All Tickets Now On Sale For Pittsburgh Public Theater 2023/2024 Season

Tickets are now on sale for the 2023/2024 season at Pittsburgh Public Theater (Artistic Director Marya Sea Kaminski, Managing Director Shaunda McDill). Individual tickets start at $35 and are available online at PPT.org or by calling 412.316.1600.

The 2023/2024 season begins September 19 with the world premiere of Billy Strayhorn: Something To Live For, with music and lyrics by Billy Strayhorn and a book by Rob Zellers (The Chief) with Kent Gash (Paradise Blue, City Theatre). The cast, led by director Kent Gash, features Broadway stars and T.V. regulars, including Darius de Haas of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," J.D. Mollison of Broadway's Les Miserables, and Tony Award nominee Charl Brown of Broadway's Motown: The Musical, complemented by jazz phenom Matthew Whitaker and a live jazz band. This "Broadway-aimed" (Deadline) musical is produced by Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Award winner Billy Porter, and runs through October 8.

The Public moves into spooky season with an immersive adaptation of A Tell-Tale Heart, written by Edgar Allan Poe and adapted and performed by Alec Silberblatt, which will bury audiences under the O'Reilly Theater stage for a one-of-a-kind production, Oct. 19 - Nov. 19. Ralphie and company make their triumphant return to The O'Reilly with hit family favorite, A Christmas Story: The Play, Dec. 5 - 23, before Sara Porkalob (Broadway's 1776) rings in the new year with her fearless one-woman cabaret musical, Dragon Lady.

The Public springs into March with The Importance of Being Earnest, diving into Oscar Wilde's world of sparkling conversation, romance, and sheer absurdity, as adapted by acclaimed director Jenny Koons, on stage March 27 - April 14, 2024. Pittsburgh Public Theater closes its 49th season with The Coffin Maker, bringing Pittsburgh theater legend Mark Clayton Southers' words to life. May 29 - June 16, 2024. Set in 1849 Oklahoma, it's a genre-defying western-comedy-revenge play audiences will not want to miss.

PITTSBURGH PUBLIC THEATER 2023-2024 SEASON

 

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

September 19 - October 8

A LEGEND BEGINS HERE

Featuring a stunning score, Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For brings to life the remarkable true story of one of the greatest composers of all time. From his impoverished beginnings in Pittsburgh to his lifelong collaboration with Duke Ellington, this world-premiere new musical follows the highs and lows of Billy Strayhorn's career, the joys and heartbreak of his personal life, and the challenges he faced living as an openly gay Black man in mid-20th century America at the dawn of the civil rights movement. Through his collaborations with Lena Horne, Billie Holiday, and the greatest jazz orchestra of all time, Billy Strayhorn transcended racial and sexual barriers and brought a unique fusion of jazz and classical music to the world with all-time favorites including "Take the 'A' Train" and the immortal "Lush Life."

Rating: PG-13 for multiple slurs relating to sexuality and race, romantic innuendo, and a brief scene with on-stage racially motivated violence. Suitable for most audiences 13+ with caution advised for pre-teen and younger audiences.

A TELL-TALE HEART

 

Written by Edgar Allan Poe
Adapted and performed by Alec Silberblatt
Directed by Marya Sea Kaminski

October 19 - November 19

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.

Rating: PG for explicit language, horror themes, and descriptions of alcohol use, violence, death, and gore. Suitable for most audiences with guidance urged for pre-teens.

A CHRISTMAS STORY: THE PLAY

Play by Philip Grecian

Directed by Michael Berresse
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

December 7 - 23

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.

Rating: PG for allusion to explicit language, brief and mild violence on stage, themes of bullying, and romantic innuendo. Suitable for most audiences with guidance urged for pre-teens.

DRAGON LADY

 

Written and performed by Sara Porkalob
Directed by Andrew Russell

February 7 - 25, 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."

Rating: R/MA (mature audience) for explicit language, alcohol use, violence (gang/blood/gun), depiction of death, racially charged language, gambling, romantic and sexual innuendos, allusions to human trafficking, and sexual harassment. Recommended for 18+ and strongly suggested parental guidance for anyone 17 and under.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST

 

by Oscar Wilde
Adapted and Directed by Jenny Koons

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.

Rating: PG for romantic innuendo, allusion to alcohol and smoking. Suitable for most audience with guidance urged for pre-teens.

THE COFFIN MAKER

 

World Premiere
Written by Mark Clayton Southers
Directed by Monteze Freeland

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.

Rating: PG-13 for explicit language, adult themes, depiction of death, and violence. Suitable for most audiences 13+ with caution advised for pre-teen and younger audiences.

Individual tickets start at $35 and are available now at PPT.org or by calling the Box Office at 412.316.1600. Season ticket holders can save up to 45% on packages including our signature 5-Play and Flex Subscriptions, as well as our American Sign Language and Live Audio Description series.

For discounted group tickets (10+) contact Pittsburgh Public Theater's Group Sales partner, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, by ordering online, calling 412.471.6930 or emailing GroupSales@TrustArts.org. For student matinee inquiries, please email the Pittsburgh Public Theater education department at edu@ppt.org.

A Tell-Tale Heart is not available as part of a subscription package. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit PPT.org/HEART.

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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