APRIL 22, 2025 (PITTSBURGH, PA)—Pitt Stages, the in-house theatre company of the Department of Theatre Arts at the University of Pittsburgh, is proud to announce its 2025-2026 theatre season. Comprised of bold and compelling stories, the productions will reflect a common theme of Transformations. The mix of mainstage productions and one-act plays will consist of classical reinterpretations, dark comedies, and an avant-garde musical that celebrate change in its many forms—personal, physical, societal, and fantastical.
Curated by the Pitt Stages Season Selection Committee and led by Chair Kelly Trumbull, this year’s productions embrace the department’s mission to amplify diverse voices and produce stories from multicultural perspectives and theatrical styles. This allows for deeper artistic and educational opportunities for the students, faculty, and community collaborators involved in the productions. The Pitt Stages audience consists of the Department of Theatre Arts, the University campus, and the larger Pittsburgh and regional community.
The Transformations season will open with the first of two One-Act Plays, which are entirely produced by students. The Dumb Waiter, a thriller written by Harold Pinter and directed by Sam Couch, will premiere on Friday, October 3 and run through Sunday, October 5. The first mainstage production will follow, running Friday, October 24 through Sunday, November 2. Kate Hamill’s Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson: Apt. 2B is a darkly comedic gender twist on the infamous detective duo that will be directed by KJ Gilmer. The final production of the fall will be Ellen McLaughlin’s Iphigenia and Other Daughters, a contemporary retelling of the classic Greek tragedy - the fall of the House of Atreus. Payne Banister will direct the play, which explores sacrifice, vengeance, and survival in war through the female perspective.
The spring semester will open with a mystical and metaphorical story of human transformation in The Trees by Agnes Borinsky, directed by Natasha Cole. The play runs Friday, February 20-Sunday, March 1, 2026. Howard Patterson will direct the second One-Act Play, running Friday, February 27-Sunday, March 1. Victor Séjour’s The Brown Overcoat is a sharp and witty romantic comedy with a deliberate avoidance of race and social commentary of the time. The season will conclude with the jukebox musical Head Over Heels, written by Jeff Whitty and James Magruder and to be directed by Becki Toth. This unique and nonconformist musical takes bold strides in the transformative power of love and finding one's truest self, accompanied by '80s pop anthems from The Go-Go's. The production will run Friday, April 10 through Sunday, April 19.
The Department of Theatre Arts welcomes all students across the university (regardless of major) to pursue theatre-focused academic research and courses, as well as audition, perform onstage, or participate in the production team for Pitt Stages shows. The auditions for the 2025-2026 season productions will take place on August 28 and 29, 2025.
The Department of Theatre Arts at the University of Pittsburgh operates with the understanding that the arts and education can change the world for the better. Pitt Stages produces shows that pair world-class faculty with aspiring theater-makers and enthusiasts. Theatre Arts is proud to present shows that represent the diversity of both the University of Pittsburgh campus and the greater Pittsburgh community. The Department of Theatre Arts is a NAST-certified program that trains students for careers in theatre or those that can utilize theatre’s many useful skillsets.