• Mark Clayton Southers has assembled a remarkable cast for his staging of August Wilson's "Two Trains Running," May 10-25. That's the 1960s play in Wilson's 10-play Pittsburgh Cycle, the fifth in order of writing -- the order in which Southers' Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre, now in its fifth year, has been staging Wilson. Generally, these have been PPWT's best work, but it has never had a cast like this, which compares well with those for the Pittsburgh Public Theater's Wilson plays.

From the national scene comes Anthony Chisholm, who's done four of the definitive New York Wilson productions, playing Wolf in "Two Trains," Fielding in "Jitney," Solly Two Kings in "Gem of the Ocean" and Old Joe in "Radio Golf." Pittsburgh will recall him best as the former tailor turned alcoholic in "Jitney" at the Public. In this "Two Trains," Chisholm will play Memphis, owner of the diner where the play is set.

Southers' local coup is to get former city councilman and professional actor Sala Udin to play Holloway, the community philosopher -- the same role Udin played for the Public Theater in 1994. Joining him will be local standout Don Marshall as West, the undertaker (no specific allusion, Wilson later claimed, to the Thomas L. West who was a leading undertaker on the Hill, 1932-68).

The central role of the angry young Sterling will be played by Jonathan Berry. (Sterling reappears 28 years later in "Radio Golf," which will be done next fall at the Public.) Wali Jamal will play Wolf, the numbers runner; the mentally challenged Hambone will be Jomo (one name only); and making her professional debut as the waitress, Risa, who pretty much runs Memphis' diner, will be young Sharniece Thomas, a student at CAPA. Southers directs.

If this turns out as well as it promises, it should burst the seams at the little 90-seat Pittsburgh Playwrights' theater on the second floor at 542 Penn Ave., beneath the parking garage. "Two Trains" will offer just six shows each week. Tickets will be available starting next week at www.pghplaywrights.com.

• Those are the flashy concepts in Richard Greenberg's 2003 Tony Award-winning best play, "Take Me Out," which Patrick Jordan's barebones productions will stage June 5-22 in the Three Rivers Arts Festival's 4th River Project (www. barebonesproductions.com).

It's a smart, funny comedy which is, quoting from my own review, "about baseball only in the sense that 'Copenhagen' is about physics: it's the people that matter. 'Take Me Out' is really about American democracy, culture wars, celebrity, political correctness, race, sexuality and the intersection of self, sport and art."

The central figure is an effortlessly handsome half-black superstar for a team rather like the Yankees. He lets it be known he's gay and "suddenly, the Eden of the locker room is shattered -- 'and they knew that they were naked,' as Genesis says, as they certainly do in a mass shower scene in which no one now knows where to look."

It's a wonderful play (I have an informed interest, having written on it for the 2002-03 volume of "The Best Plays Theater Yearbook") which I wondered if I'd ever see in Pittsburgh, specifically because of that shower scene, which is of course both fraught and funny.

Bravo to Jordan. No word yet on casting, but I assume there are some guys busy buffing up, just in case.

• We've just secured a date for "Off the Record VIII [subtitle TBA]." We have the Byham for Thursday, Oct. 2. SAVE THAT DATE for the annual musical comedy spoof of all things Pittsburgh to benefit the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.

And here's a warning to newsworthy Pittsburghers: our writers are eagerly seeking material for this year's show, so keep on doing those foolish things we love to skewer.

• Tonight is the Broadway opening of "Gypsy" starring Patti LuPone and bringing Lenora Nemetz back to Broadway as Mazeppa and Miss Cratchitt. Believe it or not, this is pretty close to the 40th anniversary of the teenage Lenora's Broadway debut in "Cabaret." Break a leg!

• Pittsburgh Musical Theater's "Fiddler on the Roof" opens tonight at the Byham, through April 6.

• If you're down D.C. way, there are still tickets available to some performances in the August Wilson cycle at Kennedy Center. And check out Montae Russell's occasional blog about it on our web site, www.post-gazette.com/theater. I'm getting down to see seven of the 10 plays in the final week.

• Registrations are open for "Stars on Broadway," the PG's Spring ShowPlane, April 30-May 4. The four-show package includes "Boeing Boeing," "South Pacific," "A Catered Affair" and "Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein." For fuller info go to the PG theater page or call Gulliver's Travels, 412-441-3131.

Paid admissions at city's pro theaters for week ending March 23: