In honor of the city’s Pittsburgh 200 celebration, Carlow University Theatre will present a bit of forgotten Pittsburgh with Beggar on Horseback.
| Marketing and Communications | For Immediate Release |
| Drew Wilson, Director, Media Relations | September 22, 2016 |
| 412.578.2095 (phone) | |
| 412.260.6807 (cell) | |
| 412.578.2080 (fax) | |
| agwilson@carlow.edu |
Pittsburgh, Pa. – In honor of the Pittsburgh 200 celebration, Carlow University Theatre (CUT) will offer a bit of “Forgotten Pittsburgh” with Beggar on Horseback, a 1924 play by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwrights George S. Kaufman, who was born and raised in Shadyside, and Marc Connelly, a McKeesport native.
“With an initial Broadway run in 1924 of 223 performances, Beggar was by all accounts a highly successful play,” said Steve Fatla, the director of CUT, who will also direct the cast of 24 in Beggar on Horseback. “Yet, it is seldom revived and has become a bit of a forgotten classic.”
Beggar follows the plight of classical composer Neil McRae trying to make a living without selling out, and, through a series of dreamscapes and nightmares, shows what could happen to him if he gives up his ideals to marry into money.
Expressionism was all the rage in the 1920s in classics like Eugene O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape and Elmer Rice’s The Adding Machine, and later in films like The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, The Trial and numerous film noir classics.
“Few writers ever mixed the form with broad humor and societal satire as the collaborators Kaufman and Connelly,” said Fatla.
Kaufman, who worked as a drama critic for The New York Times in the early 1920s, was a charter member (along with Connelly) of the famed Algonquin Round Table – a group of writers, critics, and actors who were known for their wit and wordplay. The story is told that a theater press agent approached Kaufman with a question about how he could get his play’s leading lady mentioned in the Times. “Shoot her,” was Kaufman’s quick response.
Kaufman’s play, You Can’t Take It With You, won the Pulitzer in 1937, and Connelly’s The Green Pastures won the Pulitzer in 1930.
CUT will present Beggar on Horseback on Nov 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12 at 8:00 p.m. in the Rosemary Heyl Theatre, located in Antonian Hall on the Carlow campus. Tickets are $13, $10 for Seniors and Students. Reservations can be made by calling 412-578-8749.
Carlow is a private, co-educational, Catholic university located in the heart of Pittsburgh’s “Eds, Meds, and Tech” district. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy, Carlow’s graduates, curriculum, and partnerships reflect its strong commitment to social justice; ethical, forward-thinking and responsible leadership; and service to the community that has a meaningful impact. Undergraduate and graduate degrees are offered in three colleges: Health and Wellness, Leadership and Social Change, and Learning and Innovation. Carlow graduates are in demand for their professional expertise, in fields ranging from nursing, the sciences, and perfusion technology to counseling, education, and forensic accounting; their entrepreneurial spirit and creative mindset; and their ability to manage change. Carlow’s eleven athletic teams are known as the Celtics, a reflection of the university’s Irish heritage and roots.