Feb 20, 2013 8 min read

The Denis Theatre Foundation is celebrating the Academy Awards with Denis Goes to the Oscars – a special evening at Walnut Grill in Mt. Lebanon and at Atria’s Restaurant in Peters Twp. Both locations are offering complimentary appetizers, desserts and a cash bar while watching the Academy Awards, movie trivia and voting for film favorites. Proceeds benefit the Denis Theatre Foundation. Tickets are $35 in advance and $45 at the door. For more information, call 412-668-0737 or visit www.denistheatre.org.

• The Hollywood Theater in Dormont will also host an Oscar Party on Feb. 24. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for theater seating and a small popcorn or beverage and $25 for VIP seating in the balcony with a large popcorn and beverage and other perks. The night will feature games, contests and prizes. For more information, visit www.thehollywooddormont.org.

The Senator John Heinz History Center will commemorate the 45th anniversary of George Romero’s cult classic, “Night of the Living Dead,” with a special screening on Feb. 22. From 5-7 p.m. there will be docent-lead tours of the History Center’s new exhibition, “1968: The Year that Rocked America.” At 7 p.m. the winners of Pittsburgh’s Best Zombie Contest will be crowned, and the film will show at 7:15 p.m.

For more information, visit www.heinzhistorycenter.org.

Steeltown Entertainment Project and the Senator John Heinz History Center, in support of Steeltown’s Take a Shot at Changing the World digital media competition, will hold Pittsburgh’s Teen Oscar Party from noon-2 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Heinz History Center. Doors open at 11 a.m.

The event will include free pizza, a Pittsburgh-Hollywood trivia contest and prizes. There will also be a free filmmaking workshop where students will learn filmmaking tips from Hollywood professionals, see footage from Pittsburgh-related films, and be inspired to make their own movies.

The event is free and open to the public. RSVPs are encouraged. Email Rachel@steeltown.org to reserve a seat, or call 412-251-0890 for details.

Middle school and high school students and educators around the region are invited to participate and find out how they can enter the Take A Shot Contest to win from over $10,000. Deadline for contest submission is May 1. To learn more about the contest, visit www.TakeaShotContest.org.

Off The Wall Theater, Carnegie, announces the following upcoming performances:

• “Be My Valentine-The Punany Experience,” The Punany Poets, as seen on HBO and presented by author and activist Jessica Holter, 8 p.m. Feb. 20. The adults-only interactive show blends spoken word, comedy, music, exotic dance and audience interaction with sexual health issues without being preachy or judgemental. Tickets start at $25.

• V-Day Carnegie 2013 presents a benefit reading of “A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer – Writings To Stop Violence Against Women and Girls,” presented by members of the Pittsburgh Passion Women’s American Football Team, 8 p.m. Feb. 21. Proceeds from this collection of monologues by world-renowned authors and playwrights benefit Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern PA. For information and tickets, visit www.vday.org, www.facebook.com/vday or Twitter @VDAY.

• “Looking for The Pony,” a Pittsburgh theater premiere presented by Off The Wall Productions, 8 p.m. March 1-16. Eloisa is finally ready to leave a lifeless career in finance to pursue a childhood dream when her sister, Lauren, is diagnosed with breast cancer. A funny and heart-breaking fast-paced journey through a cancer diagnosis.

For tickets or information, call 412-489-5840 or visit insideoffthewall.com.

Audiences at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO)’s first BNY Mellon Classics concerts in March will get a rare opportunity to sing along during the encore, the well-known “Anvil Chorus” from Verdi’s opera, Il Trovatore.

The concerts, which take place at 8 p.m. March 1 and 2, and 2:30 p.m. March 3 at Heinz Hall, will celebrate the operas of Richard Wagner and Giuseppe Verdi. Tickets at $20-$93 can be purchased by calling the Heinz Hall box office at 412-392-4900, or visiting www.pittsburghsymphony.org.

Ticket holders should arrive one hour early to participate in a free choral session on Verdi’s “Anvil Chorus.” For more information, visit www.pittsburghsymphony.org/verdi&wagnerworkshop, where sheet music for the “Anvil Chorus” can be downloaded. To register for the workshop, call 412-392-4876, or email explore@pittsburghsymphony.org with your name and total number of ticket holders attending the workshop by March 1. Registration will be confirmed by email.

Waynesburg University will host pianist Teresa Walters at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 26, as part of the University’s Performing Art Series. The concert will be held in the Goodwin Performing Arts Center. Admission is $5, and the public is invited.

Hailed as “The International First Lady of Piano,” Walters is described by Austrian National Television as “that rare musical phenomenon” and “one of the world’s most significant pianists.” Her prestigious invitations to perform in honor of the 2011 Liszt Bicentennial included Copenhagen’s Hungarian Embassy and Beijing’s Forbidden City Concert Hall.

She has performed as recitalist and orchestral soloist on six continents and in most of the 50 United States.

The Mattress Factory installation art museum is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year by offering an array of new exhibitions, community events, educational programs, the unveiling of a new building and a special $35 membership.

On Feb. 23, a 35th Anniversary Bash Community Party will take place from 1-4 p.m. (pay what you wish), followed by Tom Sarver’s Art Olympic Theatre from 5-7 p.m. ($20 nonmembers/ $10 members)

For more information, visit www.mattress.org.

The Heritage Players will perform the comedy, “Anybody Out There?” at 8 p.m. March 1-3, 8-9 and 2 p.m. March 10 at the Seton Center, 1900 Pioneer Avenue, Brookline. Tickets are $10 at the door or online.

The Heritage Players are offering theater and dancing classes for children and adults at the Seton Center. Register online at www.heritageplayers.org or mail by March 17.

The Meadows Racetrack & Casino announces its entertainment line-up for March. All concerts are free admission.

• Silks Lounge – The Marcels (Salute to the Jukebox Giants), 9 p.m. Mar 1; In the Mood (Dance), 9 p.m. March 2; Airborne (Pop/Rock), 8 p.m. March 8; One-Celebration of U2 (U2 tribute band), 8 p.m. March 9; Bryan Cole (Country), 8 p.m. March 15; Bad Influence (Classic Rock), 8 p.m. March 16; Silent Partner (Pop/Classic), 8 p.m. March 22; House of Soul (Dance/Soul), 8 p.m. March 23; Bobby Kellar Band, (Variety/Classic), 8 p.m. March 29; Ruff Creek (Country), 8 p.m. March 30.

• Pacers Lounge – Shari Richards & Rick Purcell (Variety Duo), 9 p.m. March 1; AJ Fresh (video mix Disc Jockey), 9 p.m. March 2; Twice as Nice (Dance/Funk Trio), 9 p.m. March 8-9; Mark Ferrari (Variety Duo), 9 p.m. March 15; AJ Fresh (St. Patty’s Day fun), 9 p.m. March 16; Good Guys Duo (Classic Rock Duo), 9 p.m. March 22-23; Eugene & Coleman (Variety Duo), 9 p.m. March 29; AJ Fresh (video mix Disc Jockey), 9 p.m. March 30.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) will showcase the music of Academy Award-winning composer John Williams at a concert at West Virginia University, 7:30 p.m. March 4 at the Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre. Due to the popularity of this concert, the demand for tickets has been high. Limited tickets are available for the concert.

Tickets are $26.50 and $43 can be purchased by calling the Heinz Hall box office at 1-800-743-8560, or online at www.pittsburghsymphony.org/wvu. Tickets also will be available at the theater on the evening of the concert. Students can purchase their tickets online in advance or at the door for $12 at www.pittsburghsymphony.org/wvustudent.

Ukrainian Pysanky egg-decorating class will be held from noon-4 p.m. March 9 at the Peters Township Community Recreation Center.

Capt. Michael Yanchak of the Peters Township Police Department will conduct the class.

Cost is $15 for residents and $23 for nonresidents. Participants must bring two or three raw, room-temperature eggs and two very sharp No. 2 or finer pencils. Registration deadline is Feb. 15.

For more information, call 724-942-5000.

Tickets are currently on sale for “Super WHY Live: You’ve Got the Power!”at Pittsburgh’s Byham Theater.

The performance will take place at 2:30 p.m. April 28. Based on the top-rated, Emmy-nominated preschool TV series that airs on PBS KIDS, the show takes kids and parents on a live reading adventure traveling inside a book to find the answer to the question, “Who has the Greatest Super Power in the World?” The show is uplifting, entertaining, and educational.

Tickets start at $25.50 and are available at www.Trustarts.org, by calling 412-456-6666, or in person at the Box Office at Theater Square, 655 Penn Avenue.

For more information, visit www.superwhylive.com