Music

Flatbellys, Stray Birds join forces on Carnegie stage

When singer/guitarist Lindsay Lou started visiting open mics in Michigan, she found more than fellow musicians. She found the makings of a band that would become popular from the most northern stretches of Scotland to festivals in California.

Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellys will bring their sound Nov. 12 to the Carnegie Lecture Hall in Oakland in a show that also will feature the Stray Birds.

The Flatbellys’ sound is one rooted in bluegrass, but influenced a little by the blues, soul and even bits of jazz. In 2015, the group was named as one of NPR’s 12 best live performance sessions along with acts that featured Joan Baez, Norah Jones and Gillian Welch.

Meanwhile, the Stray Birds will bring a trio sound that is rooted in Nashville now, but was put together in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County.

Music begins at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $35 or $20 for students. Details 412-361-1915 or calliopehouse.org

­— Bob Karlovits

Theater

Bringing a legend to life

A legendary Pittsburgh steelmaker will come alive at a Nov. 11 history dinner theater at St. Vincent College in Unity.

Pittsburgh actor/storyteller Tim Hartman will present “The Legend of Joe Magarac and Steel Heritage” as part of the dinner theater series sponsored by the Foster and Muriel McCarl Coverlet Gallery on the Unity campus.

Hartman says he first retold the tall tale in 1983 in front of steel-making murals in the Carnegie Museum of Art.

He hopes the show helps to keep the area’s gritty industrial heritage alive.

“The mills are gone. A great many of the steelworkers have moved on, and there’s a kind of turning away from our own history,” he says. “When you see ‘Joe Magarac,’ I’m hoping that you feel that pride in our shared heritage. The story itself is just thrilling: A giant man made of steel, who dares to sacrifice himself for the good of all his fellow workers. It is a very Western PA story.”

Now in its second season, the series offers “historic tales, music, poetry and personal accounts of some of the most fascinating historic figures in the United States,” says gallery curator Lauren Churilla.

Future performances are scheduled for Dec. 9, March 31 and June 1. Dinner choices are veal scaloppini or chicken marsala.

A ticket is $65, $35 with high school or college ID, or $25 for children under 12. Group rates are available.

Details: 724-805-2019 or mccarlgallery.org

— Shirley McMarlin

‘Music Man’ brings big cast

The first time she appeared in a Studio 62 production of “The Music Man,” Becca Chenette was 11, playing young piano student Amaryllis.

In the Carnegie-based nonprofit theater company’s current production, which debuts Nov. 10 at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall in Carnegie, Chenette returns to the musical and shares scenes with Amaryllis again, in the starring role of Marian the Librarian.

The choral teacher at Carlynton Junior-Senior High School, Chenette says “The Music Man” was her first speaking role, and she’s wanted to appear in the show again ever since.

The Studio 62 production has a cast of more than 60 people, which includes performers of all ages, producer Patty Folmer says. “The talent level of this cast is so high, it’s amazing.”

“The Music Man” opens Nov. 10 at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall, 300 Beechwood Ave., Carnegie, and has performances at 8 p.m. Nov. 10-12 and 17-19; Sunday matinees will be at 2 p.m. Nov. 13 and 20. Tickets are $20, $15 for students and seniors.

Details: stage62.com

— Kim Lyons

Art

‘Being Good’

From 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 10, come celebrate the American Jewish Museum’s “Being Good” exhibit at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, and see the artwork made by University of Pittsburgh students in professor Anna Divinsky’s Drawing II class, who made touchable drawings in response to the photos in the exhibit.

Organized by photographer Brian Cohen, the exhibit documents transformational artists based in Pittsburgh who use their art to impact their communities: poet, performance artist and sculptor Vanessa German, as photographed by Lynn Johnson; visual artist and gardener Randy Gilson, as photographed by Brian Cohen; and ceramicist, educator and entrepreneur Bill Strickland, as photographed by Scott Goldsmith. The exhibit continues through Dec. 26. The center is located at 5738 Darlington Ave., Squirrel Hill and is open daily.

Details: 412-521-8010 or jccpgh.org

— Kurt Shaw

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