All stories by Jessica Neu on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, October 7, 2025

Review: Isaac Mizrahi Shines in the Trust Cabaret Season Opener by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU One of the aspects I love most about events at the Greer Cabaret Theater is that conventional theater rules do not necessarily apply to the performers. There’s a sense of…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 01:51PM[SHARE]
Sunday, September 21, 2025

‘Compagnie, Hervé Koubi’ Stuns as Pittsburgh Dance Council’s Season Opener  by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU Renowned visionary and choreographer Hervé Koubi greeted a nearly sold-out crowd at the Byham Theater Saturday evening. He introduced his critically acclaimed show Compagn…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 02:30PM[SHARE]
Thursday, September 18, 2025

Whether Shit-Faced or Sober, You are Sure to Enjoy “Shit-Faced Shakespeare: Hamlet” by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU Five empty cans of Lagunitas IPA, a partially empty fifth of Jack Daniels, sexual innuendo, a dance break complete with a kick line, uproarious laughter, and constantly breaki…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 05:40PM[SHARE]
Saturday, September 13, 2025

“Come On Feel The Noise:” The Strand’s ‘Rock Of Ages’ Succeeds in its Desire to Rock by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU Theater is sacred for a myriad reasons. One of the primary reasons is that it, of course, provides an escape from reality. For several hours, you can sit immersed in a dark th…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 04:03PM[SHARE]
Friday, September 5, 2025

The Pittsburgh New Works Festival Continues With Edgy and Entertaining Original Work by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU With only two programs left, the Pittsburgh New Works Festival continues to showcase some of the best and most creative national and local playwrights. The Pittsburgh New Wor…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 06:21PM[SHARE]
Friday, August 22, 2025

REVIEW: The Pittsburgh New Works Festival Opens With Four One-Act Plays That Are Equally Relatable and Entertaining  by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU The Pittsburgh New Works Festival offers a platform for new one-act plays to come to life. The festival runs August 21st – September 14th and is divided into programs A – …

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 01:25PM[SHARE]
Saturday, July 19, 2025

“For the First Time in Forever,” Pittsburgh’s CLO Welcomes ‘Disney’s Frozen: the Broadway Musical’ by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU The windows are open, and so are the doors, as the Benedum Center welcomes Disney’s Frozen: the Broadway Musical, based on the Disney film that shifted the cultural zeitge…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 12:47PM[SHARE]
Friday, July 18, 2025

Review: The Prom Is A Triumphant Dance Full of Heart and Inclusivity  by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU I went to the prom my junior and senior year of High School. My date and I gleefully danced amongst all of our friends to “Get Low” and “Hollaback Girl.” Were they the…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 04:53PM[SHARE]
Thursday, July 3, 2025

Review: Jazz Aficionado Diana Krall Turns Heinz Hall Into a 1930’s Jazz Club by Jessica Neu

   By JESSICA NEU Heinz Hall’s iconic red stage curtain remained closed last night. It gracefully draped the stage, but hung back toward mid-stage to frame the space for a piano, uprigh…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 04:12PM[SHARE]
Friday, June 27, 2025

Review: Pittsburgh Public Theater’s ‘Twelfth Night’ is a Triumph of Community, Diversity, Joy, and Love by Jessica Neu

onStage Pittsburgh dispatched Sharon Eberson and Jessica Neu to review Marya Sea Kaminski’s final production at the Public. You can read Sharon’s review here. By JESSICA NEU Shakespeare…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 04:48PM[SHARE]
Monday, June 9, 2025

REVIEW: The Strand Theater’s ‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’ Lives Up To Its Name  by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU After a successful tribute performance to the incomparable Carole King, Ron Carter, President & Executive Director of the Strand Theater decided that Beautiful: The Carole…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 04:56PM[SHARE]
Monday, June 2, 2025

REVIEW: “Double, Double, Toil, and Trouble:” Vigilance Theater Group’s ‘Mac Beth’ Is Equal Parts Shakespeare and Brat Summer  by Jessica Neu

BY JESSICA NEU (Updated with more images from the production.) Shakespeare’s Macbeth tells the tragic story of Macbeth, a general who receives a prophecy from three witches that he will …

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 11:02PM[SHARE]
Monday, May 26, 2025

An Interview with The Becoming Art’s Collective Founder Darrin Friedman: Cool People Doing Really Cool Work in Community Theater  by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU This past January, playwright Darrin Friedman and director Art DeConciliis debuted Friedman’s original play Three Blind Mice. After achieving commercial and critical su…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 08:33PM[SHARE]
Saturday, May 17, 2025

Oh Baby! Front Porch Theatricals’ ‘Baby’ Delivers Joy, Humor and Emotional Challenges by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU Pregnancy is a strange thing. Every woman’s journey to finding out they are expecting differs. Sometimes, it is expected; sometimes, it is a complete shock. Not to mention t…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 05:00PM[SHARE]
Saturday, May 10, 2025

Review: They Played Paradise: PSO’s ‘Clouds in my Coffee: Music of Joni Mitchell, Carole King & Carly Simon’ at Heinz Hall by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Clouds in My Coffee is a Perfect Tribute to Mitchell, King, and Simon. Conductor Ted Sperling leads the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 03:11PM[SHARE]
Monday, May 5, 2025

Review: Order Up! PMT’s ‘Waitress’ is a Musical Baked to Perfection  by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU Sugar. Butter. Flour. At first glance, they seem like simple ingredients—Staples of any household. However, for Jenna (Zanny Laird), these are the ingredients to life.   Ma…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 08:44AM[SHARE]
Saturday, May 3, 2025

Review: ‘Come From Away’ Soars as a Theatrical Experience About the Power of Community and Love  by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU Where were you on 9/11? If you are currently older than 30 years old, you likely have some memory of that day. I was in 3rd-period geometry class when the first plane hit. I b…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 01:26PM[SHARE]
Sunday, April 27, 2025

Review: Riverfront Theater Company’s ‘The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?’ is a Challenging, Must-See Tragicomedy  by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU Edward Albee’s 2002 play, The Goat or, Who is Sylvia? is an edgy, heavily-debated tragicomedy that pushes theatrical plot boundaries. Director Caitlin Dobronz and Assis…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 06:05PM[SHARE]
Friday, April 25, 2025

Review: ‘Dragonfly Dawn’ is an Ethereal Dance Journey That Battles Good vs. Evil by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU I listened to a podcast hosted by Meghan McCain a couple of weeks ago. She and her guest were discussing the idea of work-life balance. McCain mentioned that she does not li…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 06:22PM[SHARE]
Sunday, April 20, 2025

Twyla Tharp’s ‘Diamond Jubilee’ Proves Technique is Timeless and Dance Should Be Fun by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU In celebration of her company’s 60th anniversary, renowned choreographer Twyla Tharp presents a Diamond Jubilee of two iconic, career-spanning productions. The first, D…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 02:59PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Preview: World Premiere Staging of J.S. Bach’s ‘Marcus Passion’, April 11th at Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU Chatham Baroque and Concert Theatre Works are presenting the world premiere staging of J.S. Bach’s long-lost Markus Passion in Pittsburgh on April 11, 2025, at Carnegi…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 09:10AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 8, 2025

PSO’s A Boy Band Symphony Proves That We Still ‘Want it That Way’ by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU It’s April 7, 2000. You have a pager, a fresh new outfit from either Pac Sun, Delia’s, or Charlotte Russe, and you are ready to watch MTV’s Total Request Live. 98 Degr…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 01:02PM[SHARE]
Saturday, April 5, 2025

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s PNC Pops ‘Total Eclipse of the Charts: Music of the 80s’ Offers a Nostalgic Evening That is ‘Simply the Best’ by Jessica Neu

BY JESSICA NEU It’s 2025. Your aerosol Aqua Net cans have been empty for decades, and you traded in your Trans Am for a three-row SUV. Pop music is a little less synthesized, there are not…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 05:17PM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 3, 2025

Corning Works’ ‘Stand By – An Allegory’ Perfectly Personifies Mortality Through Puppetry and Contemporary Dance by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU Coring Works proudly presents its latest work in The Glue Factory Project series, Stand By – An Allegory. The performance features critically acclaimed performers, inclu…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 05:14PM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 6, 2025

Did That Just Happen? ‘Ben Seidman in Good Charlatan’ Uses Magic to Tackles Truth, Trust, Confidence, and Con-Artists  by Jessica Neu

BY JESSICA NEU I have had the pleasure of attending multiple shows at Liberty Magic. Each time, stage manager Zoe Ruth enthusiastically greets the audience. She introduces the acclaimed ma…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 07:38PM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 2, 2025

Historical Relevance and Powerful Performances Make Prime Stage’s ‘I Never Saw Another Butterfly and The Terezin Promise’ a Must-See Show by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU Theatrical performances function in countless ways. Some shows are purely for entertainment. Some carry a timeless theme but still make us laugh. Some shows evoke a sense of n…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 04:22PM[SHARE]
Sunday, February 23, 2025

Pittsburgh Dance Council’s Bodytraffic Soars With Heart and Soul  by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU The Bodytraffic company flew onto the Byham Theater stage last night. Continuing the Pittsburgh Dance Councilseason, artistic director Tina F. Berkett and creative part…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 05:30PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, January 29, 2025

‘Life of Pi’: A Visually Stunning Story of Imagination and Survival  by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU A digitized body of calm water titled “Life of Pi” transformed the traditional curtain at the Benedum Center into a pool of tranquility. The bold blues of the water and th…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 09:07PM[SHARE]
Saturday, January 25, 2025

Christopher Rivas’ ‘The Real James Bond…Was Dominican’ Offers a Prolific, Powerful, and Important Commentary on Appropriation in the United S by Jessica Neu

  BY JESSICA NEU Sometimes a theatrical performance comes along that is more than a show. The words, songs, or actions penetrate your brain and speak to your soul. A core memory is create…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 06:44PM[SHARE]
Friday, January 3, 2025

From Bob Dylan to Hugh Grant: My 2024 Year-in-Review by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU  The second in a series by onStage’s writers looking back on the past year’s performances. In 2024, Russell Wilson became a Steeler, and we were ‘totally eclipsed,’ …

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 02:24PM[SHARE]
Friday, December 20, 2024

Christmas Is All Around as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Presents ‘Love Actually’ by Jessica Neu

By JESSICA NEU There was a buzz in the air at Heinz Hall last night before the Pittsburgh Symphony took the stage to perform along to the 2003 British Comedy Love Actually on Decembe…

SOURCE: onstagepittsburgh.com at 04:11PM[SHARE]

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