PGTheaterNOW

In the Wings: Pittsburgh-Broadway ties

PG Admin19 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:18:00 GMT

By Sharon Eberson / Nov. 20, 2009

NEW YORK -- It's extraordinary the ties you find to Pittsburgh during a theater trip to Broadway.

After seeing the exuberant show "Memphis" tonight with the PG ShowPlane group led by senior theater critic Chris Rawson, many of us gathered at Sardi's to discuss the plays they'd seen so far (I had been to "A Steady Rain" on my own and hadn't seen "Bye Bye Birdie" with them).

Late into the night, when just a few of us were left talking theater and such, an attractive young couple came rushing over, having spotted Chris' wife, Mary, and said, "What are you doing here?"

It turns out we got to be part of a big night for Drew Gehling, a Carnegie Mellon graduate who had just made his big-time Broadway debut -- as Bob Gaudio in "Jersey Boys." He was an original cast member from the Chicago production, but this was his opening night in New York. HIs wife, CMU's Sara Ford, was with him (that's a quick shot I snapped of Drew and Sara at right). We'll see her tomorrow night as part of the ensemble in "Finian's Rainbow," with Pittsburgher Tim Hartman.

Wait, there's more, and I can't come close to hitting all of the CMU and other Pittsburgh connections on Broadway and off and off-off . . .

Matthew Hydzik, a Quaker Valley High and Penn State graduate, has been the standby for Tony for the hit revival of "West Side Story." Like Drew, he's getting ready to step into the lead role. Matthew was previously seen on Broadway as Kenicke in "Grease."

And just the ot her day while in the audience at another show, a gentleman sat down next to me and started gabbing from the get-go. Turns out, he had been a long-ago CMU grad, Joseph Adler, who is now producing artistic director of GableStage, a theater in Coral Gables, Fla., that produces six shows a year.

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Pittsburgh Public Theater blog — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:14:00 GMT

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Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Blog — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:33:00 GMT

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Backstage Update blog — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:53:00 GMT

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Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Blog — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:30:00 GMT

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CMU Drama School Blog — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:58:00 GMT

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CMU Drama School Blog — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:08:00 GMT

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Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Blog — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:20:00 GMT

Spend just a little time with the Wikipedia pages for country, bluegrass and other styles of American roots music, and you'll notice something that comes as no surprise to the student of American history: there are not too many women mentioned among the first generations of these genres. For instance, take a closer look at bluegrass: it is generally acknowledged that the first bluegrass group came together in the 40s was Bill Monroe and his four...(read more)

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Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Blog — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:20:00 GMT

It has become the stuff of pop culture legend. While working as a consultant on the uber-popular Sex and the City , stand-up comic (and author and TV show host and sometimes actor) Greg Behrendt uttered the now famous words he's just not that into you to a co-worker and the world, or, at least, the world of relationship advice was never the same. The phrase ripped through the set of the show like a fire in California during the dry season, making...(read more)

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OnStage — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:19:00 GMT

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