . And also Horseradish- Potato Crusted Atlantic Cod, Old Bay Remoulade, and Lump Crab Meat Relish. For dessert Walnut Grill is offering a sumptuous Winter Berry Cobbler, Cinnamon Streusel Crust with Cinnamon Ice Cream. Walnut Grill also offers a Sunday brunch buffet and has locations in Fox Chapel, Wexford, Robinson, and Bridgeville.

3) ) Do you fancy yourself a rock star? Then the place for you tonight is Rock Star Karaoke at the South Side’s Smiling Moose. In addition to pleasing everyone with your great renditions of famous rock songs you’ll enjoy $3 Captain cocktails and half off all Troegs beer from 9-11 p.m. Karaoke starts at 9:30 p.m. DJ T-Money cues the music for you the rock star. 1306 E. Carson St.

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