By Michael Buzzelli
City Theatre celebrated its first 50 years with its own unique, irreverent style at its most significant fundraising event, the Bash on Saturday, May 17th.
VIP guests were treated to a glorious repast catered by Sprezzatura Catering. Instead of opening the street to a festival, like last year’s Bash, City Theatre presented a cabaret of sorts on the Main Stage Theatre.
The show, hosted by drag queen, DIxie Surewood (in a rotating collection of sparkly couture) featured live music, performers, two short documentaries, proclamations for local government officials, and more.

Side note: My calendar is filling up with iconic new holidays such as City Theatre Day and Monteze Freeland Day.
One of the documentaries, a brief history of the City Theatre’s fifty remarkable years, narrated by Joanna Obuzor, was both humorous and historically significant.
James McNeel enticed the audience to donate while delivering a sobering message about the state of the Arts in the current political climate (without mentioning Lord Voldemort by name).
Shane McLaughlin and Julianne Avolio rocked out with a preview of the theatre’s upcoming show, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” backed up by a band under Camille Rolla’s musical direction.
Jerreme Rodriguez sang a plea to his potential sugar daddy, in “Sugar Daddy,” another preview song from “Hedwig.”
A special treat of the night was a raucously funny sketch with Lara Hayhurst, reprising her role as Dusty from Selina Fillinger’s “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive,” with the original Broadway Bernie, Lea DeLaria, and our local Bernie, Missy Moreno. It was side-splittingly hilarious.
After an astonishing fifty years, City Theatre still knows how to throw a party, and the Bash is one of Pittsburgh’s best when it comes to celebrating the vast array of the city and the City’s talent.
-MB
It’s not to late to continue the spirit of giving. Donations to City Theatre can be made here.