January 22, 2020 - Pittsburgh City Paper

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Discover the best local restaurants to celebrate “the most important holiday of the year”

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JAN. 22-29, 2020

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FIRSTSHOT

BY MEGAN GLOECKLER

The Women’s March in Downtown Pittsburgh on Sat., Jan. 18, 2020

PITTSBURGHCITYPAPER

JAN. 22-29, 2020 VOLUME 29 + ISSUE 4 Editor-In-Chief LISA CUNNINGHAM Director of Advertising JASMINE HUGHES Director of Operations KEVIN SHEPHERD Managing Editor ALEX GORDON Senior Writers RYAN DETO, AMANDA WALTZ Staff Writers HANNAH LYNN, JORDAN SNOWDEN Photographer/Videographer JARED WICKERHAM Digital Media Manager JOSH OSWALD Editorial Designer ABBIE ADAMS Graphic Designers JOSIE NORTON, JEFF SCHRECKENGOST Events and Sponsorship Manager BLAKE LEWIS Senior Account Executive JOHN CLIFFORD Sales Representative KAITLIN OLIVER Operations Coordinator MAGGIE WEAVER Events and Marketing Coordinator BRYER BLUMENSCHEIN Circulation Manager JEFF ENGBARTH Featured Contributors REGE BEHE, LISSA BRENNAN, LYNN CULLEN, TERENEH IDIA, CHARLES ROSENBLUM, JESSIE SAGE Interns MEGAN GLOECKLER, OLLIE GRATZINGER National Advertising Representative VMG ADVERTISING 1.888.278.9866 OR 1.212.475.2529 Publisher EAGLE MEDIA CORP.

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COVER PHOTO: JARED WICKERHAM READ THE STORY ON PAGE 12

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JAN. 22-29, 2020

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Pittsburgh City Paper has partnered with PublicSource, Pittsburgh’s nonprofit digital-first news organization, in bringing our readers more local news stories to our pages.

Read this, and more work

by PublicSource, online at publicsource.org

THE BIG STORY

SCREEN TIME

BY JOURDAN HICKS // JOURDAN@PUBLICSOURCE.ORG

I

T WAS A RAINY TUESDAY afternoon in December, so close to the holiday break that coaxing a productive discussion out of students would be a herculean task.

There’s the old cliché of teachers showing a movie to fill gaps like this, but the film screening planned for this day would be different.

On Dec. 17, more than 100 students from area middle schools traveled to SouthSide Works Cinema to see Run Boy Run, a film that follows an 8-year-old named Srulik, a Jewish boy orphaned after fleeing Warsaw during Nazi-occupied Poland in 1942.

Yes, the students get to socialize and indulge in soda, popcorn, and candy. But they also exercise their minds, with the film provoking questions and commentary from the students.

“I think it’s important for teenagers to know not just about what the Holocaust was, but for them to know about people’s individual stories. That way, the information in history books becomes more real and sticks with you,” says one student from John F. Kennedy Catholic School after a screening of the movie on a different day.

Another student, inspired by the film, dreamt of how they could share such an experience with others in the future: “I could start an organization that one day could benefit and sponsor one of these movies to be shown to other kids my age and give them the privilege to also

open up their eyes to history.”

Those kinds of revelations are exactly what Teen Screen is all about.

T

EEN SCREEN, a program of Film Pittsburgh, has been

in operation since 2005. Founded as an offshoot of the Jewish Film Festival, the program shows films and documentaries that center global struggles for human rights and genocide. The showings include international, subtitled films in many languages, including Polish, German, Russian, Yiddish and Turkish.

Participating in Teen Screen costs school districts little-to-nothing. “School districts do pay for transportation to the theater. We have a transportation fund and are able to provide where there is a demonstrated need,” says Kathryn Spitz Cohan, executive director of Film Pittsburgh, the parent organization that houses the Teen Screen program.

The program’s annual budget of $75,000 is supported by 10 sponsors named on its website. Students receive complimentary snacks to support authentic movie-going vibes and watch the films in groups ranging from around 15 to more than 200, with an average size of 132.

Roughly 59,000 students and teachers from Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, as well as other counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania, have participated in the Teen Screen program since its start. About 9,000 people participated in Teen Screen activities in the 2018-19 school year.

CONTINUES ON PG. 8

< Students during a film screening at Teen Screen PHOTO: FILM PITTSBURGH

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JAN. 22-29, 2020

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SCREEN TIME, CONTINUED FROM PG. 7

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Students in line to receive complimentary snacks at Teen Screen.

T

EEN SCREEN IS leveraging the next generation’s attachment to visual media to show students what happens when ethnic intolerance and discrimination go unchecked. Cohan says that in the aftermath of the Tree of Life shooting in October 2018, students in the program discussed the effects of hate and anti-Semitism and how it related to films they were watching, often ones about the Holocaust.

has not changed since the 2016 presidential election, Cohan said, but attendees doubled the next year as teachers looked for tools to start difficult conversations in a divisive political climate.

“

W

E THINK FILM is a great way

to connect with students who may not respond as well to education in the classroom,” says Teen Screen Director Lori Sisson.

“WE SHOW THEM WHAT THEIR PERSONAL POWER IS … THAT THEY ARE UPSTANDERS AND CHANGEMAKERS IN THE WORLD.”

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“They not only wondered why we haven’t ‘learned from history,’ but they also wanted to do something to help the victims and prevent hateful actions in the future,” says Cohan. Programming

Teen Screen uses a student-centered teaching approach to eliminate the “hierarchy” that exists in traditional classrooms, where teachers guide discussion.

Instead, the curiosity of students leads

the themes they discuss as a group.

To try to address inequality in teaching and learning, Teen Screen intentionally targets underserved schools. “[W]e try [to] level the playing field by offering our films for FREE and providing assistance with transportation funding for struggling schools, and we hope to bring diverse groups together in the cinema to experience the film together and talk about it afterwards — offering their varying perspectives,” Sisson wrote in an email.

Sisson says Teen Screen doesn’t work with school districts directly, but relies on passionate teachers who are looking for ways to support how and what students learn. In 2020, Teen Screen is looking to identify new partners.

“We’ve partnered with educators teaching German, history, English ... I mean the list just goes on and on,” says Sisson.

“We educate the kids, and we educate the teachers so they can learn from each other,” says Mimi Botkin, a volunteer educator with Teen Screen and a former

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Drew Checkelsky, Mimi Botkin, Kipp Dawson, and Lori Sisson at a screening for students at the Southside Works Cinemas as part of Teen Screen

FILMPITTSBURGH.ORG/TEENSCREEN English teacher at Pittsburgh Public Schools and Fox Chapel Area Schools.

Through film, Botkin says the “program teaches students how to watch intelligently,” seeking broader context about the era and the struggle. Botkin says it’s all about students understanding their place in the world.

“We show them what their personal power is … that they are upstanders and changemakers in the world,” she says.

That students need to know “what happened 75 years ago also happened 75 minutes ago … to be able to get them to make a change, we’ve got to get them out of the bubble.”

K

IPP DAWSON, another volunteer who is a former Pittsburgh Public Schools English teacher and librarian, says the most significant lessons are the ones that empower students, individually and as a community.

Dawson says Teen Screen aims to help students understand history beyond

memorizing dates and events. They want students to consider how values change and what role morality plays in our history.

Dawson shared her own personal story with the students at the Run Boy Run showing. She explained how her Jewish parents fled their home in Eastern Europe in the “early 19-teens” because of Russian dictatorship and violent antiSemitism. She told a reporter afterward that students sometimes tell her after she shares her family history that she is the only person they have met touched by conflicts they learn about in their history books — and that’s powerful.

Sharing personal stories is just one of the many ways Dawson says educators can connect with students on a deeper level, beyond assigning essays.

“There are a lot of ways to learn and share ... besides multiple-choice questions,” she says. “Interactions are essential and a dynamic way to interact with students’ knowledge.”

•

Jourdan Hicks is the PublicSource community correspondent.

She can be reached at jourdan@publicsource.org.

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JAN. 22-29, 2020

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A

S A SEASONED politician, representing the underserved for a total of one township meeting, I have learned to speak truth to power.

(I also learned my township has a secret pond and is getting a beach volleyball court!) Representing my voter(s) (me) and fulfilling my campaign promises (I did not campaign) are my first priority. And that’s why I’m asking for your support in my fight against Big Cable.

Cable companies lure you in with a deal that seems too good to be true: “A free landline with my WiFi and cable!!!” And before you can process that a landline is absolutely pointless, you’re stacking premium channels like Chris Moneymaker stacks WSOP winnings.

Cable customer service employees are basically trained CIA operatives — they’ll find your weaknesses and exploit them and won’t stop until you’re paying $200 a month for the $30 worth of services you actually use.

I recently tried to cancel my cable, so I can say hipster shit like, “I don’t even own a TV” but still spend 12 hours a day streaming Bravo. Even though I knew it was going to be fruitless, I tried to do this through the company’s online chat service. I was greeted with awkward pleasantries, stated my case, and was told I have to call in to cancel anything.

I asked why, but already knew the answer. You can add services online but can’t cancel any. Curious.

So, I called in and the automated service told me I would have to wait 20 minutes, but they would be happy to call

me back when they were ready. They called back, and as is standard, I still had to wait for a representative. That’s how they keep the upper hand. The representative picked up and was happier than anybody who works for a cable company should be — all part of their Blackwater training. I told him I wanted to no longer receive cable.

I could hear him spinning his emergency Rolodex of contingency responses, which includes cheaper plans, upgrades, supplemental McAfee antivirus software, asking me which channels I watch, asking me why I wanted to get rid of cable, barely stopping short of begging me not to throw away the beautiful relationship we’ve built over many years of them gouging me. When I finally convinced him that it wasn’t him, it was me, he pulled the ace in his sleeve: the fee for terminating the contract. I was done for.

While accepting the fee and canceling our cable would still save us money in the long run, the agent accomplished his goal of making me hang up to think about it, thus not actually canceling. It’s been about three days since that call, and I still haven’t decided my next move.

The gritty, man-of-the-people politician in me says, “Stay the course, cancel the cable.” The lifelong cable customer in me says, “It’s too much of a bother, and really, how much are you saving?”

Stay tuned for updates as this story continues to develop at pghcitypaper.com, which requires a cable subscription of some kind.

•

Follow digital media manager Josh Oswald on Twitter @gentlemenRich

THIS WEEK ONLINE AT PGHCITYPAPER.COM

POSTS FROM DEMOCRATIC STATE HOUSE CANDIDATE HEATHER KASS REVEAL TRUMP SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION TO OBAMACARE “To read the post about speaking out against Obamacare troubled me.” — Pittsburgh City Councilor Bruce Kraus

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CP PHOTOS: JARED WICKERHAM

Clockwise from left: Guoqing Wu rolls out the dumpling dough, filling pork and cabbage dumplings by hand, fried beef dumplings with garlic and soy sauce

.FOOD.

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR, PITTSBURGH

BY MAGGIE WEAVER // MWEAVER@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

L

UNAR NEW YEAR — widely referred

to as Chinese New Year, though many other Asian countries honor it — is the most important and celebrated holiday of the year for cultures rooted in a lunar calendar.

The festival is a spectacle that Marian Lien, president of the Organization for Chinese Americans Pittsburgh, can only describe as “Christmas, Thanksgiving, and the Fourth of July” all wrapped into one. Celebrations last 15 days, from the

first new moon to the first full.

Food, unsurprisingly, is an integral part of the Lunar New Year tradition and is meant to bring blessings for the year to come. Everything eaten during the holiday, Lien explains, is symbolic,

THIS YEAR, Lunar New Year falls on Sat., Jan. 25. If you’re looking for a place to celebrate authentically, Northeastern Kitchen and Taiwanese Bistro Café 33 aren’t the only options. Here are some other restaurants, as recommended by Lien and the PennsylvAsia blog:

Sichuan Gourmet

Kai Mei

Chengdu Gourmet

Everyday Noodles

1900 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill; 328 Atwood St., Oakland. pittsburghsichuangourmet.com

2209 Murray Ave. #1, Squirrel Hill.

5840 Forward Ave., Squirrel Hill. chengdugourmetpittsburgh.com

5875 Forbes Ave., Squirrel Hill. everydaynoodles.net

and often, the symbolism lies with a food’s phonetic meaning. “Chinese is a tonal language,” Lien explains via email. “So depening on where you put the emphasis of the syllable (or character), you can have two vastly different meanings.”

For example, dumplings are by no means a special-occasion food, but the name, jiǎo zi, sounds similar to the word for connection. It represents the linking of an old year to the new. And as an added blessing, the dumplings are shaped in the image of ancient currency — gold, shoe-shaped ingots — to bring prosperity as families welcome the new year together.

Whole fish, another common New CONTINUES ON PG. 14

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DINING OUT

CP PHOTO: JARED WICKERHAM

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ELIZA HOT METAL BISTRO 331 TECHNOLOGY DRIVE, PITTSBURGH 412-621-1551, ELIZAHOTELINDIGO.COM Set on the site of former iconic iron works, Eliza Furnace, Eliza is an American Bistro exploring classic Pittsburgh flavors, beloved by those that worked the furnaces, combined with the fresh perspective and seasonal sourcing that define what we eat in our region today. Relax with great food, cocktails, and enjoy live entertainment on the rooftop bar.

MERCURIO’S ARTISAN GELATO AND NEAPOLITAN PIZZA 5523 WALNUT ST., SHADYSIDE 412-621-6220 / MERCURIOSGELATOPIZZA.COM Authentic Neapolitan pizza, artisan gelato, and an inviting atmosphere are just a small part of what helps create your experience at Mercurio’s Gelato and Pizza in Pittsburgh. It’s not your standard pizza shop; in fact, this isn’t a “pizza shop” at all.

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don’t miss out on the Ono Kyowsway featuring egg noodle sautéed with coconut chicken, cilantro and curry sauce.

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TOTOPO MEXICAN KITCHEN AND BAR 660 WASHINGTON ROAD, MT. LEBANON 412-668-0773 / TOTOPOMEX.COM Totopo is a vibrant celebration of the culture and cuisine of Mexico, with a focus on the diverse foods served in the country. From Oaxacan tamales enveloped in banana leaves to the savory fish tacos of Baja California, you will experience the authentic flavor and freshness in every bite. They also feature a cocktail menu of tequila-based drinks to pair the perfect margarita with your meal.

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Every Friday at 10 a.m. at lynncullen. pghcitypaper.com PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JAN. 22-29, 2020

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HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR, PITTSBURGH, CONTINUED FROM PG. 12

Year’s dish, is significant for two reasons.

Phonetically, the name refers to the concept of having more than enough. After China’s long history of famine, leftovers have become synonymous with wealth and not “living paycheck to paycheck.”

And the cooking of the fish whole carries its own meaning. During the new year, harmony is found in completeness, whether that be from a round dining table or nose-to-tail cooking (or nose-tofin in this case). Serving the animal whole symbolizes togetherness.

This concept carries over to noodles; long noodles are said to bless eaters with long life. “We would never dream of cutting a noodle,” explains Lien.

Pork is different. There is no symbolic meaning to its sound. Rather, the luck comes from the character. The written symbol depicts a home, wife, and husband with enough to eat, another blessing of prosperity to come.

Dried cantaloupe, coconut, lychee, and other sweet treats are customary ways families “wish you a sweet new year.” (Lien points out that Chinese sweets are tamer than what’s common in the U.S. and that corn-syrup based candy has become a contemporary take on the ritual.) Pineapple cakes — the word for pineapple sounds similar to “plentiful” — are also popular as a piece of “sweetened luck.”

All of these dishes come to play in one of the most observed rituals of Lunar New Year, a New Year’s Eve feast, or “reunion dinner.” Family members travel long distances to return home for the feast which marks the start of new year celebrations.

Five years ago, it was not easy to find these authentic, Lunar New Year dishes in Pittsburgh.

But today, Lien notes, there’s a consid-

CP PHOTO: MAGGIE WEAVER

Salt and pepper shrimp at Taiwanese Bistro Café 33

NORTHEASTERN KITCHEN

TAIWANESE BISTRO CAFÉ 33

5842 Forbes Ave., Squirrel Hill. northeasternkitchen.net

1711 Shady Ave., Squirrel Hill. twcafe33.com

erable demand for these traditions and Pittsburgh restaurants are delivering. A growing number of Chinese restaurants, most of which are located in Squirrel Hill, offer traditional Lunar New Year dishes

year-round.

Lien directed me to Northeastern Kitchen, a hidden gem that was quite literally hidden in a basement on Forbes Ave., primarily for the dumplings, though the

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menu also has other New Year favorites like a specially-priced whole fish, steamed buns, and cold noodles.

Along with a garlic pork dish and a not New Year-related squid dish, I ordered two types of dumplings: steamed beef, and pork and Chinese cabbage.

Few meals rival anything I ate at Northeastern Kitchen that night, and the dumplings were above and beyond.

Flavors were balanced and simple, basic enough to be an everyday dish while maintaining the “wow” factor expected from a banquet-style, “eat until your belly pops,” as Lien calls it, meal. Both plates of dumplings were paired with a strong garlic sauce, enough to give the lighter pork dumplings a zing of flavor but not overwhelm the heavier, earthy beef.

I walked a few blocks down Forbes Ave. to Taiwanese Bistro Café 33 to try salt and pepper shrimp, a dish meant to bring blessings of happiness and joy.

(Phonetically, shrimp is similar to the sound of laughter.)

The shrimp were served fried (Lien encouraged me to find shrimp with the heads on, but Café 33 serves the dish with just legs and shell) and topped with chives and garlic. Everything, shell and all, was meant to be eaten. The shell, I was informed, held all the flavor and that turned out to be undeniably true. The simple saltiness worked on different levels through the dish, making for incredible flavor.

I was also able to find duck — something Lien notes is very rare and often requires a phone call to the restaurant to ensure they carry it — at Café 33.

It was served cold, which allowed the spices to shine. The small breast was incredible, packed with more flavor than seemed possible.

•

ISS

M ER V E N

CP PHOTO: MAGGIE WEAVER

.ON THE ROCKS.

BOOZE NEWS

BY MAGGIE WEAVER // MWEAVER@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

T

HE OWNERS OF Parker’s in Brookline have traded breakfast for booze with their latest venture, Red’s Good News.

Luke Parker and his family turned the former Zippy’s Saloon — a neighborhood dive said to be a true taste of Pittsburgh — into a trendy bar and soon-to-be gastropub.

But the full history of Red’s goes long past Zippy’s.

RED’S GOOD NEWS 542 Brookline Blvd., Brookline.

During renovations, the family uncovered a trough built into the bar.

These gutter-like spittoons were common pre-Prohibition features and were typically filled with a constant flow of water to flush away the dirt — many bar patrons were industry workers — and ample amounts of spit produced from chewing tobacco into a nearby drain.

Each trough ran the length of the bar, extending just far enough past the edge of the bartop so spit could fall freely into the water, not onto the walls, floors, or counters.

Red’s replaced the trough with a simple, metal footrest during construction, and with good reason. As nights turned late and drinks kept flowing, the gutters went from spittoons to a place for

standing patrons to relieve themselves.

Along with the spittoon, Red’s has removed any sense of “dive” leftover from bars past. Inside, it’s surprisingly bright, with fresh paint and vibrant patterns livening the space up. The owners play to the retro feel of the long-standing bar by incorporating a few “historic” items as decoration: grade-school style chairs, a television and VCR combo, and a creepy doll. The “good news” (which changes periodically) is listed on a piece of paper tacked to a corkboard; eventually, the news will be listed on a letterboard outside the restaurant.

Since Red’s opened in late November, it’s been operating with booze only — save for a snack shack in the back — while a menu is finalized. Currently, they’re featuring a long list of craft and domestic beers (most sold in cans), wine, and a full bar.

To the dismay of the neighborhood, Red’s opening has meant that Parker’s has been closed for in-house service since the beginning of September. But the Parker family has promised the beloved breakfast spot is not disappearing completely; favorites from Parker’s will play a big role on Red’s menu.

Though they may be sad at the loss of Parker’s (for now), Brookline is welcoming Red’s with open arms. Brookline Boulevard boasts city staples like Pitaland and Las Palmas, but Red’s is bringing a new energy to the neighborhood, one “full of good brews, good friends, and good cheer.”

•

RY! O T AS

TH BO D AN NS,E M LU G CO VERA , S IE CO TOREWS S N AL TICIONAL I L PO AT ES, ND N N I L A EADOCAL H L CP TOP K TH E WEE I EW H AG OF T R E Y OV DA C C ERY I S MU EV AL S FOR N O ATI ATION N D AN END AL OMM C LO REC ERT NC O C ING UR T A E K, F S N I DR IEW ND T REV A D N FOOAURA L A ST LOCLY RE N I T EK BES WE E TH AL UR T L CU ND URGH A , B E NC PITTS A D UT M, FIL UGHO , E R O ATUT THR R E M LIT NMEN CO . , T R I E AR A PAP AL TERT Y U T S N I E VI HC

R OU R O F UP N SIG

PG AT Y A TOD S R TTE E L S NEW

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JAN. 22-29, 2020

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CP PHOTO: JARED WICKERHAM

T.J. Harris, owner of The DJ Connection, and Josh Snider, owner of Flower City Printmakers, look through boxes of records inside their Bridgeville location.

.MUSIC.

ONE STOP SHOP

BY JORDAN SNOWDEN // JSNOWDEN@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

A

BOUT TWO MONTHS AGO, T.J. Harris was heading to a DJ gig when he

discovered one of his cables was defective.

“There were literally two stores that I could go to at the time, and both were 15 miles away from where I was,” says Harris. “And I wasn’t far from Pittsburgh or anything.”

That got him thinking about other DJs in the city who probably face similar situations. “[When] we have that emergency situation, and there’s nowhere we can go for DJ equipment anymore,” he says. “Pianos N Stuff is getting more and more away from it, Guitar Center has an awful selection that they never update, and there’s not really an owned and operated business for DJs. In Pittsburgh alone,

THE DJ CONNECTION 509 Washington Ave., Bridgeville. facebook.com/TheDJConnectionstore

I know there’s more than 250 of us that are working regularly.”

That experience led Harris to open The DJ Connection, a new store in Bridgeville offering vinyl, DJ equipment, clothing, print services, and more; plus, the space was big enough to house a second location for Harris’ business partner, Josh Snider, the owner of Flower City Printmakers in Bloomfield.

“Our big focus for the store is pushing art and music culture as much as possible because that’s what both of us are interested in, personally,” says Harris. Flower City Printmakers, whose staff is made up of artists, does all the printing for The Rex Theater, Roxian Theatre, Thunderbird Café & Music Hall, and Spirit.

Harris and Snider have worked together for about five and a half years, sharing booths at wedding expos and the like, offering event assistance (i.e. entertainment and print materials) in one place. A combined storefront was a natural progression in their partnership.

“We will be keeping things separate in a way but will be sharing a location, CONTINUES ON PG. 18

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WE MOVED. Just down the street! Please update your records.

4 Smithfield Street / Suite 1210 / Pittsburgh, PA 15222 Effective January 1, 2020 / www.pghcitypaper.com

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JAN. 22-29, 2020

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ONE STOP SHOP, CONTINUED FROM PG. 16 CP PHOTO: JARED WICKERHAM

BUY A RECORD, SEE A SHOW North Side record store The Government Center turns one

BY JORDAN SNOWDEN The Government Center has become a welcoming space for musicians, both touring and national, to perform in Pittsburgh at a venue with a DIY feel.

Josh Cozby opened the doors of the retail space/ venue last winter (they celebrated the one-year anniversary on Jan. 15) as a way to turn his expansive personal vinyl collection into a business. Cozby has since taken on Derek January as the shop’s event coordinator as the person to handle booking, events, and assist with odds and ends at the store.

All genres of music are welcome at The Government Center (“as long as it’s cool”) — all you need to do is ask.

ur t o de ou ui y k g cit ec ue gh com Ch n p er. e v at ap p

and hopefully share many of the customers,” says Snider. “It’s very symbiotic.”

If it sounds like there’s a lot going on, there is. “But it’s a two-floor business,” says Harris.

Upstairs serves as a lounge where Harris can meet with clients. There’s a separate entrance right off of Washington Avenue, the main strip of Bridgeville.

Visitors can access the retail space through the rear entrance; upon entering the lower level, visitors are greeted with clothing racks in addition to Snider’s production area. In the back of the store are records, more clothing (there’s also new and used books), and new and used DJ equipment that can be bought or rented.

The clothing is a combination of vintage apparel, like a 1980s Billy Joel shirt and a few Eagles pieces, and merchandise from small clothing lines such as Native 412, Moon Cat Creations, and the San Francisco based Reprezent Clothing.

“We’re the only company on the East Coast that sells [Reprezent],” says Harris. “They’re doing very elaborate pop culture, Obey-esque type clothing.”

Harris is also working with Tam-

meka Dennison, Jimmy Wapo’s mother, and carries Wapo hoodies and shirts for both men and women. All the money from those sales goes back to the late rapper’s family. Rebel Bred Clothing, a Pittsburgh streetwear line created by

519 E. Ohio St., North Side. thegovernmentcenter.com

Nathan Brooks in 2016, joined the store earlier in the week with a launch party on Mon., Jan. 20, Martin Luther King Day. The DJ Connection / Flower City Printmakers plan to have an official

Follow staff writer Jordan Snowden on Twitter @snowden_jordan

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grand opening in April, giving them a few months to get their bearings.

“For the last six years, I’ve been a full-time DJ, I haven’t really had a real nine-to-five,” says Harris. “So, I’m still adjusting to the schedule.”

•

PHOTO: JIMMY CRAWFORD

Persephone Paradise of Yinzer-lesque

.STAGE.

YINZER-LESQUE

BY AMANDA WALTZ // AWALTZ@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

I

N PITTSBURGH, you don’t usually expect to see a fire-eater at an acoustic performance, or a comedian playing to a less-than amused crowd waiting to see their favorite punk band.

Yinzer-lesque, a new variety show featuring local performers representing music, burlesque, comedy, and sideshow arts, seeks to change that.

Persephone Paradise — a stage name — says she and Chuck Veri of the band INcO FIdO came up with the idea after she proposed using one of his songs in her burlesque act.

“I jumped right on board with it and we started planning immediately,” she says.

The show, Sat., Jan. 25 at Cattivo, boasts a diverse lineup of adult-oriented acts. Hosted by Abram Balestra of the band The Filthy Lowdown, YinzerLesque opens with Arla White, a local comedian who has also performed with The Velvet Hearts!, a group that touts itself as one of the premier, longstanding burlesque variety troupes

in the Rust Belt. Also performing are several burlesque artists, as well as Stolen Stitches, a “unique blend of dark humorous folk songs about the devil” mixed with real-life sideshow acts and some ragtime piano.

“I get to see what [Stolen Stitches is] doing Saturday, so I’m in for a surprise as well,” says Persephone, hinting that, based on the group’s reputation, audience members might see swordswallowing and glass-eating.

Rounding out the lineup is Aiden Flame, who specializes in shibari, an ancient Japanese knot-tying technique now used in artful, erotic displays of bondage.

Persephone says she sees Yinzerlesque as finally combining two aspects of her life — the Pittsburgh live music scene and being a pin-up model.

“The main goal of this show for me is, my life is very separated,” she says. “I have the performance side, all my pin-up friends and everything, and then I have the music side and all my friends who

are musicians. It seems like there’s never really anything where they all get to be together. With this, it’s kind of bringing scenes together, to grow together, as opposed to everything being so cliquey and separate. That way everybody has a little more support.”

YINZER-LESQUE AT CATTIVO 8 p.m. Doors at 7 p.m. Sat., Jan. 25.

146 44th St., Lawrenceville. $20. cattivopgh.com

It will also serve as Persephone’s burlesque debut, along with the unveiling of two other new burlesque acts, Morro Dahl and Magdalena Mayhem.

“I’ve always wanted to do it,” says Persephone, who only started doing pin-up modeling two years ago. “I was always too scared to do it I guess, so I finally decided to take the leap. That’s

why I started doing pin-up — the ultimate goal was to get into burlesque.”

She adds that the show will feature a mix of traditional burlesque — defined by its combination of striptease, vintage music, and Vaudeville theatrics — and neo-burlesque, which integrates more modern elements like pop music, performance art, and explorative expressions of gender identity. “I would say it’s the best of both worlds,” says Persephone.

Because the theme is just to spotlight local performers and musicians, everyone gets a chance to show off their distinct styles.

“Everybody does their own thing,” says Persephone. “I wanted everybody to come in full force, and that way they’re in their comfort zone and really performing.”

While this is just the first iteration of Yinzer-lesque, she promises that it won’t be the last.

“This is just a trial run to see how it turns out,” she says. “We already are making plans for next year’s [show].”

•

Follow senior writer Amanda Waltz on Twitter @AWaltzCP PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JAN. 22-29, 2020

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JAN. 22-29, 2020

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.STAGE.

DOWNSTAIRS

BY ALEX GORDON ALEXGORDON@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

T

HE TITULAR BASEMENT in Theresa Rebeck’s Downstairs is unfinished, but the amenities are decent.

There’s a couch with a couple of blankets, a Mr. Coffee, a sink, a little fridge, a shower and a Pittsburgh toilet, and an old PC. This is more than enough for Teddy (Martin Giles), who subsists mostly on corn flakes and stale coffee, but the living situation is less than ideal for his sister, Irene (Helena Ruoti), and her husband, Gerry (John Shepard), who own the basement and the house above it. Teddy has only been crashing there for a day or two when the play opens, but Gerry is already annoyed to have surrendered his workshop and computer area to his peculiar, itinerant brother-in-law, despite the fact that the PC allegedly doesn’t work and all the tools are rusted out. Irene just wants the fighting to stop.

Downstairs — directed by Marc Masterson, and running at City Theatre through Sun., Feb. 2 — is a family drama, and like all family dramas, there’s a plot-

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PHOTO: KRISTI JAN HOOVER

Helena Ruoti and Martin Giles in Downstairs

DOWNSTAIRS continues through Sun., Feb. 2. City Theatre, 1300 Bingham St., South Side. $29. citytheatre.culturaldistrict.org

ful of buried secrets, loaded remarks, and passive-aggression, though less so from Teddy, who has a hard time with tact and frequently blurts out awkward observations. That quality has done him no favors in life and likely played a part in him

losing his job, getting evicted, and eventually ending up in a mildewy basement among other dysfunctional objects. He doesn’t quite see it that way; chief among the many grudges in the trio’s dynamic is Teddy’s resentment of Irene inheriting

Follow managing editor Alex Gordon on Twitter @shmalexgordon

the entirety of their mother’s savings, which paid for the house. Irene resents Teddy’s resentment; Gerry not so subtly believes his brother-in-law is a dim, unhinged lunatic; Teddy suspects Gerry is a terrible husband and a tremendous prick.

While there’s nothing biblical about the family turmoil, the story kept reminding me of the 2009 movie A Serious Man, specifically Richard Kind’s character, Arthur Gopnik. Besides the fact that Giles slightly resembles Kind, Arthur and Teddy share genius IQs, sibling dependence, and abysmal social skills.

Arthur spent his time building a probability map of the universe called The Mentaculus; Teddy just wants to fix the PC. Where A Serious Man is a story of faith unrewarded, Downstairs is a decidedly smaller, less grim portrait of dependence and trust, but they both deal with people struggling against seemingly unknowable forces guided by unknowable rules.

“I just don’t understand rules,” Rebeck writes in the show’s program.

“I’m skeptical of all of them.”

Teddy, too, can’t make heads or tails of the world upstairs, but the play finds glimmers of silver lining in the knowledge that he hasn’t stopped trying to understand it. If only he could get the computer to work.

•

Sponsored by

EARLY WARNINGS SPONSORED UPCOMING EVENTS FROM CITY PAPER’S FINE ADVERTISERS

WED., JAN. 29TH. DANCING WITH THE STARS: LIVE! 2020 TOUR 7:30 P.M. BENEDUM CENTER, DOWNTOWN. All Ages.

412-456-6666 or trustarts.org.

THU., JAN. 30TH. DOWN TO FUNKPAUL SEIF & JWAN ALLEN 10 P.M. THE GOLDMARK, LAWRENCEVILLE. 21+ Event. Free.

412-688-8820 or thegoldmarkpgh.com.

SAT., FEB. 1ST. DONNIE IRIS

THU., JAN. 30TH. LETTUCE 8 P.M. ROXIAN THEATER, MCKEES ROCKS. All Ages. $26-$31.

412-331-1050 or roxianlive.com.

FRI., JAN. 31ST. AXES AND ACOUSTICS 8 P.M. ACE AXE THROWING, HOMESTEAD. All Ages. Free.

412-368-8579 or aceaxethrowing.com.

FRI., JAN. 31ST. THE SKEPTICS’ GUIDE TO THE UNIVERSE 7 p.m. REX THEATER, Southside.

All Ages. $39.50.

412-381-1681 or greyareaprod.com.

FRI., JAN. 31ST. MR. GREENGENES 7 P.M. JERGEL’S RHYTHM GRILLE, WEXFORD. 21+ Event. $30-$75.95.

724-799-8333 or ticketfly.com.

FRI., JAN. 31ST. NO QUARTER: A TRIBUTE TO LED ZEPPLIN 8:30 P.M. HARD ROCK CAFÉ, STATION SQUARE. Under 21 with Guardian. $15. 412-481-ROCK or ticketfly.com.

FRI., JAN. 31ST. TEDDY SWIMS 7 P.M. STAGE AE, NORTHSHORE. All Ages. $26-$32. 412-229-5483 or ticketmaster.com.

SAT., FEB. 1ST. SYMBOLISM: CAM SCHMIDT SOLO EXHIBITION

PALACE THEATER, GREENSBURG

LONELYOUTH

6:30 P.M. REDFISH BOWL STUDIOS, LAWRENCEVILLE. All Ages. Free.

724-681-8965 or redfishbowlstudios.com.

6 P.M. SMILING MOOSE, SOUTHSIDE. All Ages. $10. 412-431-4668 or ticketfly.com.

SAT., FEB. 1ST. DONNIE IRIS

SUN., FEB. 2ND. THE QUIET LOUD

7:40 P.M. PALACE THEATER, GREENSBURG. All Ages. $52-$89.

724-836-8000 or thepalacetheatre.org.

SAT., FEB. 1ST. EYES OF THE NILEA TRIBUTE TO IRON MAIDEN 8 P.M. HARD ROCK CAFÉ, STATION SQUARE. Under 21 with Guardian. $12.

412-481-ROCK or ticketfly.com.

SAT., FEB. 1ST. LITTLE BIG TOWN 8 P.M. BENEDUM CENTER, DOWNTOWN. All Ages. $39-$305.25.

412-456-6666 or trustarts.org.

SAT., FEB. 1ST. MR. GREENGENES REUNION: NIGHT 2 7 P.M. JERGEL’S RHYTHM GRILLE, WEXFORD. 21+ Event. $30-$75.95.

724-799-8333 or ticketfly.com.

SAT., FEB. 1ST. A COMMON CROWN THE RECKONING ALBUM RELEASE 8 P.M. MR. SMALLS, MILLVALE. All Ages. $10. 412-421-4447 or mrsmalls.com.

SUN., FEB. 2ND. MISERY LOVES COMPANY /

8 P.M. MR. SMALLS, MILLVALE. All Ages. $8. 412-421-4447 or mrsmalls.com.

MON., FEB. 3RD. THRICE- VHEISSU 15TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR 5:30 P.M. STAGE AE, NORTHSHORE. All Ages. $25. 412-229-5483 or ticketmaster.com.

MON., FEB. 3RD. DR. DOG 8 P.M. ROXIAN THEATER, MCKEES ROCKS. All Ages. $26.50-$40.

412-331-1050 or roxianlive.com.

TUE., FEB. 4TH. THE FREDDY JONES BAND 6 P.M. JERGEL’S RHYTHM GRILLE, WEXFORD. Under 21 with Guardian. $18-$32. 724-799-8333 or ticketfly.com.

TUE., FEB. 4TH. MISS SAIGON 8 P.M. BENEDUM CENTER, DOWNTOWN. All Ages. $33-$115.

412-456-6666 or trustarts.org.

TUE., FEB. 4TH. TUESDAY NIGHT TRAIL RUNS 6 P.M. FRICK PARK, OAKLAND. All Ages.

Free. 412-871-5038 or 3riversoutdoor.com.

FOR UPCOMING ALLEGHENY COUNTY PARKS EVENTS, LOG ONTO WWW.ALLEGHENYPARKS.COM PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JAN. 22-29, 2020

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SEVEN DAYS OF CONCERTS G’D UP & TECHED OUT - OPEN DECKS NIGHT THU., JAN. 23 On the first Wednesday of every month, Bassburgh Promotions takes over The Goldmark for a night of techno and g-house tunes.

This month marks the event’s second year, so Bassburgh decided to switch up the show like never before. Starting at 10 p.m., the DJ booth is open to anyone who wants to play a set, with a few requirements. 1.) You must have music on a USB and use the deck and equipment provided (two XDJ 1000s and one Pioneer DJM 900NXS). 2.) Be aware that depending on how many others want to play, you may be limited to a few songs. But on the flipside, you could DJ for much longer if no one else wants to step up.

3.) Only house music can be played. This includes most house subgenres. 4.) You must have DJing experience. Sorry, no newbies! 10 p.m.

4517 Butler St., Lawrenceville. Free. facebook.com/bassburghpromo PHOTO: MOONGLADE MEDIA

A Bassburgh event

FULL LIST ONLINE pghcitypaper.com

THURSDAY JAN. 23 JAZZ ERIN BURKETT, VIRGIL WALTERS. Eighty Acres Kitchen & Bar. 5:30 p.m. Monroeville.

ROGER HUMPHRIES. Con Alma.

8 p.m. Shadyside.

LIZ KOSACK TRIO. Kingfly Spirits.

7 p.m. Strip District.

ROCK GRACE POTTER. Roxian Theatre.

8 p.m. McKees Rocks.

FOLK EMMA’S LOUNGE. Club Cafe.

6:30 p.m. South Side.

COUNTRY WILLOW HILL. Portogallo Peppers N’AT. 7 p.m. Braddock.

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REGGAE

ACOUSTIC

HIP HOP/RAP

ALTERNATIVE/INDIE

OPERA

KEYSTONE VIBE. Spoonwood Brewing Co. 8 p.m. Bethel Park.

DAVID, PAPPY, AND CHERYLANN HAWK. Moondog’s.

8 p.m. Blawnox.

ALIEN FACEZ RECORDS LABEL LAUNCH PARTY. Casa Brasil.

8 p.m. Downtown.

NIGHTLY. Thunderbird Café & Music Hall.

7 p.m. Lawrenceville.

ALCINA. Pittsburgh CAPA. 8 p.m. Downtown.

PUNK

SHAMAR, RAMON YANCEY, DRE DIOR. 1Live MultiPurpose Center.

8 p.m. Marshall Shadeland.

ROCK

ELECTRONIC

A.C. AND THE RESISTORS. Oaks Theater.

7:30 p.m. Oakmont.

BASIC SOUL UNIT. Hot Mass.

12 a.m. Downtown.

THE STRUGGLE BUS, BACK ALLEY SOUNDS, GARTER SHAKE. Mr. Smalls Theatre.

7 p.m. Millvale.

METAL

FRIDAY JAN. 24 JAM BAND UMPHREY’S MCGEE. Stage AE. 6 p.m. North Side.

JAZZ STACIAWA ABBOTT. Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center. 7 p.m. Beaver.

ROCK GONE SOUTH. Kendrew’s.

8 p.m. Moon.

THE ADICTS. Roxian Theatre.

8 p.m. McKees Rocks.

FACILITY MEN. Gooski’s.

9 p.m. Polish Hill.

ALTERNATIVE/INDIE MERZ, MILLER & THE WOLVES. Thunderbird Café & Music Hall.

8 p.m. Lawrenceville.

BOUQUETS, PRETTY TOMBS, HEMLOCK FOR SOCRATES. Club Cafe. 10 p.m. South Side.

NON-PLAYABLE CHARACTERS, WAX BRAIN. Howlers.

8:30 p.m. Bloomfield.

ELECTRONIC

DOC BROWN. Club Cafe.

6 p.m. South Side.

THAT WINTER PARTY. Griff’s Grounds Coffè.

6 p.m. Penn Hills.

JOZIF. Market Street Grocery.

9 p.m. Downtown.

TRIBUTE/COVERS LED ZEPPELIN 2.

Rex Theater.

7 p.m. South Side.

SATURDAY JAN. 25 JAZZ J GUY & MCKAIN, C. SCOTT ENSEMBLE. 3577 Studios.

9 p.m. Polish Hill.

A CELEBRATION OF PITTSBURGH JAZZ CONTRIBUTIONS. Club Cafe.

5:30 p.m. South Side.

CASTLE BLACK, KING CATFISH, TEMPERED. The Government Center.

8 p.m. North Side.

ZOM, CRUCES, ALTAR AND THE BULL. Gooski’s.

9 p.m. Polish Hill.

TRIBUTE/COVER CASH UNCHAINED. The Palace Theatre.

8 p.m. Greensburg.

BLUES CURTIS AND THE SHAKERZ. Moondog’s. 8:30 p.m. Blawnox.

HOLY RIVALS (RECORD RELEASE).

Porky’s Bar and Grill.

9 p.m. Etna.

SUNDAY JAN. 26 JAZZ PITTSBURGH SONGWRITERS IN THE ROUND. City of Asylum.

6 p.m. North Side.

ROCK SHOWPONY (ALBUM RELEASE).

Spirit.

9 p.m. Lawrenceville.

BREWS FOR A CHILI NIGHT SAT., JAN. 25 Get comfy at Mt. Lebanon Public Library during its Brews for a Chili Night event.

While the smooth sounds of RML Jazz float through the library, you can put on an (alcohol) blanket with samples from more than two dozen regional ales, lagers, stouts, and cider, in addition to warming your insides with a variety of flavorful blue-ribbon chili from professional chefs and hand-picked home cooks. Make sure to purchase tickets in advance, as they will not be available at the door. 6 p.m.

16 Castle Shannon Blvd., Mt. Lebanon. $35. mtlebanonlibrary.org AMERICAN GRIM. Hard Rock Cafe.

8 p.m. South Side.

COUNTRY KODY SKYE, SAMM BONES. Gooski’s.

9 p.m. Polish Hill.

CLASSICAL MUSICIANS OF STEEL. Beth El Congregation of the South Hills.

7 p.m. South Hills.

FOLK LAURA BIANCA. Carnegie Library (Main).

2 p.m. Oakland.

MONDAY JAN. 27 JAZZ SURROUND. City of Asylum.

7 p.m. North Side.

HOWIE ALEXANDER TRIO. Con Alma.

5 p.m. Shadyside.

ROCK COURTNEY BARNETT. Carnegie Library Lecture Hall.

8 p.m. Oakland.

WEDNESDAY JAN. 29

SERATONES. Club Cafe.

6:30 p.m. South Side.

ROCK

TUESDAY JAN. 28

RECONQUISTA. Arsenal Bowl.

9 p.m. Lawrenceville.

PUNK CHRIS FARREN. The Mr. Roboto Project.

7 p.m. Bloomfield.

BLUEGRASS THUNDERBIRD BLUEGRASS SESSIONS HOUSE BAND. Thunderbird Café & Music Hall.

8 p.m. Lawrenceville.

ALTERNATIVE/INDIE THE PRESSURE KIDS. Spirit.

9 p.m. Lawrenceville.

FOLK THE SEA THE SEA. Club Cafe.

6:30 p.m. South Side.

TRAMPLED BY TURTLES. Mr. Smalls Theatre.

7 p.m. Millvale.

COUNTRY CHUCK PROPHET. Club Cafe.

6:30 p.m. South Side.

ACOUSTIC RICK GEORGE. Mullaney’s Harp & Fiddle.

7 p.m. Strip District.

JAZZ JESSICA LEE, MARK STRICKLAND, GEORGE JONES. Rivers Club. 5:30 p.m. Downtown.

METAL FREEZE, BACK TO LIFE. Preserving Underground.

7 p.m. New Kensington.

These listings are curated by Pittsburgh City Paper’s music writer Jordan Snowden and include events from our free online listings. Submit yours today at www.pghcitypaper.com/submitevent PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JAN. 22-29, 2020

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THE LOCAL 913: WRECK LOOSE

BY LIZ FELIX // LIZ@WYEP.ORG

“I love being anxious. I mean, I think I’ve grown to embrace it. It’s who I am. If I wasn’t anxious, I’d probably be pretty boring. I’d probably stop writing songs and I would just be very content playing Myst on the computer.”

That’s Max Somerville, the supposedly reclusive frontman of Wreck Loose (get it?). In 2019, he didn’t have much time to hide out, or play video games for that matter. He spent part of the year playing drums with Strand of Oaks, an experience that he said taught him a lot about touring: “You don’t get a lot of time to actually be musical on the STAY UP-TOroad. I was constantly thinking, DATE WITH THIS man, I can’t wait WEEK’S LOCAL to get back so MUSIC NEWS I can start WITH CP MUSIC writing again.”

The time after WRITER JORDAN SNOWDEN the tour proved productive: Wreck AND WYEP Loose put out EVENING MIX a great album, HOST LIZ FELIX Wreck Loose Listen every Kills Again, in Wednesday November. The recording process at 7 p.m. on was a bit different 91.3FM WYEP this time around.

They brought in Music Garden Studios owner Al Torrence, who had such a big impact on the direction of the album that Somerville now refers to him as the fifth member of Wreck Loose.

And Somerville doesn’t sound all that anxious on the new release. It’s a confident rocker with a bombastic sound that will make you re-think the term “piano rock.” Of the album’s title, Somerville says, “I think it just came from the fact that we were ready. We were ready to strike and kill in a good way.” •

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PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER MISKIS

Chad Monticue and Joshua Sickels of Animal Scream

.MUSIC.

JOINT RETURN

BY ALEX GORDON // ALEXGORDON@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

S

IX YEARS AGO, the Pittsburgh band 1,2,3 released a mammoth double album called Big Weather, a sprawling concept record about storms, climate change, and apocalyptic dread wrapped in catchy alt-country, garage rock, and psychedelic pop. It marked an arrival for a band that had been drawing in local and national audiences for years and had finally delivered something as big and bold as their early catalog foreshadowed.

And then ... that was it.

The foursome — Nic Snyder and Josh Sickels (formerly of Takeover UK), Chad Monticue (The Juliana Theory), and Mike Yamamoto — played a release show at Brillobox in May 2014, then went quiet. The band never officially broke up, but the members silently moved on; Snyder moved to Los Angeles and continued recording solo work, Sickels opened Rockaway Pizzeria in White Oak. Now it seems the unofficial hiatus is coming to a partial close, as Sickels and Monticue have reunited under the moniker Animal Scream for a new album due out in April. The first single,

“Let Me In,” premiered on Friday and can be streamed online.

“There are pretty strong political/ working-class undertones throughout the record,” says Sickels. “’Let Me In’ at first glance could sound like some sort of romantic song with the ‘I’ll be your boy, just let me in,’ but it’s actually a critique of American capitalism. Basically, like what do I gotta do to get ahead? Want me to dance for ya? I’ll be your boy, just let me in.”

ANIMALSCREAM. BANDCAMP.COM While stylistically, the song has little in common with 1,2,3 — acoustic strings and slide guitars are replaced here by synths and heavily processed vocals — there’s a through line in how it conveys anxiety in a catchy package.

Monticue and Sickels (who plan on filling out the band in the coming months, likely to a four-piece) chose “Let Me In” because it seemed like a fitting introduction to the record as a

whole, something dark and unexpectedly funky (“evil Motown” is how it’s described on Bandcamp).

“We wanted something to grab listeners by the throat a bit,” says Monticue. “I like the intensity of it. The record is sort of about anxiety displacement, a lost-at-sea kind of record. I like how scatterbrained it sounded and frantic, but still with hooks.”

That sense of conflict and competing narratives runs throughout the record and stems from the dynamic and chemistry in the songwriting process. In 1,2,3, Snyder would be the primary songwriter and Sickels would help him refine the ideas and challenge to make them stranger and more ambitious. In Animal Scream, Monticue and Sickels have found similar success with that approach. “[Monticue] will bring the pop, and he’ll let it be weird, and I’ll make it even weirder than that,” says Sickels. “Then we just push the envelope as far as we can until we say, ‘alright.’”

Expect another single from Animal Scream in March and keep an ear out for the official release date of the full-length project.

•

The 5th Judicial District of Pennsylvania and Allegheny

.LITERATURE.

County Pretrial Services urges

MORE THAN A

you to enjoy your weekend out

PAYCHECK

in Pittsburgh but

make the right choice,

don’t drink & drive.

BY REGE BEHE CPCONTRIBUTORS@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

L

“

IFE IS SHORT, I don’t want to do

work that’s just a paycheck,” Jim Rugg says of life as a comic book artist, bookmaker, illustrator, and designer.

The winner of Eisner and Ignatz awards for excellence in comics, Rugg has produced acclaimed titles including Street Angel, Afrodisiac, and the recently re-released The PLAIN Janes (Little, Brown) series, a collaboration with writer Cecil Castellucci that includes a new work, Janes Attack Back!

“Comics saved my life,” says Rugg, who will appear Thu., Jan. 23 for Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures’ Words & Pictures series. “Books saved my life. I don’t know what I would do if I wasn’t able to find these places to escape from a life I wasn’t happy with, and so I want to make work like that.”

Rugg grew up in Fayette County, where one of his childhood pleasures was going to the Carnegie Free Library in Connellsville with his mother. Dinosaurs, Godzilla, and other first infatuations eventually gave way to comic books, which meshed with Rugg’s interest in drawing.

PITTSBURGH ARTS & LECTURES WORDS & PICTURES PRESENT

JIM RUGG 7 p.m. Thu., Jan. 23. Carnegie Library Lecture Hall, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. $10. Free for Carnegie Library card holders. pittsburghlectures.org

He found a kindred soul in Ed Piskor, the creator of the Hip Hop Family Tree and X-Men: Grand Design series. The duo started meeting at Phantom of the Attic, the legendary comic-book store in Oakland, to exchange ideas with fellow artists.

“It’s nice to have that support group to share what you know and share what you see is interesting,” says Rugg.

“Because we were meeting weekly, we never wanted to show up without

PHOTO: GARRET JONES

Jim Rugg

new work. There was positive peer pressure, because you knew Ed and everybody else was going to bring new pages. You didn’t want to be the guy who showed up and didn’t do anything that week.”

Rugg’s first major success was with Street Angel, about “a homeless ninja on a skateboard and the deadliest girl alive.” But The PLAIN Janes might be his most influential, and important, work. The story follows a creative high school student who moves from a major city to a small town without art. The series is considered to be a groundbreaking work.

At comic book conventions, the series took off. Fans, most of them men, would say that “The PLAIN Janes — this isn’t usually what I would read, but I enjoyed it,’” Rugg says. “I heard that a lot.”

Gradually, the series found favor with young adult readers, who were quick to embrace the idea of four girls in high school creating guerilla art installations.

Rugg thinks it was one of the first graphic novels aimed at the YA audience.

“Now there’s a huge market for [YA graphic novels],” he says. “Some of the greatest cartoonists in the world do young adult graphic novels. It’s like, if you build it, they will come. There’s a big audience for it, and that’s part of my excitement for finishing the story and re-releasing it now.”

•

and

present the

with support from Pittsburgh Black Media Federation and the August Wilson African American Cultural Center

Does Pittsburgh media have a diversity problem? + Free, with Cash Bar + Leave a message for local media at the video testimonial station + Tweet us a question for our panel: #PGHBlackMediaPanel

An esteemed group of Pittsburgh Black media professionals will discuss how local media can better serve their Black readers, staff, and communities.

WED., FEB. 12, 2020 at 6:30 p.m.

August Wilson African American Cultural Center 980 Liberty Ave., Downtown. aacc-awc.org Search “Pittsburgh Black Media Panel” on Facebook

Follow featured contributor Rege Behe on Twitter @RegeBehe_exPTR PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JAN. 22-29, 2020

27

CP PHOTO: ABBIE ADAMS

.FILM.

PROJECTED FUTURE

BY HANNAH LYNN // HLYNN@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

J

UST A FEW DAYS before Thanksgiving last year, the Pittsburgh Center for Arts and Media (PCAM) announced it was shuttering its film programs amid mass layoffs at the organization.

This theoretically meant the end of programming at the Harris Theater and the Regent Square Theater, two of the handful of independent movie theaters left in the city.

Joe Morrison, former director of programming at PCAM, was disappointed but not surprised. “I think all of us in the theater department knew it was going to be a rough future ahead of us, if there was a future,” he says.

Now that the dust has settled, things are looking up, at least for the Harris Theater, which, even while presenting PCAM and, previously, Pittsburgh Film-

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makers programming, has been owned by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. (The future is still unknown for Regent Square, which is owned by PCAM.) After the layoffs, which the Cultural Trust learned about from news reports, the Downtown arts organization quickly went into action to reopen the Harris Theater, continue the programming it had scheduled through the end of the year, and secure a future for the only movie theater Downtown.

While the Cultural Trust maintained the theater’s building and equipment since its re-opening in 1995 (the building first opened as a theater in 1931), Pittsburgh Filmmakers was always in charge of the programming.

The first step the Cultural Trust took was to reach out to Morrison about

continuing, and expanding, his work at the Harris. Almost immediately after the layoffs, Morrison and Scott Schiller, vice president of artistic planning at the Cultural Trust, began planning for the theater’s future.

HARRIS THEATER 809 Liberty Ave., Downtown. trustarts.org/film

“[Morrison] and I have been spending the last six weeks really envisioning a brand new, refreshed program for the Harris Theater,” says Schiller, “and thinking, ‘How can we serve both the independent art-house cinema fans in Pittsburgh but also expand the vision of

what we screen at the Harris Theater?’”

Morrison, for his part, felt lucky that, despite the harsh news of the layoffs, which drew public criticism for its timing and the reported $300 severance for employees, his programming barely skipped a beat.

“Not only did we not miss a single screening at the Harris for what I had planned and programmed, I was also able to bring my whole staff with me,” says Morrison. “We were disappointed, and we all miss the Regent Square [Theater], but we haven’t had too much time to wallow in self-pity.”

In keeping with tradition, Harris Theater continues its roster of independent movies, documentaries, foreign films, and other programming wellsuited for a non-profit theater, and not

one that relies on income from blockbuster ticket sales. And, as Morrison explains, all the programming he did at two single-screen theaters is now stuffed into one, making for a more packed schedule.

The expanded programming includes “Sonic Cinema,” a monthly series of documentaries about the music industry. It began last week with Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound, a behindthe-scenes look at sound editors who worked on some of the biggest movies of all time; and Desolation Center, about the ’80s punk scene in Southern California.

Another upcoming series will feature films later adapted into Broadway musicals. Both series aim to tie into the Cultural Trust’s programming of live music and theater Downtown.

While the Harris is currently the only movie theater Downtown, the Cultural Trust has been planning for years to reopen a movie theater at 115 Sixth Street. The space first opened as the Alvin Theater in 1891, eventually transforming into the Gateway Theatre, which closed in 1980. Its most recent occupant was a now-shuttered Bally Sports Club.

“I THINK PEOPLE STILL CRAVE A SHARED EXPERIENCE IN A DARKENED AUDITORIUM. PEOPLE LOVE THAT AND WILL ALWAYS LOVE THAT.” Schiller says the Cultural Trust is in the design phase of planning the new multi-screen theater and is in talks with national and local operators to determine who will run it. The future theater, which will primarily show first-run and more mainstream films, will divert from

the offerings at the Harris. It will have six screens and is slated for completion toward the end of 2021 or the beginning of 2022.

Schiller says he hopes the future theater will also be a space to host a film festival where all the screenings

are under one roof, as opposed to many of the city’s current festivals, which usually take place at multiple venues around town.

For Morrison, his new position at the Cultural Trust is his second in a decade, as well as the second time going through a dramatic, well-publicized change at an independent movie theater.

Before Filmmakers, Morrison was in charge of programming at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont, before new ownership came in and clashed with the mission of the staff at the community-oriented theater.

Independent movie theaters have yet to see a revival in the way of independent bookstores, which began to thrive again after big-box bookstores mostly shut down. But Morrison is hoping for the best.

“I think both in the audiences and the industry, not everyone is sure where it’s all going … In that period of transition, it just makes everything feel a little uncertain” says Morrison. “I think people still crave a shared experience in a darkened auditorium. People love that and will always love that.”

•

Follow staff writer Hannah Lynn on Twitter @hanfranny

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Discarded at be Galleries

.ART . .

DISCARDED

BY AMANDA WALTZ // AWALTZ@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

I

F YOU’RE FORTUNATE enough to

have a washer and dryer in your home, you also have something else — a weird little bucket full of dryer lint.

What does one do with the perfectly intact sheets of fabric bits, pet hair, and flecks of destroyed receipts? If you’re Pittsburgh artist and puppeteer Cheryl Capezzuti, you recycle it into art.

Now on view at be Galleries, Capezzuti once again shows off her talent for transforming trash with Discarded, a collection of dryer-lint soft sculptures that challenge viewers to “ponder daily debris, invite people into a collaborative experience, explore the role of art in contemporary life and find delight in

the effort.” The show looks back on her National Lint Project, which originally ran from 2000 through 2004 and included everything from interactive exhibitions to live performances.

The be Galleries show consists of two different experiences. Patrons are welcomed by a front room filled mostly with giant puppets, parade masks, and marionettes made from objects salvaged during Capezzuti’s artist residency at the Pittsburgh International Airport. From there, they discover a second room dedicated to her variously sized and shaped lint creations.

Appropriately, an avian theme runs through many of the airport

DISCARDED AT BE GALLERIES Continues through Fri., Feb. 14. 3583 Butler St., Lawrenceville.

Free. “be Galleries” on Facebook

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pieces. The puppets — some of which debuted during the recent First Night New Year’s Eve parade in Downtown Pittsburgh — hang suspended from the ceiling in all their colorful, garbage-y glory, their rain poncho or safety vest wings spread wide. The papier-mâché masks hang along the wall, resembling warped versions of the disapproving Muppet, Sam the Eagle, with their gaping beaks and big, cartoonish eyes.

The dryer lint works take a more featureless approach, many of them resembling figures molded by prehistoric hands, or, in some cases, the silent residents of Pompeii, preserved forever by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. But closer inspection reveals modern-day detritus that betrays the more primitivist style, with bits of plastic tags, sequins, and stickers finding their way

into the mix.

Other lint works appear more dolllike, accented with blank eyes made of rivets and screws, spindly arms, and outfits made of mismatched fabric scraps and strips of plastic. It’s impossible not to be amused by these pieces, as they feature creative touches like a bosom made of a broken screw-top bottle cap, or a single caster wheel serving as a wonky top bun.

In a time when consumers are becoming more aware of the dangers of waste, leading to, among other things, the banning of single-use plastic bags and straws, Discarded strives to highlight the issue in a gentle, non-preachy way. It also reminds viewers of why Capezzuti continues to be one of the most visible figures in the Pittsburgh art scene.

•

.FOR THE WEEK OF JAN. 23

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNY // INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I’m a big fan of self-editing. For example, every horoscope I write evolves over the course of at least three drafts. For each book I’ve published, I have written but then thrown away hundreds of pages that I ultimately deemed weren’t good enough to be a part of the finished text. And yet now and then, I have created a poem or song in one rapid swoop. My artistic artifact is exactly right the first time it flows out of me, with no further tinkering needed. I suspect you’re now entering a phase like that, Aquarius. I’m reminded of poet Allen Ginsberg’s operative principle: “first thought, best thought.”

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Who don’t you want to be, Pisces? Where don’t you want to go? What experiences are not necessary in your drive to become the person you were born to be? I encourage you to ask yourself questions like those in the coming weeks. You’re entering a phase when you can create long-term good fortune for yourself by knowing what you don’t like and don’t need and don’t require. Explore the positive effects of refusal. Wield the power of saying NO so as to liberate yourself from all that’s irrelevant, uninteresting, trivial, and unhealthy.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) declared that English writer Lord Byron (1788-1824) was the greatest genius of the 19th century. Here’s an interesting coincidence: Byron regarded Goethe as the greatest genius of the 19th century. I bring this to your attention, Aries, in the hope that it will inspire you to create a similar dynamic in your own life during the coming months. As much as possible, surround yourself with people whom you think are wonderful and interesting and enlivening — and who think you are wonderful and interesting and enlivening.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Taurus-born Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was a renowned German composer who lived most of his life is Germany and Austria. He became so famous and well-respected that England’s Cambridge University offered him an honorary degree if he would visit the campus. But Brahms was too timid to risk crossing the English Channel by boat. (There were no airplanes and Chunnel in those days.) He declined the award. I beg you not to do anything even remotely like that in the coming weeks, Taurus. Please summon the gumption necessary to claim and gather in all you deserve.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): According to my analysis of the astrological omens, the coming weeks will be one of those rare times when you can safely engage with influences that might normally rattle you. You’ll be protected as you wander into the unknown and explore edgy mysteries. Your intuition will be highly reliable if you make bold attempts to solve dilemmas that have previously confounded and frustrated you. If you’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to get a bit wild and exploratory, this is it.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): J. M. W. Turner (1775-1851) is regarded as one of England’s greatest painters. He’s best known for his luminous and imaginative landscapes. His experimental use of light and color influenced the Impressionist painters who came after him. But the weird thing is that after his death, many of his works were lost for decades. In 1939, a famed art historian found over a hundred of them rolled up like tarpaulins in the basement of an art museum. Let’s apply this event as a metaphor for what’s ahead in your life, Cancerian. I suspect that buried or lost elements of your past will soon be rediscovered and restored. I bet it will be fun and illuminating!

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In my early adult life, I lived below the poverty line for many years. How did that impact me? Here’s one example: I didn’t own a mattress from ages 23 to 39, but rather slept on a two-

inch thick foam pad that lay directly on the floor. I’m doing better now, thank you. But my early experiences ensured that I would forever have profound empathy for people who don’t have much money. I hope this will serve as inspiration for you, Leo. The next seven weeks will be the Empathy Building Season for you. The cosmos will reward you if you build your ability to appreciate and understand the pains and joys of other humans. Your compassion will be tonic for both your mental and physical health.

presents

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Ancient Greek author Theophrastus was a scientist before the concept of “scientist” existed. His writings on botany were influential for hundreds of years after his death. But some of his ideas would be considered unscientific today.

For example, he believed that flute music could heal sciatica and epilepsy. No modern research suggests that the charms of the flute can literally cure physical ailments like those. But there is a great deal of evidence that music can help relieve pain, reduce anxiety, reduce the side effects of drugs, assist in physical therapy, and even make you smarter. And my reading of the current astrological omens suggests that the therapeutic effects of music will be especially dramatic for you during the next three weeks.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “Learning to love is difficult, and we pay dearly for it,” wrote the serious and somber author Fyodor Dostoevsky. “It takes hard work and a long apprenticeship,” he added. All that’s true, I think. To hone our ability to express tenderness and warmth, even when we’re not at our best, is the most demanding task on earth. It requires more courage than that of a soldier in the frenzy of battle, as much imagination as a poet, and diligence equal to that of an architect supervising the construction of a massive suspension bridge. And yet on the other hand — contrary to what Dostoevsky believed — sometimes love is mostly fun and inspiring and entertaining and educational. I suspect that the coming weeks will be one of those phases for you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): How well do you nurture yourself, dear Scorpio? How diligent are you in providing yourself with the sustenance that ensures your body, mind, and soul will thrive? Are you imaginative in the ways that you keep yourself excited about life? Do you take strong measures to avoid getting attached to mediocre pleasures, even as you consistently hone your focus on the desires that lead you to joy and deep satisfaction? The coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to meditate on these questions.

l i a t k c o C Off e k a h S

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Seven books of the Bible’s Old Testament refer to a magical place called Ophir. It was a source of exotic finery and soulful treasures like gold, peacocks, jewels, frankincense, and precious sandalwood. One problem: No one, not even a Biblical scholar, has ever figured out where it was. Zimbabwe?

India? Tunisia? Its location is still unknown. I am bringing this to your attention because I suspect that in 2020 there’ll be a good chance you’ll discover and gain access to your own metaphorical Ophir: a fount of interesting, evocative resources.

For best results, be primed and eager to offer your own skills and riches in exchange for what this fount can provide to you.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Capricorn filmmaker Steven Soderbergh says it’s crucial for us to have a well-developed story about who we are and what we’re doing with our lives. It’s so important, he feels, that it should be the trigger that flings us out of bed every morning.

We’ve got to make our story so vivid and interesting that it continually motivates us in every little thing we do. Soderbergh’s counsel is always good to keep in mind, of course, but it will be even more so for you in the coming months. Why? Because your story will be expanding and deepening, and you’ll need to make the necessary adjustments in how you tell your story to yourself.

Go to realastrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s expanded weekly audio horoscopes and daily text-message horoscopes.

The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700

www.pghshakeoff.com

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH ENERGY INNOVATION CENTER • 7PM START 1435 BEDFORD AVE., PITTSBURGH PA 15219 PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JAN. 22-29, 2020

31

SEVEN DAYS OF ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT

^ Fri., Jan. 24: Past, Present, Future: Celebrating 10 Years of Art on the Walls

THURSDAY JAN. 23 STAGE The 1960s musical Hair broke barriers when it first hit the stage, with its integrated cast that explored sexuality and promoted an anti-war message.

Unsurprisingly, those topics are still relevant today. Pittsburgh Musical Theater stages its production of the rock-musical at the Gargaro Theater, complete with favorite hits like “Aquarius” and “Good

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Morning, Starshine.” 7:30 p.m. Continues through Sun., Feb. 2. 327 S. Main St., West End. $12. pittsburghmusicals.com

costumes. 7:30 p.m. Continues through Sun., Jan. 26. PPG Paints Arena, 1001 Fifth Ave., Uptown. $35-165. ppgpaintsarena.com

STAGE

STAGE

You’ve seen bugs, but never quite like this. Cirque du Soleil’s latest show to pass through Pittsburgh, OVO, is a colorful, energetic, and acrobatic interpretation of an insect ecosystem. Its story centers around the appearance of a mysterious egg that enthralls the insect community (“ovo” means egg in Portuguese). The show features the circus’ classic mix of dance, acrobatics, aerial tricks, and intricate

The Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama takes a musical journey to Italy with a production of The Light in the Piazza.

Set in 1953, the show follows an American woman, Margaret, and her daughter Clara as they enjoy a summer in Florence. But when Clara meets and quickly falls in love with a man, long-buried secrets come to the surface. Originally starring opera legend Renée Fleming, the Tony Award-

winning hit show will be restaged in the Phillip Chosky Theater at CMU’s Purnell Center for the Arts. 8 p.m. Continues through Sun., Jan. 26. 5000 Forbes Ave., Oakland. $5-10. cmu.edu

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^ Thu., Jan. 23: Hair

to serve their own needs? Ross Mantle’s Misplaced Fortunes might push you further down that road. Through photographs and text, the exhibit at 937 Gallery “invites the visitor to view American history as a mystery and as a puzzle, asking how the promise of treasures, and our desire to seek them, continues to define us.” Don’t miss your chance to stick it to the man. 11 a.m.8 p.m. 937 Liberty Ave., Downtown. trustarts.org

ART See a retrospective of public art in Pittsburgh when the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council presents the opening of Past, Present, Future: Celebrating 10 Years of Art on the Walls.

The show features work by Pittsburghbased artists working in a wide range of media, including quilt-making, photography, painting, sculpture, and more. The show celebrates the legacy of what started as a biannual, solo exhibition and has since grown into more than 140 artists being displayed in six corporate locations. 5-8:30 p.m. Continues through June 2020. 810 Penn Ave., Downtown. pittsburghartscouncil.org

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OPERA Next month, conductor Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will perform Beethoven’s opera Fidelio at the historic Theater an der Wien in Vienna, Austria, where it first premiered in 1805. But first, Honeck and crew are warming up with a couple of dry runs here in Pittsburgh, along with the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh. The opera is the story of a woman named Leonore who disguises herself as a little boy to infiltrate the prison where her husband is being unjustly kept by a political rival. This is Beethoven’s first and only opera, so don’t sleep on this opportunity. It may not be Vienna, but Heinz Hall ain’t half bad. 8 p.m. Also 2:30 p.m.

Sun., Jan. 26. Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Ave., Downtown. $20. pittsburghsymphony.org

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ART The Miller Institute for Contemporary Art at Carnegie Mellon University presents An Institute of

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JAN. 22-29, 2020

33

CALENDAR, CONTINUED FROM PG. 33

^ Thu., Jan. 23: OVO

Investigative Living, a solo exhibition featuring work by California-based artist Andrea Zittel. Curated by Elizabeth Chodos, the show spans Zittel’s career with a wide range of media that the Miller ICA websites describes as resting at the intersection of art, architecture, and design. Expect to see furniture, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, and painting, as well as two newly commissioned tile floors.

Continues through Sun., March 8. 5000 Forbes Ave., Oakland. miller-ica.cmu.edu

ART Get a first look at Michael Lotenero’s “soulful and bold expressions” at the opening reception for VINYL at ZYNKA Gallery. All of the pieces in the exhibit are reverse-painted on vinyl, producing art that explores landscape and structures as a temporal experience. 6-9 p.m.

904 Main St., Sharpsburg. zynkagallery.com

COMEDY Comedian Ari Shaffir brings his Ari Shaffir: Jew tour to Roxian Theatre for a night of hilarious introspection regarding his religious upbringing and life outside the faith. Shaffir was raised Orthodox, lived in a religious community, and attended yeshiva in Israel for two years before returning to the states as an atheist. He’s

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got some killer bits on YouTube to peruse before the show, and you might know him from his podcast Skeptic Tank, his Comedy Central specials, appearances on Conan, and a role in the Jon Hamm/ Zach Galifianakis movie Keeping Up With The Joneses. 8 p.m.

425 Chartiers Ave., McKees Rocks. $35. roxianlive.com

STAGE Lose yourself in a story of dark enchantment when the Pittsburgh Opera presents a production of Alcina at the Creative and Performing Arts Magnet school (CAPA).

George Frideric Handel’s opera finds Bradamante trying to save her fiancé Ruggiero from the clutches of the seductive sorceress Alcina and her sister, Morgana. As titillating as it sounds, the stakes are pretty high — if Ruggiero doesn’t shake Alcina’s evil spell, ^ Sat., Jan. 25: Ari Shaffir

he’s destined to be transformed into a beast, or worse, an inanimate object.

Alcina is presented in partnership with the Chatham Baroque musical group. 8 p.m.

Showtimes continue through Sun., Feb. 2. 111 Ninth St., Downtown. $30-60. pittsburghopera.org

SUNDAY JAN. 26 EVENT Check your tracking, son.

(This is the first time that sentence has ever been written.) And if you grew up with VHS tapes, you get it. If you’re young, cool, and never held those gorgeous cinematic rectangles, find out what all the hype is about and stop by Pittsburgh Analog and Dead Media Swap at The Smiling Moose. Need Broken Arrow on Laserdisc and Face/Off on pristine VHS? Of course, you do. Enjoy a burger and a brew as they screen obscure shorts, trailers,

and music videos for your entertainment.

11 a.m.-5 p.m. 1306 E. Carson St., South Side, smiling-moose.com

FILM Experience art on the (very) big screen when the Rangos Giant Cinema at Carnegie Science Center presents Gauguin From The National Gallery, London.

The documentary takes viewers on an intimate, guided tour of the of the major National Gallery exhibition The Credit Suisse Exhibition: Gauguin Portraits. Shot in Tahiti, France, the Marquesas Islands, and the U.K., the film also explores Gauguin’s complicated legacy through what the synopsis describes as “the lens of art history, but also those of gender and post-colonial politics, reassessing his treatment of young indigenous women and his role in 19th-century French colonialism.”

4 p.m. 1 Allegheny Ave., North Side. $9.95. carnegiesciencecenter.org

MONDAY JAN. 27 FILM Based on a 1927 H.P. Lovecraft story, the film

ART: PAUL GAUGUIN’S “MERAHI METUA NO TEHAMANA (TEHAMANA HAS MANY PARENTS OR THE ANCESTORS OF TEHAMANA)” COURTESY OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

^ Sun., Jan. 26: Gauguin From The National Gallery, London

adaptation Color Out of Space, showing at the Harris Theater, stars Nicholas Cage as a father and husband who recently moved his family from the city to a farm. He takes up gardening, but things start to get weird when a meteorite with alien properties crashes into their yard, infecting their land, water supply, and psyches. It’s a bit of horror, a bit of science fiction, and a lot of Nicholas Cage doin’ his thing. 7:30 p.m. Continues through Thu., Jan. 30. 809 Liberty Ave., Downtown. $8. trustarts.org

TUESDAY JAN. 28

ART Sherry Rusinack’s artist bio calls her “a dumpster diving, trash night loving, thrift shop junkie, junk artist working to create whatever artful thing she can think up.” For Ship of Fools, on display in the upstairs gallery at BoxHeart Gallery, Rusinack transforms her beloved junk into gorgeous upcycled mixed-media architectural pieces of house boats and shanties. Downstairs at Transience, in the main gallery, artist Seth Clark reclaims aged materials like scrap wood to create twodimensional collage paintings. Take time to dive into both exhibits before Sat., Feb. 1, when fans will have a chance to meet the artists during a reception. 11 a.m. Continues through Fri., Feb. 28. 4523 Liberty Ave., Bloomfield. boxheartgallery.com

WEDNESDAY JAN. 29 BALLET Tchaikovsky’s classic Swan Lake has everything you want in a ballet: interspecies love, a lake full of tears, a happy ending. Catch this mesmerizing masterpiece when Ukraine’s legendary National Ballet Theatre of Odessa brings its 55-member cast to The Palace Theatre for a full-scale performance for its first-ever U.S. tour. You might have seen Swan Lake before, but you have almost certainly not seen it on this scale with this caliber of performers.

7:30 p.m. 21 W. Otterman St., Greensburg. $30-60. thepalacetheatre.org

STAGE Cancer isn’t the only “c” word that can tear a family apart. The Duquesne University Red Masquers’ tackles a story of a family dealing with a different type of illness in C-Word, written by Red Masquers’ board president Olivia LeSuer. The dark comedy of a woman returning home to live with her mother after being released from a psychiatric hospital addresses how mental health is handled by different generations.

8 p.m. Continues through Sun., Feb. 2. Genesius Theater at Duquesne University, 600 Forbes Ave., Uptown. $10-20. duqredmasquers.com • PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JAN. 22-29, 2020

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Foerster Instruments Inc. seeks a National Sales Manager, Nondestructive Testing Technologies to work in Pittsburgh, PA & be resp. for identifying, facilitating, and dvlpng sales opportunities in selected market segments for Nondestructive Testing (NDT) technologies & managing the sales function. Employer-paid, pre-hire drug test and background check required. Must be willing and able to travel domestically (40%) and internationally (5%).

Send resumes to: resume@foerstergroup.com

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HELP WANTED iMinds Technology Systems Inc has openings for the positions: “Java Developer” with Master’s degree In Computer Science, Engineering(any),Technology, Information Systems or related and 6 months of exp to Design and develop the application with Agile methodology and involve in the technical design document. Work on enhancements of existing functionalities, to improve the performance and quality of the products. Design and develop application based on Spring 4.0 MVC design pattern. Involve in developing code for obtaining bean references in spring framework using Dependency Injection (DI). Extensively using Java collections and until packages to make the Account application effective and interactive. “System Engineer” with Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering(any),Technology or related and 6 months of exp to work on building JAVA based MAVEN Project files, configure WebSphere and deploy in IBM WebSphere server in an agile continuous integration environment and supporting Databases and upgrading MS SQL on windows server understanding thebusiness requirements specifications and translate to the technical design specs using volante mapping product suite and also develop integration flow services using the Software AG product suite Write unit test case specifications and validate the code also coordinate with the testing team to support the end to end testing and deploy code and content using pipelines and packages. Ensured network connectivity throughout the companys LAN/WAN infrastructure is on par with technical considerations and extensive experience in Linux/Unix system Administration, System builds, Server Builds, Installations, Upgrades, Patches, Migrations and Trouble Shooting. Perform extensive research on the key areas of quality and manufacturing, technology requirements, company software requirements. Work location is Pittsburgh, PA with required travel to client locations throughout the USA. Please mail resumes to 1145 Bower Hill Road, Suite 102, Pittsburgh, PA 15243 (or) e-mail: ramana@imindsinc.com.

OFFICIAL ADVERTISEMENT

THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Administration Building, Bellefield Entrance Lobby, 341 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15213, on February 4, 2020 until 2:00 P.M. local prevailing time for:

PGH. CARMALT K-8

• Replace Emergency Generator • General and Electrical Primes

PGH. CHARTIERS ECC • Asphalt and Concrete Repairs • General Prime

PGH. MILLER K-5

• Comprehensive Plaster Repair and Painting • General, Mechanical, Electrical and Asbestos Abatement Primes Project Manual and Drawings will be available for purchase on January 6, 2020 at Modern Reproductions (412-488-7700), 127 McKean Street, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15219 between 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. The cost of the Project Manual Documents is non-refundable. Project details and dates are described in each project manual.

We are an equal rights and opportunity school district.

REHEARSAL

Rehearsal Space starting @ $150/mo.

Many sizes available, no sec deposit, play @ the original and largest practice facility, 24/7 access.

412-403-6069 NAME CHANGE IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD-19-17995. In re petition of Srdjan Males for change of name to Srdjan Malesh. To all persons interested: Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the filing of said petition and fixed the 13th day of February, 2020, at 9:45 a.m., as the time and the Motions Room, City-County Building, Pittsburgh, PA, as the place for a hearing, when and where all persons may show cause, if any they have, why said name should not be changed as prayed for

SOMETHING’S FISHY

BY BRENDAN EMMETT QUIGLEY // WWW.BRENDANEMMETTQUIGLEY.COM

OFFICIAL ADVERTISEMENT THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH

Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Administration Building, Bellefield Entrance Lobby, 341 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15213, on February 18, 2020 until 2:00 P.M. local prevailing time for:

PGH. BRASHEAR H.S. s 6ARIOUS !SPHALT AND #ONCRETE 2EPAIRS s 'ENERAL 0RIME

PGH. BROOKLINE PREK-8 s -ASONRY 2ESTORATION s !SBESTOS !BATEMENT 0RIME n 2%")$

PGH. CARMALT PREK-8 s (UMIDITY #ONTROL AND 6ENTILATION s 'ENERAL -ECHANICAL AND %LECTRICAL 0RIMES

PGH. DILWORTH PREK-5 ACROSS

1. Miles Davis started off playing it 6. Cleaner with a mythological name 10. Excited 14. Sheep-ish 15. Grandmotherly tablecloth material 16. Pasta salad pasta 17. Things that resist being installed in vehicles with “Keep America Great” bumper stickers?

20. “While we’re on the topic” 21. “Beasts and Super-Beasts” author 22. Dole out 23. Stat with a moon shots 25. Iron ___ 26. Instruments that are just lucky to be played?

35. Covered with the cold stuff 36. Montréal nights 37. Strip in Japan 38. Mexican snack often eaten on Tuesdays 39. Hits the Juul pods 40. ___ War (South African conflict) 41. “That makes sense,” phonetically in some IMs 42. Peninsula of the Middle East 43. Composure 44. Experts with their instrument panels?

47. Irish cream ___

48. CIA’s forerunner 49. President with a Netflix deal 52. “M*A*S*H” star 55. Pad kee mao cuisine 59. Solo drinker’s ethos?

62. Skechers rival 63. Dance with the hips 64. “The Three Musketeers” author 65. Did a DJ set 66. Cart pullers 67. Vice president after Hubert

DOWN

1. Gaucho weapon 2. Like a sadistic puzzle maker 3. Props for lobster eaters 4. Not many 5. Pricing word 6. ___ breve 7. Face card 8. Trendy berry 9. Person whose first computer might have been a Commodore 64 10. Blooming shrub 11. “Hot ___ Bummer” (Blackbear hit) 12. Springfield bus driver 13. General idea 18. Spelling clarifying phrase 19. 2024 Summer Olympics host 24. Get the goods, say 25. Makes a choice

26. SLR setting 27. “We’re broadcasting, please shut up” sign 28. Madonna’s son 29. Carlsen beat him to become World Champ 30. Rapper with more posthumous releases than when he was alive 31. Refrain from kindergarten 32. Salad order request 33. In line for laparoscopic surgery 34. Colts’ fathers 39. Tik Tok’s predecessor 40. Gives a lift 42. Liverpool forward

Mohamed ___ 43. Handwritten letter addenda: Abbr.

45. Apia resident 46. Standard 49. Bozos 50. Blink-and-youmiss-it moment 51. Rights for pretty much everybody org.

52. ___ capacitor (extra feature in a certain DeLorean) 53. Displaying talent 54. Titans QB Tannehill 56. Hot rod engine 57. Banned apple spray 58. “Logically speaking ...”

60. “Now, really!”

61. Stat for 54-Down

s &INISH AND -ISCELLANEOUS 7ORK s !SBESTOS !BATEMENT 0RIME n 2%")$

PGH. GREENFIELD PREK-8 s 2ESTROOM 2ENOVATIONS s !SBESTOS !BATEMENT 0RIME n 2%")$

PGH. MILLIONES 6-12 s -ASONRY 2ESTORATION 7INDOW 2EPLACEMENT s !SBESTOS !BATEMENT 0RIME n 2%")$

PGH. MINADEO PREK-5 s 5NIT 6ENTILATORS AND !IR #ONDITIONING s !SBESTOS !BATEMENT 0RIMES

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS

VARIOUS BUILDINGS s #ARBON -ONOXIDE $ETECTORS 0HASE )) s -ECHANICAL AND %LECTRICAL 0RIMES Project Manual and Drawings will be available for purchase on January 20, 2020 at Modern Reproductions (412-488-7700), 127 McKean Street, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15219 between 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. The cost of the Project Manual Documents is non-refundable. Project details and dates are described in each project manual.

We are an equal rights and opportunity school district.

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JAN. 22-29, 2020

37

PEEPSHOW A sex and social justice column

BY JESSIE SAGE // PEEPSHOWCAST@GMAIL.COM

O

NE OF THE MOST interesting

things about writing this column has been interacting with readers who relatively frequently contact me to tell me about how my work relates to their thoughts, feelings, and relationships. Though less common, I also have folks ask for advice. This week, I have decided to tackle one of these questions.

In order to do this, let me set the scene: Last month I got an email from a reader that contained a video message.

The woman who sent the message was topless in the video for reasons that were left entirely unexplained. But hey, I am naked half the time I write this column. (However, this is not an open invitation to send me naked videos.)

Here is a synopsis of her two-part question (it was a really long video!).

Part one: She is experiencing a lot of razor burn and irritated skin after shaving her bikini area. The man she is in a relationship with often performs oral sex on her after she shaves. He typically has a beard, but has recently shaven. Until he shaved, she didn’t realize that having him go down on her while he was bearded soothed her skin, scratched the itchy parts, and made her feel better. Part two: she wants to know how she gets him to both grow his beard back and go down on her again, without telling him why.

I WOULD EROTIZE THE THINGS I WANTED OR TURN THEM INTO A FANTASY IN ORDER TO START TALKING POSITIVELY ABOUT MY DESIRES. I am not going to spend too much time on the first part of the question.

Razor burn itself is a medical issue. I have no medical expertise and don’t get a lot of razor burn myself, so I don’t have very many suggestions. However, even a cursory google search (I just did one myself), will give strategies for managing the irritation of shaving public hair.

In terms of getting relief from

some bearded cunnilingus, I have never heard anyone say this. The person who sent this may be trolling me.

Yet, when it comes to sex, I operate under the assumption that there is someone who is into everything, and that we ought to believe what people say about their own experiences. So, I’m going to go ahead and believe that this is actually helpful or pleasurable, while also admitting that I’m not

enough of a hipster to have had a lot of bearded lovers.

The second part of this question is more important. How do you talk to your partner about what you want, especially when the reason for it is embarrassing? I am a big proponent of straightforward communication when it comes to sex. This doesn’t mean that it needs to be clinical or unsexy, just that you are more likely to get what you want, and for your partner(s) to feel comfortable and excited to give it to you, if you make it clear to them what it is.

This is probably what I would say in this situation. While intimately talking in bed, or on the phone, or in text, I would bring up previous sexual experience that I enjoyed. I may say something like, “Do you remember the time we had sex on the kitchen counter, that was exciting! Oh, and I was also thinking about how much I loved it when you would go down on me with your full beard … I can’t wait until you can do that again.”

I would erotize the things I wanted or turn them into a fantasy, in order to start talking positively about my desires. And if that was too subtle, I would just say, “Hey, I like it better when you go down on me with a beard, what do you think about growing it back?”

Good luck.

•

JESSIE SAGE IS CO-HOST OF THE PEEPSHOW PODCAST AT PEEPSHOWPODCAST.COM. HER COLUMN PEEPSHOW IS EXCLUSIVE TO PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER. FOLLOW HER ON TWITTER @PEEP_CAST. HAVE A SEX QUESTION YOU’RE TOO AFRAID TO ASK? ASK JESSIE! EMAIL INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM. QUESTIONS MAY BE CONSIDERED FOR AN UPCOMING COLUMN.

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