“Book of Mormon” tickets on sale Friday
It’s years since people — including people who don’t necessarily see much theater, let alone musicals — have been this excited about a touring show. Photo by Joan Marcus But The Book of Mormon is no ordinary musical comedy about two naïve missionaries plopped down in war-torn Uganda. Its irreverent, not to say scabrous pedigree…
Sign Language: City passes property-owner shaming bill — over Burgess’ objections
Earlier today, a measure to embarrass property owners who neglect their buildings sailed through city council. But not without an effort by one councilor, Ricky Burgess, to do some shaming of his own. Proposed by Bill Peduto, the measure requires city building inspectors to compile a list of the city’s 10 most blighted properties, as…
Outdoor ice rink at Station Square opens Friday
Penguins public skating venture inaugurates Highmark Stadium
UPMC opens food bank for struggling employees, misses point completely (UPDATED)
Employees of UPMC can no longer say that their employer hasn’t been listening to their concerns and addressing their needs. Since non-medical employees began seeking unionization earlier this year from SEIU, they have been telling the public about the low wages paid by the healthcare giant and how it affects their ability to make ends…
Heads Up: Morning headlines for Dec. 11 – UPDATED
Story of the day: Navy SEAL, and Norwin High School graduate, Nicholas D. Cheque is killed during a kidnap-rescue operation in Afghanistan. A straight-up hero who died in a heroic effort, and you’ll probably be hearing more about him in the days ahead. But this Post-Gazette piece starts to give the measure of the man.…
Lynn Cullen Live 12/11/12
Video Archive Guest: David DeAngelo, 2 Political Junkies; a little more info about the 2014 school curriculum changes; pulling out of Afghanistan; death of Monroeville soldier & other recently lost Afghan War soldiers; cyberterrorism; middle class looks bright for some countries; water wars; America: What a Life — new Russian bestseller; Christmas music; no creche…
CPRB hearing on “99” cars scheduled
The Citizen Police Review Board will hold a public hearing this week on the policies and procedures of deploying plainclothes “99 cars” by Pittsburgh Police. The hearing will take place from 6 to 8 p.m., Thursday, at Pittsburgh City Council Chambers, 5th Fl. City County Bldg., 414 Grant St., Downtown. Public comment is invited and…
Donations of tuna fish, personal care products can help local pantries
If you are looking to gather food to donate this holiday season, the CEO of the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank, Lisa Scales, recommends these items as those most in demand.
Heads Up; Morning headlines for Dec. 10
Story of the weekend: While actual Pennsylvanians went about their daily lives, here in Pennsylvania, our elected officials were whooping it up in New York City for the annual Pennsylvania Society gathering in the Waldorf Astoria. Apparently, at least one barroom brawl broke out, which to my mind is the sign of a successful party.…
Lynn Cullen Live 12/10/12
Video Archive PA spending billions on incentive programs; Obama going to Michigan today; Democrats need to vote in every election, not just presidential; new school curriculum to cut fiction reading in 46 states; origin of public education; reverse schooling; Oliver North book tours; Minnesota State coach wrongly accused of child pornography; wealthy people giving money…
Equality Pennsylvania releases statement on SCOTUS and same-sex marriage
Equality Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania’s LGBT-rights advocacy organization, released a statement this afternoon after the Supreme Court of the United States announced it would hear two cases on marriage equality, saying advocates must not “lose sight of the work that will continue at state level.” Pennsylvania has remained a generally unfriendly state legislatively to LGBT residents: It…
Potent “No Home No Job …” exhibit closing soon
Photographer Will Steacy’s massive collage work No Home No Job No Peace No Rest (its title taken from a Springsteen lyric) is worth a look at the Silver Eye Center before it closes Dec. 15. More in Program Notes.
“No Home No Job …” at Silver Eye
Potent exhibit on the dying American Dream closes Dec. 15
Supreme Court to hear same-sex marriage cases
The Supreme Court of the United States announced today it will hear two cases related to same-sex marriage. According to SCOTUSblog, which live-blogs Supreme Court hearings and actions, the court will rule on the constitutionality of Proposition 8 in California, and the constitutionality of Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which bars…
Tonight! Rubblebucket and Reptar at Mr. Small’s
Rubblebucket returns to Pittsburgh tonight
Stream This Ish: December 5 issue
Stream some tunes from the bands we wrote about in this week’s City Paper!
Braddock Library holiday sale
Yes, we know — everybody and his Handmade Arcade is doing their big holiday sale this weekend. But here’s one more — and it takes place at, and benefits, the Braddock Carnegie Library. The all-day sale features work by Braddock artist Victoria Hruska. Hruska, 91, is known for her decorative artworks made from repurposed materials,…
WAS SHERMAN HEMSLEY A MARTYR FOR THE TRUTH? A reader speaks out
One of the joys of working for a newspaper is receiving phone calls and letters from people who carry within them a body of secret knowledge. And one of the sorrows of working for a newspaper is not having a chance to share their messages with the wider world … a world that, in too…
Heads Up: Morning headlines for Dec. 7
Out Philadelphia way, there’s lots of buzz about how Allyson Schwartz may be gearing up to be the Democratic nominee who challenges Tom Corbett in the 2014 gubernatorial election. I’ve always been kinda agnostic on her, in part because she’s taken up the Jason Altmire (i.e. the “wrong”) position on some key elements of healthcare…
Lynn Cullen Live 12/07/12
Video Archive Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day; recent earthquake in Japan; unemployment rate down to 7.7% — lowest in over 4 years; unsettled times in the Middle East; Mitch McConnell looks like a muppet; Promised Land — new movie filmed in Pgh about fracking w/ Matt Damon, John Krasinski; gas drilling in Canada; Gasland & Truthland;…
County Councilor with ties to UPMC says she did not try to obstruct hearing on company’s tax-exempt status
Allegheny County Councilor Heather Heidelbaugh says she tried to keep public hearing on UPMC tax exempt status “on topic.”
Elementary
Message from the streets, Bloomfield
Locally recorded album gets Grammy noms
MCG Jazz gets two Grammy nominations for 2013.
Tonight’s Raul Malo concert at New Hazlett postponed
Just a quick heads-up: Drusky Entertainment has announced that the Raul Malo concert scheduled for tonight at the New Hazlett has been postponed due to illness. They’re working on rescheduling the show in 2013, but don’t have a date nailed down yet; we’ll update you when we know.
Amnesty International Write-a-thon on Monday
The local chapter of the global human-rights group holds its 27th annual letter-writing drive Monday. The three-hour Pittsburgh write-a-thon takes place, as usual, at Shadyside’s Calvary Episcopal Church. At the event, volunteers are supplied with information about human-rights abuses around the world (including the U.S.), from unjust laws to individual cases of imprisonment or persecution…
Lynn Cullen Live 12/06/12
Video Archive Guest: Tom Sokolowski; Obits: Elisabeth Murdoch, Rupert’s mum / Dave Brubeck, jazz musician / Jack Brooks, former TX congressman; Lynn & Tom’s “senior moments;” Ten Thousand Villages non-profit store; fire at Walmart factory in Bangladesh; our desire to have “stuff;” Long Beach clerical worker union dispute; Parade magazine, USA Today have gone downhill;…
CMU offers free arts events
Music and visual art mark the Celebration of the Arts program
Helping the Hollywood go digital, preserving the history of PA hardcore and more
Some locally-based crowdfunding projects that are currently underway.
First Night programming announced
Dirty Dozen Brass Band to ring in the new year
Heads Up: Morning headlines for Dec. 5
Allegheny County Council passes a budget … with a decrease to the property tax rate and a 7 percent cut to the county controller’s office. Guess who isn’t happy about that? Follow the link for more Chelsa Wagner/Rich Fitzgerald follies. On the environmental front, Jan Jarrett flays the Corbett administration for not really understanding how…
Carnegie Mellon Drama’s Angels in America
ANGELS IN AMERICA: PART ONE — MILLENNIUM APPROACHES continues through Sat., Dec. 8. Philip Chosky Theater Carnegie Mellon campus Oakland. $18.50-29. 412-268-2407 or drama.cmu.edu Winning the Pulitzer, Tony and any other award a play can win, Tony Kushner’s Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes was nothing short of an earthquake when it…
Past Perfect
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has declared this Rick Sebak Week, to commemorate the local documentary filmmaker’s 25-year-long career. But perhaps the real testament to Sebak is this: After Ravenstahl’s announcement, you could hear some local politicos muttering about how this was just an effort to boost the mayor’s chances in next year’s election. And they weren’t…
Pittsburgh Irish & Classical’s The School for Lies
THE SCHOOL FOR LIES continues through Dec. 15. Charity Randall Theatre Stephen Foster Memorial Forbes Avenue at Bigelow, Oakland. $20-48. 412-561-6000 or picttheatre.org. It’s a cute idea: Take an English translation of The Misanthrope, by Molière, and make it “modern.” Keep the 300-year-old plot and the powdered wigs, but add cell phones, text-speak and a…
Short List: December 5 – 11
Spotlight: Sat., Dec. 8 — Fashion FashionAFRICANA has been holding annual events for 11 years but has never mounted it own exhibition. This year, co-founder and executive producer Demeatria Boccella curates Glamazonia, an exhibition centered on the work of Mario Epanya. The Paris-based fashion photographer was born in Cameroon and drew global attention in 2010…
12 Peers Theater’s Tick, tick … BOOM!
TICK, TICK … BOOM! continues through Sun., Dec 9. Grey Box Theatre 3595 Butler St. Lawrenceville. $15-20. 412-496-2194 or 12peerstheater.org Tick, tick … BOOM! is an odd choice for 12 Peers Theater, or perhaps for any company this far into the 21st century. Though originally staged in its current form in 2001, Boom is set…
E2
E2 5904 Bryant St., Highland Park. 412-441-1200 Hours: Dinner Tue.-Fri. 5-10 p.m.; Sat. 6-10 p.m.; brunch Sat.-Sun. 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Prices: Appetizers $8-12; entrees $13-25 Liquor: BYOB About three years ago, E2 (that’s “squared”) opened as an outpost of Enrico’s in the Strip. Under the direction of chef Kate Romane, the tiny dining room with…
Bricolage’s Midnight Radio: Cult Movie Classics
MIDNIGHT RADIO: CULT MOVIES continues through Sat., Dec 8. 937 Liberty Ave. Downtown. $15-25. 412-381-6999 or bricolagepgh.org Wrapping up its fourth season of Midnight Radio, Bricolage Production Co. pushes the boundaries of taste, humor and patience with Cult Movie Classics. Prepare to cringe, groan and pound the chairs (hey, they’re new) as you double over,…
Food Insecurities
Rose Mary Seals recounts the story of a 90-year-old neighbor who would run out of cash for food as it got close to the end of the month. “She would buy cat food, and she would eat cat food until she got her check,” says the 79-year-old Hill District resident. Others she knows just won’t…
Holy Motors
Holy Motors Directed by Leos Carax Starring: Denis Lavant, Edith Scob In French, with subtitles. Starts Fri., Dec. 7. Harris Holy Motors opens as a man (played by director Leos Carax) wanders from his bedroom through a secret entrance (opened by screwing his middle finger) into a theater, where he and we gaze out from…
Champagne bar Perlé welcomes novice and expert alike
“Everyone thinks that champagne is just for celebratory reasons — unless you’re of the upper echelon,” says Peter M. Landis, managing partner of Perlé, a champagne-and-tapas lounge in Downtown’s Market Square. Indeed, a quick glance at Perlé’s extensive menu of bubbly may well seem intimidating to the novice. Perlé boasts more than two dozen champagne…
Lynn Cullen Live 12/05/12
Video Archive Guest: Chris Potter; new City Paper out today; where is Jan Brewer?; Lincoln — 19th century version of The West Wing; Tennessee: abstinence-only sex-ed & gateway body parts; Sen. Campfield’s take on AIDS; TN cracking down on baggy pants; OK criminalizing human fetuses in food production; US Republicans against the Americans w/ Disabilities…
Brewing in Greater Pittsburgh author Robert Musson to visit town
BOOK SIGNING. 1 p.m. Sat., Dec. 8. Penn Brewery 800 Vinial St. North Side. 421-237-9402 Robert Musson didn’t grow up in Pittsburgh ― he hails from Akron, Ohio ― but as a teen-ager in the 1970s, he took an interest in the city. Not because of its dominant sports teams, mind you … but because…
A Royal Affair
If, like me, you know nothing about Denmark in the late 18th century, you’re in luck. That means the rather extraordinary historical events depicted in A Royal Affair will be new to you. If you’re just a sucker for any lavish costume drama, replete with illicit assignations and backstabbings, you’ve also picked a winner. Nikolaj…
Made in Pennsylvania
THE 2050 TOUR: WIZ KHALIFA, TAYLOR GANG. 7:30 p.m. Wed., Dec. 12. Consol Energy Center 1001 Fifth Ave. Uptown. $35. All ages. 412-642-1800 Brandon Glova’s career is a study in perseverance. When the Philadelphia native first came to the University of Pittsburgh in 1998, he applied to host a radio show at WPTS, the university’s…
The Call-Up
By DJ Bonics, as told to Rory D. Webb. See our companion piece, “Made in Pennsylvania.” ” [Kahlifa’s managers] Will [Dzombak] and Benjy [Grinberg] approached me and said they wanted a new DJ for Wiz. They had a three-month tour booked in fall and there was a single coming out called ‘Black and Yellow,’ but…
Rather Ripped re-opens in Lawrenceville
RATHER RIPPED RECORDS 4314 Butler St. Lawrenceville. Mon.-Thu., 11 a.m.-7 p.m. 412-353-3445 or ratherripped.com Unless you’re of a certain age and from a certain part of the country, the phrase “Rather Ripped” likely means one thing to you: the 2004 Sonic Youth album of that name. But if you were in Berkeley, Calif., in the…
CD Reviews
Fortified PhonetX The Plastic Eaters (Self-released) Pittsburgh hip-hop trio Fortified PhonetX’s album The Plastic Eaters is a release sure to satisfy the ears of hip-hop purists. Booming drums, heavy bass rhythms, sample loops, record-cutting scratches and aggressively proud-to-be-underground rhymes define this debut from the FPX crew. MCs Connect and Moemaw Naedon, along with DJ Blacklisted,…
Critics’ Picks: December 5 – 11
[ROCK] + FRI., DEC. 7 Last year, we profiled Steve Bodner of The Damaged Pies on the occasion of that band’s 25th anniversary. Tonight at Club Café, the band plays a show celebrating the release of a new documentary, Same Circus/Different Town, chronicling the anniversary show and the band in general. The movie screens (in…
More than 31 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS are not getting adequate treatment
Charles Christen knows not many cities have what Pittsburgh does in the way of resources for those living with HIV and AIDS. So it concerns him to think about the number of those who aren’t receiving adequate care. Based on statistics from the state Department of Health, 31 percent of those living in Southwestern Pennsylvania…
The Center for PostNatural History explores human-devised life-forms.
THE CENTER FOR POSTNATURAL HISTORY is open 6-8 p.m. Fri., Dec. 7 (and every first Friday) and noon-4 p.m. Sundays. 4913 Penn Ave. Garfield. postnatural.org Richard Pell’s photos, shot in the parking lot of a local Walmart, depict giant pumpkins. The gourds, submitted for a contest this fall, are boulder-sized, so heavy on the vine…
On the Record: A Conversation with Jessica Griffin Burke, a professor and researcher with University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health
On Dec. 3, medical researchers from across the region gathered at the University of Pittsburgh for a conference entitled “Health Across the Lifespan: Allegheny County 2012.” The goal of the conference, according to literature, was to discuss the state of the health of Allegheny County residents. Of particular note was a breakout session to discuss…
The Murphy/Smith Dance Collective celebrates a century of women’s social progress.
Murphy/Smith Dance Collective performs I AM WOMAN 8 p.m. Fri., Dec. 7. Pittsburgh Dance Center 4765 Liberty Ave. Bloomfield. $10. murphysmithdance.org “Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.” The line is from “The Good Wife’s…
Getting Schooled
Ever since Barack Obama’s health-care reforms were upheld by the Supreme Court, we’ve heard dire warnings about the chaos that will result. The guy who owns Papa John’s pizza, for one, sounded the alarm that providing health insurance to his workers could raise the price of a pizza … by 14 cents. To which the…
The translator of Roberto Bolaño’s work returns with his latest posthumous novel.
NATASHA WIMMER reads from Woes of a True Policeman 7:30 p.m. Sat., Dec. 8 (7 p.m. reception). City of Asylum/Pittsburgh 330 Sampsonia Way North Side. Free, by reservation only. 412-321-2190 or cityofasylumpittsburgh.org In Roberto Bolaño’s fictional world, writers are the vagabond heroes who partake in literary quests in search of other elusive writers. Now there…
Savage Love
Sometimes I kick the proverbial hornet’s nest intentionally, and sometimes I kick it accidentally. I honestly didn’t expect the outraged response I got after I wrote that poly wasn’t a sexual identity in the “sexual orientation” sense. Some people identify as poly, of course, just as some people identify as, say, dominant or submissive. While…
