Kick off the holiday season with Light Up Night and the Downtown Holiday Market, or watch the comedy drama "American Buffalo" — here's what to do in Pittsburgh this weekend.
Stage
Former 98 Degrees singer Drew Lachey and his wife, choreographer Lea Lachey, have created a new musical, and it makes its Pittsburgh debut this week at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater. A diverse cast of young adults stars in “label·less,” which tells true stories of racism, sexism, bullying and more with original music and songs by Pink and Taylor Swift. The lone performance here is Fri., Nov. 17.
Festival
For some, the holiday season begins the day after Halloween. Others wait until Black Friday. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership picks this week, starting with the Fri., Nov. 16, launch of the big annual Holiday Market, in Market Square. On Sat., Nov. 17, Light Up Night starts at 3 p.m., with a block party, kids’ activities, live music and more. More details are here.
Visual art
The Mattress Factory’s singular 516 Sampsonia Annex — a whole row house dedicated to full-building installation works — gets its latest inhabitant this week. Columbus, Ohio-based Luke Stettner and 10 local collaborators employ photography, sculpture and poetry in “State of the Sky,” a long-term installation drawing on archival materials and more to explore the impact of industry on the environment and human health. Roam the house at the opening reception Fri., Nov. 17.
Stage
“American Buffalo” (1975) is among David Mamet’s earliest plays and his best-known save “Glengarry Glen Ross.” The profanely funny drama revolving around a rare coin and three small-time crooks in a Chicago junk shop gets a rare staging here courtesy of barebones productions. Artistic director Patrick Jordan stars alongside Brenden Peifer and local favorite David Whalen. It runs Fri., Nov., 17, through Dec. 10 at Barebones Black Box Theater, in Braddock.
Visual art
A trove of works from two prominent local collectors debuts at the Carnegie Museum of Art. “The Milton and Sheila Fine Collection” includes more than 100 works in contemporary painting, sculpture and photography from the likes of Mark Bradford, Jeff Koons, Robert Mapplethorpe, Chris Ofili, Edward Ruscha, Cindy Sherman and Kiki Smith. Many were drawn from past Carnegie Internationals. The exhibit, in remembrance of Milton Fine, who died in 2019, opens Sat., Nov. 18, and continues into March.
Music
Early-music group The Baltimore Consort visits with “In Angel’s Wede – Music of Mary Queen of Scots.” The group, consisting of soprano Danielle Svonavec and a five-piece ensemble on winds, viols, lute and more, plays a program of Scottish, French, Italian and English music reflecting the life of the 16th-century monarch. Radio host Robert Aubry Davis narrates. The Chatham Baroque show is Sat., Nov. 18, at Shadyside’s Calvary Episcopal Church.
