Local Pittsburgh happenings in arts, performance, culture, etc.
Feb. 10–Feb. 16
Jan. 31–Feb. 23, Quantum Theater, Braddock Carnegie Library, $20 student tickets
Quantum Theatre is unbounded by place, telling stories in Carrie Blast Furnaces, a recycling center, and now Braddock Carnegie Library — a Romanesque-style building and the first-ever Carnegie library branch. This production marks the premiere of a new work based on 18th-century Quaker abolitionist, Benjamin Lay. The one-man show was born out of a collaboration between playwright Naomi Wallace and historian (and University of Pittsburgh professor) Marcus Rediker, assuring a balance between theatrical merit and historical accuracy.
Feb. 13 and every Thursday at 7–8:30 p.m., City of Asylum, free
City of Asylum’s residences, artwork in and of themselves, house and support writers and artists who have been exiled from their countries of origin due to their work. The organization also organizes several programs (all of which are worth exploring) including PGHwrites, World Literature lectures, Story Club, and Thursday Night Jazz. This week’s Thursday Night Jazz features alto saxophonist and University of Pittsburgh professor Yoko Suzuki performing John Coltrane’s 1964 album “Love Supreme.” Coltrane’s intense, calculatedly improvisational style is exemplified on the album; Rolling Stone described it as “the first comprehensive statement of Coltrane’s spiritual concerns.” If you haven’t made a visit to City of Asylum yet, this is your sign to do so.
Feb. 15 at 12–1 p.m., Bitz Opera Factory, free
You won’t need to wait until the upcoming performance of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” this March to experience the Pittsburgh Opera. This week marks the resident artists’ monthly Song Shop, a casual, cabaret-style performance. Attendees can bring their own snacks and meet the vocalists afterward. This doubles as a visit to the Bitz Opera Factory, the Pittsburgh Opera’s headquarters, in the Strip District. Now a factory producing music, the building has a fascinating past life as a factory producing train parts — as George Westinghouse’s air brake factory which opened in 1869.
- Other recommendations include:
Dvorák’s New World: Feb. 14–16, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Heinz Hall, starting at $30
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