Best College Shows In Pittsburgh
Are you interested in seeing great shows for a lower price? If so, look no further than Pittsburgh's local universities. Students at area schools utilize their talents in music, theater, or both to provide entertainment and gain performance experience. Tickets are often a lot cheaper than mainstage productions, so you can be a showgoer on a budget!We've made a list of some of the highlight shows and performances at local colleges. Be sure to visit each school's website to get more information on their full schedule for the school year!
Point Park University
All shows take place at the Pittsburgh Playhouse
222 Craft Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
http://www.pittsburghplayhouse.com/OnStage/Seasonlineup
Camino Real by Tennessee Williams
November 18-21, December 2-12, 2010
Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $18/20; Student Tickets: $7/8; Point Park students attend for free
Famous literary figures are stuck in the Camino Real, a purgatory-like waiting room. It is home to corruption, indifference and greed. No one is able to consider escaping until a new character, Kilroy, arrives.
She Loves Me by Joe Masteroff, Jerry Bock, & Sheldon Harnick
December 9-19, 2010
Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $18/20; Student Tickets: $7/8; Point Park students attend for free
She Loves Me is a light musical about two co-workers who cannot stand each other, but have pen pals that they are each enamored with. Neither knows that these pen pals are each other. The two have a significant realization come Christmas Eve.
The Time of Your Life by William Saroyan
January 27-February 6, 2011
Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $18/20; Student Tickets: $7/8; Point Park students attend for free
Colorful characters in Nick's Pacific Street Saloon take viewers on a whirlwind search for love and friendship, as well as meaning in life.
EVITA by Tim Rice & Andrew Lloyd Webber
March 3-6, 17-20, 2011
Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $18/20; Student Tickets: $7/8; Point Park students attend for free
This Tony Award-winning show made its debut in 1978 and has been popular ever since. The show follows Eva Peron's rise to and fall from power in Argentina after being born out of wedlock in a small village.
Mercy and the Firefly by Amy Hartman
March 31-April 17, 2011
Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $24/27; Student Tickets: $7/8; Point Park students attend for free
Mercy and the Firefly is a show about redemption and returning home for an east Los Angeles schoolgirl. Add a murderer, and this show is bound to please viewers. These shows will be the premiere of Mercy and the Firefly in Pittsburgh.
University of Pittsburgh
http://www.play.pitt.edu
http://www.music.pitt.edu/events
IonSound Project: Music of Joan Tower
Bellefield Hall Auditorium
315 South Bellefield Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
November 14, 2010 at 7 p.m.
Tickets in Advance ($10 general admission; students & seniors $5); At the door ($15 general admission, students & seniors $10)
IonSound Project presents the music of 2010's Pittsburgh Symphony composer-in-residence Joan Tower. Various chamber music pieces will be performed.
Festival of World Music
William Pitt Union Ballroom
3959 Fifth Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
December 4, 2010 at 2 p.m.
Free admission
Many of Pitt's music ensembles will be at this event celebrating world music. They will include the African Music & Dance ensemble, Carpathian Ensemble and Gamelan.
University of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (February 2, 2011)
Bellefield Hall Auditorium
315 South Bellefield Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
February 2, 2011 at 8 p.m.
Free admission
Pitt's Symphony Orchestra will be performing Saint-Saens' Concerto in B minor, featuring soloist Rebecca Theophanous. They will also play Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun.
Churchill in Short(s)? by Caryl Churchill
Henry Heymann Theatre (in the Stephen Foster Memorial)
4301 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
February 18-27, 2011-Tuesday-Saturday: 8 p.m.; Sunday: 2 p.m.
General admission: $25; Students: $12; Seniors: $15; Pitt faculty, staff, & alum: $20
Pitt's Rep Theatre will be performing a trio of rare plays by Caryl Churchill. Politics, psychiatry, and big business are the ideas behind the three plays, and each has its own individual idea and theme.
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot by Stephen Adly Guirgis
Henry Heymann Theatre (in the Stephen Foster Memorial)
4301 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
December 1-5, 2010; Wednesday - Saturday: 8 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday: 2 p.m.
General admission: $12; Students: $8
Combine New York, Catholicism, and Purgatory and you've got the idea of this play. The fate of Judas' soul is hanging in the balance.
Duquesne University
http://www.duq.edu/music/_pdf/events-calendar-2010-11.pdf
Duquesne University Symphony Orchestra
Carnegie Music Hall; December 4 at Power Center Ballroom
4400 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
November 14, December 4, February 13. March 13, April 8, and April 10; 8 p.m.
Suggested Donation: $10
The Duquesne Symphony Orchestra helps students develop skills necessary for orchestral performers. They perform once per month (with the exception of January) and cover a variety of musical genres and time periods.
Duquesne University Voices of Spirit & Pappert Men's and Women's Chorales
Duquesne Chapel (December 5-St. Paul Cathedral; March 11-St. Mary of the Mount Parish)
600 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
December 5, 2010; March 11, 17, & April 2, 2011; 8 p.m. (December 5: 3 p.m.)
Free admission or $10 suggested donation, depending on date
Voices of Spirit brings together 28 of the best singers Duquesne has to offer to perform challenging music from a variety of genres. The Pappert Men's Chorale contains around 40 men, music and non-music majors alike. They along with the Women's Chorale sing from a wide repertoire. The three groups perform independently, and will combine to perform works for large choruses.
Jazz Ensemble
Pappert Center
600 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
November 17, 2010; February 16, March 16, & April 6, 2011; 8 p.m.
Suggested Donation: $10
Duquesne's Jazz Ensemble has been an important performing group for years. Famous jazz musicians have appeared as guest soloists in the past, and the March performance features special guest Denis DiBlasio. Come see multiple performances from the ensemble for Duquesne's nationally acclaimed jazz program!
The Duquesne Contemporary Ensemble
PNC Recital Hall
600 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
November 11 & December 2, 2010; March 31 & April 7, 2011; 8 p.m.
Suggested Donation: $10
The Contemporary Ensemble is composed of 15-20 musicians that study and perform the music of our current time. They have appeared at national conferences, and have performed music by many different composers.
Carnegie Mellon University
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
Philip Chosky Theater Proscenium (within the Purnell Center for the Arts)
5000 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
November 18-20; November 30-December 4, 2010; Tuesday-Saturday: 8 p.m.; Saturday: 2 p.m.
Ticket prices vary depending on the day/time selected
One of Shakespeare's most well-known plays is A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the fantasy creatures that live within a dream will come to life in this show.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin
New Hazlett Theater
6 Allegheny Square East
Pittsburgh, PA 15212
February 17-26, 2011; Tuesday-Saturday: 8 p.m.; Saturday: 2 p.m.
Ticket prices vary depending on the day/time selected
This Tony Award-winning show is the story of six middle school students competing in a spelling bee. The hilarity ensues as the show follows these students along with their adult chaperones.
The Alice Project, directed by Marianne Weems
Philip Chosky Theater Proscenium (within the Purnell Center for the Arts)
5000 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
April 14-23, 2011; Tuesday-Saturday: 8 p.m.; Saturday: 2 p.m.
Ticket prices vary depending on the day/time selected
The Alice Project is a hallucinogenic look at a 21st Century Alice carrying out the White Queen's idea that 'It's a poor sort of memory that only works backward'. The production will develop as a year-long interdisciplinary collaboration
