Oct 20 2009
Pull out your party clothes and put on your dancing shoes - PICT is staying up late and we want YOU to join us!
On November 6th, we will step back in time at the elegant Grand Hall at The Priory on Pittsburgh's North Side. At 6 p.m. we begin the VIP portion of the evening with hors d'oeuvres, drinks, and a sumptuous meal! VIP'ers will also be treated to a preview of our 2010 season opener, "Beautiful Dreamers"! This world premiere (co-produced with Opera Theater of Pittsburgh) is written by Martin Giles and features music by Stephen Foster. We've even added some new twists this year: in addition to the great dinner, mingling, and silent auction that we always feature, we will be honoring two remarkable men and staying up late to dance the night away at a special after-party!
Philip Chosky and Richard E. Rauh are two men who have made PICT's tremendous growth possible. We're proud to honor them at the 2009 gala.
Have an earlier commitment? Don't worry! You can join us for for the After-Party, including drinks ,dessert and dancing to the music of Matt Ferrante and Modern Times, starting at 8:30!
The silent auction has a wide variety of exciting items to bid on, including a walk-on role in the upcoming production of Jane Eyre, a PICT party (with hors d'oeuvres and a play reading) in your home, a private gallery tour, dance lessons, sports and theatre tickets, and much much more!
COME TO THE PARTY:
Inventive cocktail or evening attire. Complimentary valet parking is available.
The VIP Ticket is $175, and the After-Party is $50.
Reservations:
Online: CLICK HERE to buy tickets online!
Phone: Gale McGloin, 412.561.6000 x204
Mail: CLICK HERE for form, and mail to PICT, P.O. Box 23607, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
2009 PICT Gala is sponsored by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Levin Furniture, Typecraft Press Inc., and Vincent Lighting Systems.
Oct 07 2009
Today's the perfect day to crack open Charlotte Bronte's darkly beautiful love story, "Jane Eyre." The blustery winds and gray skies haunting Pittsburgh today are not unlike the lonely moors that Jane Eyre encountered upon her arrival at Thornfield Hall. The compelling presence of the manor's brooding, mysterious master, Edward Fairfax Rochester, and the forbidden love that he has for our heroine Jane make the novel a fantastic read!
We start rehearsals for an elaborate new stage version of Bronte's masterpiece in just over one month. Mr. Rochester will be played by Pittsburgh favorite David Whalen (opening soon as the tortured doctor in City Theatre Company's production of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"). Allison McLemore makes her Pittsburgh debut in the role of Jane. Both actors are pictured, in photos by Richard Kelly.
Alan Stanford's unique adaptation presents the audience with not just one Jane, but three! The play begins with young Jane (Jenna Lanz), the orphaned child left to fend for herself in a harsh world. As young Jane ages, she becomes middle Jane (Allison McLemore) - the simple governess whose inner beauty and intelligence win the heart of the stolid, implacable Mr. Rochester. Throughout the play, Shelley Delaney guides the audience through the story as older Jane, sharing her life story with us as it unfolds. Scott Wise directs, and Douglas Levine returns to the PICT stage with an original music score. Gianni Downs and Andrew David Ostrowski bring the world to life through set and lighting.
The production also features Christine Clark, Julia Concolino, James FitzGerald, Lisa Ann Goldsmith, Jeremy Hois, Jenna Lanz, Larry John Meyers, Catherine Moore, Joel Ripka, Laurel Schroeder, Anna Van Valin, and Kate Young.
Single tickets are on sale now, and are available by calling ProArtsTickets at 412.394.3353 or by clicking here.
December 3 - 20, 2009
The Charity Randall Theatre in the Stephen Foster Memorial, Oakland
SPECIAL STUDENT MATINEES - December 2 and 8 at 10 a.m.!!
Sep 22 2009
We had a great party at the Harp and Fiddle on Thursday night, sharing drinks, great food, and our ambitious 2010 season with PICT friends and supporters. Themed "Dreams and Nightmares," PICT will share with Pittsburgh a world premier musical, a Shakespeare tragedy, a blow-out festival of the works of Harold Pinter, a holiday comedy, and the Storytellers Series.
PICT’s mainstage season begins in April, 2010 with the World Premier of Beautiful Dreamers, a music drama co-produced with Opera Theater of Pittsburgh, in association with the Stephen Foster Museum and Center for American Music and featuring the music of Pittsburgh’s own Stephen Foster. Beautiful Dreamers is written and directed by PICT associate artist Martin Giles, with musical arrangements by Douglas Levine. An epic human comedy, Beautiful Dreamers uses the great songs of Stephen Foster to help tell the story of a young man’s journey across mid-19th Century America and into the heart of the American Dream. Moses Walker, heart broken by love, sets off from New York on a journey West seeking love, self, freedom, and home. He finds companions along the way – a Virginia widow and a runaway slave – and together they cross mighty rivers, the Great Plains, the Rocky and Sierra mountains, and come to the shining Pacific. They find the Oregon Trail and the Badlands of the Dakotas. They meet Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson and Sam Clemens, soldiers and Indians, rabid ghosts, stolid homesteaders, bitter 49ers, burlesque acts, and a fringe religious sect. They experience love and loss, humor, passion and death – the making of a Nation in a landscape of dreams. The cast includes Stephanie Riso and Kevin Brown. Beautiful Dreamers previews April 15th and 16th, opens April 17th, and runs through May 1st in the Charity Randall Theatre. Special 10 a.m. student matinees are scheduled for April 14th and April 20th.
Sep 08 2009
“Dostoevsky paints like Rembrandt, and his portraits are artistically so powerful and often so perfect that even if they lacked the depths of thought that lie behind them, and around them, I believe that Dostoevsky would still be the greatest of all novelists.”
Andrè Gide
Tech week is upon us at PICT, and we are all busy putting the finishing touches on Crime and Punishment! We hav
e a student matinee tomorrow at 10 a.m., and begin public performances with the first preview on Thursday at 8 p.m.
Lighting designer Jim French and scenic designer Gianni Downs have created a spare, bold world for the production, which takes place in the intimate Henry Heymann Theatre. The dreamlike atmosphere is a haunting environment in which Raskolnikov must come to terms with the consequences of his actions. Joel Ripka, Larry John Meyers and Susan Goodwillie star.
Some performances had to be canceled due to the G-20 Summit, but two additional student matinees and a week of public performances were added to compensate! The full performance schedule is available on the PICT website, www.picttheatre.org – or click on http://www.picttheatre.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=35&Itemid=3
Seating is limited, and tickets are available by calling ProArtsTickets at 412.394.3353 or visiting http://www.proartstickets.org/events/view/331
Aug 13 2009
Rehearsals begin next week for Crime and Punishment, and we couldn't be more excited! The adaptation (by Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus) is a fast-paced, 90-minute thrill ride through the mind of a most unlikely murderer, and features Joel Ripka, Larry John Meyers, and Susan Goodwillie. It is directed by Matthew Gray.
Due to conflicts with the G20 summit, the performance dates have changed. Crime and Punishment will now run from September 10 through October 3; previously scheduled performances on September 23, 24 and 25 are cancelled. The full calendar is available on the PICT website, www.picttheatre.org. CLICK HERE FOR THE SEPTEMBER CALENDAR PAGE.
Joel Ripka plays the student Raskolnikov. A graduate of Point Park University, Ripka's PICTcredits include Pride and Prejudice, The School for Scandal, and Thomas Kilroy's Henry.
Porfiry is played by Larry John Meyers. A PICT veteran, Meyer's credits over the past few seasons include Dublin Carol and King Lear last season, Stuff Happens and Julius Caesar in 2007, and Endgame and other productions in BeckettFest in 2006.
Susan Goodwillie plays Sonia. A CMU graduate, Goodwillie was previously seen in PICT's production of Hedda Gabler.
Aug 13 2009
With six shows down and nine to go, tickets for The History Boys are flying off the proverbial shelves and setting sales records for PICT! One of the appeals of the show is the ensemble of young men who make up "The Boys," and we're lucky to have eight fantastic young actors working in our production with a group of stage veterans playing the teachers.
As a unit, the boys are smart, energetic, funny and charming - and so are the actors playing them. Six of the eight were trained at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon or Point Park Universities, and the other two went to Allegheny College and Ohio University. From Carnegie Mellon, we have current students Arya Shahi (Akthar) and Eric Berryman (Lockwood), as well as alums Jarid Faubel (Rudge) and Ethan Saks (Crowther). Point Park gives us alum Dave Droxler (Dakin) and current student John Wascavage (Posner). Corey O'Connor is an Allegheny College student (but a Pittsburgh native), and Andy Lutz gradated from Ohio University in Athens.
With no prior connection to Pittsburgh, Lutz (pictured left, with Dave Droxler) is the only "boy" who is new to local theatregoers. If you traveled to New York to see the acclaimed production of A Man for All Seasons on Broadway, you might have seen him (alongside Frank Langella, and PICT's King Lear, Dakin Matthews). Before moving to New York, he spent a season as an acting intern at Actors Theater of Louisville, where he performed in the Humana Festival. Though Lutz has no prior Pittsburgh ties, he claims that he has been won over by Primanti Brothers, Tessaro's, and The Mattress Factory!
photo by Suellen Fitzsimmons. Standing, left - Eric Berryman and Ethan Saks; seated on the floor, front - Jarid Faubel, John Wascavage, and Arya Shahi; seated, middle - Linda Kimbrough, Martin Giles, Sam Redford, Corey O'Connor; Standing, back - Bernard Cuffling, Andy Lutz.
Header photo by Gianni Downs - left to right - Andy Lutz, Corey O'Connor, Bernard Cuffling, Arya Shahi, Jarid Faubel, John Wascavage, Ethan Saks, and Eric Berryman.
Jul 22 2009
Reviewers and patrons are raving about our current production, John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer and Tony-Award-winning masterpiece, Doubt!
Starring Kate Young, David Whalen, Meghan Heimbecker and Maria Becoates-Bey, and playing in the intimate Henry Heymann Theatre, this production is blowing critics away. Click on the names to read full articles! (photos by Suellen Fitzsimmons)
"I don't see how anyone could turn in a better, more nuanced and perfectly understated performance than the one Kate Young turns in here."
-- Ted Hoover, Pittsburgh City Paper
"PICT has mounted a first-rate production with clear direction, good casting, and excellent design which will leave you no doubt that you're seeing something special."
-- John Glass, Washington D.C.'s Dramaurge
"Young and Whalen are evenly matched and not afraid of revealing the humans beneath the religious garb, which makes their struggle more intriguing...This solidly produced, solidly acted drama will continue to intrigue and engage you long after you've left the theater."
-- Alice Carter, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
"Point Park grads Meghan Heimbecker and Maria Becoates-Bey bring equal depth and believability to supporting roles. And director Jeffrey M. Cordell has kept everyone's pacing just right, while also developing legitimate laughs in the early parts of the play."
-- Gordon Spencer, WRCT's "Best of Broadway"
Doubt runs through August 1st in the Henry Heymann Theatre at the Stephen Foster Memorial, 4301 Forbes Ave. in Oakland. Tickets are available for all performances by calling ProArtsTickets at 412.394.3353 or online at www.proartstickets.org. For sold-out shows, a limited number of tickets are on sale at the box office before every performance. Visit the PICT website at www.picttheatre.org for more information!
Jun 12 2009
With professional relationships going back more than a decade, veteran Pittsburgh performers Martin Giles, Helena Ruoti and Douglas Rees have quite a history together. These former Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Performers of the Year make great use of the chemistry that has developed between them for their current show, Joe Orton's sex farce, What the Butler Saw.
First brought together as a trio for Pittsburgh Public Theater's production of All the Rage, Rees, Giles and Ruoti came back together again for City Theatre Company's 2002 production of Fuddy Meers. Butler marks the third show that includes the three. When you add the shows that they have done in pairs an impressive list develops:
Douglas Rees and Martin Giles:
for PICT:
The School for Scandal
Travesties
for City Theatre Company:
Gross Indecency
Temptation
Douglas Rees and Helena Ruoti:
for City Theatre Company:
Marriage Minuet
for Pittsburgh Public Theatre:
Night of the Iguana
Helena Ruoti and Martin Giles:
For PICT:
The Seagull
Hamlet
A Woman of No Importance
Rock 'n' Roll
What the Butler Saw is currently in previews, and runs though July 27. Tickets range from $48 to $17, and are available by calling ProArtsTickets at 412.394.3353 or CLICKING HERE
For more information from the PICT website, CLICK HERE.
May 22 2009
I've been reflecting this afternoon on the interconnectedness of things. (... it's Friday.) This weekend, PICT is hosting a panel discussion in conjunction with "Rock 'n' Roll" - "Communism, Capitalism, Socialism: Theory and Practice". (It's at 5 p.m. on Saturday in the Henry Heymann Theatre, which is located on the lower level of the Stephen Foster Memorial. It's FREE and open to the public! No need for reservations, just show up.) One of the panelists is Dr. Nancy Condee, whose brother was my advisor in graduate school in Ohio. (He's still one of my most respected mentors, and I am currently foster-parenting his dog.) It will be great to meet the sister of the man who taught me that Ibsen is cool and Strindberg, though insane, was a genius. Dr. Nancy Condee is an associate professor in the Slavic department at the University of Pittsburgh. She will be joined on the panel by Dr. James Burnham of the Donahue School of Business at Duquesne University (and a distinguised service professor of finance); and Dr. Julia Gray, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Pittsburgh.
The other interesting tid-bit connected to PICT and this weekend concerns the reading of "Temptation" that I'm directing for the Storytellers Series. (7 p.m. on Sunday night in the Heymann - all seats $15 - call ProArts at 412.394.3353 or get tkts at the door). I knew that Martin Giles, who is reading the role of Fistula, played the same role in a production of the play at City Theatre a number of years ago. What I just learned is that Doug Rees (who is in town to play Dr. Prentice in our upcoming production of What the Butler Saw) was also in that production, as was PICT regular and fantastic local actor Larry John Meyers.
Rock 'n' Roll continues this weekend and runs through May 30th. You can see Helena Ruoti (at left in photo by Suellen Fitzsimmons, with Joshua D. Kiley in the background) in Rock 'n' Roll, and alongside Martin Giles and Doug Rees in What the Butler Saw in June.
May 13 2009
Above: Joshua D. Kiley as Syd Barrett, the Piper. Photos by Suellen Fitzsimmons.
Tom Stoppard is an intelligent man. So intelligent that many people I know are intimidated by his plays and avoid them. It's too bad - they're missing out on some of the most heartfelt, passionate, enjoyable storytelling the late 20th/early 21st century has to offer. (The man DID write - and win an Oscar for - "Shakespeare in Love" after all!) I used to be one of those people. I always thought that Stoppard was one of those annoying writers who liked to parade his intellect about, showing the rest of us how smart he is (and, correspondingly, how dumb the rest of us are). I was wrong. And I've missed out on many potentially brilliant opportunities to see Stoppard in production because of my misconceptions.
"Rock 'n' Roll" is a great chance for Pittsburghers to experience vibrant, exciting Stoppard. It's a wonderful "first-timer" vehicle, filled with universal questions about life, death, love, hope - and music. Politics ARE an important part of the play - specifically the rise and fall of communism between 1968 and 1989/90 in Czechoslovakia. But you don't need to know the history before you take your seat, because everything you need to know to "get" the play is there in the text, the projections that accompany the production, and even the music.
Especially the music. Stoppard specifically scripted the soundtrack into the play, with stage directions like "Blackout - 'Astronomy Domine' by Pink Floyd picking up thirty seconds in". Music essentially becomes another actor, supporting the story and revealing more than just passage of time. Pink Floyd is one of the most important bands Stoppard features, and Floyd founder Syd Barrett is a character on stage. Appearing as "the piper", he is the symbolic heart of the play, the soul of the music, the great god Pan representing the spirit of an era that may be gone. Barrett's absence haunted the remaining members of Pink Floyd long after his departure from the group, and a remembrance of things past and a connection to history haunts the characters in "Rock 'n' Roll."
The Plastic People of the Universe are another band that is central in the play. A real Czech band (still playing! we have their tee shirts and cd's available in the lobby!) the Plastics had numerous run-ins with the communist government and the secret police before they came to the attention of the Western press. Not concerned with politics, they just wanted to do their own thing and play their music. The Communist regime didn't like their long hair, or their disaffected attitude towards society, and eventually imprisoned them (along with some of their supporters).
Other great music featured includes Bob Dylan, The Velvet Underground, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, The Doors, Lou Reed, Grateful Dead, and U2.
Rock 'n' Roll runs through May 30 in the Henry Heymann Theatre at the Stephen Foster Memorial on Forbes Ave. in Oakland. Tickets are available through ProArtsTickets by calling 412.394.3353 or CLICK HERE TO BUY ON LINE.
"Rock 'n' Roll" is directed by Andrew S. Paul, and features Valentina Benrexi, Simon Bradbury, Anwen Darcy, Jarrod DiGiorgi, Tami Dixon, Martin Giles, Joshua D. Kiley, Gabriel King, Diana Ifft, Sam Redford, Helena Ruoti and Sam Tsoutsouvas.
Scenic Design - Narelle Sissons; Costume Design - Erin Collins Rittling; Lighting Design - Jim French; Sound Design - Elizabeth Atkinson; Dialects - Natalie Baker Shirer.
Visit PICT's website for more information on "Rock 'n Roll," and the entire 2009 Season - New and Ideal!
Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre. Great Stories. Well Told
(Photo Left - Helena Ruoti as Esme and Anwen Darcy as Alice.)