Thank you for voting!
Nearly 3,000 of you cast a vote or dropped an idea into our Mentimeter box between July 31 and August 8, and we mean it when we say we read every single submission. Thank you. Genuinely. A rose by any other name and all that — but it turns out a lot of you have real opinions about what that name should be, and we loved seeing it. Our new name will be revealed by the end of August.
What’s next?
Season #1. Our first full season announcement as one company — plays, musicals, and something for every Pittsburgh Public Theater fan, every Pittsburgh CLO fan, and new fans who haven’t found us yet. Our plan is to announce a full year of programming, and soon.
We’re also working through something less visible but just as important: building out the staff of the new company. Our commitment is to fill roles from legacy PPT and CLO staff first. This is a people business first, and getting it right matters more than anything else on our to-do list. We’re happy to report that it’s finally starting to come together.
We also launched the search for our President & Executive Producer in partnership with TOC Arts Partners! Click to read all about this opportunity on TOC’s website.
Pittsburgh Theater Artists Convening
A quick reminder: the Pittsburgh Theater Artist Convening is next Thursday, August 20, from 5–6:30 p.m. at the O’Reilly Theater (early enough to make your call time if you’re in a show).
Kyle Haden and Brett Ashley Crawford are inviting artists and producing companies from across the region to The O’Reilly for a real conversation about what comes next — not an announcement, but a chance to be in the room and help shape it.
CLICK TO RSVP and submit questions by August 18 Space is limited.
If you haven’t RSVP’d yet, now’s the time — we’d love to see you there.
Tickets on sale now: The Prologue Season
Tickets are on sale now for the Prologue Season, and we’re spotlighting How Shakespeare Saved My Life, making its Pittsburgh premiere at The O’Reilly. Written and performed by acclaimed actor Jacob Ming-Trent, this powerful autobiographical solo play blends Shakespeare, hip-hop, poetry, music, and personal storytelling into an unforgettable theatrical experience.
It’s already earned rave reviews: Peter Freeman of DC Outlook called it “the best performance of the year,” and BroadwayWorld DC praised it as “a moving testimony to the power of personal heroes and finding your light.”
By turns hilarious, heartbreaking, and inspiring, this is exactly the kind of story we want anchoring our first moments as one company.
Pay What You Can
Here’s a great way to be among the first to see it: our Pay What You Can preview is Wednesday, November 11. Choose your price, starting at $5, and join the first audience ever to experience this remarkable production on our stage. Tickets are on sale now — grab yours before the Prologue Season continues with adult favorite Who’s Holiday! and family tradition, A Musical Christmas Carol.
In the Spotlight
“Behind the Deal: Why the AT&T Performing Arts Center and Dallas Theater Center Intend to Merge” — D Magazine
Why it matters: Two longtime partners combining operations for many of the same reasons we are, reaching for the same tools: more flexible seasons with diverse shows, new purchasing options in place of the six-shows-booked-a-year-ahead commitment, and a combined push to expand student access to live theater. A useful outside case study as we build toward modular programming audiences can drop into show by show, and stand up our own membership model.
“Andrew Lloyd Webber Is ‘Gutted’ on Cats: The Jellicle Ball Closing Night: Producing on Broadway Is ‘Unsustainable’” — Variety
Why it matters: A Tony-winning, near-sold-out show still couldn’t close the gap between what it cost to run and what audiences would pay, and Lloyd Webber’s warning is that the economics of mounting work have become unsustainable across the industry. That same squeeze shows up at our level. Our answer isn’t higher ticket prices but fundraising and growth in areas like education, where we can widen access affordably rather than pricing people out.