Final Week for Quantum Theatre’s Madagascar
The company’s production of this intriguing play in a spectacular Downtown space recently had its run extended, and now has five more performances starting with tonight’s. More in Program Notes.
Final Week for Quantum Theatre’s Madagascar
Five performances of this drama remain through Saturday
McGinty wants full minimum wage for tipped workers
As the debate over raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour ramps up, Katie McGinty, Democratic candidate for Governor wants to make sure that food servers and other tipped workers don’t get forgotten in the discussion. On Monday, McGinty released a statement calling for the minimum wage for tipped workers — which currently…
Documentary on the Roots of Reggae Tonight
Rocksteady chronicles Jamaican cultural history and 2009 tribute concert
Lynn Cullen Live 02/18/14
Video Archive Stop complaining about winter, it’s only February; Jimmy Fallon’s 1st Tonight Show; earwax smell influenced by ethnicity; what can happen if Comcast monopolizes all TV + internet; little dogs live longer, what about humans?; NFL players make the police blotter as much as the sports pages; Callers: Clarence, Canonsburg / PJ, Greensburg /…
Lynn Cullen Live 02/17/14
Video Archive Is Presidents Day real?; competitive yoga doesn’t make sense; Woody Allen’s Manhattan hits a little too close to home; TN preventing VW plant workers to unionize; TJ Oshie killin’ it at the Olympics; Vietnam panel discussion; Callers: PJ, Greensburg / Joe / Unknown. Audio Only Archive
Pittsburgh joins local movement against domestic violence
On Valentine’s Day, Pittsburgh joined cities around the world for a day of action to end gender-based violence, as part of the One Billion Been Rising for Justice campaign. One Billion Rising March “We can end gender-based violence today,” said La’Tasha Mayes from New Voices Pittsburgh who helped organize the local event . “We have…
Author’s Story Collection Keys on Centralia
Tom Noyes explores decay — both personal and environmental — in his prize-winning short story collection, Come by Here.
Lynn Cullen Live 02/14/14
Video Archive Stood up by Potter on Valentine’s Day; energy: the need, the reluctance for alternative methods; consequences for messing with mother earth; switching from diesel to natural gas may do more harm to the environment; WSJ editorial: the cornerstone of a woman’s happiness is the man she marries; people who use umbrellas in the…
Downtown Rally Tomorrow to End Violence Against Women
March, rally and dance party part of global day of action
Lynn Cullen Live 02/13/14
Video Archive Obama is ready to binge watch True Detective; heartbreaking Pitt/Syracuse game; Lynn Cullen’s one-woman show to premiere this fall; PG-13 for…sensuality?; Darwin & Lincoln were born same day, same year; Obit: Sid Caesar, comedian; cab companies not thrilled about Lyft & Uber coming to Pittsburgh; TN threatening VW plant workers who want to…
Port Authority may finally have a solid financial future
For the first time in recent memory, the Port Authority isn’t asking itself how to explain that funding shortfalls require another round of service reductions or fare increases. Today, the agency released funding projections that show it will likely not reduce service or increase fares, but instead will be looking for ways to enhance service…
PUC planning crackdown of ride-share services Lyft, Uber
Coming to a city tow pound near you? Be advised, fledgling Pittsburgh Lyft and UberX drivers: The state’s Public Utilities Commission says it is working up a plan to cite you. This afternoon, PUC spokeswoman Jennifer Kocher told our intrepid freelance reporter Dan Sleva that the agency hasn’t “cited anyone yet, but we do have…
Bone marrow drive to honor local educator starts tonight
Over the next few days, a number of local entities including fraternities, sororities, UPMC , and Community College of Allegheny County will be hosting a series of bone marrow donor registry drives throughout southwestern Pennsylvania. The local drives are being hosted in memory of Dr. Rex Crawley, a former assistant dean at Robert Morris University…
NLRB trial against UPMC begins
After a few delays, UPMC’s trial on National Labor Relations Board allegations that it engaged in “unfair labor practices” against workers who attempted to unionize finally got underway Wednesday. Based on complaints from employees and labor union SEIU, the NLRB issued the complaint against UPMC last fall, accusing the healthcare giant of “threatening, interrogating, and…
Gloria
The eponymous protagonist of Gloria is a middle-aged woman, long divorced and getting by OK in her somewhat lonely life. Gloria (Paulina Garcia) has a job and a decent apartment in Santiago, Chile: In the evenings, she gets dressed up and goes dancing. One night at the nightclub, she meets Rodolfo (Sergio Hernandez), also middle-aged,…
The Lego Movie
“Everything Is Awesome” — that’s the theme song of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s computer-animated movie about a world made of Legos. It’s also the catchy, upbeat number played over loudspeakers throughout the Lego world to brainwash occupants into following the instruction manuals. People like builder Emmet Bricowski (voiced by Chris Pratt), the most generic…
A conversation with San Fermin’s Ellis Ludwig-Leone
SAN FERMIN with SON LUX. 8 p.m. Tue., Feb. 18. The Andy Warhol Museum, 117 Sandusky St., North Side. $15. 412-237-8300 or warhol.org If you caught San Fermin at Brillobox last October, you might not have noticed Ellis Ludwig-Leone: He stays behind the keyboards. But Ludwig-Leone, 24, is the mastermind of San Fermin. Shortly after…
Weeknight makes it work as a duo
WEEKNIGHT with NIC LAWLESS, ARCADE HIGH. 9 p.m. Sun., Feb. 16. Brillobox, 4104 Penn Ave., Bloomfield. $8. 412-621-4900 or brillobox.net “Production duo” has become one of those terms in the music press that is meant to imply everything but, in most cases, gets at nothing at all. For every Daft Punk or Air that the…
New Steubenville venue has more than music on its mind
There are plenty of reasons for musicians to know of Steubenville, Ohio, just a 35-minute drive west of Pittsburgh: Dean Martin hailed from there; it’s where the RZA spent youthful summers; and back in the day, Steubenville offered an alternative to Pittsburgh if a musician found himself or herself in the area on a Sunday.…
“Special Liquor Order” system expands state-store offerings
It’s easy to gripe about the state’s monopoly on wine and spirits. Maybe even too easy, at least where the selection is concerned. “The biggest misconception people have [of the system] is that when they go to the state store, they think that’s all that’s available in the state of Pennsylvania,” says Rob McCaughey, of…
Critics’ Picks: February 12 – 18
[AVANT GARDE] + THU., FEB. 13 To Pittsburgh rockers of a certain age, nothing says “love” quite like The Five and Carsickness, two of the city’s seminal ’80s punk bands. Tonight, former members of each hit the stage at Howlers to salute love in a show they’re referring to as “Get Your Heart On.” Steve…
Soup Sega still providing warm comfort after 15 years
For an idea that came to Patricia French in the middle of the night, Soup Sega has been quite a success. French, a longtime member of West Homestead’s Bulgarian-Macedonian National Educational and Cultural Center, had been looking for ways to raise money for the organization. “My husband died 25 years ago, but he always ate…
New Releases
The Rock-Run Retreat The Rock-Run Retreat (Self-released) For a local band to release a vinyl album is generally a pretty big deal. For a local band to release a gatefold double-LP is a drop-the-mic-and-walk-away moment. The Rock-Run Retreat presents 18 tracks of Americana country-rock here, often recalling The Band: steel guitars, high-and-low vocal harmonies, catchy…
A conversation with comedian Eugene Mirman.
EUGENE MIRMAN with Derrick Brown and Tim Sedwick. 7 p.m. Fri., Feb. 14. Rex Theater, 1602 E. Carson St., South Side. $15-17. 412-381-6811 or rex.greyareaprod.com These days, being a comedian demands engagement with all varieties of media; success as a standup usually involves a podcast, a book deal and a TV pilot. Few, however, navigate…
“Revenge porn” may be a larger problem than a proposed state law can solve
Jennifer wasn’t sure what to expect when she clicked the link emailed to her by the ex-boyfriend she’d dated for four years. He’d harassed her online in the past, she says, and had shown up at her job “trying to get me fired.” “He did everything he could to make my life miserable,” she says.…
Lynn Cullen Live 02/12/14
Video Archive Guest: Jared Day, Daylee News Nuggets; Happy Birthday, Abe Lincoln & Charles Darwin!; Lincoln would probably not be a Republican today; FDR catches Winston Churchill in his birthday suit; our country is now for the money, not the people; people who think Lincoln wasn’t a good president; Raymond Massey, worst portrayal of Abe;…
Righting Sentences
When the defendant walked into U.S. District Court Judge Maurice Cohill’s courtroom for sentencing early this month, he was facing a prison sentence that could last as long as 20 years. The crime: conspiracy to distribute, and possession with intent to distribute, more than 5 kilograms of cocaine. “I’d like to apologize for even being…
Pittsburgh Ballet soloists sound off on Swan Lake.
SWAN LAKE Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre performs SWAN LAKE Thu., Feb. 13, through Sun., Feb. 16. Benedum Center, 719 Liberty Ave., Downtown. $25.75-91.75. 412-456-6666 or pbt.org Like professional sports teams, ballet companies go through ups and downs when it comes to talent. While the Steelers have struggled lately with a lack of it, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre…
Ethicists debate the moral dilemmas posed by the death of a police dog
On Jan. 28, John Rush, a 21-year-old man with a criminal record and a reported history of mental illness, fatally stabbed a police dog named Rocco while police were attempting to serve him with warrants for his arrest. In the wake of Rocco’s death, Mayor Bill Peduto ordered flags to be flown at half-staff, while…
Underneath the Lintel at 12 Peers Theater
UNDERNEATH THE LINTEL continues through March 1. 12 Peers at Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre, 937 Liberty Ave., Downtown. $15. 12peerstheater.org Billed as an “existential detective story,” Glen Berger’s Underneath the Lintel (presented by 12 Peers Theater) is surely one of the oddest plays you’re going to see this year. I’ve been pondering how to describe the…
Safety Blitz
Pennsylvania’s state legislature is debating a “medical marijuana” bill for children living with condition called Dravet syndrome. Such kids can suffer hundreds of seizures a day, including some so severe as to stop breathing for minutes at a time. Among the few drugs that seem to help is cannabidiol, which can be extracted from marijuana.…
Red Masquers’ Awakening
AWAKENING continues through Sat., Feb. 15. Peter Mills Theater, Rockwell Hall, Duquesne University, Uptown. $5-10. redmasquers.blogspot.com Brave. In the “telegram speak” of German Expressionism, that would be a good description of the Red Masquers’ production of Awakening. Another word that leaps to mind would be “why,” but reviving long-obscure turning points in theater evolution is…
Savage Love
I am an 18-year-old pansexual girl. I’m in a relationship with a guy who is a bit younger. We get along great, our friends like us together, yada yada yada. He wants to do the waiting-until-marriage thing for sex. I’m cool with that. He wants to do this for religious reasons, which I mostly agree…
Shrek at Pittsburgh Musical Theater
SHREK THE MUSICAL continues through Sun., Feb. 16. Byham Theater, 101 Sixth St., Downtown. $12.25-44.75 412-456-6666 or trustarts.org Shrek the Musical? Everything is so discolored, Shrek the Wreck fits better. When William Steig’s kids’ book Shrek! was published, in 1990, the story of a fat, green, bald, ugly ogre, who lives in a swamp and…
Short List: February 12 – 20
SPOTLIGHT: Thu., Feb. 13 — Music It’s been said that if you get stage fright, just imagine the audience in their underwear. New York City-based performers Lauren Molina and Nick Cearly turn that advice on its head with their group The Skivvies. The duo performs original songs and mashups of pop and Broadway tunes wearing…
For You, in Pittsburgh
For you I’d swim the Allegheny all the way from Brady’s Bend to the Point, for you I’d eat fifty chopped ham sandwiches and wash them down with ten jugs of city water straight from the tap, for you, only you, I’d mow all the grass in Schenley Park with a push mower and in…
Thai Cottage
Thai Cottage 1109 S. Braddock Ave., Regent Square. 412-241-8424 Hours: Sun.-Thu. 11:30 A.M.-9:30 P.M.; Fri.-Sat. 11:30 A.M.-10 P.M. Prices: Appetizers, soups and salad $3.50-9.50; entrees $10.50-16.50 Liquor: BYOB With our routine of weekly dining out, we’ve been to lots of restaurants, and we usually find something to like no matter where we go. Transcendent food…
A photographer’s curious tribute to the Civic Arena.
ARENA: REMEMBERING THE IGLOO continues through March 2. 707 Penn Gallery, 707 Penn Ave., Downtown. 412-325-7017 or trustarts.org Though I don’t dispute that the Civic Arena deserves a memorial, Arena: Remembering the Igloo makes for a curious tribute, to say the least: mostly photographs depicting the demolition of the Arena. David Aschkenas was the only…
Local apiary offers aphrodisiacal honey for Valentine’s Day
For many,Valentine’s Day signifies chocolates, flowers or candlelit dinners. But for Christina Joy Neumann, the holiday inspired an “elixir of aphrodisiac herbs from plants that provide sustenance to a variety of bee species.” A horticulturist, botanical illustrator, architect and beekeeper, Neumann owns and operates apoidea apiary, which takes its name from the Latin name for…
The Past
The Past Directed by: Asghar Farhadi Starring: Bérénice Bejo, Ali Mosaffa, Tahar Rahim In French, with subtitles. Starts Fri., Feb. 14. Regent Square Among the hurdles faced by the characters in Asghar Farhadi’s drama The Past is the inability to communicate clearly. The trouble starts in the opening scene, when a woman meets a man…
