SPOTLIGHT: Thu., Aug. 4 — Stage
Regan Linton is an accomplished stage actress, with national credits including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. But the roles she’s offered cluster around characters like Laura from The Glass Menagerie: Laura limps, and Linton uses a wheelchair. So with all due respect, Linton (pictured) thinks Tennessee Williams’ 1944 classic needs updating — and that’s what she’ll do Aug. 4 in her portion of Imminent Movement: Ability in Action (part of the 16th annual Kennedy Center Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability Conference, hosted by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust). “What if Laura was actually the way I see people with disabilities nowadays?” asks Linton by phone from her home in Bozeman, Mont. “We need something more new and fresh and accurate in terms of the breadth of experiences.” Linton and a fellow actor will perform a Menagerie monologue, with Laura’s half rewritten. The evening, co-presented by the Trust and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, also includes a performance by New York City-based rap duo 4 Wheel City. Namel “Tapwaterz” Norris and Ricardo “Rickfire” Velasquez, who both use wheelchairs due to gun-related injuries, have performed at the White House and the United Nations; they bring their message of inspiration, disability awareness and anti-gun-violence. Also on the August Wilson Center program is internationally known dance, theater and performance artist Barak adé Soleil. Bill O’Driscoll 8 p.m. Thu., Aug. 4 980 Liberty Ave., Downtown. 412-456-6666 or $25. www.trustarts.org
Thu., Aug. 4
Megan Monaghan Rivas and Tlaloc Rivas married five years ago but have often been apart: She teaches drama at Carnegie Mellon University, while he teaches at the University of Iowa and makes theater internationally, specializing in Latino theater. When Quantum Theatre asked them to create a show, they were drawn to a comedic drama about an imperiled marriage. Renaissance playwright Lope de Vega’s Peribañez depicts a newlywed rural peasant couple, Peribañez and Casilda, whose happiness is threatened by a military officer’s obsession with Casilda. “That pulled us in personally,” says Megan Rivas. She and her husband co-direct this rarely produced two-act, which stars CMU drama students Siddiq Saunderson, Isabel Pask (both pictured) and Freddy Miyares. Peribañez is staged outdoors at a favorite Quantum spot, Mellon Park’s woodsy Jennie King Rose Garden, on a unique, three-platform stage partly enclosed with chicken wire meant to evoke both garden plots and animal pens. Tanya Ronder’s translation trades the original verse for lyrical prose, and Quantum’s ensemble wrote their own music for the script’s several folk songs. Megan Rivas emphasizes that this 1613 play’s stalking motif remains sadly relevant: “What happens to Casilda in this play is still happening.” Bill O’Driscoll 8 p.m. Continues through Aug. 28. Mellon Park, Shadyside. $18-51. 412-362-1713 or www.quantumtheatre.com
Thu., Aug. 4 — Stage
When Alfred Hitchcock finds a story inspiring, you know you’ve got a suspense classic. Daphne Du Maurier’s unsettling short story The Birds has been adapted for the stage by acclaimed Irish playwright Conor McPherson (The Seafarer). The tale of three hostages trapped by vicious birds outside their door makes its Pittsburgh stage premiere at the Studio Theatre in Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning tonight thanks to 12 Peers Theater. Tyler Dague 8 p.m. Continues through Aug. 21. 4200 Fifth Ave., Oakland. Admission is pay-what-you-desire. 412-626-6784 or www.12peerstheater.org
Fri., Aug. 5 — Festival
There’s never a shortage of things to do at the EQT Three Rivers Regatta, which begins today at Point State Park. In addition to the F1 powerboat races, expect stunts from BMX bikers, extreme pogo-stick-riders Xpogo and jet-ski specialists throughout the three-day event. The Red Bull Air Force performs daily skydives. The Proud Boat Parade invites locals to deck out their boats in black and gold (best decorated wins $500). Music headliners include ’90s radio staples Better Than Ezra and Gin Blossoms, pop hit-makers American Authors and country star Rodney Atkins. Purple Rain Fireworks from Pyrotechnico cap the weekend with a tribute to Prince. TD Noon-10:30 p.m. Also noon-10:30 p.m. Sat., Aug. 6, and noon-9:30 p.m. Sun., Aug. 7. 601 Commonwealth Place, Downtown. Free. 724-759-5277 or www.yougottaregatta.com
Fri., Aug. 5 — Words
“Before there were pictures, there were stories” goes the tagline for the Three Rivers Storytelling Festival, which kicks off today at Schenley Plaza. Award-winning storytellers Kim Weitkamp, Adam Booth and Antonio Sacre will begin with a competition to see who can tell the most outrageous yet believable lie, judged by a national teller, with the Biggest Liar trophy on the line. An array of colorful accounts and ghost stories will follow through the two-day festival. TD 6-9:30 p.m. Also 1-10 p.m. Sat., Aug. 6. 4100 Forbes Ave, Oakland. $5-10 ($15 for a weekend pass). www.3rstf.org
Fri., Aug. 5 — Art
Summer’s penultimate Unblurred is a busy one. In addition to a solo show by comics arts Marcel Walker, at Most Wanted Fine Art, Boom Concepts hosts Major Heavy, an exhibit of art and music by Reese Brown, including tonight’s Afrobeat dance party. And the Irma Freeman Center holds the opening reception for The Robert W. Knauer Family Exhibit. The show features work by the late Pittsburgh-based artist and teacher — including paintings and drawings from his days as an Army chaplain in the 1950s — alongside the paintings and mixed-media work of his children, Evan Knauer and Bryann Gminder. The evening includes sets by Evan Knauer’s longtime band A.T.S. and related acts. BO 7-10 p.m. 4800-5400 Penn Ave., Friendship/Bloomfield/Garfield. Free. www.pennavenue.org
Sat., Aug. 6 — Festival
Couldn’t make it to San Diego for Comic Con? Well, you don’t have an excuse to miss CONtact ’16, today’s teen pop-culture convention at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. The free activities include movies, costume creation, trivia, a Pokémon tournament and a cosplay showcase. Lunch will be provided by Chipotle, Vocelli Pizza and Eat’n Park. Transportation to the convention is available from Carnegie Library branches in the North Side, Brookline, Carrick, East Liberty, Lawrenceville, Squirrel Hill and Woods Run one hour prior. (Minors must have permission slips.) TD 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. Free. 412-622-3114 or www.carnegielibrary.org
Sat., Aug. 6 — Music
Prepare for a day of jazzy powerhouse concerts and food trucks galore at the 2016 FEASTival in McKees Rocks. Nationally touring bands The Naughty Professor, Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds, Dumpstaphunk and Turkuaz will bring the funk; DJ Mike Canton will keep the groove flowing; and 12 food trucks will serve crepes, brunch, gourmet meatballs, mac-and-cheese, ice cream and more. You better not leave hungry. TD 2:30-9:30 p.m. McKees Rocks Municipal Lot, Route 51 and Furnace Street, McKees Rocks. Free. 412-331-9900 or www.pghfeastival.com
Sat., Aug. 6 – Words
Retired undercover cop, boxing trainer, poet — Jimmy Cvetic is among Pittsburgh’s most distinctive characters. But he’s completely serious about the need to stop police-related violence, no matter who the victim. Tonight, the launch of Cvetic’s new performance space in (of all places) Monroeville Mall doubles as the book-release for Scales of Just Us, his play/screenplay exploring the moral questions and human cost of a single murder case. Excerpts will be performed by local actors including David Conrad and Patrick Jordan. The evening, which includes a performance by vocalist Casaundra Williams, is a fundraiser for the Western Pennsylvania Police Athletic Association. BO 7 p.m. 200 Mall Circle Drive, Monroeville. $20 (or a “sad story”). [email protected]
Mon., Aug. 8 — Words
Weeks after the TV version of his book The Run of His Life (adapted as American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson) comes acclaimed author Jeffrey Toobin’s latest book. American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst (Doubleday) tells an iconic 1970s story about a rich college girl who joined the would-be revolutionaries who took her prisoner, and the police shoot-out — and cultural fallout — that ensued. Toobin visits Carnegie Library Lecture Hall tonight courtesy of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures. BO 7 p.m. 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. $34. 412-622-8866 or www.pittsburghlectures.org
Wed., Aug. 10 — Outdoors
The three rivers get a lot of attention — and deservedly so — but when was the last time you went fishing inside city limits? To celebrate ongoing cleanup efforts, outdoor-recreation advocate Venture Outdoors hosts a weekly lunch-time Allegheny River fishing session on the North Side. At TriAnglers, bait and equipment are provided, and registration for limited spots is requested. Anglers 16 and older need a Pennsylvania fishing license. TD 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Continues weekly through Sept. 28. Roberto Clemente Bridge, North Side. Free. 412-255-0564 or www.ventureoutdoors.org
