Wigle Whiskey’s Barrelhouse and Whiskey Garden Offers Fine Spirits and Music; ‘Girls Only’ at CLO Cabaret (Thurs., 8/27/15)

1) From 1808 to 2015, from 4,000 documented whiskey stills to one. So goes the downfall of whiskey in the Pittsburgh area. Wigle Whiskey, open since 2012 and the sole whiskey distillery now in the region, has a lot of heritage to support. Luckily for us, the distillery is going strong and in 2014, Wigle Whiskey’s Barrelhouse and Whiskey Garden opened on the North Side. There’s a reason the Garden’s buckwheat, rye grass, and lavender may put you in the mood for a cocktail. All those botanicals, and more, are used in spirit and cocktail making. Wigle also makes gin and bitters. Tours are available of the adjacent Barrelhouse and include a barrel-aged cocktail and tastings of spirits. While on tour, you may learn that the one “g” in “Wigle” is no typo. Wigle Whiskey is named after Philip Wigle, who, with others, violently demonstrated against a new tax imposed on whiskey distillers. He was sentenced to hang for his part in a little local historical event you might have heard of—The Whiskey Rebellion. Wigle was later pardoned by President Washington. Free concerts by local groups are held on Saturdays. Both the Barrelhouse and Garden are open through September, so visit now while summer’s still going strong. 1055 Spring Garden Ave., Spring Garden.

Sara Williams (L) and Julianne Avolio know the score in “Girls Only.” photo: Matt Polk.

2) Contrary to certain rumors, men are welcome to attend Girls Only—The Secret Comedy of Women. Seeing how readily they get the jokes may even be a good test of their gender consciousness. The sketches and songs in this revue are built around the plot device of two women comparing notes as they read through their old diaries. In such a manner, one gets a double comical dose of women’s history: the characters re-trace their personal journeys from girlhood to adulthood while conjuring up social phenomena they’ve lived through. Girls Only was conceived in Denver and has toured the country. CLO Cabaret brings it for a local run. 7:30 p.m. Runs through August 30. CLO Cabaret Theater, 655 Penn Ave., Cultural District. (MV)

3) Front Porch Theatricals, a company launched in 2012, already has a rep for staging unorthodox musicals. Past shows included Next to Normal (about mental illness in suburbia) and the time-travel love story The Last Five Years. Now Front Porch is doing The Light in the Piazza, based on a 1960 novel that may sound like a clichéd relic of that era—wealthy American girl, touring Italy with her mom, meets a sweet Italian guy and they fall madly in love. But there are many twists, such as the dark secret behind the young woman’s bright-eyed, childlike charm: a head injury years ago has left her developmentally disabled, casting doubt on the future of the romance. Modified  for the stage, The Light in the Piazza is a musical by Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel, adapted from Elizabeth Spencer’s novella. The play won multiple Tony Awards in 2005, mostly for its eclectic Numbers like “Octet.” The Light in the Piazza veers across classical and pop genres which has helped make the musical a cult favorite, as the novel once was. 8 p.m., Continues through Sunday. New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, North Side. (MV)

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