Sophocles' ELECTRA at Pittsburgh Public Theater

Contact Margie Romero, Communications Manager at Pittsburgh Public Theater


412.316.8200 ext. 707 or mromero@ppt.org

Pittsburgh Public Theater Presents

Electra

by Sophocles

adapted by Frank McGuinness

The fate of a family is revealed in 90 minutes of theatrical dynamite, directed by Ted Pappas.



Catherine Eaton Plays Electra


PITTSBURGH (September 1, 2011) Pittsburgh Public Theater launches its 37th season with Electra, written by ancient Greek master Sophocles and adapted by Frank McGuinness. After highly successful productions of Medea and Oedipus the King, Greek native Ted Pappas will now direct Electra. It runs September 29 – October 30, 2011 at the O’Reilly Theater, Pittsburgh Public Theater’s home in the heart of Downtown’s Cultural District. For tickets call 412.316.1600 or visit ppt.org. Electra is presented by First Niagara with production sponsors Jim and Electra Agras and Production Underwriters Jim and Kathe Patrinos.

Lisa Harrow/Clytemnestra

Electra brings to life the myths of ancient Greece while it tells a timeless story of one family’s tragedy. As the play begins, Orestes (Michael Simpson), his friend Pylades (David J.M. Bielewicz), and his faithful servant (Edward James Hyland) secretly return to the palace of Mycenae. Years before he had been sent into hiding after the murder of his father, King Agamemnon, by his mother Clytemnestra (Lisa Harrow) and her lover Aegisthus (David Whalen). Despite the passage of time his sister, Electra (Catherine Eaton), can’t get over their father’s death. Their other sister, Chrysothemis (Catherine Gowl), and the women of Mycenae (The Chorus: Glynis Bell, Shinnerrie Jackson, and Amy Landis), tell her to pull herself together. But that’s hard in the presence of her regal mother who proclaims her righteousness. Will fate give Electra her revenge? That answer will not be revealed until the play’s shocking conclusion.

The design team for Electra is James Noone (Scenic), Gabriel Berry (Costumes), Kirk Bookman (Lighting), and Zach Moore (Sound). Ruth E. Kramer is the Production Stage Manager and Fredric H. Orner is the Assistant Stage Manager.

About the Playwright

Sophocles was a leading dramatist during the Athenian Golden Age. Born in 495 BC near Athens, Greece, he was beloved in his day and is remembered more than two millennia later for his great works of tragedy. Sophocles wrote well over 100 plays but only seven have survived intact: Ajax, Antigone, The Women of Trachis, Oedipus the King, Electra, Philoctetes, and Oedipus at Colonus. He is appreciated by modern audiences for his treatment of the individual and the complex issues he addresses. He died peacefully when he was over 90 years old, around 406 BC.

Pittsburgh Public Theater Presents

What: Electra

When: September 29 – October 30, 2011

Performance Schedule

Tues. through Sat. at 8 pm (except Tues., Oct. 25 when the show is at 7 pm).

Sat. at 2 pm (except Oct. 1 & 8).

There will be an additional 2 pm matinee on Thurs., Oct. 27.

Sun. at 2 & 7 pm (except Oct. 30 when the final show is at 2 pm).

Press Night and Opening Night are Thursday, October 6.

Ticket Prices

$28.75 to $60.75.

$15.75 for students and age 26 and younger with valid ID.

For tickets call 412.316.1600 or visit ppt.org

They Might Be Giants Return To Pittsburgh with New Show

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Today's date: September 1, 2011

They Might Be Giants

Wednesday, September 14, 2011, 8:00 PM

Byham Theater, 101 Sixth Street

Brooklyn’s avant-garde alternative rock pioneers They Might Be Giants return with a brand new show to regale Pittsburghers with their boundless energy, witty lyrics and catchy melodies. The beloved cult band will celebrate the release of their brand new 18-song album Join Us and their 30th year anniversary. They Might Be Giants will perform on Wednesday, September 14, 2011, at 8:00 p.m., at the Byham Theater. The concert is presented by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and Opus One Productions, as part of the Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents series.



Tickets ($32.75) may be purchased at the Box Office at Theater Square, 655 Penn Avenue, online at www.pgharts.org, or by calling (412) 456-6666. To purchase 10 or more tickets, please call group sales at (412) 471-6930.



Founded in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell, the unlikely success story of They Might Be Giants began with their Dial-A-Song service and the low budget videos which broke them into heavy rotation on MTV. A key part of the early ’80s explosion of visual art, music, and performance art of New York’s East Village, Flansburgh says of the band, “we’ve heard avant-garde music, we’ve heard popular music… that’s given us the notion that we can be as original as we can be and still make worthwhile songs.” They Might Be Giants writes, records and tours continuously, and has been involved in numerous television and film projects, including an appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, winning a GRAMMY for their theme song for Malcolm In the Middle and many more, as well as creating an on-going podcast. John Flansburgh and John Linnell will be joined on tour by Dan Miller on guitar, Danny Weinkauf on bass, and Marty Beller on drums.



They Might Be Giants new album, Join Us, is the electrifying mix of clever, beguiling songwriting and studio mastery. Sometimes strange and always original, the album finds Flansburgh and Linnell on a creative roll, making music that positively swarms with innovation. “We’re flying our freak flag super high on this one,” says Flansburgh. As the band turns away from the family oriented projects that dominated their output in recent years, Join Us is a return to the singular sensibility that made them an instant phenomenon. The album was created in the brand new private studio of their long-time collaborator Patrick Dillett and features inspired electronic excursions to blazing barns-stormers performed by their explosive live band. They Might Be Giants both recall and reinvent pop songwriting; they’re in a league with modern masters like Elvis Costello, Sparks and XTC, echoes of whom you can hear in Join Us. As Flansburgh notes, “We’re rock people — we grew up in this hypnotizing moment when there was nothing more persuasive than popular song. It was so good, it stole the minds of an entire generation.”
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WICKED Lottery for $25 Orchestra Seats

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Today's date: August 31, 2011

Contact: Veronica Corpuz, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

WICKED announces lottery for $25 seats

September 7 - October 2, 2011 - Benedum Center

A day-of-performance lottery for a limited number of orchestra seats will be held daily for WICKED, which will be performing from Wednesday, September 7 through Sunday, October 2, at the Benedum Center. Each day, 2½ hours prior to show time people who present themselves at the Theater Square Box Office, 655 Penn Avenue, downtown Pittsburgh will have their names placed in a lottery drum and then thirty minutes later, names will be drawn for a limited number of orchestra seats at $25 each, cash only. This lottery is available only in-person at the box office, with a limit of two tickets per person.

WICKED, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin, Disney’s Enchanted, Academy Award winner for Pocahontas and The Prince of Egypt) and book by Winnie Holzman (“My So Called Life,” “Once And Again” and “thirtysomething”), is based on the 1995 best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire. The musical is directed by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello (Take Me Out, Love! Valour! Compassion!, The Vagina Monologues)and features musical staging by Tony Award winner Wayne Cilento (Aida, The Who’s Tommy, How To Succeed…). WICKED, the untold story of the witches of Oz, is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone.

Long before Dorothy drops in, two other girls meet in the land of Oz. One – born with emerald green skin – is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. WICKED tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.

WICKED features set design by Tony Award winning Eugene Lee (Ragtime,Show Boat, Candide, Sweeney Todd), costume design by Tony winner Susan Hilferty (Spring Awakening, Into the Woods, Assassins), lighting design by Tony nominee Kenneth Posner (Tony Award winner for The Coast of Utopia, Hairspray) and sound design by Tony Meola (The Lion King). Stephen Oremus is the show’s music director. Orchestrations are by William David Brohn, with dance arrangements by James Lynn Abbott.

WICKED has “cast quite a spell” (Washington Post) throughout North America, breaking box office records in every city that it has played, including Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Philadelphia and Boston to name a few.

Called “a cultural phenomenon” by Variety, WICKED continues to thrill audiences around the world. There are currently seven productions of WICKED worldwide, including two North American tours, a Broadway production, London production, a Japanese-language production, a German-language production and Australian production. A Dutch-language production of WICKED will open in November 2011.

The return engagement of WICKED, Wednesday, September 7-Sunday, October 2, at the Benedum Center, is a season special, part of the PNC Broadway Across America – Pittsburgh series, a presentation of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Broadway Across America and Pittsburgh Symphony.

The performance schedule is as follows: Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday at 2:00 and 8:00 p.m.; Sunday at 1:00 and 6:30 p.m. On Thursday, September 8, there will be a 1 p.m. matinee.

Tickets are selling fast and many performances are close to selling out. Best availability is for weeknight performances and the Thursday matinee. For ticket information call (412) 456-4800 or visit www.pgharts.org.

*As a note to all calendar listing editors, the title of the show is WICKED (not WICKED: A New Musical or WICKED, the untold story of the witches of Oz).

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