Pittsburg, PA
Pittsburgh Musical Theater transports audiences to 1950s with ‘Grease’ – The Pitt News
In the historic halls of Pittsburgh’s Byham Theater, the air was alive with the iconic melodies and nostalgic charm of the 1950s. From March 7 to March 17, the venue became the vibrant stage for Pittsburgh Musical Theater‘s rendition of the classic musical “Grease.”
Through the flowing costumes that breathe life into characters of yesteryear and the
electrifying beats of rock ‘n’ roll that reverberated through the air, PMT whisked audience members away to the iconic halls of Rydell High School. The musical chronicles the romance between the charismatic bad boy, Danny Zuko, and Sandy Olsson, a timid but sweet newcomer.
Jeremy Eiben, the costume designer for “Grease,” said the creative process of designing costumes for the characters required a balance of accurate representation and historical inspiration.
“To do my design the process, I begin by reading the script and getting to know each character,” Eiben said. “A lot goes into looking at research from the 1950s, and it’s important to stay away from looking at production photos and the movie, because the movie was loosely based on the ‘50s and more inspired by the ‘70s, which is when it was filmed.”
He said that PMT’s rendition of the timeless musical blended traditional elements with a fresh perspective and innovative additions, especially in terms of his role as costume designer.
“A lot of people take ‘Grease’ to be edgier, and I wanted to shift away from that,” Eiben said. “Instead, I looked at photographs and decided to bring actual people’s high school memories onto the stage. By copying what I’ve seen in yearbooks and photos, I simply strived to portray real people on the stage.”
Zanny Laird, the actress portraying Betty Rizzo, said while the musical exudes fun and lightheartedness through its joyful songs, it also delves into weighty societal issues prevalent during the 1950s, particularly regarding the roles of women in society.
“There’s so much fun and love in our production of ‘Grease’ but also hard hitting things that we try to tackle especially when it comes to things like the expectation of women during the time period,” Laird said. “I hope that people see that Rizzo very much tries to go against the grain and what was expected of women at the time. Sandy and Rizzo are like two sides of the same coin, and they realize that at the end.”
Laird said she felt connected to the role of Rizzo. She said the complexity of Rizzo made her fascinating to portray.
“I’ve always loved the role of Rizzo, and I’ve always been fascinated with the softness and the hurt that underlies the tough exterior of Rizzo,” Laird said. “A lot of Rizzo’s dark humor is very similar to my own, so that was really easy to tap into. I also understand what it’s like to be hurt and trying to put up a front, so approaching the character was easy because I have experience in being in pain on the inside and putting a hard shell on the outside.”
While finding resonance with her character brought Laird a sense of joy, it was the opportunity to collaborate with a dear friend on stage that elevated her experience.
“The actor who played Kenickie is one of my best friends, so we both got very lucky, because if we didn’t have such a close friendship it would be very difficult to display that romance,” Laird said. “We both trust each other so much on the stage and feel so safe with each other, so it’s been one of the easiest times I’ve had with an actor on stage.”
Ellie Tongel, sophomore business major and member of the ensemble in the musical, said being in “Grease” while attending Pitt full time required a lot of time management and organization.
“In college, all the work is up to you, it’s your responsibility to get things done, so I had to be really well time managed as a student in the show,” Tongel said. “I always had my backpack with me and any break I had, I got some work done.”
Tongel said despite her major being entirely unrelated to theater arts, her passion for performing empowered her to effectively manage her time and commit to both pursuits.
“I’m from the suburbs of Pittsburgh, and I grew up doing classes with the Pittsburgh Musical Theater, but that was four years ago,” Tongel said. “Theater has always been what I’ve enjoyed the most, and I knew that I would want to keep that no matter what I ended up doing. That factored into my decision to go to Pitt because the area has so many great opportunities to perform even if you’re not going to school for it.”
Despite the demanding juggle of academic responsibilities alongside rigorous rehearsals, Tongel said she found solace in the rewarding moments of being under the spotlight.
“I’m having the best time of my life, especially with the show being ‘Grease,’” Tongel said. “I get to be in all the fun musical numbers like ‘Born to Hand Jive’ and ‘We Go Together.’ Being together with everyone on stage turns your entire day around, and it’s truly the best feeling.”
Despite the exuberance that permeated each performance, the journey to a successful opening night was fraught with challenges. Eiben said he encountered many struggles in costume design, including the intricate hand-sewing of detailed designs.
“‘Beauty School Dropout’ was the most challenging set of costumes to bring to the show,” Eiben said. “All the rhinestones that were seen, I hand-glued them down. In total, there were over 10,000 rhinestones glued down by hand. Teen Angel is my favorite costume; it was such a fun process to make the angel wings and rhinestone wings, but that alone took two days.”
Alexa Holleran, a local mental health specialist who attended the musical, said she feels a huge difference watching the “Grease” musical compared to the film. She said she always recommends watching a live performance of a show instead of a film since that allows for better connection to the characters.
“I feel like when watching a play or a musical you get more emotionally involved than you would in a movie because everything is happening right in front of you,” Holleran said. “The emotions of the characters on a stage is something you can really feel when you’re watching a show live. I always loved Rizzo, and the person that’s playing her right now is really good and you can just feel that. The chemistry between her and Kenickie is another thing that you can see in musicals a lot more than movies, which just shows the value of catching a show live.”
Pittsburgh Steelers punter Corliss Waitman will no longer wear No. 8. Following the signing of Aaron Rodgers, Waitman is switching to No. 3, which was last worn by Russell Wilson last year.
Rodgers will wear the No. 8. That is the number he wore with theNew York Jets during his two seasons there. Rodgers first wore the number during his time at California in college.
Kenny Pickett was one of the quarterbacks who wore No. 8 with the Steelers before the team traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rodgers could not wear No. 12 because the Steelers had unofficially retired that number. With the Steelers, No. 12 was worn by quarterback Terry Bradshaw in the 1970s, and while not officially retired, the team has never handed out the number since Bradshaw retired. It is unlikely they ever will, and there are plenty of other numbers that the Steelers will never hand out again, like No. 43 with Troy Polamalu.
This was not a matter of Rodgers asking Bradshaw, though if he had, he would likely have been met with stiff resistance. Bradshaw was critical of the team’s pursuit of Rodgers last week.
“That’s a joke,” Bradshaw said on 103.7 The Buzz’s Morning Mayhem Show. “That is to me just a joke. What are you going to do? Bring him in for one year? Are you kidding me? That guy needs to stay in California. Go somewhere and chew on bark. Whisper to the gods out there.”
Rodgers is now slated to be the Steelers’ starting quarterback, and his No. 8 jerseys are on sale in limited stock on the team’s store.
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates erased three deficits and walked it off vs. the Philadelphia Phillies in the series opener at PNC Park, 5-4.
The Pirates get their first win against the Phillies, after suffering a sweep at Citizens Bank Park, May 16-18. They also improve to 24-40 on the season, 15-18 at home, while the Phillies fall to 37-26 overall and 18-14 on the road.
Pirates left-handed starting pitcher Bailey Falter, who had an historic month of May, struggled at the top of the first inning.
He allowed a leadoff single to shortstop Trea Turner, got designated hitter Kyle Schwarber to pop out, but walked first baseman Alec Bohm, who both moved up to third base and second base, respectively on a double steal.
The Phillies took a 1-0 lead on a groundout from right fielder Nick Castellanos, but Falter got out of the inning with catcher J.T. Realmuto hitting a popping out.
Pittsburgh would respond in the bottom of the first inning, as second baseman Nick Gonzales hit a one out triple, his first of the season. Designated hitter Bryan Reynolds responded with a single right off of right-handed relief pitcher Joe Ross, tying it up at 1-1.
Pirates catcher Endy Rodríguez left the game after the first inning with right elbow discomfort, with Henry Davis coming in his place.
Pirates right fielder Adam Frazier hit a one out double in the bottom of the second and then third baseman Jared Triolo walked.
They missed out on an opportunity to take the lead, as Frazier got called out on the double steal and then shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounded out.
Falter allowed a one out double to Turner in the top of the third inning. He got Schwarber to ground out, moving Turner to third base, but then allowed a single to Bohm, scoring Turner and giving the Phillies a 2-1 lead.
Reynolds came through for the Pirates again in the bottom of the third inning, crushing a first pitch sweeper in the top of the zone from left-handed relief pitcher Tanner Banks for a solo home run, tying it up at 2-2.
Falter loaded the bases to start the top of the fourth inning, by allowing a double to Realmuto, walking third baseman Edmundo Sosa and giving up a single to second baseman Bryson Stott.
He did get left fielder Weston Wilson out on a liner to Oneil Cruz in center field and then struckout center fielder Johan Rojas, but Pirates manager Don Kelly made a pitching change, bringing in right-handed pitcher Chase Shugart.
Shugart would allow a single to Turner past both Kiner-Falefa and Gonzales into center field, scoring Realmuto and Sosa, as the Phillies took a 4-2 lead.
Falter, who only allowed three runs in May, finished his night with four earned runs on five hits and two walks over 3.2 innings.
Pirates left fielder Alexander Canario ledoff the bottom of the fourth inning with a walk and then Davis would hit a cutter on the outside bottom corner from Phillies right-handed pitcher Alan Rangel out into the left field seats for a two-run home run, tying the game up at 4-4.
Both teams struggled to get much going over the next two innings, with just a double each from Castellanos and Davis.
Kiner-Falefa walked and Cruz singled with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, but Gonzales and Reynolds both lined out.
The Pirates got great efforts from their bullpen, as Shugart and left-hander Caleb Ferguson each pitched 1.1 innings and 1.2 innings scoreless. Right-handed pitcher Dennis Santana ended the seventh inning and threw a scoreless eighth innng, while fellow right-hander David Bednar struck out the side in the ninth inning.
Frazier opened the bottom of the ninth inning with a bloop single and then Triolo singled to center field. Kiner-Falefa laid down a great bunt, reaching safely after it just stayed fair to load the bases.
Cruz struckout, but Gonzales hit a sacrifice fly out to left field, scoring Frazier and winning the game for the Pirates.
This was Gonzales’ third walk-off and his second vs. the Phillies, doing so last season, July 19, 2024 in an 8-7 victory.
The Pirates will look to win the series vs. the Phillies in the second game on June 7. First pitch is set for 4:05 p.m.
Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates
This morning, the front associated with yesterday’s thunderstorm activity stalled near the I-70 corridor with a humid and warm air mass in place in its vicinity.
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With light winds in place and high levels of humidity near the ground, this has resulted in the development of patchy fog.
KDKA Weather Center
The fog is generally thickest near and northwest of the Pittsburgh metro and will be in place through the next few hours. Some scattered showers are ongoing across Ohio and will move from west to east through sunrise and into the mid-morning hours. As low-level heating commences, this will allow instability to build up, resulting in a transition from showers to scattered and even numerous thunderstorms developing by 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and lasting through the evening hours.
Similar to yesterday, wind shear values aren’t too high, but just enough to allow for pulse storms that could produce localized microbursts of wind up to 60mph, very heavy rain, and at most quarter-sized hail.
KDKA Weather Center
The bulk of the storm activity will shift south toward I-70 and I-68 during the late evening and overnight hours of Saturday. After a few morning showers, most of Saturday into Saturday night is trending drier as we will be in between systems with high pressure to the north.
On Sunday, moisture will return north ahead of another disturbance. It is likely that showers and numerous thunderstorms will move in during the midday to afternoon hours with this system. An isolated severe storm cannot be ruled out, especially south of Pittsburgh toward the I-70 and I-68 corridors.
Following Sunday’s system, a more potent upper-level storm system will move in on Monday into Monday evening. This system will have much stronger winds aloft and be accompanied by sufficient moisture and some instability, so we will need to keep an eye on a potentially higher severe weather threat with this system.
Lingering showers and storms will continue on Tuesday, before a cold front moves in, resulting in drier conditions by the following Wednesday through the end of next week.
KDKA Weather Center
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