Watch the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade, experience the iconic "La Traviata" at the Pittsburgh Opera or check out a Tina Turner Tribute Concert — here's what to do in Pittsburgh this weekend.
Comedy
Multimedia comedic performance-art troupe TSTMRKT (a.k.a. Las Vegas-based writer and performer Ernest Hemmings) visits Arcade Comedy Theater with "Everyone Loves Dick (The Authorized Biography of Dick Ripper)." It’s described as “a lysergic, modern Western about love, loss and the transformative power of purchasing a slightly used vehicle.” A cassette tape of “Neil Diamond’s Greatest Hits” is also involved. The show’s touring nationally, and the performance here is Thu., March 14.
Dance
Human miscommunication is the subject of the new show from Corningworks’ Glue Factory Projects, which spotlights widely known dance-theater artists over age 40. Beth Corning choreographed and performs in “What did you think you just heard me say?!” along with guests Alberto Del Saz, Evan Fisk and Claire Porter. Expect ironic wit and cagey staging when the production hits City Theatre’s intimate Lillie Theatre for eight performances Fri., March 15, through March 24.
Parade
Old heads will recall March 1993, when despite the worst snowstorm in a century, Pittsburgh’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade went on. As it has for decades, the parade returns this year, fair weather or foul. The 1.4-mile Downtown route features Irish step dancers, marching bands, military service people, community groups and more, drawing 200,000 or more spectators in a prelude to further, um, festivities around town all weekend. More on the Sat., March 16, event is here.
Visual Art
Iconic Pittsburgh painter — and painter of Pittsburgh — Robert Qualters turns 90 this week, and naturally, he’s celebrating with a new show. This one’s a collaboration with renowned Pittsburgh photographer Mark Perrott, with Qualters painting on a series of 12 photographic portraits of himby Perrott. Other works by Qualters and Perrott round out “Robert Qualters: More Leaves / New Work,” which opens Sat., March 16, with a 1-3 p.m. reception at Lawrenceville’s be Galleries, and runs through April 27.
Opera
Verdi’s “La Traviata” is a love story about a courtesan and her suitor, a young bourgeois whose father forbids the union. By some counts, it’s perennially the world’s most-performed opera, and this week Pittsburgh Opera debuts its new production. It stars internationally known South African soprano Vuvu Mpofu, as Violetta, and award-winning American tenor Duke Kim, as Alfredo. There are four performances at the Benedum Center, Sat., March 16, through March 24.
Music
Nobody can replace the late Tina Turner, but she’s more than deserving of a valedictory show or two. The Kelly Strayhorn Theater obliges with A Tina Turner Tribute Concert. Led by music director Dwayne Fulton and lead vocalist Chanell C.J. Harris, a live band will aim to get audiences out of their seats and dancing. The performance is Sat., March 16.
