The Momentum Festival is back!

 

Join us for a weekend of new works made in and about Pittsburgh! Launched in 2003, the Momentum Festival: New Plays at Different Stages is at the heart of City Theatre’s mission to lead the new play development conversation on both a national and local level. It celebrates some of the most exciting playwrights in the country through a weekend of workshops, readings, and artist panels. This year, in collaboration with the CMU Center for New Work Development, the festival returns to share four new works from both the City Theatre and CMU artistic communities. All readings are free, but registration is required. NEW WORKS SLAM Wednesday, December 10 at 7:00pm Peirce Theater at Three Stories (937 Liberty Avenue) Presented in partnership with the Dramatists Guild Join City Theatre and the Center for New Work Development for a special local artist-focused new works slam! In collaboration with playwrights Mora V. Harris and TJ Young, come experience, scenes, songs, and monologues from some of Pittsburgh’s up and coming playwrights, and get a special preview of the following weekend’s Momentum Festival. Reserve Seats THE PUNCHLINE Saturday, December 13, 2025 at 4:00pm The Lillie Theater, City Theatre Company Written & Performed by Christopher Rivas Directed by Adil Mansoor Dramaturgy by Kevin Becerra “If we only had a year to live, what would change in us?” Most people build altars after someone dies. The Punchline, a new solo piece from playwright and performer Christopher Rivas, urges us to build those altars now, to our own lives and the moments that touch and change us, while we’re still alive. Through humor, story, and ceremony, The Punchline reminds us to live in the present and celebrate it as sacred, because it won’t last. Christopher Rivas, most known for his work on the Fox series Call Me Kat opposite Mayim Bialik, is quickly becoming one of the most sought after multi-hyphenates in the industry. His critically acclaimed debut book, Brown Enough, is part memoir and part social commentary, a roller coaster of finding one's true self while simultaneously having a racial awakening amidst the struggle to be "perfectly" Latinx, woke, and as Brown as possible to make it in today's America. He's also the host and executive producer of two podcasts with SiriusXM's Stitcher: Brown Enough and Rubirosa, a 10-episode documentary-style investigation of Porfirio Rubirosa, a Dominican diplomat, race car driver, soldier and polo player who’s believed to be the inspiration for the famous character ‘James Bond’. Rivas adapted the latter into a one-man show The Real James Bond Was...Dominican which was presented in partnership with DNAWORKS earlier this year at City Theatre Company. Reserve Seats JO VAN GOGH Saturday, December 13, 2025 at 7:30pm Lillie Theater, City Theatre Company Written by Kate Isabel Foley Directed by Aurelia Clunie In the wake of her husband Theo’s unexpected passing, 28-year-old Johanna van Gogh is left behind with nothing but her infant son, 200 of her brother-in-law’s paintings, and her husband’s dying wish: to make Vincent van Gogh a world-renowned artist. As Johanna sorts through the paintings in her attic, she uncovers the stories of the little-known women Vincent painted, which leads her to learn what kind of mother and businesswoman she wishes to be. A story about love, legacy, and reinvention. Reserve Seats THE GETTYSBURG TEST Sunday, December 14, 2025 at 2:00pm The Lillie Theater, City Theater Company Written by maguire wilder Directed by Cody Spellman It’s the night before the Gettysburg test, the 3-hour test required to become a Licensed Gettysburg Battlefield Guide, the 3-hour test that 90% of takers will fail. When five hopefuls gather in the basement of a local community center to cram, tensions build as they grapple with the minutia of the Civil War, the complexity of history, and how to love and hate something at the same time. Reserve Seats EAST CARSON STREET Sunday, December 14, 2025 at 6:00pm Mainstage Theater, City Theatre Company Music & Lyrics by Joe Grushecky Book by Jonathan Rosenberg with additional text by James McManus Directed by Patrick Jordan Music Directed by Camille Rolla Presented in collaboration with Barebones Productions and the Pittsburgh CLO East Carson Street is a new musical that celebrates America's resilience with a sweeping story spanning four decades and three generations of the Popovich family. The show opens in 1980s Pittsburgh, as we watch a town decimated by the collapse of the steel mill industry through the eyes of Jimmy, a recently laid-off mill worker searching for love and community. Through his commitment to the Steel City, we follow Jimmy’s journey over the years, fast forwarding to present day Pittsburgh with the story of a town and family’s reinvention. With rockin’ music by Pittsburgh icon Joe Grushecky (including two co-written with Bruce Springsteen) and a compelling book by Jonathan Rosenberg working with James McManus, East Carson Street is a musical celebrating hope and fortitude in midst of our increasingly uncertain times. This workshop is sold out. Please call the box office at 412.431.2489 to be added to the waitlist. Reserve Seats