March 10-15 | Benedum Center
About: The critically acclaimed smash-hit Broadway musical The Band’s Visit is the winner of 10 Tony Awards®, including Best Musical, making it one of the most Tony-winning musicals in history. It is also a Grammy Award® winner for Best Musical Theater Album.
In this joyously offbeat story, set in a town that’s way off the beaten path, a band of musicians arrive lost, out of the blue. Under the spell of the desert sky, and with beautiful music perfuming the air, the band brings the town to life in unexpected and tantalizing ways. Even the briefest visit can stay with you forever.
The cast of world-class performers is led by award-winning Israeli actor Sasson Gabay, star of the original film and the Broadway production, and Chilina Kennedy, known best for her historic run as Carole King in Broadway’s Beautiful – The Carole King Musical.
With a Tony- and Grammy-winning score that seduces your soul and sweeps you off your feet, and featuring thrillingly talented onstage musicians, The Band’s Visit rejoices in the way music makes us laugh, makes us cry, and ultimately, brings us together.
“IT DOESN’T FEEL LIKE ANY MUSICAL EVER. It doesn’t sound like anything else you’ve heard. PERFECT is the wrong word for such an unusual musical, but it will just have to do.”
–New York Magazine
Opportunities:
Cast and creative team interviews
Press seats
Pittsburgh Humanities Festival
March 20-22 | Cultural District
About: The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and The Humanities Center at Carnegie Mellon University are excited to announce the complete programming lineup for the fifth Pittsburgh Humanities Festival, taking place March 20-22, 2020 at locations throughout the Cultural District. The Festival brings together internationally-renowned academics, artists, and intellectual innovators offering interviews, intimate conversations, and select performances focused on art, literature, music, science, policy, politics, and more—all in a lively, entertaining, accessible format in the Cultural District. It’s smart talk about stuff that matters.
Featured events include Sh!tfaced Shakespeare, Ira Glass in Seven Things I’ve Learned, and Blair Imani with her talk Making Our Way Home. Core Conversations fill Saturday, March 21st and Sunday, March 22nd with ‘smart talk’ in the Trust Arts Education Center at 805-807 Liberty Avenue.
Opportunities:
Advanced interviews with Featured Event and Core Conversation speakers
Press seats
Diary of a Wombat
March 22-29 | Suburban Locations; Byham Theater
About: Meet Mothball, the naughtiest wombat in Australia. Bored with her daily routine, Mothball goes in search of shelter and food, creating chaos in the lives of the humans around her. Doormats, bins and washing lines are no match for this mischievous marsupial. Between a packed schedule of scratching, sleeping and eating Mothball discovers that with a bit of persistence, humans are quite easily trained!
Opportunities:
Advanced interviews with cast & creative team
Press seats
Film: Punk the Capital; Building a Sound Movement
March 14-15 | Harris Theater
About: With special guest, filmmaker James June Schneider to introduce the film and Q&A after! When punk invaded our nation's capital in the mid-late 1970's, it was a culture clash – a collision between the music of anarchy and a city known for its conservatism. It was a recipe for potential disaster – but it resulted in a powerful cultural movement that flamed, ruled, and burned out all in the space of seven exciting years. It was a mighty inter-generational convergence of powerful music, friendships, and clear minds. Punk the Capital covers the transformative period spanning from 1976 to 1983, situating D.C. punk within the larger narratives of punk and rock n' roll. With a recently unearthed trove of Super-8 film, the film explores why the sounds and ideas from this highly influential music scene continue to inspire around the world. Featuring bands such as Bad Brains and Minor Threat, it creates a portrait of a movement that not only redefined a genre but that became a model for social and political engagement.
88 Minutes/ Directed by James June Schneider, Paul Bishow, and Sam Lavine/ English
Opportunities:
Advanced interviews with filmmakers and creative team
Press seats
One Night of Queen
April 6 | Byham Theater
About: In 2000, Gary Mullen won ITV’s Stars In Their Eyes Live Grand Final, with the largest number of votes ever received in the show’s history. The record of 864,838 votes was more than twice that of the runner-up. Gary began touring on his own and in 2002 and formed a band The Works to pay tribute to rock legends Queen. Since May 2002, Gary Mullen and the Works have performed throughout the UK, USA, Europe, South Africa and New Zealand to sell-out audiences. The outfit has also twice rocked the prestigious BBC Proms in the Park, in front of a very enthusiastic crowd of 40,000. One Night of Queen is a spectacular live concert, recreating the look, sound, pomp and showmanship of arguably the greatest rock band of all time. This show will ROCK you!
2020 will be One Night of Queen’s 12th Consecutive US tour.
Opportunities:
Advanced artist interviews
Press seats
Summer: Donna Summer The Musical
April 7-12 | Heinz Hall
About: “A celebration of women, not just one woman.” New York Magazine. She was a girl from Boston with a voice from heaven, who shot through the stars form gospel choir to dance floor diva. But what the world didn’t know was how Donna Summer risked it all to break through barriers, becoming the icon of the era and the inspiration for every music diva who followed.
Opportunities:
Advanced artist interviews
Press seats
Rock ‘n’ Remember
April 11 | Benedum Center
About: Spotlight Productions has assembled six great shows in one, featuring legendary original artists from the '60s and featuring their biggest hits. The lineup includes: Bobby Rydell, Lou Christie, Charlie Tomas' Drifters, Jay Siegel's Tokens, The Chiffons, and Chuck Blasko's Vogues.
Opportunities:
Advanced artist interviews
Press seats
April 13 | Greer Cabaret Theater
About: Direct from his starring role on CBS’ “Madam Secretary,” Erich Bergen makes his Pittsburgh concert debut offering a high-energy show filled with a mix of music and stories from his successful career on stage and on screen. Filled with songs from the Great American Songbook all the way through the top hits of today, Mr. Bergen and his band will have you laughing, crying and singing along for the entire show.
Opportunities:
Advanced artist interviews
Press seats