Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

What to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Nov. 1-3

Cory Bonnet's India ink, pigment and charcoal drawing "Ghost Town"
Zynka Gallery
Cory Bonnet's India ink, pigment and charcoal drawing "Ghost Town"

Catch "Great Expectations" at the New Hazlett, watch a new adaptation of "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" or check out paintings of postindustrial Pittsburgh — here's what to do in Pittsburgh this weekend.

Visual art
Work by more than 80 incarcerated artists, plus some 60 artists in solidarity with ending mass incarceration, make up “This is Me” at the Irma Freeman Center for Imagination. The gallery show organized by advocacy group Let’s Get Free includes textiles, paintings, cross-stitch, sculpture and more. The exhibit also includes Njaimeh Njie’s new short film “Commutation Now!” The exhibit begins with a Fri., Nov. 1, opening reception, part of the Penn Avenue gallery crawl Unblurred.

Theater
“Great Expectations” is up next at Prime Stage Theater, which specializes in literary adaptations for young-adult audiences. Neil Bartlett’s take on Dickens’ classic story about the orphaned Pip and his perilous and bittersweet journey to become a gentleman gets four performances, Fri., Nov. 1, Sat., Nov. 2, and Nov. 9 and 10, at the New Hazlett Theater.

Theater
The landmark silent film “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” gets a fresh look in a new adaptation from Quantum Theatre. On a set inspired by the nightmarish visions of German expressionism, playwright Jay Ball evokes a century’s worth of history in a story of mind-control and murder with provocative echoes of our time. The show, staged in the auditorium of Downtown’s Union Trust Building, runs Fri., Nov. 1, through Nov. 24.

Music
The South Side was once a hub for live music. It’s less so today, but a new event evokes that old spirit. The South Side Music Festival features performances by Phat Man Dee, Buffalo Rose and Beauty Slap. It’s staged Sun., Nov. 3, by the community-development group SouthSideCAN and hosted by Enclave (formerly the Rex Theater). Proceeds benefit SouthSideCAN.

Visual art
Corey Bonnet is known for painting scenes of postindustrial Pittsburgh that incorporate salvaged and reclaimed materials. For his new show at Sharpsburg’s Zynka Gallery, he returns to India ink and pigments and raw butcher paper. “Cory Bonnet: Work[s]” opens with a reception Sat., Nov. 2, and runs through Dec. 22.

Visual art
The Carnegie Museum of Art’s Charles “Teenie” Harris Archive Gallery has gotten a makeover, and the first chance to see it is Sat., Nov. 2. The museum promises new and improved ways to experience the 20th century’s premier visual chronicler of Black life in Pittsburgh through his photos and rarely seen film footage. An afternoon reception in the museum and Carnegie Music Hall includes refreshments and a concert featuring local legend Roger Humphries, whom Harris photographed as a small boy playing drums some 80 years ago.

Bill is a long-time Pittsburgh-based journalist specializing in the arts and the environment. Previous to working at WESA, he spent 21 years at the weekly Pittsburgh City Paper, the last 14 as Arts & Entertainment editor. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and in 30-plus years as a journalist has freelanced for publications including In Pittsburgh, The Nation, E: The Environmental Magazine, American Theatre, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Bill has earned numerous Golden Quill awards from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania. He lives in the neighborhood of Manchester, and he once milked a goat. Email: bodriscoll@wesa.fm