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Prime Stage Theatre’s Sept. 27 Cemetery Walk adds theatrical touch to Pittsburgh history

 


Have you ever wanted to have a conversation with a teenage Union soldier who carried his company's regimental flag across a dozen of the bloodiest battle fronts in the Civil War?

Then stop by Homewood Cemetery on the afternoon of Sept. 27 and meet Henry Milo Curry.

While Curry died in 1900 at age 53 after a postwar career as one of Andrew Carnegie’s top steel executives, he’ll be one of seven Homewood Cemetery residents portrayed by professional actors in period costumes during Prime Stage Theatre’s 3rd Annual Homewood Cemetery Walk.

The rain-or-shine event offers 13 one-hour walking tours from noon-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025 at Homewood Cemetery, 1599 S. Dallas Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA in Point Breeze. Tickets are $20 per person, available online and presale only at https://primestage.com/events/.

 

“Many of our mainstage plays have history as a central focus,” says Prime Stage Theatre artistic director Dr. Wayne Brinda. “The Cemetery Walk is a chance for us to present audiences with a personal look at historic Pittsburghers and the impact they had on shaping our community.”

Besides Curry, visitors will hear about the lives of 1880s railroad magnate Robert Pitcairn, 20th-century oil wildcatter Michael Benedum, World War II Army pilot William L. Flinn II, Gilded Age socialite Irene Peacock, “Father of Pittsburgh Parks” Edward Manning Bigelow and attorney Clarence Burleigh, who prosecuted the 1892 Homestead Steel Strikers.

Homewood Cemetery was established in 1878 from the estate of William Wilkins, a 19th-century Pittsburgh judge who served as U.S. Minister to Russia and Secretary of War under President John Tyler. Nearly 79,000 graves lie within 200 acres of well-maintained landscape dotted by a profusion of monuments ranging from angels and obelisks to mausoleums and illustrated headstones.

The Cemetery Walk is the kickoff event in Prime Stage Theatre’s 2025-26 Season that features three world premieres by Pittsburgh playwrights.

•  Nov. 7-16, 2025 – Mr. Edgar A. Poe Presents:  Tales of Mystery, Horror & Imagination

Written by Lawrence C. Connolly, directed by Art DeConciliis

•  Jan. 23-Feb. 1, 2026 – Freedom House:  Giving Life a Second Chance

Written by L.E. McCullough, directed by Scott Calhoon

•  May 1-10, 2026 – Speak

Written by Tammy Ryan, directed by Dana Hardy Bingham

“Each of our plays this season is a new play from a Pittsburgh playwright,” says Brinda. “We want audiences to see how real events are brought to life on stage with a unique local perspective.” 

Founded in 1996 with the mission of “bringing literature to life”, Prime Stage Theatre has produced over 100 plays and won national recognition as a leader in educational theatre.

* For more information on Prime Stage Theatre’s 2024-25 season, contact Connie Brinda, Prime Stage Theatre General Manager at (724) 773-0700 or cbrinda@primestage.com.

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Prime Stage Theatre 2025-26 Season of World Premieres by Pittsburgh Playwrights

Nov. 7-16, 2025 – Mr. Edgar A. Poe Presents:  Tales of Mystery, Horror & Imagination

By Lawrence C. Connolly; directed by Art DeConciliis

Popular sci-fi and horror fiction writer Lawrence C. Connolly recreates the dark genius of Edgar Allan Poe performing a selection of favorite tales before a live audience in the 1840s.

Jan. 23-Feb. 1, 2026 ­– Freedom House:  Giving Life a Second Chance

By L.E. McCullough; directed by Scott Calhoon

Historical playwright L.E. McCullough dramatizes the 1967 creation of Freedom House Ambulance Service, America’s first mobile emergency medical unit staffed by professionally-trained paramedics from Pittsburgh’s Hill District.

May 1-10, 2026 – Speak

By Tammy Ryan; directed by Dana Hardy Bingham

Resident New Dramatists playwright Tammy Ryan brings to the stage Laurie Halse Anderson’s acclaimed young adult novel Speak, the contemporary story of a teenage girl who uses art to find her voice and redefine her identity after the trauma of rape.

* SPECIAL EVENT *

Sat. Oct. 18, 2025, 6:30-9:30 p.m. – Fundraiser: An Evening of Poe Pourri

Fundraiser for Prime Stage Theatre features hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, entertainment, wine bar, mystery trivia, silent auction and immersive theatre performances of Poe poems and stories by Prime Stage Theatre actors. Tickets on sale.

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ACCESSIBILITY:  Prime Stage Theatre has made a special commitment to promoting accessibility for special needs audiences. In 2022, Prime Stage Theatre audio describer Nathan Ruggles won a national Achievement Award in Audio Description from the American Council of the Blind.

Prime Stage Theatre offers student matinee performances, as well as an array of teacher workshops demonstrating how theatre enhances literacy and classroom learning.   # # #

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