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2009 PG Theatre Trips Schedule

• Shaw and Stratford Festivals, July 7-11.

At the Shaw Festival in picturesque Niagara-on-the-Lake, we'll stay right in town at the handsome Prince of Wales Hotel. Our three Shaw Festival shows are Stephen Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park with George," G.B. Shaw's "The Devil's Disciple" and Shaw's witty "In Good King Charles's Golden Days."

At the Stratford Festival, we'll stay at the comfortable Arden Park Hotel, on the edge of the main Stratford Festival grounds. Our shows are "Cyrano de Bergerac," "The Importance of Being Earnest" and "Julius Caesar," with another Sondheim, the musical farce, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," as an optional extra.

Included are a welcoming dinner, picnic lunch, back-stage tour and post-show get-together over drinks to discuss the plays with Post-Gazette senior theater critic Christopher Rawson, who is guiding this tour for the 28th year.

The tour price is $1,198 per person, based on double occupancy. The single supplement is $379. (Both prices are well under last year's.) A deposit of $500 per person is required to hold a reservation, made payable and mailed to Gulliver's Travels, 460 S. Graham St., Pittsburgh, PA 15232-1210; phone 412-441-3131 or, outside Pittsburgh, 1-800-848-4084.

For more information about the trip, click here.

For the most detailed information, click here to download the description of the trip and click here to download the reservation form.

For details on this or any trip, you can also contact Gulliver's Travels (412-441-3131; 1-800-848-4084; Jackie@gulliverstvls.com). For questions about the plays chosen, contact senior theater critic Chris Rawson, 412-216-1944 or crawson@post-gazette.com.

• Shaw Festival, Sept. 8-11.) Details to be announced shortly.

• London critic's choice: Once tentatively scheduled for spring, this year's trip has been pushed back to the fall. To be notified as soon as those plans are finalized, contact Gulliver's Travels at the numbers above.

• Broadway Fall ShowPlane, T.B.A. (Nov. 2009)

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For more than 30 years the Post-Gazette has sponsored ShowPlanes and Critic's Choice theater trips to New York, London, the Canadian festivals and occasionally elsewhere (Dublin, Toronto).

ShowPlanes are conducted by experienced tour guides from Gullivers Travels in Pittsburgh and accompanied by PG senior theater critic Christopher Rawson, staying at premium hotels and often including extensive sightseeing extras.

Critic's Choice tours are smaller, with fewer frills, usually led by Rawson alone. They include plenty of time for individual options.

Rawson chooses the plays to be seen, provides background and leads discussions. Other arrangements are coordinated by Paul and Jackie Busang of Gullliver's Travels, 460 S. Graham St., Pittsburgh PA 15232-1210.

Trips are announced in the Post-Gazette several months in advance, followed by mailings to those who have expressed interest. To receive mailings or for detailed information on specific trips, contact Gulliver's Travels (412-441-3131; 1-800-848-4084; Jackie@gulliverstvls.com). For questions about the plays, contact Rawson (preferably by email at crawson@post-gazette.com, but also by phone, 412-263-1666, 1-800-234-9660).

You can get a fuller sense of a PG theater trip by reading one of Rawson's online journals: for example, London, March, 2008.

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Trips Completed, 2009

• STIMULUS PACKAGE -- Broadway Spring ShowPlane, May 6-10.

An enthusiastic group had fun at four musicals: "9 to 5," "West Side Story," "Guys and Dolls" and "Billy Elliot."

Click here for Chris Rawson's Broadway Journal about his ShowPlane week in New York. For his reviews of the musicals, click here; for his reviews of some Broadway plays, click here.

Trips Completed, 2008

The annual Fall Broadway ShowPlane, Nov. 19023, completed a successful five days visit to NYC. Shows included were "Billy Elliot," "South Pacific," Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" and the new musical, "13." For reviews of these shows and others: 'All My Sons' and other dramas; 'Billy Elliot' and other musicals.

The annual four-day coach trip to the Shaw Festival alone was Sept. 10-13.

The annual (since 1981) five-day coach trip to the Shaw and Stratford Festivals, July 9-13, saw seven shows in all. You can read about it in Chris Rawson's online On Stage Journal: click here. There was also a review article on the three Shaw Fest plays.

The annual spring Broadway ShowPlane flew to New York City, April 30-March 4, featuring Christine Baranksi, Harvey Fierstein, Tom Wopat, Mark Rylance, Bradley Whitford, Kelli O'Hara, Faith Prince and Sutton Foster. Some reviews: 'Boeing-Boeing' and 'Macbeth'; 'Catered Affair,' 'In the Heights' and Cry-Baby'; 'Gyspy'. Here's Chris Rawson's informal journal on the trip.

Our early spring 2008 Critic's Choice theater tour to London, March 9-16, was a lot of fun. Here is Chris Rawson's informal journal of the trip, and here is his package of brief reviews.

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Some Past Trips Completed

The 86th PG ShowPlane went to Broadway, Nov. 14-18, 2007, under the flag, "Forever Young." It encountered the stagehands strike, but we had a good time anyway, filling in with the few continuing Broadway shows and with off-Broadway and the other delights of New York. Rawson wrote about the trip in his online On Stage Journal and in a Critic's Corner, Nov. 25 and also reviewed 'Xanadu' and 'Young Frankenstein.'

The July 11-15 coach trip to both the Shaw and Stratford Festivals included three shows at the Shaw and four at Stratford. Read Shaw Fest reviews here; read Stratford reviews of 'Merchant' and 'My One and Only' here and of 'Comedy' and 'Mockingbird' here.

The Spring Broadway ShowPlane, May 2-6, featured "The Pirate Queen," "Legally Blonde," "Frost/Nixon" and "Curtains". Read a review of the three musicals and another review of 'Frost/Nixon' and 'Deuce.'

• March 5-12, 2007, London Critic's Choice: A week-long trip to London including "Equus" (starring Daniel Radcliffe and Richard Griffiths), "The Tempest" (starring Patrick Stewart), "The Entertainer" (starring Robert Lindsay) and "Billy Elliot." Chris Rawson's first review was of 'Boeing Boeing,' with an interview with Mark Rylance. He posted daily reports, gathered as a London Journal, March 6-12.

• Nov. 15-19, 2006, New York ShowPlane:

Four days in New York based at the Marrriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square included the hit London musical comedy, "Mary Poppins"; the 2006 Tony-winner for Best Musical, the charming and comic "The Drowsy Chaperone"; Disney's excitingly staged "Tarzan" musical; and "Gray Gardens," a comedy-drama about the Bouvier family, starring Christine Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson, which won rave reviews last year off-Broadway. (Reviews of these three are here.)

• Sept. 12-15, 2006, Shaw Festival, Ontario, Canada: Included Michael O'Brien's "The Invisible Man" (after H.G. Wells), Arthur Miller's "The Cruicible," Lilian Groag's "Magic Fire" and Ruth and Augustus Goetz' "The Heiress" (after Henry James). The optional extra was Chekhov's "Love Among the Russians." For reviews, click here.

• July 12-16, 2006, Shaw and Stratford Festivals, Ontario, Canada: A bus tour that included two comedies and a musical at the Shaw, two comedies and a musical at Stratford and two optional extras. At the Shaw: Shaw's "Arms and the Man," Noel Coward's "Design for Living," Cole Porter's High Society." At Stratford: Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing," Dion Boucicault's "London Assurance" and Lionel Bart's "Oliver!" Plus backstage tour, welcoming dinner, picnic in the park. For Shaw Festival reviews; for Stratford Festival reviews.

• April 26-30, 2006, New York ShowPlane: Included "Ring of Fire," new musical with more than 38 songs made famous by Johnny Cash; "The Pajama Game," charismatic hit revival starring Harry Connick Jr. and Kelli O'Hara; "Tarzan," newest musical from Disney, with a score by Phil Collins; and "The History Boys," Alan Bennett's funny, moving drama about politics, class and growing up. Read reviews of these N.Y. shows and others by searching on the PG homepage and in Rawson's On Stage Journal.

• March 5-12, 2006, London Critic's Choice: Such stars as Diana Rigg, Jeremy Irons, Matthew Modine, Maximillian Schell, Neve Campbell and David Suchet appeared in "Honour," "Embers," "Resurrection Blues" and "Once in a Lifetime." Read news from this trip on Rawson's On Stage Journal and London reviews here.

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More Coverage from some earlier trips

Note that more New York reviews can be found using the search box on the PG home page.

'Mary Poppins,' Webber's 'White' grace London's West End, April 3, 2005

All's well in the West End: Dench, Bourne and Gambon offset dreariness of 'Chitty Chitty' musical, April 4, 2004

Stage Review: Strindberg wouldn't recognize 'Dream Play,' April 2, 2005

Stage Review: Bennett's 'History Boys' is a class apart, March 28, 2005

Stage Review: Spacey stages 'National Anthems,' with Pittsburgh links, at Old Vic, March 21, 2005

Theater Review: Schiller's tragedy of Spanish empire is classic play, March 19, 2005

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Reviews: 'Jersey Boys,' 'Light in the Piazza' have their charms: Musical showcases, Dec. 11, 2005

On Stage: Broadway teems with Pittsburgh talent, May 08, 2005

Broadway Review: 'Spamalot' achieves its quest to become a rare delicacy, May 1, 2005

Stage Review: 'Wicked' and 'Never Gonna Dance' mix familiar and new in entertaining fashion, Feb. 8, 2004

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Theatrical treats: Shaw Festival continues to delight with four plays, Oct. 9, 2005

Stage Reviews: Families in turmoil dominate Shaw trio, July 3, 2005

At Shaw, 'Gypsy' is part of widening focus, continental appeal, April 24, 2005

Shaw Festival marches on toward the future, Oct. 10, 2004

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Stratford Fest hits stride in Shakespearean woods, July 10, 2005

At Stratford: Sondheim performed side by side with Shakespeare, April 24, 2005

Stage Reviews: Shakespeare ties bind Stratford's eclectic mix, July 18, 2004

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In Dublin, troupes from all over the world tussle with passion and betrayal: A Challenging Festival, Oct. 16, 2005

On Stage: Truths revealed in Irish theater are often painful, Oct. 16, 2005

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