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Beaver County’s Lalama coordinates cool music and theatric events at Pittsburgh Playhouse

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‘It’s a place you can bring your family to be entertained and have a good time,’ Beaver County’s Kiesha Lalama, the new managing and artistic director of the Pittsburgh Playhouse, said

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PITTSBURGH ― With a Beaver County native newly at the helm, Pittsburgh Playhouse will present a wider breadth of entertainment events and activities this summer.

The four-story arts and entertainment center on Point Park University’s Pittsburgh campus has booked accessible shows and festive gatherings poised to draw Beaver Valley folks and other suburbanites to downtown.

“It’s a place you can bring your family to be entertained and have a good time,” Kiesha Lalama, the new managing and artistic director of the Pittsburgh Playhouse, said.

From theater to dance; jazz concerts to a Forbes Avenue block party; and first-time-in-Pittsburgh shows like “Robin and Me,” with Point Park alumni Dave Droxler starring in a show he wrote about conversations with the late film star, Robin Williams, there are reasons to check out Pittsburgh Playhouse, Lalama said.

The Center Township native is excited for fresh Playhouse offerings like Artfully Uplifting, programs designed specifically for sensory sensitive audiences, and ASCEND, an interactive experience boasting cutting-edge 360-degree projections, aerialists and dynamic music immersing audiences on a journey through the four elements of fire, earth, water and wind.  

 Lalama said Pittsburgh Playhouse’s 2024-2025 season strives to help revitalize downtown with family-friendly offerings that include a Fall Festival Oct. 17-27 with carnival booths, food and drinks, face painting, arts and crafts, tarot card readings and a Halloween show conceived by Broadway-film veteran and Point Park alum Ahmad Simmons (“Hadestown”). Throughout the season, a full roster of dance, musicals and plays staged by Point Park’s critically acclaimed Conservatory of Performing Arts.

It’s all about experiencing the feelings of live entertainment, and making meaningful connections in a premiere downtown destination, Lalama, an internationally recognized artist who has created and choreographed works for stage, film and television, said.

“We are thrilled to offer a welcoming environment with reimagined entertainment for everyone,” Lalama said.

Located at 350 Forbes Ave., the Playhouse includes the 550-seat PNC Theatre, the 200-seat Highmark Theatre and the 99-seat Rauh Theatre.

2024-25 offerings

Among the new programs there is Backstage/Onstage, with the Playhouse partnering with TV star and Point Park alum Margot Bingham (HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire”) and Ed Traversari, local legend in the concert industry, to bring audiences “behind the curtain” intimate interviews with our region’s impactful leaders.

Another new feature is the Inside Outside Summer Concert Series, a casual spot both indoors and out, where audiences can interact with the artists and enjoy a complimentary drink, Thursdays and Fridays through June and July, from the Highmark Theatre, which opens onto Point Park’s Forbes Avenue plaza.

The Inside Outside series includes Thirsty Thursday shows co-hosted by MCG Jazz. The lineup: June 27: Tatiana Eva-Marie and the Avalon Jazz Band; July 11: Tuck & Patti; July 18: The Bill O’Connell Latin-Jazz Group; July 25: Dave Stryker Trio.

Inside Outside’s Funday Fridays begin June 28 with Dance Along with Dixie Surewood, a disco dance party hosted by Pittsburgh’s own nationally known comedic drag queen. July 12 brings Paint Along with DJ Rojo for artists of all experience levels; July 19 is comedian Aaron Kleiber; July 26 is bring-your-own-instrument for a jam session with Bombici.

Conservatory Theatre Company shows

Each season, Point Park’s Conservatory Theatre Company produces six mainstage productions featuring diverse works that include musical theatre, classical literature, contemporary plays and experimental projects.

The 2024-25 season:

Oct. 10-20: “The Trees” by Agnes Borinsky.

Nov. 13-17: Steel Pier, the musical by John Kander and Fred Ebb.

Dec. 4-8: “Arcadia” a play by Tom Stoppard.

Feb. 19-23: “Jerry’s Girls,” a musical revue.

March 26: “12 Ophelias (a play with broken songs)” by Caridad Svich.

April 9-13: “Legally Blonde: The Musical.”

More Playhouse shows

Oct. 9-13: Fall Dance Concert by The Conservatory Dance Company.

Oct. 18: Koresh Dance Company, one of Philadelphia’s premier contemporary dance companies, recognized nationally and internationally for superb technique and emotionally compelling appeal presents “Hollow Apple,” a work inspired by the endless desire to be liked, and loved by strangers, only to reveal our fears of unworthiness.

Dec. 13: The Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra Holiday Concert.

Jan. 22-26: “Robin & Me: My Little Spark of Madness,” the award-winning autobiographical play performed by Droxler.

Subscriptions for Playhouse shows are on sale now, with people able to choose from a mix of four, six, or more tickets, or an All-Access Pass.

Point Park students

Lalama, who has choreographed feature films like “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and TV shows such as “Broadway or Bust” (PBS) and “American Rust” (Showtime) also is launching new programming for Point Park students, like Arts Accelerator, which will connect students with professional alumni working on Broadway and beyond in the performing arts industry.

Lalama, who has created three critically acclaimed full-length dance theater productions including “The Bench: Journey into Love,” recently celebrated 15 years of service as a professor of dance in the Conservatory of the Performing Arts at Point Park where her other roles include director of the jazz unit and founder and director of the Choreography Collective.

The full Playhouse schedule is at playhouse.pointpark.edu.

More: Brews & Grooves debuts in Beaver; Ambridge & Midland sites host Monday music

Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at stady@gannett.com.

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