Another busy weekend in Pittsburgh theater included the wrap-up of “Cambodian Rock Band” at City Theatre, which heads to Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell, Mass. Lucky them. “A Few Good Men” continues at Pittsburgh Public Theater through next week, and here are a few other theater happenings throughout October and beyond.
‘Not Medea’’ in Carnegie
Unless the Medea in the title refers to Tyler Perry, you know you are not in for a bundle of laughs. "Not Medea" — it is and it isn't — does have its humorous moments, but what unfolds is a modern-day examination of parenthood, guilt, grief and forgiveness.
The production at Off the Wall Productions in Carnegie stars some of Pittsburgh's most accomplished musical theater actors in Drew Leigh Williams, Allan Snyder and Elizabeth Boyke.
Here, they bite into a twisty script that begins with a tired mom — Williams, dynamic and vulnerable in a demanding role. Escaping the trials of work and motherhood for a night at the theater, she stumbles in as the audience member from hell, answering her phone and chatting up a storm about her hard life.
You know she is going to end up onstage, where the major set piece is a bed with a Grecian headboard. As she talks about her difficulties as a mother and wife — her husband has left her for a younger woman — you begin to see the parallels with the story of Medea, perhaps the most hated figure in all of mythology.
Any mom who identifies with the jealous woman who takes revenge on her lover by killing their two young sons can’t be good.
“Not Medea” by Allison Gregory and directed for Off the Wall by Allison Weakland follows a path that batters its protagonist from all angles, but none worse than the “Bad Mother” badge of dishonor she has slapped on herself.
This could be a gimmicky show of “Medea, not Medea” in lesser hands. But Williams, with strong support from Snyder and Boyke, delivers a cogent case study of a modern-day woman on the verge, and force you to wonder how you would react not just in her shoes, but as an observer. Does she earn your contempt, your pity, your empathy … your forgiveness? And how you answer that question is how you understand this seemingly abandoned woman, who is definitely not Medea.
At Carnegie Stage, 25 W. Main St. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Through Oct. 19. Tickets are $5 to $35; insideoffthewall.com.
Take our 'Golden' poll
Hey, "Golden Girls" fans: Are you a Dorothy, a Blanche, a Rose or a Sophia? Take our poll here, and we'll get the results to you in time for the Pittsburgh visit of the off-Broadway hit "That Golden Girls Show! A Puppet Parody," coming to the Byham Theater, Downtown, for three shows on Friday and Saturday.
‘Forever Plaid’ returns to CLO Cabaret
The lovable ghostly quartet The Plaids are back to haunt Downtown in time for Halloween, as Pittsburgh CLO brings the ever-popular “Forever Plaid” to the Greer Cabaret, Oct. 31-Dec. 29.
The show that rings in the 15th season of CLO Cabaret is the first performed at the venue. It tells the tale of four young men killed in a car crash on the way to their first big gig, then are miraculously revived for one night, to perform the concert that should have been.
Cast members for this edition of “Forever Plaid” are Brandon Lambert as Jinx, Zander Lyons as Sparky, CLO newcomer and Point Park grad Wood van Meter as Smudge and, as Frankie, Quinn Patric Shannon, in his 12th production for Pittsburgh CLO. This is Shannon’s fourth go-round as Frankie, the role originated by director and choreographer, Guy Stroman.
Details and tickets: CLOCabaret.com or 412-456-6666.
Savoyards at 82
Pittsburgh Savoyards' 82nd season of Gilbert & Sullivan works rings in with "Ruddigore."
The Baronet of Ruddigore, cursed because of his ancestors' crimes against witches, must commit a crime every day or his life will end in agony and the curse will be handed down to the next in line. Can the Baronet figure out a way to make everyone happy in the end, especially himself? This is a G&S operetta, after all.
At Andrew Carnegie Music Hall, 300 Beechwood Ave., Carnegie, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 19 (plus Thursday, Oct. 17). $12-$25; www.pittsburghsavoyards.org or www.showclix.com..
Sharon Eberson: seberson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1960. Twitter: @SEberson_pg. Sign up for the PG performing arts newsletter Behind the Curtain at Newsletter Preferences.
First Published: October 7, 2019, 6:20 p.m.
