World Premieres & More to Complete Pittsburgh Public Theater 2023/2024 Season

Pittsburgh Public Theater has announced the remaining four titles of the 2023/2024 season at The Public, including world premieres, exciting adaptations and stories from Broadway stars. Subscriptions are now available at www.ppt.org/subscribe.

The season opens in September and will include six mainstage productions, as well as one immersive experience that will bring audiences out of The O'Reilly. The Public announced it will produce The Coffin Maker, Dragon Lady, The Importance of Being Earnest, and A Tell-Tale Heart, in addition to the three titles already announced.

The Coffin Maker, by Pittsburgh-favorite writer and inaugural Public Playwright-in-Residence Mark Clayton Southers, will receive its world premiere at The Public in May 2024. Set in 1849 Oklahoma, The Coffin Maker is a genre-defying Western/Comedy/Revenge play spiked with heart-stopping revelations.

Dragon Lady is a funny and fearless one-woman cabaret musical from Sara Porkalob, star of Broadway's 1776. Guided by the beats of her grandmother's new karaoke machine, Sara takes us through more than 50 years of the bittersweet memories and sensational adventures of her family's matriarch who the Boston Globe called a "mercurial, glamorous, and fierce woman with whom even gangsters trifle at their peril."

The Importance of Being Earnest transports you to Oscar Wilde's world of sparkling conversation, romance, and sheer absurdity, as adapted by acclaimed director and playwright Jenny Koons, all while maintaining the excitement and energy of Wilde's "trivial comedy for serious people."

The Public also announced an exciting experience that will take audiences out of The O'Reilly in the latest Public Unplugged production, as Poe meets Pittsburgh in hometown playwright Alec Silberblatt's adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's A Tell-Tale Heart. Silberblatt's adaptation will be eerie, ethereal, and exciting, running through October and closing on Halloween 2023.

These shows build upon the three already announced by The Public in March, which include a world-premiere musical about Pittsburgh jazz legend Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For, a stage adaptation of the Reese Witherspoon book club pick Tiny Beautiful Things, and the return of the smash hit and family favorite production of A Christmas Story: The Play.

Subscriptions are now available for the 2023/2024 season at Pittsburgh Public Theater by visiting www.ppt.org/subscribe or calling 412.316.1600.

Pittsburgh Public Theater 2023-2024 Season:

Single tickets go on sale week of July 18

Highmark Presents

Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For

*World Premiere Musical*
Music and Lyrics by Billy Strayhorn
Book by Rob Zellers with Kent Gash
Musical Direction by Matthew Whitaker

Choreography by Dell Howlett

Directed by Kent Gash

On stage: September 19 - October 8, 2023

A legend begins here

From Pittsburgh Public Theater's own Rob Zellers (The Chief) with award-winning CMU grad Kent Gash comes a world premiere musical that tells the extraordinary story of jazz genius and Pittsburgh native Billy Strayhorn. Featuring riveting live jazz led by Yamaha sponsored artist Matthew Whitaker with deft choreography from Dell Howlett, Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For pulls back the curtain to reveal the man behind household hits like "Lush Life" and "Take the 'A' Train." Even as he composed for and inspired greats like Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday, Strayhorn endured hostility and heartbreak as an openly gay Black artist in mid-20th century America. Charting Strayhorn's groundbreaking creativity, activism, and relationships, the production follows this American prodigy and hometown hero as he pursues his passion for music and a life on his own terms in Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For.

This show contains mature language.

A Tell-Tale Heart

By Edgar Allen Poe

Adapted and Performed by Alec Silberblatt

Directed by Marya Sea Kaminski

On Stage: October 5 - 31, 2023

A chilling mystery with a Pittsburgh twist
In our latest Public Unplugged production, Poe meets Pittsburgh as hometown playwright Alec Silberblatt invites audiences into the heart of downtown for his immersive adaptation of this chilling classic. Experience what beats beneath the surface of this macabre murder mystery as a terrifying cycle of violence threatens to envelop a neighborhood of innocent friends and neighbors.

This show contains mature language.

Tiny Beautiful Things

Based on the Book by Cheryl Strayed

Adapted for the Stage by Nia Vardalos
Co-conceived by Marshall Heyman, Thomas Kail, and Nia Vardalos

Directed by Marya Sea Kaminski

On Stage: November 1 - 19, 2023

Love Always, Dear Sugar
Meet anonymous advice columnist Sugar and the countless readers who pour their hearts out to her. With a wild sense of humor and an empathetic ear, Sugar draws on her own experiences to provide her readers with tough love and sweet insights with tell-it-like-it-is honesty. Based on the acclaimed book by Cheryl Strayed (author of the best-selling Wild), Tiny Beautiful Things weaves a tapestry of human connection and resilience that Variety calls "a theatrical hug in turbulent times."

This show contains mature language.

A Christmas Story: The Play

Play by Philip Grecian
Based upon A Christmas Story ©1983 Turner Entertainment Co., distributed by Warner Bros.
written by Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown, and Bob Clark,
and In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash
by Jean Shepherd

On Stage: December 9 - 23, 2023

A timeless comedy returns to put you and yours on the nice list this holiday season

Back by popular demand, last year's holiday hit becomes your newest yuletide tradition as Ralphie Parker and company make their triumphant return to the O'Reilly Theater stage. The amazing memories and moments made famous by the movie, from disastrous family meals - to sticky situations in the schoolyard - to fateful and funny visits to Santaland come to life, sparking nostalgia for ages 9 to 99. This production is not just a Christmas story, it's our Christmas story.

Dragon Lady

Written and Performed by Sara Porkalob

Directed by Andrew Russell

On Stage: February 7 - 23, 2024

Gangsters, murder, and... karaoke

Sara Porkalob of Broadway's 1776 brings her transformational storytelling to the O'Reilly Theater in this funny and fearless one-woman cabaret musical. On the eve of her 60th birthday, Maria decides to share the dark secrets of her fantastical life with her granddaughter Sara and discovers that it is never too late to atone and forgive. Guided by the beats of her grandmother's new karaoke machine, Sara takes us through more than 50 years of the bittersweet memories and sensational adventures of her family's matriarch who the Boston Globe called a "mercurial, glamorous, and fierce woman with whom even gangsters trifle at their peril."

This show contains mature language.

The Importance of Being Earnest

by Oscar Wilde

Adapted and Directed by Jenny Koons

On Stage: March 27 - April 14, 2024

A satirical masterpiece of wit and wisdom
Step into a world of sparkling conversation, romance, and sheer absurdity! Oscar Wilde's wonderfully entertaining "trivial comedy for serious people" introduces two debonair bachelors, Jack and Algernon, who each lead a hidden double life. When a weekend in the country gives their alter egos the chance to win the hearts of two society ladies, they learn that keeping track of their lavish web of lies may be a bit harder than they realize. The plot twists and turns will at once keep you on the edge of your seat and doubled over in fits of laughter.

The Coffin Maker

*World Premiere*
by Mark Clayton Southers

Directed by Monteze Freeland

On Stage: May 29 - June 16, 2024

This instant classic is to DIE for
In this new installment of his century-spanning chronicle of the Black experience inspired by his mentor August Wilson, Pittsburgh theater legend Mark Clayton Southers turns back the clock to 1849 Oklahoma. There, free man Lawrence Ebitts and his wife Eula live peacefully preparing bodies for burial with care and respect, until their world is turned upside down by a bounty hunter who gets more than he bargained for and a fugitive determined to forge his own future. This Western-Comedy-Revenge play is a genre-defying world premiere spiked with heart-stopping revelations.

This show contains mature language.

ACCESSIBILITY

Pittsburgh Public Theater is dedicated to making its performances accessible to all audiences. It is proud to offer an American Sign Language Series, a Live Audio Description Series, assistive listening devices, I- Caption® services, and D-Scriptive® services at select performances. Tickets for these performances can be purchased online or by calling the Box Office at 412.316.1600. For more information on our accessibility offerings, please contact Director of Education and Engagement Parag S. Gohel at pgohel@ppt.org.

Pittsburgh Public Theater

strives to serve as a true public theater to the Pittsburgh region, producing more than 120 performances each season and welcoming more than 70,000 guests through the O'Reilly Theater's doors every year. The theater is renowned for its exceptional mix of programming, featuring international classics, fresh new works, and favorite musicals. Its commitment to education and engagement initiatives is a hallmark and includes the signature Shakespeare Monologue & Scene Contest and innovative community partnerships. The organization, under the leadership of Artistic Director Marya Sea Kaminski and Managing Director Shaunda McDill, celebrates its 49th season in 2023.

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