Point Park University and its main performing venue, Pittsburgh Playhouse, will be widening its footprint in the upcoming 2021-22 season through partnerships.
It actually began Thursday night with the debut of the Inside/Outside Summer Music Festival. It was the first time that PPU opened the garage door connecting the mid-sized Highmark Theater (one of three) with its Forbes Avenue patio. The effect was beyond expectations and a large crowd turned out to sample light bites, free drinks and exuberant jazz by Pittsburgh Piano Celebration. The series, with groups like Chatham Baroque, MCG Jazz and more, continues through July 30 and will undoubtedly add a cool vibe to the central part of town. All for only $10 and a great way to check out the facility, if you haven’t yet done so.
Garfield Lemonius, Pittsburgh Playhouse artistic director and Conservatory of the Performing Arts (COPA) acting dean, announced the new season after an introduction by Drew Martorella, Playhouse managing director.
Playhouse Presents
PPU will add a new performing arm entitled Playhouse Presents: The Artists Series, which it’s calling “innovative and inspirational.” It’s also remarkably diverse and well-balanced. First on tap is “And So We Walked,” with DeLanna Studi, a Cherokee performance artist and activist who will relate the story of “an incredible 900-mile journey along the Trail of Tears.” (Oct. 23) Cleveland’s Dancing Wheels follows, a company that integrates dancers with and without disabilities. (Nov. 6) Bring on yuletide cheer with Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra’s Holiday Concert (Dec. 22), the welcome the new year via Paul Taylor Dance Company, one of the most popular and iconic modern dance companies around. (Jan. 29) A black actor explores the connections between Shakespeare and contemporary racism in “American Moor.” (Feb. 16-20) And the season concludes with Resistance Revival Chorus, a group consisting of more than 60 women and non-binary singers guaranteed to interact with and uplift its audience. (Apr. 3)
Conservatory of Performing Arts: Dance
Much of the interrupted, yet impressive 2020 season will return. The main stage, PNC Theater, will feature a terrific Winter Dance Concert with New York City Ballet choreographer Justin Peck, Princess Grace Choreographic Fellowship awardee Penny Saunders, the prolific Camille A. Brown (Tony winner, Bessie Award) and PPU faculty member Jason McDole, who performed with Twyla Tharp, David Parsons and Lar Lubovitch. (Dec. 15-19) In the Spring Dance Concert will be historic, with works by ballet master George Balanchine, jazz master Bob Fosse, hip hop master Rennie Harris and modern dance master Martha Graham (Apr. 20-24). A strong line-up in Contemporary Choreographers will include Slippery Rock University hip hop professor Teena Marie Custer, rising ballet choreographer Norbert De La Cruz III, Emmy winner and So You Think You Can Dance choreographer Al Blackstone and international ballet choreographer Jessica Lang (October 13-17). To fill out the season, the Faculty ChoreLab will highlight work by staff members (Feb. 16-20) and students will show their talents in Fall Student Choreography Project (Nov. 10-14) and Spring Student Choreography Project (Mar. 23-27).
Conservatory of Performing Arts: Theater
The theater program will include two musicals, the award-winning musical mystery, “Curtains” (Oct. 13-17), and the Tony Award-winning rock musical, “Spring Awakening” (Mar. 16-20). Plays will include “Little Children Dream of God,” the dark yet hopeful tale of a Haitian immigrant, and Lillian Hellman’s classic, “The Children’s Hour.” One production is still in development (Dec. 8-19), but Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Angels in America” will provide a sweeping finish (Apr. 6-17).
For more information, visit https://playhouse.pointpark.edu.
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