Stage Preview: City Theatre's 'MOMENTUM' reaches for bigger and bolder
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City Theatre chef Tracy Brigden characterizes this year's weekend smorgasbord, "MOMENTUM 07," as "bigger, better, bolder and broader" than its predecessors.
Playwright Beth Henley will take part in City Theatre's "MOMENTUM 07" festival with an audience conversation and a reading of her "Exposed."Click photo for larger image.
'MOMENTUM 07: New plays at different stages'
Where: City Theatre, 13th and Bingham, South Side.When: Through Sunday (schedule below).
Tickets: Free for City subscribers and theater artists; others, $5 per event or $10 Festival Pass (tickets for "The Male Intellect," $35-$45); call 412-431-2489.
Bigger: there's more to taste, with six plays compared to four or five, plus two talks and a party.
Better: the ingredients include Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Beth Henley ("Crimes of the Heart"), here for an audience conversation and a reading of her "Exposed"; also Giles Havergal, formerly of the seminal Glasgow Citizen's Company, who for years performed his own adaptation of "Travels with My Aunt," in Mat Smart's "The 13th of Paris," of which City will stage the world premiere next season.
Bolder: providing spice are Hilly Hicks, Jr.'s "The Tallest Girl in the Class," about race, and Victoria Stewart's "Hardball" (originally given a reading at the Pittsburgh Public in 2005), about politics.
Broader: the variety includes selections from a new musical, "An Infinite Ache," performed by Ben Evans and spouse Julie Dingman Evans; and a family event, a reading of Tammy Ryan's "The Gift of the Pirate Queen."
But whatever the substance or flavor of the artistic dishes being offered, Momentum remains a great way to have a party, with a varied audience bouncing around among 15 different events over four days on City's multi-building South Side campus.
Brigden hopes to further liven up what she calls the "carnival feeling" by inviting all Pittsburgh theater artists to attend free, although a pass for the whole weekend costs anyone else just $10.
The heart of Momentum remains new plays in readings that feature the best of Pittsburgh's professional acting pool. As before, some plays will doubtless show up in future City seasons. And for playwrights, directors and casts, work continues throughout, as with "The 13th of Paris," where the Sunday reading will benefit from rewriting after that on Thursday.
THE PLAYS
"An Infinite Ache: The Musical" by Brendan Milburn and Valerie Vigoda, adapted from the play by David Schulner. The creators of the band GrooveLily set to music the heartfelt story of a lifelong relationship.
"The 13th of Paris" by Mat Smart. In this comedy, intimate letters, a dapper ghost, and the romance of Paris teach a young man about love.
"Exposed" by Beth Henley. A comic and poignant look at the complexities of contemporary relationships, set during Christmas in Los Angeles.
"The Gift of the Pirate Queen" by Tammy Ryan, adapted from the novel by Patricia Reilly Giff. In this play for families, Grace is a sixth-grader with too much responsibility. When Fiona comes from Ireland to help, she brings tales of Grace's ancestor, a brave pirate queen.
"Hardball" by Victoria Stewart. This comedy about a rising female Republican political pundit reveals what happens when news becomes entertainment and politics becomes performance.
"The Tallest Girl in the Class" by Hilly Hicks, Jr. From segregation to gang wars, this new play charts the journey of three generations of African-American women through the same high school, exploring how the past is visited on the present.
THE SCHEDULE
Today
6 p.m., Mainstage: selections from "An Infinite Ache: The Musical," with a conversation with the creators.
7 p.m., Gordon Lounge: kick-off reception.
8 p.m., Morris Building: reading of "The 13th of Paris."
8 p.m., Hamburg Studio: performance of "The Male Intellect: An Oxymoron?"
Friday
6 p.m., Morris Building: a conversation with Beth Henley.
8 p.m., Morris Building: reading of "Exposed."
8 p.m., Hamburg Studio: performance of "The Male Intellect."
Saturday
2 p.m., Mainstage: selections from "An Infinite Ache."
5:30 p.m., Mainstage: reading of "The Gift of the Pirate Queen."
5:30 p.m., Hamburg Studio: performance of "The Male Intellect."
8 p.m., Morris Building: reading of "Hardball."
9 p.m., Hamburg Studio: performance of "The Male Intellect."
Sunday
2 p.m., Morris Building: reading of "The 13th of Paris."
2 p.m., Hamburg Studio: performance of "The Male Intellect."
7 p.m., Mainstage: reading of "The Tallest Girl in the Class."
Momentum is sponsored by Mellon Financial Corporation.
First Published June 13, 2007 8:01 pm
