Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

We’ve added three new theater companies and eight new productions. New to us, not new to the community.

Tis the season – live theater ramps up options for the fall months of 2026.

I enjoy this post because it gives me a chance to put certain show on my own calendar. That’s truth. It also reminds me of the energy of local live theater.

This year, we’ve added several community theaters in the outer counties. This is at the request of readers. So as of publication, we have 20 different theater companies from Ambridge to Kittanning, from Fombell to Uniontown – plus our usual favorites including PICT, Bricolage, and Kelly-Strayhorn. We’ll add more if you share the information. Faith based or theater ministries are not included.

As I’ve said countless times, lowering the barriers to live theater is essential. During my first trip to live theater at City Theater, I was met with withering commentary about my attire. I’ve long forgotten who it was – one white cis gay man amongst many – his snobbish rudeness remains a reminder to invite us in, all of us. If I had allowed him to shame me away, my life would be much less rich.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t know squat about directors, foleys, or which side is stage left. You belong there as much as someone who buys season tickets and names drops productions. Okay to be transparent, I can be snobby about conflating a musical with a play, but that’s probably more about my own insecurity as an imposter.

The community has been rocked by the merger of Pittsburgh CLO and Public Theater earlier this year. They are now known as Confluence Theater. I think it is fair to allow for a bumpy start, but I very much hope we see important stage productions utilizing local unionized cast and crew.

Another exciting partnership is City Theatre and Bricolage Theater teaming up to bring us uniquely Pittsburgh takes on beloved classics via Midnight Radio.

In my uninformed, but still valid opinion – City Theatre is now the crowd jewel of Pittsburgh live theater. It is profound they are based outside of Downtown because it shakes up the perspective many of us grew up about going to town for all the important things. Going to a touring production of a Broadway musical is perfectly fine, but it is not the same as local live theater productions. You can do both.

What am I looking forward to this season? The third show in the Christmas at Pemberley trilogy, Midnight Radio, the clash of culture and privilege with refugees, a modern version of Othello, the use of AI to help a family wrestle with trans identity, and the brilliant mathematical mind of a mother.

City Theatre

In Clay Sat, Sep 19 – Sun, Oct 11, 2026  In Clay is a dazzling solo musical that unearths the overlooked artistry of ceramic artist Marie-Berthe Cazin. 

Young Playwrights Festival 2026 Sat, Oct 17 – Sun, Oct 18, 2026 ix one-act plays written by the region’s most promising young writers. Selected from nearly 300 submissions, these six original plays written by middle and high school students are professionally produced in The Lillie Theatre and capture the stories of today.

Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley Sat, Nov 14 – Sun, Dec 6, 2026 The final installment of the most adored Christmas at Pemberley series follows Mr. Darcy’s younger sister, Georgiana, and Bennet sister, Kitty, two best friends ready for their own adventures in life and love.

Bricolage Theater

Night of the Living Dead N’at Thu, Oct 29 – Sun, Nov 15, 2026 From the city where the dead first rose, comes a night of living jags! 

Hey, Hon, It’s a Wonderful Life Thu, Dec 3 – Sun, Dec 20, 2026

PICT Pittshurgh Immigration and Classic Theater

Refugee Rhapsody October 9th—25th 2026 A chance encounter between Emily, a wealthy socialite heiress, and a young Arab American couple—Sakinah and Fouad—children of refugees working at a Goodwill – unfolds as a darkly comic and unsettling exploration of race, class, and privilege in modern America.

Pittsburgh Playhouse

The Bed Trick Wed, Oct 14 – Sun, Oct 25, 2026 is a witty contemporary comedy where three college rommates navigate love, identity, and consent as Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well unexpectedly shapes their lives

Girls Just Want to Have Fun The Musical! Wed, Nov 11 – Sun, Nov 22, 2026

Blood Wedding December 2 – 6, 2026 A bride torn between duty and desire sets fate in motion in Blood Wedding, Federico García Lorca’s haunting drama of forbidden love, family loyalty, and passion with devastating consequences.

Kelly-Strayhorn Theater

Trapped September, 17 – 26, 2026 All it takes to change the world is just one honest leader and true champion of the “little guy.”  Can Jim Trafacant, a convicted felon and disgraced ex-congressman, become that leader?

Aura Friday & Saturday, October 2 – 3, 2026 A mother uses an AI chatbot to grieve her child’s transition. 

With Ourselves. With Each Other October 23-24, 2026 Set in a “karaoke-funeral-lounge”, WOWEO follows Korean adoptee and ballerina-turned-experimental dance-maker Maree ReMalia as she navigates the grief of losing a parent who raised her and the absence of a parent she never met. 

Quantum Theater

radio island October 23 – November 15, 2026. What begins as a homecoming in this gothic thriller becomes something far less predictable – a reckoning with people, places, and unfinished business that whispers ‘silence is more dangerous than you think.’

New Hazlett Theater

Othello of the Endzone October 22-25, 2026 A reimagining of the classic work by Shakespeare, Othello of the End Zone follows the journey and battles of Imani Othello who must navigate the treacherous world of sports and her own insecurities after being named Head Coach of America’s most beloved football franchise. 

Cosmic Microwave Background November 19-20, 2026 Cosmic Microwave Background by Julia Fraser is a full-length play that shakes the human anxieties and optimism from the digital age.

And a Buoy Nov 30

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

Hadestown Tue, Oct 27 – Sun, Nov 1, 2026 intertwines two mythic tales — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone — as it invites you on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back.

RENT: The Musical Thu, Sep 24 – Sun, Oct 18, 2026 ** Greer Theater

The Notebook Tue, Nov 10 – Sun, Nov 15, 2026

Maybe Happy Ending Tue, Dec 29 – Sun, Jan 3, 2027

Pittsburgh Musical Theater

Evil Dead: The Musical September 25 – October 25, 2026 This hilarious show takes all the elements of the cult classic films The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, and Army of Darkness and combines them into one of the craziest theatrical experiences of all time.

Dahl’s Matilda The Musical November 5-8, 2026 The captivating masterpiece that revels in the anarchy of childhood, the power of imagination and the inspiring story of a girl who dreams of a better life.

Little Lake Theater

Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors Oct 8 to Oct 25, 2026 Bram Stoker meets Mel Brooks in this hysterical Halloween treat! A fast-paced farce full of wordplay, quick changes, and absurd antics

The Wolves Nov 5 to 22, 2026 A sharp, funny, and deeply human portrait of a girls’ indoor soccer team as they warm up for the game – and for life. 

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Dec 4-12, 2026 a colorful, high-energy musical about family, forgiveness, second chances, and finding your way home.

Confluence Theater

How Shakespeare Saved My Life November 11-22, 202 tracing, with humor and heartbreak, how Shakespeare’s words threw a lifeline to a homeless aspiring teenage actor.

A Musical Christmas Carol Fri, Dec 11 – Wed, Dec 23, 2026

McKeesport Little Theater

4,000 Miles October 8-18, 2026 “4000 Miles” follows 21-year-old Leo through a grieving process after he suffers the loss of his best friend while on a cross-country bike trip. 

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory December 4-13, 2026

Riverfront Theater

Spring Awakening Nov 20th – Nov 28th, 2026

Pittsburgh Savoyards

Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Yeomen of the Guard October 9-18, 2026

Iron Horse Theater Company (Ambridge)

 Young Frankenstein written by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan October 9, 10, 16, 17, 18, 23, and 24.

Ada and the Engine December 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 18, and 19. The play details the life of Ada as she struggles between the traditional demands of her mother and the pull of her mathematical ambition. Ada sees the creative potential in “The Engine” created by her mentor, Charles Babbage. 

Bobcat Players (Beaver)

Wonder of the World November 13, 14, 19, 20, 21

The New Castle Playhouse

1776 September 25 – October 4, 2026

Miracle on 34th Street: The Musical December 11-20, 2026

Butler Little Theater

It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play December 4 – 12 

Red Barn Players

Blithe Spirit September 17 – 19, 23 – 26

Armstrong Community Theater

Nana’s Naughty Nickers October 16-18, 2026

Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company

Fishy Woo Woo, Part 2 October 16th – 31st 2026

Another Dinah Washington Christmas at Jimmy Hyde’s Sugartop Lounge Dec 10-21

Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center

Disney’s Frozen October 2-4 & 9-11

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Jr. November 13-15 & 19-22

A Christmas Story The Play Dec 4-20

South Park Theater

Trying Sept 17 – 27

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