Tag: Culture

Here are the Top Five things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend, April 10 through 13. There are a lot of balls this week.

Ball One

A bunch of LGBT organizations get together and have a kiki. Garden of Peace, GLSEN Pittsburgh, True T Entertainment and Will Gee’s Fashion present “Living Out Loud! The Kiki Ball.” They’ll be making some noise to celebrate the National Day of Silence (wait, what?). Actually the Day of Silence brings attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment.

Kick things up to high gear (and high fashion) and enjoy a fashion show and ball. It’s all happening Friday, April 11 at the Andy Warhol Museum (where else), 117 Sandusky Street, Pittsburgh.

www.gardenofpeaceproject.org/april-extravagayza.html

Ball Two

It’s the biggest ball of the all, y’all. Attack Theatre’s getting dirty again. It’s the Dirty Ball. There will be performances, beats by Title Town Soul & Funk Party, art installations, fashions, throw-downs libations and cocktail fare.

Get dirty on Saturday April 12, at the Jane Street Warehouse, 2120 Jane Street, South Side, Pittsburgh.

“Don’t wear anything too…complicated.” – King Louis in “History of the World, Part II”

Ball Three

This time we’re looking at Quantum Theatre’s Jay Ball (by way of a Michel de Ghelderode classic) with “Pantagleize.”  Ball takes the 1931 play out for a spin, adding some wild new concepts.  A secret password could bring down a dictator.  You’ll “Howl” when you hear Ball’s take (that’s a hint).

Pantagleize opens April 11 at the Lexington Technology Center, 400 North Lexington Street, Point Breeze. For more information, go to www.quantumtheatre.com/season/Pantagleize

Ball three and no one walks.

Strindberg Variations

Red Masquers is celebrating acclaimed Swedish playwright and novelist August Strindberg with a night of one-acts. See “Stronger” and “Playing with Fire.”

X meets Y on Christmas Eve in “Stronger” and a love triangle breaks out on an island in the Swedish archipelago in high summer in “Playing with Fire.”

Catch the Strindberg One Acts at the Peter Mills Auditorium, Rockwell Hall, 600 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh.

http://www.duqredmasquers.com

Wiggin Out

Unplanned comedy has a special guest and we’re wiggin’ out about it. WTAE news anchor Sally Wiggin is coming to the Union Pig and Chicken to be the Mondo (a monologist who comes up with a monologue on the spot).  A group of talented improvisers will take her off-the-cuff speech and create comedy from with it.

Go for it, Sally!

It’s all Unplanned Comedy April 12 at The Union Pig and Chicken, 220 N. Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA

For additional details go to the Unplanned Comedy Facebook page, here; https://www.facebook.com/events/1480614118833339/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

-MB

by Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant contributor.

Here is the list of the Top Five things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend from April 3 to April 6.

Dress to Kill

Start your weekend early with a diva. Cher is at the Consol Energy Center. Chances are you probably already have your tickets, but it’s not too late. Besides, Pat Benetar is also going to be there. It’s a real blast from the past. It’s the Dress to Kill tour with Cher, Pat Benetar and Neil Giraldo.

Get your groove on at Consol Energy Center, 1001 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh.

For more information, go to www.consolenergycenter.com/events/detail/cher

Catch the Bus

See six new 10 minute plays written by playwrights who have to take a 90 minute bus ride around the city of Pittsburgh. In 24 hours the plays are written, directed and performed. It’s the annual Bricolage Urban Scrawl (B.U.S.)Friday and Saturday at the New Hazlett Theater.

Join Dixon, Carpenter and Pittsburgh’s power couple, Marie and Jeff Stapinski at BUS 8. They promise it’s going to be an amazing ride.

The bus stops at the New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square E, Pittsburgh, PA 15212.

For more information, go to www.bricolagepgh.org/events/bus-9

Comb Out

Kim El will also be telling great personal stories in a performance that combines spoken word, songs and poetry in “Straightening Combs.” Kim promises to take the audience on a intimate journey as seen through the eyes of an African American woman coming of age in Pittsburgh’s Hill District.

You can find “Straightening Combs” at the Off The Wall Theater, 25 West Main Street, Carnegie. For more information go to www.pittsburghtheaterrental.com/straightening-combs

Living Dangerously

Come out for John McIntire’s Dangerously Live Comedy Show at the Cabaret Theater in Theater Square. McIntire will be joined by Pittsburgh’s newest, trendiest columnist, Natalie Bencivenga, Tech Entrepreneur Kit Mueller, Cops Spokesperson Sonya Toler and charming young Councilman Dan Gilman.

They will pit old Pittsburgh against New Pittsburgh. It’s a battle of Yinzers vs. Yuppies. May the best man win, n’nat.

On April 5, you can catch all the excitement of the live show at the Cabaret Theater, 655 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh.

For more information, go to http://trustarts.culturaldistrict.org/event/3303/the-john-mcintire-dangerously-live-comedy-talk-show

Paint the town

Paint the town and your own body at the 4th annual Pittsburgh Holi Festivities and have a huge color party! Plus learn Masala Bhangra dancing, enjoy amazing music, eat some incredible food and have loads of fun!

DJ Pandemic Pete back will take requests if you message him at @pandemicpgh.

Join the fun on April 5 on Flagstaff Hill, Frew Street and Scheneley Drive, across from Phipps .

For more information, email them at crypittsburgh@gmail.com

BONUS EVENT

Bingo Night

Pittsburgh icons Barbara Russell and Bingo O’Malley perform a one-night-only staged reading of
“What’ll we do about Sue?”

As Russell herself explained on a recent episode of Burgh Viviant, “I get all the glamour roles. I play a homeless lady.”

It’s a fundraiser for the 24 annual New Works Festival, and its wicked funny. There will be a talk back with Bingo and Barbara after the performance hosted by Burgh Vivant’s Brian Edward.

“What’ll we do about Sue?” is at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, 300 Beechwood Blvd. Carnegie, PA.

For details, check out www.pittsburghnewworks.org

Premier Pittsburgh public garden to offer day of wellness activities free with admission.

Pittsburgh, Pa. — As part of its Tropical Forest Conservatory exhibit highlighting India, one of the most botanically rich regions of Earth, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens will present a special Ayurveda and Wellness Festival on April 5, 2014 set against a backdrop of lush plants and exotic flowers, cascading waterfalls, and a serene fish pond in one of Pittsburgh’s most spa-like environments.

Free to attend with regular paid admission to Phipps, the Ayurveda and Wellness Festival will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and feature presentations from local instructors on a variety of wellness-themed topics, family-friendly discovery and activity stations, Indian-inspired food tastings and more.

While visiting for the festival, guests are also encouraged to explore the wonderful and colorful world of the Tropical Forest India exhibit, which includes a spice and tea market display, Ayurvedic healing gardens, a field research station and a gorgeous temple façade. Visitors may also step out onto the terrace and continue their journey into the Center for Sustainable Landscapes, a new addition to the Phipps campus that has emerged as one of the greenest buildings on the planet.

Details on the Ayurveda Wellness Festival are available at phipps.conservatory.org. Phipps admission is $15 for adults, $14 for seniors and students, and $11 for children (2 – 18). Members and kids under 2 enter free. Regular hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and until 10 p.m. Fridays.

About Phipps: Founded in 1893, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, Pa. is a green leader among public gardens with a mission to inspire and educate all with the beauty and importance of plants; to advance sustainability and promote human and environmental well-being through action and research; and to celebrate its historic glasshouse. Learn more: phipps.conservatory.org.

by Mike “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant contributor.  

Here are the Top Five Fun Things to do in Pittsburgh the weekend of March 27 to 30. This week we go from being “In the Heights” to being “Grounded,” and I’ll fill in all the blanks along the way.

Hit the Heights

There’s a lot going on at a Washington Heights bodega and the citizens are willing to sing about it. University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Theatre Arts is producing “In the Heights.” Usnavi will tell you all about it.

Come down to the “Heights” at the Charity Randall Theatre, 4301 Forbes Avenue, Oakland.

For more information, go to http://www.play.pitt.edu/content/heights

Bohemian Rhapsody

If the Puerto Ricans from Washington Heights just aren’t downtrodden enough for you, you can see “La Boheme” at the Pittsburgh Opera. It’s the story of two down-and-out artists, Marcello and Rudolpho, having trouble paying the RENT. Puccini beat Jonathan Larson to the story by a century, but it still holds up.

“La Boheme” is at the Pittsburgh Opera, 2425 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh.

Find out more at www.pittsburghopera.org.

Let’s Play Ball

Spring is in the air, and its baseball season. See photographs of baseball history from Pittsburgh legend Teenie Harris. The Carnegie Museum of Art has a fairly straight-forward exhibit titled, “Teenie Harris Photographs: Baseball in Pittsburgh.”  See some of the greatest moments in the Negro League, the Major League and good old-fashioned sandlot baseball from behind the lens of a master.

The exhibit runs all season (till September 22) at the Carnegie Museum of Art, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh.

For more information, check out www.cmoa.org

On the Ground

A gutsy fighter pilot’s unexpected pregnancy puts her career on hold. When she gets back in the game, flying has a whole new meaning: operating remote-controlled drones in Afghanistan from an air-conditioned trailer near Las Vegas. Hunting terrorists by day and being a wife and mother by night, the pilot’s struggle to navigate her dual identities is her toughest mission.
“Grounded” opens March 29 at the City Theater, 1300 Bingham Street, Pittsburgh.

For more information, go to www.citytheatrecompany.org/play/grounded

Game/Set/Match

Remember Gene Rayburn in Match Game? Joe King is bringing it back to Pittsburgh. He is going to fill in all your blanks at Match Gayme (an added Y for fabulous reasons).  His celebrity panelists are drag queens , Mahogany La Piranah, Lola Le Croix, Anna Steezia and Blade Matthews.  He’s also brining a special guest celebrity, real life Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto. So get off your blank and get down there.

Match Gayme is at 9:00 pm Sunday March 29, at Cruze Bar, 1600 Smallman Street, in the Strip.

-MB.

by Michael Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant contributor.

Get Dirty Earlier

Every year, Attack Theater hosts THE event of the season, The Dirty Ball.  It’s not until April 12, but you can get dirty earlier by going to the Kick Off for the Dirty Ball at a Happy Hour with Attack Theatre at the Up Modern Kitchen on Tuesday March 18^th.

Up-Modern Kitchen is located at 5500 Walnut Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15232

For more information go to www.attacktheatre.com

Grown Man Business

Pittsburgh Comedian Aaron Kleiber will be “Talking Shop” with Brian Gray on the eponymous podcast. Kleiber recently made his national television debut on “Gotham Comedy Live,” but is known locally as for his multiple film roles (P.S. He’s hilarious in “Escape from Saint Quentin’s”), his comedy hosting skills (Monday’s at Pleasure Bar, Wednesday’s at the BeerHive…etc.) and his extremely funny concert film DVD (“Grown Man Business”).

Listen to him yuk it up with improviser and talk show host Brian Gray in a live recording of the “Talking Shop” podcast Thursday, March 20 at the Arcade Comedy Theater at 8:00. The event is only five dollars! Five dollars!

For more information, go to www.arcadecomedytheater.com

Hollywood Un-glamourized

It’s 30’s Hollywood and it’s tough out there for actresses of color. Lynn Nottage’s “By the way, Meet Vera Stark” is a hilarious satire about race set in the glamorous days of Old Hollywood.

“By the way, Meet Vera Stark” opens Friday, March 21 at the Studio Theater at Point Park University’s Pittsburgh Playhouse.

For more information, head to www.pittsburghplayhouse.com

By the way, Meet Annette Dashofy

Celebrate the debut of the Zoe Chambers Mystery Series, “Circle of Influence” at the Mystery Lover’s Bookshop in Oakmont. Dashofy is a former member of the staff at the Mystery Lover’s Bookshop. She’s about to go from stocking the shelves to flying off the shelves. Come meet the Pittsburgh mystery writer on Saturday March 22 before she goes on a national tour!

You can find out more about the book, the author and the store at http://www.mysterylovers.com/books/events/20140322dashofy.php

Not in Kansas Anymore

Things get even weirder for Dorothy Gale. Turns out Dottie Gale (Adrienne Fischer) is really in a mental institution and meets three lunatics each representing the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion.  Rage of the Stage Players presents the “Wizard of Oz” with a darkly comic twist.

Playwright James Michael Shoberg might be on his own acid trip when he wrote this popular play. It returns to Off the Wall Theater for a second time.

You can find Off the Wall Theater at 25 W. Main Street, Carnegie. For more information go to www.insideoffthewall.com/archives/1691

– MB.

Every week we find the Top Five Fun Things to do in Pittsburgh. Things are going to get a little green for St. Patrick’s Day. Here is the list for March 13 – March 16.

God Hates Jags

Get your laugh on the track when local Comedian Davon Magwood records his comedy, live in front of a studio audience at the Rex Theater on Friday, March 14.  Susie Meister, Stoph Orlok Edison, Lana Aurora Roskin and Mitch Beardczykowski will also be performing. Magwood is best known in and around Pittsburgh as the creator of the “God Hates Jags” T-shirt, created when Magwood had a Twitter feud with the Westboro Baptist Church.

For more information, go to http://www.showclix.com/event/s20140314dmag

Belly up

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the family at the Student/Teacher Hafla. The Hafla mixes Arabic and Celtic music, with a little Spanish, Indian and fusion flavors thrown in to add some extra spice. The event features live music (Tom Moran, Amun Raqs, Rich Ermlick and the Irish Players), a DJ (DJ Pandemic) and belly-dancers and bagpipers. The event will be Emceed by WQED’s Kweilin Nassar.

The doors open at 7:30 with a show at 8:00 on Saturday, March 15 at the Wilkins School Community Center, 7604 Charleston Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15218. For more information visit www.jemeenabellydance.com .

Once More with Feeling

An Irish musician meets a Czech immigrant and they make beautiful music together in “Once.”  See “Once” at least once this weekend. The Tony Award winning show (it won 8 Tony Awards, including best musical in 2012) is at the Benedum Center downtown.

Put on your green shirt and go down to The Benedum Center, 719 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA. Call 412-456-6666 or click here: http://trustarts.culturaldistrict.org/production/37640/once

Angels in Outfield

The story of America’s first black airmen is a powerful important story in our history. “Black Angels Over Tuskegee” tells the tale of some of WWII’s most courageous heroes, fighting Nazis abroad and prejudice within the United States.

Fly over to the Byham Theater, 101 6^th Street, Pittsburgh. For more  information, go to: http://trustarts.culturaldistrict.org/production/38917/black-angels-over-tuskegee

An Important Comedy

The Prime Stage Theater group is producing Oscar Wilde’s famous and funny “The Importance of Being Earnest” at the New Hazlett. It’s a trivial comedy for serious people.

Come to the city, pretend you’re someone else and catch  “The Importance of Being Earnest,” at the New Hazlett Theater, Allegheny Square East, Pittsburgh.

Call 724-773-0700 or go to http://newhazletttheater.org
Bonus item:

Hello Judy!

Pittsburgh native Judy Knaiz discusses her Hollywood career at a live on-stage interview with Brian Edward from ‘Burgh Vivant (the website you’re currently in). Knaiz played Gussie Granger (AKA Ernestina Simple) in the 1969 film musical “Hello Dolly,” with Barbara Streisand and Walter Matthau.  The interview is followed by a screening of the aforementioned film, “Hello Dolly.”

Say “Hello, Judy!” and see “Hello Dolly” at the George R. White Theater at Point Park University, 414 Wood Street, Pittsburgh, PA.

This ‘Burgh Vivant sponsored event is free and open to the public, but reservations are encouraged. RSVP to its@burghvivant.org

-MB

Here are the Top Five Fun Things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend, March 6 through the 9.

Main Street Poetry

The Carnegie Carnegie in Carnegie (that’s a lot of Carnegie’s in one sentence) will host “In This Valley” a poetry reading by Bernadette Kazmarski. Kazmarski will read poetry inspired by her everyday experiences and encounters in Carnegie (I sincerely hope there are poems titled “Dog with the pink mohawk,” “Ode to the G2,” or “That guy they threw out of Riley’s”). Thursday, March 6^th you can find out for yourself at a reception that will include her visual art as well.

“In This Valley” is at the 2^nd Floor Reception Hall of the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, 300 Beechwood Avenue, Carnegie, PA. For more information go to www.carnegiecarnegie.org.

Make an Unplanned Plan

Unplanned Comedy returns to the Union Pig and Chicken with two shows Saturday March 8.

8PM – Improv teams go head-to-head-to head as ALMOST INFAMOUS and RUCKUS compete against DEATH IN OXFORD for a comedy championship. Is there a prize? I’m sure they’ll mime a sash and tiara (it’s all about the space work).

And at 9:30PM…

MONDO! Mondo speaks, they make a scene. Inspired by one audience suggestion, Mondo, WTAE Anchor, Michelle Wright, tells of personal views, opinions, and remembrances as fodder for the cast’s high-octane, off-the-cuff, improvised scenes.

Plan your weekend around “Unplanned Comedy.”  It’s at the Union Pig and Chicken, 220 N. Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15206.  For more information, hit them up on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/1462317480652767/?fref=ts.

Get him to the Greek

Homer takes over at the Pittsburgh Public Theater. The Poet, Teagle F. Bougere, tells the story of gods, monsters and the thrilling tales of the Trojan War in “An Iliad.”

One actor plays the Greek classic’s famous characters Achilles, Hector, Agammemnon, and the beautiful Helen of Troy.

Set sail for “An Iliad” opening March 6 at the O’ O’Reilly Theater, Pittsburgh Public Theater. Call 412-316-1600 or click http://trustarts.culturaldistrict.org/production/36123/an-iliad

Finding Utopia

The Pittsburgh Savoyards are singing about Capitalism in “Utopia Limited” the story about princess from a far-off land.  It was Gilbert and Sullivan’s second-to-last collaborative effort, and it’s the second-to-last pick of the week.

Jump on the HMS Pinafore and head over to the Andrew Carnegie Free Library Music Hall, 300 Beechwood Avenue, Carnegie for “Utopia Limited.”

For more information, check out the Pittsburgh Savoyards at http://www.pittsburghsavoyards.org/wordpress/

Jazz Hands

Start spreading the news, Conductor Jack Everly will swing his baton in front of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra when they perform “All That Jazz: A Symphonic Celebration of Kander & Ebb.”

John Kander and lyricist Frank Ebb are responsible for writing some well-known show tunes, including “New York, New York,” “All That Jazz,” and “Cabaret.”

Maybe this time, you’ll go to Heinz Hall to see the symphonic celebration. Please do tell mama, because she may want to join you for “All That Jazz: A Symphonic Celebration of Kander & Ebb” at Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Avenue, Downtown Pittsburgh.

For more information, go to http://culturaldistrict.org/production/36212/all-that-jazz-a-symphonic-celebration-of-kander-and-ebb