off the WALL productions at Carnegie Stage A Pittsburgh Theater

To all of our fans, followers and donors, I thank you, on behalf of the entire Off The Wall team, for a wonderful year!  With your support, we were able to make the year 2013 the ‘Year of the Woman’ with 4 plays by and about women. We’re always striving to bring you plays that represent real life. Plays that will shape your future experiences by creating a more conscious and compassionate community. Plays whose memories will last well beyond the applause. So the next time you’re looking to enjoy an experience that’s a bit ‘Off The Wall’ – come join us at our local Pittsburgh Theater – Off The Wall Productions , just 6 miles from downtown Pittsburgh. Here’s a taste of what you can look forward to in 2014: A Feminine Ending – by Sara Treem, playing February 28 – March 15, 2014 Inky – by Rinne Groff, playing May 2 – May 17, 2014 Wishing you a Happy New Year!

Daina Michelle Griffith & Virginia Wall Gruenert - Photo by Heather Mull This weekend is your last chance to catch the Pittsburgh Premiere of ‘WELL’ – a hilarious, heartfelt seriocomedy. Come join us for our last weekend of performances.  How often do you have the opportunity to enjoy a play in a theater so intimate that you’re not only almost sitting on the stage, but where the actors are blatantly aware of you? Well, by Lisa Kron, is written in a unique autobiographical style, where Lisa, the daughter, has brought her mother to our stage to ‘make an exploration of universal issues’.  What does that mean?  That means that Lisa, always thinking of herself, is perhaps using her mother a bit as she tells the story of her own life through a play.  But the fun is just beginning!  Ann, the mother, has some different recollections of Lisa’s childhood and early adult years, and she doesn’t hesitate to point those differences out to Lisa. The play gets funni...

Daina Michelle Griffith, Virginia Wall Gruenert Photo by Heather Mull Most of us say it at one time or another, “I don’t want to be like my mother (or father),” only to find out years later that’s exactly what we have become! WELL gives us insight into the life of playwright Lisa Kron, who worries that her mother’s chronic battle with “allergies” will likewise plague her own life. Kron presents “a play within a play,” portraying a unique and somewhat satirical look at chronic illness, human weakness and family ties that bind. “No one can be anything but pleased with the acting,” notes Christopher Rawson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, adding, “her (Kron’s) memories and the feisty characters keep rising up and commandeering the stage.” Read more of Rawson’s review . LAST WEEKEND TO SEE 'WELL' - December 26, 27 and 28:   Don’t miss it! Order your tickets today by selecting this link . Well, written by Lisa Kron, is a riotously funny play that acknowledges the heartbre...

Virginia Wall Gruenert, Linda Haston, Susie McGregor-Laine - Photo by Heather Mull If you have never attended an Off The Wall Theater production, WELL is the one! Unique and interactive, this autobiographical sketch of playwright Lisa Kron turns audience members into cast members and uses the theater itself as its stage. According to Pittsburgh Owl Scribe’s review by David Zuchowski,“You’ll probably find yourself on the edge of your chair trying to keep up with the shenanigans of the six character cast and the author’s playful penchant for violating all the rules of chronology, place and dimension.” Join the laughter as we poke fun at the idiosyncrasies of the Ann Kron household, where allergies seem to rule. WELL’s effective portrayal of family relationships, conflicts and unmet expectations will be sure to resonate with you. Don’t miss it! Order your tickets today by selecting this link . December 26, 27 and 28 - Pittsburgh Theater Live Spend some with us this holiday ...

Daina Michelle Griffith & Virginia Wall Gruenert- Photo by Heather Mull What happens when a daughter, who has been impacted all her life by her mother’s undiagnosed illness, decides to write a play about her experiences? Well, an auto-biographical play, explores various life issues, such as wellness and illness, integration, and mother-daughter relationships.   Watching the main character Lisa (the daughter) deliver the dialogue on the play and run through its scenes is much like watching a Christmas present being unwrapped. Once unwrapped, a very nice gift is revealed. Like a present, Lisa must unwrap and shed layers of past experiences before she can get to the core issue with her mother – why can her mother, who healed a failing neighborhood, not heal herself? The empathy and understanding that ensues is the true gift of healing. December 19-28. Pittsburgh Theater Live:  WELL, written by Lisa Kron, plays this weekend before Christmas and the weekend after Chris...

Alan Bomar Jones, Virginia Wall Gruenert, Susie McGregor-Laine, Tony Bingham - Photo by Heather Mull “It was a great theatrical experience!” - Mike “Buzz” Buzzelli of Burgh Vivant “It was enthralling, from start to finish.” – Lonnie the Theater Lady of Burgh Vivant Buzz & Lonnie’s review of Well seems to follow the old adage, if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything. And let me tell you, they had PLENTY to say, and all of it good . Here’s a compilation of bits and pieces from their podcast.   Click here to listen to entire podcast. I enjoyed the way the play was written. I thought it was very unique and creative. The talent was amazing. It was enthralling, from start to finish. Every bit of it. The set, the actors, the play itself, the direction, everything.  I liked the way the set looked so phenomenal when you come in. Daina Michelle Griffith (Lisa): Daina impresses me every time I see her. She just does everything so naturally. Virgin...

Virginia Wall Gruenert - Photo by Heather Mull Looking for a personal gift for someone close to you this holiday season? What could be better than spending time and having a good laugh with someone you love?  Our production this holiday season is perfect for a mother-daughter outing, any close relationship, or two friends wishing to spend some time together. WELL, written by Lisa Kron, is about a mother-daughter bond and the need for empathy for those you love most. It is also about how a mother heals a failing neighborhood when she can’t heal herself and what constitutes wellness versus illness. But the best part is that although the messages in the play are meaningful, you and your loved one will laugh your way through the entire play. You will be glad you spent this time together. WELL, a 2006 Tony Award-nominated play,  runs the weekend before and after Christmas. So take a break from the hectic holiday and spend some time with a loved one in our cozy theater. Co...

Daina Michelle Griffith & Virginia Wall Gruenert - Photo by Heather Mull From the moment you walk into the theater, you might sense that this play is going to be different. What you won’t sense prior to the start, is just how funny this play will be. Well is not your typical play where the actors stay in character the entire time. Well is a production where the actors portray their characters, have an awareness of audience, and play themselves…the actors. Well is a play about a mother who heals a neighborhood through racial integration, but who is not able to heal herself.  It is also about the impact the mother’s illness has on this mother-daughter relationship as the daughter struggles to understand why her mother cannot get well. Virginia Wall Gruenert, artistic director of Off The Wall Productions, and who plays the mother in the play, selected the play.  When asked why this play, Ginny commented that this play is funny and it’s hard to find good comedy. ...

Daina Michelle Griffith, Virginia Wall Gruenert, Tony Bingham, Linda Haston, Alan Bomar Jones, Susie McGregor-Laine.  Photo by Heather Mull What is Theater?  According to Wikipedia , “Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place.” Read on to see how the unique seriocomedy Well, opening this Friday, December 13 , fits the Wikipedia definition of Theater and why it is a must see in Pittsburgh Theater . Tickets on Sale Now . Theater is... “A Collaborative Form of Fine Art” :  Our technical and artistic team, led by Stage Manager Erika Cuenca, have collaborated to prepare a stage that will make you believe you are sitting in watching the private mother-daughter affairs in the mother’s living room through the wonderful use of the set, props, costumes, lighting and sound. “That Uses Live Performers” :  Some of Pittsburgh’s fi...

Virginia Wall Gruenert & Daina Michelle Griffith. Photo by Heather Mull. Well is a seriously funny play! Autobiographical in nature, it is the story of a mother-daughter relationship. Ann, played by Virginia Wall Gruenert, has galvanized the community by spearheading the racial integration of a Lansing, Michigan neighborhood, but is not able to cure her own mysterious illness, which she attributes to unidentifiable allergies. Lisa, played by Daina Michelle Griffith, struggles with her mother’s inability to heal herself.  Lisa not only blames her mother for the impact her health has on her own life, but also assumes that she has the same life altering ‘allergies’ as her mother. If you’re looking for a unique experience in a Pittsburgh theater , join us for this play.  You’ll laugh as you, the audience, are not only entertained by both sides of the story, but become part of the play as the actors and characters voice their awareness of you. December 13-28. Pittsbu...

Have you ever noticed that the holidays tend to magnify family idiosyncrasies?  When emotions are put aside, you might be able to see that these same day-to-day family interactions can be a great source humor.  Our production this month has nothing to do with the holidays, but everything to do with family dynamics and humor. Daina Michelle Griffth, Alan Bomar Jones, Tony Bingham, Virginia Wall Gruenert, Linda Haston, Susie McGregor-Laine Photo by Heather Mull Well, a seriocomedy brilliantly written by Lisa Kron, will have you laughing as this mother-daughter pair explore why the mother is able to bring life to a failing community, but not able to heal herself. The mother, riddled with pain and fatigue, is convinced she has allergies. As the daughter tries to understand how her mother can heal a sick neighborhood, the mother is critical and relays the ‘true’ story to the audience.  This frustrates the daughter, who at the same time, attempts to bring the audienc...

Virginia Wall Gruenert Virginia Wall Gruenert is passionate about gender equality in the theatre arts.  That’s why, as Artistic Director of Off The Wall Productions, she promotes plays that are written and directed by women, and which include women in the technical roles as well as in the acting roles. As an author, director and actress, Virginia is personally aware of this bias.  This bias reaches to all arms of theater production, whether it’s physical gender bias against female artists, or general gender bias against women producers, directors, playwrights, or stage technicians. And there’s research to validate Virginia’s stance.  In a yearlong research project completed by Emily Glassberg Sands, the findings validated that there is indeed discrimination against female playwrights, which lends itself to the disproportion between the numbers of shows produced by men versus women. ( full article ) In fact, based on information on 20,000 playwrights, the number ...

Are you looking for a fun evening out after a day of shopping?  An exciting venue after a day of self-indulgence around the dinner table?  The perfect show to jump-start your holiday spirit?  If you answered yes to any of these, then come join us at our small, friendly Pittsburgh theater for a dance show to remember. This weekend is your last chance to see ‘Express Burlesque with a Holiday Encore’ for an evening of tantalizing entertainment. During this Holiday Encore show, there will be a special appearance by Samuel Mancini from the Voice.  Samuel will make a fun appearance that will cause the girls to make special Christmas wishes! Come enjoy this old burlesque style show that will set your holiday spirit on fire.  What is Burlesque?  Burlesque is a form of entertainment based around dance, music, and the art of tease performed by professional dancers (not strippers) with degrees in dance.  The RED City Live Entertainment company is bring...

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to enjoy a theater production at a small, friendly theater?  Well wonder no more. Click here to ‘stroll’ through our intimate Pittsburgh theater. Be sure to enter the theater stage area by ‘walking’ through the red curtains.  Come early and enjoy offerings from the Carnegie Coffee Company before the show. After strolling through our theater, you will understand why our next production, Well , is perfect for a theater like ours.  The play’s unique structure, both narrative and interactive at the same time, lends itself to our playhouse. Off The Wall Theater not only becomes the play’s setting, but you will feel like you are part of the play, as the cast and characters interact both with each other and with you. Well, a 2006 Tony Award-nominated play written by Lisa Kron, is a hilariously funny production that you don’t want to miss. Well is a story about a mother’s ability to heal others, but not herself, and the challenges that...

Join us for a very special appearance by none other than Samuel Mancini from the Voice. During this Holiday Encore, a fun appearance by Samuel will cause the girls to make special Christmas wishes! The dancers might not be the only one making Christmas wishes.  What will you wish for as these 5 gorgeous professional dancers take you on a journey through your emotions? This is what Susie Dohmlo, co-producer, has to say about the dancers: “5 very different Flavors in one tastefully amazing tease. The Holiday encore is sexy and the costumes alone are worth checking out!” Express  Burlesque with a Holiday Encore is an exciting burlesque-style dance review that combines an old burlesque feel with a provocative, yet classy, modern twist. ONLY 4 MORE APPEARANCES AT OFF THE WALL THEATER. BUY TICKETS NOW AND LET SAMUEL MANCINI  AND THE DANCERS WOW YOU! November 22-23, 29-30, 2013 at 8:00 PM. Pittsburgh Theater Live Express Burlesque with a Holiday Encore is a ...

Kick off your holiday spirit with this special showing of “ Express Burlesque with a Holiday Encore ” where 5 sexy, professional dancers will set the stage on fire!  Each dancer has her own unique stage personality. About the show:  Gorgeous professional dancers will take you on an exciting musical journey that’ll make you want to get up and dance, with a holiday ending that is sure to set your holiday spirit a blazing. Come meet these dancers at our special theater,  where every seat is a good seat. Roxy is fiery and is the life of every party Scarlett is classy, sexy & sophisticated Cat is hot and cool & moves with her own awesome flavor Jewel is the girl next door with a twist of sultry seduction Cherry is on a mission to lead the pack with eyes of mystery that keep you glued to her performance like a trance Let's Turn this City RED! November 22-23, 29-30, 2013 at 8:00 PM. Pittsburgh Theater Live!  This i...

Express Burlesque with a Holiday Encore “Express Burlesque with a Holiday Encore" is playing tonight at Off The Wall Theater. If you haven’t been to our theater, you’ll be amazed at how intimate it is. You won’t get this close and personal to the show anywhere else. So come enjoy this old style burlesque show and set light to your holiday spirit now. These highly trained dancers (not strippers) will take you on a musical journey that you will enjoy and remember.  Let’s help RED City Live Entertainment turn this city RED! Nov. 15, 22-23, 29-30, 2013 at 8:00 PM. Pittsburgh Theater Live!  This is a special Off The Wall Theater event, produced by Susie Dohmlo & Reid Gustin of RED City Live Entertainment.   Click here for tickets and information.

Express Burlesque with a Holiday Encore Dancers Are you looking for a show to warm up your winter?  Then come see ‘ Express Burlesque with a Holiday Encore ’ for an evening of tantalizing entertainment. The RED City Live Entertainment  is bringing back a nearly lost art form to Pittsburgh. Burlesque is a form of entertainment based around dance, music, and the art of tease.  The highly trained dancers (that’s right, dancers, not striptease artists), will take you on a musical journey that will make you want to get up and dance.   Come enjoy this old burlesque style show that will set your holiday spirit on fire. Nov. 15, 22-23, 29-30, 2013 at 8:00 PM. This is a special Off The Wall Theater event, produced by Susie Dohmlo & Reid Gustin of RED City Live Entertainment.   Click here for tickets and information.

Robyne Parrish - Director of The Zero Hour Robyne Parrish, director of The Zero Hour, woke up this morning wondering if those reviews were real or if they were just a dream.  Robyne, we have news for you.  Those reviews were real! Here’s a quick recap of a few: “I give the cast and crew high marks for an emotionally moving and intellectually stimulating performance.” Rick D’Loss of The Carnegie Shul “The play was warm, compelling, provocative, very funny with some piercing sadness and exceedingly well done.” Maggie Forbes, Executive Director at Andrew Carnegie Free Library “I find it exhilarating to see theater whose artifice is transparent, as here… Quick costume changes take place on stage. The same person plays many roles. It’s a stunt, in a way, like watching the Cirque de Soleil of acting. But the level of acting here goes beyond virtuosity.”   Arlene Weiner of the Coal Hill Blog "Madeleine George's 2010 play, directed here by Robyne Parrish, mov...

This is your last chance to catch The Zero Hour right here in Pittsburgh!  We welcome you to join us at our small, intimate theater where you will be delighted by our actors as they seamlessly transition both roles and costumes right before your eyes.  Every seat is a good seat, and the actors will transport you from your seat to a bedroom, a subway station, a therapist’s office and a bar with the help of the well-done sound effects, lighting and staging. To learn more about The Zero Hour, scroll through our recent blogs. There you’ll find a variety of pictures and synopsis’s. Click here for the latest review by Arlene Weiner of the Coal Hill Blog, where Arlene emphatically states, “It’s a stunt, in a way, like watching the Cirque de Soleil of acting. But the level of acting here goes beyond virtuosity. Cuenca and Griffith inhabit their roles, make them human—and, not incidentally, sympathetic.” The Zero Hour explores and questions honesty, love, what is authentic, what...

Erika Cuenca and Daina Michelle Griffith – Photo by Heather Mull Earlier this week we posted the review by Rick D'Loss from The Congregation Ahavath Achim, Carnegie. Maggie Forbes, Executive Director at Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall, also attended the opening night, and this is what she had to say in response to Rick’s blog: “I was blown away by the caliber of what I was calling the “Lesbians and Nazi’s on the No.7 train” play.”  “The play was warm, compelling, provocative, very funny with some piercing sadness and exceedingly well done.” Click here to read the full article and comments.   What will you have to say about the play?  Let us know on Twitter  and Facebook . Last Chance!    Buy Your Tickets Now.  The Zero Hour’s final nights are this Thursday, Friday & Saturday (November 7-9).  Come see two of Pittsburgh’s finest female actors, Erika Cuenca and Daina Michelle Griffith, directed by the brilliant Rob...

“It’s not often that we get a Holocaust themed play in Carnegie. I am probably understating the obvious; we probably have never had a Holocaust themed play in Carnegie!”  Erika Cuenca and Daina Michelle Griffith – Photo by Heather Mull That’s what Rick D’Loss of the The Carnegie Shul had to say about The Zero Hour.  But that’s not all Rick had to say.  Rick delved into the intricacies of the play, the struggles of how to make the Holocaust relevant to 7th graders, especially given that the writer is both a Jew and homosexual, and the challenges of describing the enormity of it all. Rick does a wonderful job capturing the essence of the play: the intertwining of living a lie, the tension that comes with living a lie and the resulting complications when he states  “I especially liked the intertwining of the “living a lie” theme as Rebecca describes a “closet” Jew living with false papers in Berlin, while Rebecca herself is hiding her true life from her mother.”...

Daina Michelle Griffith - Photo by Heather Mull O, a chronically unemployed lover in a relationship with Rebecca, who is not out of the closet, will escort you through a range of emotions throughout the play. O will make you laugh .  Whether she’s prostrating herself asking for forgiveness, taking pictures of Rebecca just about everywhere, or demanding attention when Rebecca is on the phone with her mother, she will make you laugh. O will make you think .  In her own obstinate, childlike way, O demands to know why the full truth cannot be told.  Why is the whole Holocaust story not told to 7th graders?  Why can’t Rebecca tell her mother she is a lesbian? Why can we not all be honest? O will make you feel .  O will make you feel what it’s like to disappoint your lover, what it’s like to miss someone, and what it’s like to carry anger against those you love. Michelle Pilecki of The Pittsburgh City Paper had this to say about O and the play: “The rea...

Erika Cuenca  and Daina Michelle Griffith - Photo by Heather Mull Mike “Buzz” Buzzelli and Lonnie the Theatre Lady ran into each other at the opening night performance of The Zero Hour.  They got together and ‘dished’ it out on ' BURGH VIVANT , Pittsburgh's Cultural Talk Magazine. They could not say enough about the theater, its mission, the actors, the set or the director. Here’s a what they had to say about each: The Theater: “Something special about that theater…not a bad seat in the house.”   Off The Wall Theater mission:   “Enlivening, educating & entertaining audiences in the Pittsburgh Region …dedicated to women: playwrights, directors, actors.” The actors:   “Beautiful women, their talent is just great!” The Play: “Thought-provoking!”  The play makes you talk afterwards about schoolbooks, the Holocaust, and what it must have been like during the time period. The Set:   “The set was great.”  Mike and Lonnie credite...

John Steffenauer & Erika Cuenca - Photo by Heather Mull What would a play about two lesbians in an almost-love relationship be without a good looking man?  In comes Doug.  Is Rebecca, who is not ready to come out of the closet, not even to please her lover O, really a lesbian? Is Doug the man who commands an answer?  Although Doug’s entrance occurs near the end of the play and only for a single scene, it is a scene you won’t soon forget. In a review by Dave Zuchowski  via his Owlscribe blog , Dave focuses in on Doug’s character, stating  “John Steffenauer as Doug, Rebecca’s bar encounter, is also a strong presence in a diminutive role…”  Dave also gives credit to the sound designer, Ryan McMasters, for doing a “great job incorporating Hitler speeches in the sound tract that evokes the mood of Nazi Germany along with snippets of beautiful singing from Mozart’s opera, "The Magic Flute," as well as some captivating music in the bar scene I’d like to ...

Robyne Parrish on her way to rehearsal What does any director hate more than an actor being late for rehearsal? Being late herself!!  It looks like Robyne Parrish, the Director of The Zero Hour, might be late for our final rehearsal. Can the production team and actors handle the final rehearsal themselves? Come find out. The Zero Hour starts playing this Friday, October 25th.   Tickets on sale now . About Robyne Parrish (Director):  This is Ms. Parrish's sixth directing assignment with Off The Wall, following The Mercy Seat, The House of Yes, Shaken & Stirred, Stop Kiss, and Looking for the Pony. She is currently Artistic Director of the Gilbert Theatre in NC where she directed The Fantasticks, Naked, and The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds.  Parrish mounted Quilters at Children’s Theatre Charlotte in 2012 and spent years in SC, NC and NYC directing at venues like NCSA, Act One Theatre, The Sande Shurin Theatre, Sonnet Repertory Theatre (...

Erika Cuenca & John Steffenauer - Photo by Heather Mull Honesty…  Self-Identity…  Authentic-Self… These themes weave their way throughout this dramatic comedy. The Zero Hour explores the intimate relationship between two women almost in love.  What happens when one woman is not honest?  What happens when honesty is told?  Can their relationship survive the truth?   Rebecca, brilliantly played by Erika Cuenca , represents the serious side of the relationship. Rebecca writes for an academic publishing company and is writing a textbook for seventh graders about the Holocaust.  But her self-examination and inner struggles are causing unintended consequences.  As the challenges with honesty in her relationship deepen, she also begins to question what is appropriate for the textbook.  Every way she turns, she begins to wonder: What is the truth?  What is authentic?  If you've ever asked yourself these questions, you’ll appr...

Daina Michelle Griffith & Erika Cuenca - Photo by Heather Mull "A lucid drama. Appealingly brainy and messy, George's play never settles for an easy metaphor or emotion. It cross-examines our pat notions of history and love."  — The New Yorker This is a play you don’t want to miss!  Share the intimacies of two women in love, one in the closet and one not.  What happens to the mind when the honest truth might hurt those you love most?   The Zero Hour opens in Pittsburgh this Friday, October 25th.  Runs through November 9th.   Learn more/purchase tickets .