Pittsburgh Fringe Festival Kicks Off; ‘Young Americans’ Onstage at The Public (Wed., 4/26/23)

PITTSBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL. Various local, national, and international performers. April 26-30

Sometimes it’s a little more fun and daring to live life on the fringes, and when it comes to the arts, that’s just what the Pittsburgh Fringe Festival seeks to accomplish. Now in its tenth year, one of the main components of the Pittsburgh Fringe Festival is performing arts. This year’s Fest features over 25 different shows, with some in-person and some online. Intriguing titles include Story Slam by Pittsburgh Fringe, Vendetta In Verona: A True-ish Crime Podcast by ​Brawling Bard Theater, Looming by ​Mita Ghosal Dance Theatre, Tagore’s Chandalika, The Untouchable Daughter of Earth by ​Nandanik Dance Troupe, and Comedy Bingo+ featuring Sketchy PPL by ​Sketchy PPL. The Pittsburgh Fringe Festival will be held at several locations in the Friendship, Garfield, Bloomfield area. (R.H.)

YOUNG AMERICANS by Lauren Yee, directed by Desdemona Chiang. Pittsburgh Public Theater, April 26 – May 14.

In yet another world premiere, Pittsburgh Public Theater, in co-production with Portland Center Stage, presents Young Americans, a riotous comedy of a young Asian immigrant who woos his soon-to-be fiancé, Jenny, while driving from Washington D.C. to Portland, Oregon. They discover an America they had never thought to find, forced to take detours along the way that test their incredulity. Twenty years later the father drives their adopted daughter to college back east, a road trip that takes them both in directions they had not planned on and, yet, which enlightens their respective journeys in ways that are both silly and sublime. Advance publicity for the new comedy says it “pieces together [a] bittersweet family history in [a] beautiful new comedy about the lengths we will go for the people we love.” Playwright Lauren Yee, best known for her musical hit, Cambodian Rock Band, now playing at Berkeley Rep, is one of the hot new voices in American theater. Young Americans plays in Pittsburgh Public Theater’s O’Reilly Theater. 8 p.m. 621 Penn Ave., Cultural District. (C.P.O.)

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