Quantum Conjures Up ‘The Tempest’ (Tues., 7/28/26)

By now, most theater fans in Pittsburgh (and many theater professionals in places far beyond Pittsburgh) know the news. Quantum Theatre’s founding artistic director, Karla Boos, is retiring after 36 years—and in her farewell to that role, she’s directing a production of The Tempest. There couldn’t be a more fitting play for the occasion. It was the last that Shakespeare wrote. It ends with the triumphant central character, Prospero, delivering a farewell speech of his own. And, whereas Boos has brought the magic of theater to life at Quantum, The Tempest is literally steeped in magic. The usurped duke Prospero is a wizard. Working with his supernatural sidekick, Ariel, he uses his arts to confound knaves and restore justice. In her director’s notes for the play, Karla Boos wrote that she sees The Tempest as reflecting the “cycles of history” and offering hope for the future. If that sounds like it might speak to our current times, well, there you go. Quantum presents The Tempest at a magical venue, on the campus of the historic Carrie Blast Furnaces. 7:30 p.m. Through August 23 at 801 Carrie Furnace Blvd., bordering Swissvale and Rankin. (M.V.) 

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