Shirley McMarlin stories, Page 28

Good food isn’t all that’s on the menu for Greensburg Restaurant Week, which takes place Jan. 24-30. Diners also will have chances to win free food and merchandise by ordering from the special menus at 18 participating area eateries. New on the restaurant list this year are El Diablo Brewing...

Broadway regular and Tony Award nominee Adam Pascal will tread the boards of the Benedum Center in “Pretty Woman: The Musical,” coming Feb. 1-6 as part of the PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh Series. The national touring cast also features rising Broadway star Olivia Valli, playing the role of Vivian Ward...

Pittsburgh Opera is traveling to the land of make-believe for its next production. “The Rose Elf,” based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, “The Elf of the Rose,” opens Friday at the Bitz Opera Factory, the opera’s headquarters at 2425 Liberty Ave. While it is currently sold out, the...

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s annual winter Gallery Crawl returns Jan. 28 to the Cultural District, with more than 20 free events from 5:30-10 p.m. The 14 crawl stops include Trust galleries and other outdoor and indoor locations and public art places. “We have some very exciting events planned as we welcome...

Songs for Sondheim Six area theater companies are joining forces to celebrate the life and work of the renowned musical theater composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who died in November. “For Stephen: A Review in Remembrance of Stephen Sondheim” is scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday at The Lamp Theatre in Irwin. The...

There’s nothing like a hot bowl of chili on a cold winter day. Not only is it filling and nutritious, but its spicy savor also provides the belly with a warm glow. “We don’t even sell chili at all when the weather is warm, but it’s very popular at this...

Who doesn’t need a hug right now? The popular movie and television Troll characters will provide plenty of their signature hugs during “Trolls Live,” coming Saturday and Sunday to PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. Trolls are “all about positivity and happiness. Every hour on the hour, they love to hug...

Organizers of the Ligonier Ice Fest are keeping a weather eye out, so to speak, for the Jan. 22-23 forecast. So far, conditions look to be favorable for the 31st annual event, with highs hovering around 30 degrees, some clouds and maybe a snow shower, according to weather.com. “I say...

City Theatre in Pittsburgh is bringing back a play that first appeared on its stage 25 years ago. “The Medium,” a postmodern deconstruction of the musings of writer/philosopher Marshall McLuhan, will run from Jan. 22 through Feb. 13 on the City Theatre Main Stage on Pittsburgh’s South Side. The third...

The Pittsburgh Symphony’s BNY Mellon Grand Classics subscription series returns on Jan. 14 under the baton of Lorenzo Viotti, principal conductor of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and the Dutch National Opera, making his Pittsburgh debut. A native of Switzerland, the 31-year-old Viotti will conduct BNY Mellon Grand Classics 8, scheduled...

The holiday season was officially laid to rest on Saturday evening at Fort Ligonier with the fourth annual Twelfth Night Celebration. The event offers modern-day revelers a taste of an 18th-century wintertime gala: Period music by the classically trained Wayward Companions? Check. English country dancing? Check. A Twelfth Night fruit-and-nut...

In some ways, it takes a village for Pittsburgh fiber artist Tina Williams Brewer to create her story quilts. In other ways, it takes the sweep of human history and the spiritual forces of the universe. A retrospective of her career, “Cultivation: The Journey of the Work,” is showing through...

Every quilt tells a story An exhibition of story quilts by Pittsburgh-based fiber artist Tina Williams Brewer is showing through April 24 in the Robertshaw Gallery of The Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg. “Cultivation: Journey of the Work” reflects the artist’s 40-year career through her multilayered quilts that...

Robin Brunton says she is bringing a little taste of city shopping to Ligonier with her new Onyx & Ivory Boutique. “It has a modern, rustic, chic Shadyside feel,” said Brunton, who opened the shop Nov. 12 at 209 E. Main St. Onyx & Ivory offers a curated collection of...

Six area theater companies are joining forces to celebrate the life and work of Stephen Sondheim, the renowned musical theater composer-lyricist who died Nov. 26 at age 91. “For Stephen: A Review in Remembrance of Stephen Sondheim” is scheduled for 8 p.m. Jan. 15 at The Lamp Theatre in Irwin....

Award-winning Chef William Racin has joined the Westmoreland County Community College School of Culinary Arts and Hospitality as a full-time baking and pastry instructor. With more than 18 years of experience in fine dining restaurants and boutique hotels, Racin comes to WCCC from the Duquesne Club in Pittsburgh, where he...

For the first time, the Tamburitzans are performing songs from Italy and the Nordic countries. The additions to their staple repertoire of Eastern European folk music and dance are displayed in the troupe’s current tour, “Symbols: The Awakening.” It’s the perfect time to make the additions, said Marianna Hurrell, a...

The new year is approaching and we’ve had our fill of cookies, egg nog and other high-calorie holiday treats. Our pants might be feeling a little tight. Jan. 1 is usually the day when we start on our New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier, exercise more and lose a few...

Christmas Eve services Churches across the area will open their doors for Christmas Eve services Friday. For those without a regular church home, there are plenty of ways to find a service to attend. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg, which includes parishes in Armstrong, Fayette, Indiana and Westmoreland counties,...

If clothes don’t make the man, they certainly make the first impression. And if the clothes look good, the wearer feels good, too. That’s the aesthetic Cindy Shoemaker is bringing to Ligonier with her recently opened business, C_Shoemaker Custom Clothier. The shop specializes in custom-made suits, tuxedos, sport coats, trousers,...

Usually, the scariest thing about January is getting the Christmas credit card bill. To kick off 2022, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust will offer more chills and thrills with the Januscary Film Festival, which will feature six new and classic horror films screening at the Harris Theater in downtown Pittsburgh. “Most...

The best cookie bakers aren’t always grandmothers in flour-dusted aprons. A group of young bakers showed their kitchen competence Sunday during the fourth-annual Great Birthday Bake hosted by Beverly’s Birthdays at Antonelli Event Center in Irwin. Their creations scaled the heights of culinary creativity with original recipes and presentations worthy...