Performances in the Parks | Pittsburgh Outdoor Theatre, Musicals & Dance

Get thee to great outdoor theater in Pittsburgh

Live theatre doesn't have to mean sitting inside and being quiet as the lights dim. Pack your picnic basket, bring your parking chair (lawn chair for you non-natives) and a blanket and head to the parks where live theatre from Shakespeare to improv, musicals and ballet is being performed all summer long.

Pictured |
The Cherry Orchard, performed at OneValley at the Roundhouse in 2022
Credit |
Jason Snyder

Shakespeare in the Park

Started in 2005, Shakespeare in the Park's goal is to bring the Bard to Pittsburgh area parks and other public places via free performances. These vibrant, engaging performances have spanned Shakespeare's comedies, tragedies and histories and sometimes veers into Shakespeare-esque productions like the Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Look for their upcoming 20th season of productions TBA for 2024. Previous seasons have included Cleopatra & Anthony, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet and many more!

Penny Arcade

Taking the interactivity for kids to the next level is Penny Arcade, part of the renowned Arcade Comedy Theater in Downtown Pittsburgh. Look for outdoor free shows periodically during the summer months at the Backyard at 8th and Penn.

Before the show, those aged 4-11 are encouraged to to draw, write and help craft the stories that will be told during the 45-minute improv show. During the production, children will have more opportunities to come up on stage and get in in on the act, too. Because this is improv and based on ever-changing ideas, no two shows are alike!

Ballet Under the Stars

Originally developed during the pandemic, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's outdoor series takes over the Hartwood Acres Middle Road Concert Area for an end-of-summer tradition like no other. 2024's performance is Aug. 25, 2024.

There's pre-show family fun including crafts and dance lessons, a ticketed picnic experience and finally a free performance of breathtaking ballet as the sun sets.

Quantum Theatre Summer Shows

The progressive artists behind Quantum Theatre push the envelope of what's possible from live theatre in everything from subject matter to the physical location of the production.

Always pushing to show the intersection of art and real life, look for their summer shows at exciting outdoor venues you might never expect for theatre. In 2024, we can't wait for A Moon for the Misbegotten happening outdoors at Longue Vue Club in Verona.

Previous performances included a dazzling production of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard at OneValley which converted into a 360-degree stage and a chilling production of Hamlet performed at the Carrie Furnaces. You have to see one of these shows to believe it!

Unrehearsed Shakespeare Project

All the world's a stage when you can perform the Bard anywhere outdoors. The Unrehearsed Shakespeare Company brings performances back outside the way they're mean to be performed, with fast-paced dialogue and lots of entertainment.

For 2024, see performances of Much Adoe About Nothing and Twelfe Night, or What You Will at locations from the North Park Boathouse lawn to Allegheny Rivertrail Park and Hartwood Acres Mansion lawn on select dates this June and July.

South Park Theatre Musicals

Lawn chairs and picnic baskets recommended! South Park Theatre's beautiful outdoor stage is the site for their Children's Theatre performances all summer and into fall.

In 2024, expect musical performances of The Wizard of Oz and Hansel & Gretel as well as comical plays like Rapunzel, Princess Who? and Snow White and the Seven Fairy Godmothers.

EQT Children's Theater Festival

Theater is just more fun when it's outdoors! The incredible EQT Children's Theater Festival takes over Downtown for one weekend every May, filling theatres, college campuses, local businesses and city parks and parklets with the arts.

Each year, look for outdoor performances at the corner of 7th Street and Penn Ave as the fun continues with STEM activities in open air spaces and even more theatre indoors at various Cultural District locations.

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Jared B.

Author

Jared B.

Enthusiastic Pittsburgher

Always in search of the next great craft beer and arcade. Can be found in the Supporters Section of Pittsburgh Riverhounds games and at whatever festival is happening in the city.