Roving Pittsburgher Report, 2017-2018 PNC Broadway Pittsburgh Season Line Up of Musicals

2017-2018 PNC Broadway Pittsburgh

Season Line Up of Musicals

The PNC Foundation joined the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust on Monday, March 20, 2017 at the Byham Theatre to introduce its 2017-2018 season lineup of Broadway musicals that will be performed at various theatres throughout the Pittsburgh Cultural District.  The theme, “Your Wish is Granted” couldn’t be further from the truth, because you just had to be there to witness the roar of the crowd as the following musicals were announced: 

School of Rock – NY Times Critics’ Pick and an “inspiring jolt of energy, joy and mad skillz!” (Entertainment Weekly).  Based on the hit film, this musical follows the adventures of Dewey Finn a wannabe rock star posing as a substitute teacher who turns a class of straight-A students into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping, mind-blowing rock band.  The musical includes 14 new songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber and includes all the original songs from the movie and musical theatre’s first-ever kids rock band playing their instruments live on stage.  – Playing October 17-22, 2017 at Benedum Center.

The Color of Purple – Winner of 2016 Tony Awards and Best Musical Revival.  Hailed as “direct hit to the heart” (The Hollywood Reporter), this American classic is directed by Tony winner John Doyle as a soul-raising score of jazz, gospel, ragtime and blues, and is a Pulitzer Prize-winning story about a young woman’s journey to love and triumph in the American South.  Martina Sykes belted out an amazing solo performance of theme song “I’m Here.” – Playing November 14-19, 2017 at Benedum Center.

Love Never Dies – If you loved Phantom of the Opera, then you won’t want to miss this musical!  Cited by Chris Boyd in The Australian as “the best thing Lloyd Webber has written in the quarter century since Phantom of the Opera,” this musical takes the audience on a roller-coaster ride of intrigue, obsession, and romance back to 1907, just 10 years after the Phantom disappeared from the Paris Opera House to live among the screaming joyrides and freak shows of Coney Island, NY.  In this new electrically charged world he finds a place for his music to soar but never stops yearning for his one true love and musical protégée, Christine Daae.  Jazmine Gorzline gave a stunning solo performance of the theme song, “Love Never Dies.” – Playing January 4-7, 2018 at Benedum Center.

The Bodyguard –  Based on the smash-hit film, this musical stars Grammy Award-nominee and R&B superstar Deborah Cox plays Rachel Marron of “Rachel Marron and Company.”  Former secret service agent Frank Farmer is hired as a bodyguard to protect Rachel from an unknown stalker.  Each expects to be in charge but they don’t expect to fall in love.  The musical boasts irresistible classic hits including Queen of the Night; So Emotional; One Moment in Time; Saving All My Love; Run to You; I Have Nothing; I Wanna Dance with Somebody; and I Will Always Love You.  If only Whitney Houston could grace us with her presence today by singing solo for this musical; sure to be a smash hit! – Playing February 27-March 4, 2018 at Benedum Center.

Waitress – This winner of 4 Tony Awards hit musical features original music and lyrics by 6-time Grammy nominee Sara Bareilles (“Brave,” “Love Song”), a book by acclaimed screenwriter Jessie Nelson (I Am Sam) and directed by Tony Award winner Diane Paulus (Pippin, Finding Neverland).  Inspired by Adrienne Shelly’s beloved film, Waitress portrays the story of Jenna, a waitress and pie maker who dreams of a way out of her small town and loveless marriage.  Will Jenna be able to muster the strength and courage to rebuild her own life?  Let the audience be the judge!  Charity Dossen gave a joyous solo performance of the hit song, “I Didn’t Plan It.” – Playing March 6-11, 2018 at Benedum Center.

Rent – This 1996 original rock musical, a Pulitzer Prize & Tony Award-winning masterpiece first opened on Broadway by a little-known composer, Jonathan Larson, and will be coming to Pittsburgh next year during its 20^th anniversary touring production.  Rent is bound to attract audiences across generations and around the world, as it forever changed the landscape of American theatre.  A re-imagining of Puccini’s La Boheme, Rent tells the story, over a one-year period, in the lives of seven artists struggling to follow their dreams without selling out.  Rent will deliver an inspiring message of joy and hope in the face of fear, celebrating friendship and creativity that reminds us to measure our lives with the only thing that matters most: Love. – Playing March 27-April 1, 2018 at Heinz Hall.

Aladdin – Hailed by USA Today as “Pure Genie-Us,” this hit Broadway musical features all your favorite songs from the film and includes new music written by Tony and Academy Award winner Alan Menken (Newsies) with lyrics by the legendary Howard Ashman (Beauty & the Beast), Tony Award winner Tim Rice (The Lion King, Aida), and book writer Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer).  Directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, Something Rotten!), this musical also boasts behind-the-scenes expertise from Tony Award winners Bob Crowley (Mary Poppins), Gregg Barnes (Kinky Boots), and Natasha Katz (An American in Paris).  Jacob Dickey gave a heart-rendering solo performance of the hit song, “Proud of Your Boy.”  – Playing August 21-September 9, 2018 at Benedum Center.

Season Specials

Season ticket holders can secure the best seats at the best price to the following added attractions before they go on sale to the general public by swapping out of one season show or purchasing the shows separately.  Season ticket holders are permitted to swap tickets from one season show to another, or to one of the specials below: 

(NOTE: Season specials are not part of the season ticket package.)

Motown - The Musical (The Songs. The Sound. The Story.) – Playing November 21-26, 2017 at Benedum Center.

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! – The Musical – Playing December 19-24, 2017 at Heinz Hall.

Wicked – The Musical (Returns to Pittsburgh, with a special show for the Autism Audience) – Playing January 24-February 11, 2018 at the Benedum Center.

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” – Playing May 22-27, 2018; Heinz Hall.

Coming in the 2018-2019 Season

Just when the audience thought this was the end of announcements for the upcoming season of musical Broadway entertainment to be embellished, the PNC Foundation and Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announced a preview of what’s ahead in 2018-2019:

Hamilton – An American Musical – Season ticket holders from the 2017-2018 season will have first access to Hamilton when they renew their subscription for 2018-2019.  Playing at Benedum Center; Dates to be Announced.

Clearly, Pittsburgh is the prime destination for Broadway entertainment, and the PNC Foundation and Pittsburgh Cultural Trust are delighted to offer multiple venues for these musicals in the upcoming season.  If the roar of the crowd at this preview was any indicator, then what’s in store can only be described as a fulfillment of wishes for the best that Broadway has to offer without even traveling to New York City!

For more information, contact the Pittsburgh Trust for Cultural Resources, Benedum Center, 719 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222; www.trustarts.org/broadway.

Submitted by Randi Koenig, Roving Pittsburgher Reporter; March 21, 2017

Randi Koenig is the PPLMag Events Calendar Co-ordinator and a Roving Pittsbugher Reporter. You can check out her very extensive coverage for local events and what's happening in Pittsburgh at:  PPLMag Calendar.  She is an independent marketing and sales professional who specializes in working with non-profits and is an excellent net worker and promoter of  http://www.positivelypittsburghlivemagazine.com .  She is also an excellent marketing and promotional writer as  you can see from this Roving Pittsburgher Report

The Roving Pittsburgher Report is one of sixteen good news segments on the PositivelyPittsburghLive podcast and is one of the good news pages on http://pplmag.com, Pittsburgh's First Internet Radio and TV Network and Pittsburgh's Premiere Podcasting Portal.

Roving Pittsburgher Report CATS, Benedum Theater A FOUR STAR MEOW

CATS, Benedum Theater

A FOUR STAR MEOW

JoAnn R. Forrester, Empress of Biz. 

Elizabeth Stanley as Grizabella

Millions of people have seen Cats since 1981 and have just purred over the Jellicle cats and their salute to immortality.  The performance of this weekend at the Benedum Theatre was purrfect.  The audience was immediately in love with the performance from the very talented Broadway quality cast.  They were singing joyfully and dancing exuberantly.  In a nonstop musical acrobatic, twisting, somersaulting, cartwheeling performance that put permanent paw prints of joy into everyone hearts. 

We all know the  favorites Mr. Mistofeles' and 'Memories'., but

Jenna Nicole Schoen as Demeter, Lily Emilia Smith
as Jellylorum and Ashley Chasteen as Bombalurina

wait what about Old Deuteronomy,  Grizabella, the Glamour Cat, once a real looker and now a faded raggedy cat…and MaCavity the bad boy cat.  All amazing performances and a musical wonder to see

Andrew Lloyd Weber musical masterpiece will go on forever just based on the music, memorable songs and outstanding  choreography, with the wonderful them of  presenting  the captivating story of the Jellicle cats

. 

My view of the play was fantastic.  We were seated in the Directors Circle, second floor.  Where we could look down at the

Will Porter as Mungojerrie and
Mara Newbery as Rumpleteazer

performance and just soak up the energy that flew up from the stage. Amidst that incredible view I found myself developing a different perspective.  In the midst of all the joy and exuberance I was reflexing on the tales of the cats and their possible human counterparts.  There are people I know who, I could swear their lives were being portrayed right on stage…for better or worse. 

Ken Prymus as Old Deuteronomy

Hmmm….I wonder if anyone asked the shows originators who were the models for your cats?   

Anyways, as always excellent quality from the Pittsburgh CLO and Kudos to all those who work so hard to bring the best of the musical theater to our part of the world.  We are so fortunate to have you.

And as a human being who is owned by Ginger the Cat…I am instructed to tell you the rating is a four meow rating…the highest praise a cat will give.

Written By: JoAnn R. Forrester

Host of Empress of Biz

Anchor Internet Radio Show on PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com

JoAnn R. Forrester is co-host of the Empress of Biz Talkcast and co-founder, president and partner in S. I. Business Associates, Small Business Solutions, LLC and Celebrate and Share. She is an entrepreneur, writer, business growth specialist, teacher, columnist and award winning writer. JoAnn specializes in helping small businesses grow and prosper. She is the co-developer of the PRICE IT PERFECT™ cost management system for small business, and has secured over 40 million dollars in loans and investment for her clients.

For more information visit Empress of Biz on PPLmag.com

Priscilla Rocks, No, Discos the Benedum

Priscilla Rocks, No, Discos the Benedum
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
March 5-9
Benedum Center
7:30 pm

                                                By Tamar Cerafici                                              

I hate March. March has a special, dark place in my heart that makes the knives in my house look particularly interesting, and not in a good way.

And when one wakes up to the white hellscape known as the North Hills and she has 6 inches of heavy spring snow to clear, she tempted to crawl back into the warm comfort of her bed and not come out until June. (I have to distance myself and speak in the third person this time of year.)

The bus, the queens, paint brush number

That is, unless one has the raucous fabulousness of Priscilla Queen of the Desert still ringing in her ears and creating microseizures in her brain. After last night’s performance, this morning’s heavy snow is a white wonderland, perfectly suited for memories of a pink bus and dancing paintbrushes.

Priscilla tries awfully hard to be a party from start to finish. Just to make sure we get the point, we’re occasionally bombarded with disco effects and party streamers. The trick succeeds, mostly. 

The show is based on the mid-90’s Australian offering, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Like others in the genre (think of Strictly Ballroom or Muriel’s Wedding) the movie boasts a thin plot line exploring the lives of outsiders who find their own place in the scorching Australian sun.

The DIVAS

This particular sun shines on three performers, the young drag queens Tick and Adam, and their transsexual mentor, Bernadette. Tick, who has a wife named Marion and a kid named Benji in Alice Springs, hatches a plot to see his 6-year-old son. Tick enlists Adam and Bernadette to join him on the promise of a gig at Marion’s casino. Since none of them can afford plane tickets to the Outback, they journey west in renovated bus purchased from three Swedes named Lars. During the road trip, they come to terms with their own loneliness and sexuality, and confront the bigotry of the hicks, and find security and even love. That’s about it. They reach Alice Springs, they’re a hit, and Benji helps Tick understand that a family is often just a hodgepodge of people who love each other. You know, the usual.

But these performances are anything but usual:

Three Divas (Emily Afton, Bre Jackson, and Brit West) literally fly in and out of the show like a Greek Chorus, if a Greek Chorus belted dance tunes suspended 25 feet in the air. Crazy, but glorious.

Tick, Adam and Bernadette, oh the costumes!

Wade McCollum (Tick) does his best with a character. Unfortunately, he really doesn’t have much to work with – to be fair, Tick is one of those types who lets “I dare not” wait upon “I would.” Tick is really more of a confused little boy, who stays a confused little boy until his relationship with Benji anchors him. McCollum’s voice is as sweet as his character, when he’s not lip-syncing to the Divas. 

But Tick emerges as a reluctant hero who modifies the extremes of Adam (Bryan West), the rebel escaping from his conservative and wealthy mother, Bernadette (Scott Willis), who has found her place and is content, and the chorus of Outback hillbillies.

Bryan West dominates the show as Adam and his alter ego, Felicia. West humanized Adam, whose lines are a string of bitchy quotes, and in doing so treats us to several fine covers of Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, and Verdi (his Violetta is literally over the top). Scott Willis’s Bernadette grounds his co-stars; his calm baritone and rock-solid acting give us permission to become emotionally invested in these characters. Bernadette desperately wants someone to care for her; Willis wins us over immediately.

In addition,the supporting cast is raunchy and funny and horrifying. Joe Hart’s Bob is heartfelt and sincere. Chelsea Zeno’s turn as Bob’s Filipino wife is worth the price of admission – she literally steals one of the many shows within the show, introducing a jarring punk vibe and a wickedly funny trick involving ping-pong balls.  Babs Rubenstein is unstoppable as the sex-starved, mullet-headed pub-keeper. The Ensemble is always strong and fun to watch. Each member plays their many parts with gusto; clearly they’re having a lot of fun. 

The hillbilly ensemble

Oh, the staging! The costumes! The bus is the center of all activity and is gorgeous. The set designers, stuck with and Australian Outback represented mainly by red screens, went to town on the bus. Any money saved on scenery was lavished on the costumes, which retained the Oscar-winning verve of the movie.

Finally, plumed-headdresses off to the remarkable off-stage army of costume changers who must coordinate this bacchanalia every night. Um, wow!

Unlike its bus namesake, Priscilla moves at lightning speed. Anyone caught under it should be ready to dance their way out, ‘cause this groove train ain’t stopping. 

I think I can stop hiding the knives – summer is only a bus ride away, as long as the bus is pink, and named Priscilla.

Tamar Cerafici is an environmental lawyer whose national practice includes nuclear power and sustainable development consulting. She is the author of “Dominate: How Lawyers Crush Their Competition (with these 4 Powerhouse Marketing Techniques),” and the founder of The-Barefoot-Barrister.com as well as LegalShoe, and The Lawyer’s New Clothes, new media channels on PositivelyPittsburghlivemagazine.com that teach lawyers how to build enterprises and find balance in their practices without selling their souls.

What a Feeling! Flashdance, Musical Variety at its Best!

What a Feeling!

Flashdance, Musical Variety at its Best!

by Good News Reviewer, Joanne Quinn-Smith

Wow, what a feeling!   It has been a long time since I saw such an intense musical where the large cast and the solos, duos, trios and ensembles were all energetic, passionate and well choreographed.  Our personal favorite, Rachelle Rack’s “I Love Rock n Roll was FIERCE!  Although Alex (Emily Padgett), an 18-year-old welder at a steel mill in Pittsburgh as the heroine  made up the bulk of the story,  the three front line gals were phenomenal and a couple of times almost stole the show.  And this is not just because Rochelle Rack is from Pittsburgh.  

Alex also dances at a bar, fully clothed, along with her dance buddies Kiki (DeQuina Moore), Gloria (Kelly Felthous) and Tess (Rachelle Rak).  Having frequented the go-go joints with male buddies in my younger years I must tell you that all three of these gals would have been driving their own porches even  dancing with their clothes on.  The dancing was enticing, erotic and yet artistic and even the men in the audience could not argue with that.  Kiki’s (DeQuina Moore) Manhunt routine could have rivaled Gypsy Rose Lee in her heyday.  Also Gloria’s (Kelly Felthous) solo before going to work at the infamous Chamelion Club was reminiscent of the Blaze Star era of big time burlesque bravado.

Alex in the musical is helped to get into the Shipley Dance Academy by her elderly mentor and teacher Hannah (JoAnn Cunningham).  For the classical crowd there is some nicely done ballet during Alex’s fantasies of attending Shipley.  For the older crowd JoAnn and Alex did a very palatable soft shoe.  Hannah’s character was delightfully feisty and the real deal as far as being a pioneer in the dance field and expressing the passion of dancers.  And there is even break dancing for the hip hop crowd.  Quite frankly something for everyone as in the returning genre of Variety entertainment experiencing a resurgence because of   such shows as America’s Got Talent. 

My question about the casting is why in the world the writers and directors saved David R. Gordon as Jimmy’s singing until the latter part of the show.  What an endearing sweet voice and so surprising considering the whimpiness of his character.   His song “Where I Belong” was moving and beautiful.

The multimedia technology of the scenery was extremely artistic and matched the fast pace of this ginormous  musical using brief dance interludes to distract at the changing of what appeared to be holographs.

I have one complaint, Alex’s solo before her audition was much more intense and energetic and passionate than the last audition solo.  The audition solo lacked energy and was anticlimactic but considering the pace and the number of times Alex appears in both solos and ensembles one is not surprised.  Also truly it is hard to compete with the original dance solo in the 80’s movie by the same name and both the choreographers and Alex’s character may have been limited by the size of the Heinz Hall stage.

However after working all day and just getting over the holiday I was concerned about entering what seemed to be a packed house on Thursday evening if I could stay awake.  Well the show kept me awake and then some.  And unlike some reviewers have hinted about the 80’s nostalgia and warm and fuzzy feelings, truth is even the famous Alex sweatshirt could not make me forget that this was a totally new, totally energized and artistic production.  Also for the sake of art, do see the show because Alex’s shower routine though far too brief is both classic and perfectly done.  The ensemble and cast are to be complemented for their passion and energy.  This is not sedate entertainment so be prepared to be energized and uplifted.  There is still time to see the show at Heinz Hall, 2 PM and 8 PM, Saturday, January 5 and 1 PM and 6:30 PM January 6, Sunday.  

Kudos to cast producers, our Pittsburgh heart throb Nick Hurley (Matthew Hydzik) for entertaining Pittsburgh with a chic movie turned musical that could have gone in any direction but the direction it went was amazing and delightful entertainment with a capital E.  It may have been the Pittsburgh backdrop and how Pittsburgher’s support both their sports artists and entertainers but I prefer to think this is Musical Variety Entertainment at its best.

Additional information and tickets at:

  http://trustarts.culturaldistrict.org/production/32848/flashdance

Radio Host and Serial Blogger, Joanne Quinn-Smith is the host of PositivelyPittsburghLive™ Internet Talkcast and TechnoGrannyShow™  On her shows, Joanne has interviewed over 1800 guests.  As an advocate for small Business, she was awarded the National Small Business Administration Journalist of the Year Award.  She is also the publisher of PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com which is a 2010 National Stevie Award finalist for best Media Website or Blog. PPL Mag features the GOOD NEWS, about Pittsburgh  and is  Pittsburgh’s First internet radio and TV network. PPL Mag attracted 2.25 million visitors last year.  Her radio network has accumulated over one million listeners. The Creative Energy Officer of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates, Joanne also teaches her online media platform building to small businesses in a client personalized, “Web2.0 Gorilla Branding Training™”.  Connect with Joanne at:  http://joannequinnsmith.com