PITTSBURGH, PA —.The Pittsburgh Playhouse is proud to present Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower, a fully staged congregational opera bringing together over 30 original anthems drawn from 200 years of Black music to recreate Butler’s sci-fi, Afrofuturist masterpiece live on stage. With music and lyrics composed by Toshi Reagon and Bernice Johnson Reagon (Sweet Honey in the Rock), this compelling work chronicles the spiritual awakening of Lauren Olamina amidst an America plagued by the products of unrelenting greed, systemic injustice and climate change denial, giving life to Butler’s acclaimed science fiction novel. Based on the classic sci-fi novel by celebrated author Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Sower is a genre-defying, triumphant, mesmerizing work of rare power and beauty that illuminates deep insights on gender, race, and the future of human civilization.
Josie Brown, Dean of Arts and Sciences at Point Park University emphasizes the timeliness of this adaptation: “The Parable of the Sower was written in 1993, and the plot begins in 2024. As we are on the eve of 2024, it is almost frightening how accurate Butler’s narrative is, and it most certainly catastrophic that we are still fighting the same fight regarding social inequity”
Garfield Lemonius, Dean of the Conservatory of Performing Arts and the Artistic Director of the Pittsburgh Playhouse adds, “The Pittsburgh Playhouse is brimming with excitement as we welcome our patrons, friends and community partners to join us on the parable path, in anticipation of our presentation of, Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, created by Toshi Reagon and Bernice Johnson Reagon. Come and be fed by engaging conversations about art and culture and participate in social commentaries aimed at interrogating the world we inhabit.”
In addition to the live performances by the New York-based company, the Pittsburgh Playhouse is partnering with local organizations to create the Parable Path, Reagon’s framework for community engagement around the production. These events, created in partnership with The Black Unicorn Library and Archive Project, City of Asylum, Dreams of Hope, Equity | Impact Center, Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books, Kelly Strayhorn Theater, and NEXT Pittsburgh, are designed to increase local education and advocacy around the themes of Parable of the Sower. The Path is ever-evolving and continues well beyond the final performance. For a full list of events, visit www.pittsburghplayhouse.com
The Parable Path and the production of Parable of the Sower are supported by the Heinz Endowments.
For tickets, contact the Pittsburgh Playhouse Box office at 412.392.8000 or visit Pittsburgh Playhouse for more information on the complete Pittsburgh Playhouse 22-23 season.
About the Pittsburgh Playhouse – The Pittsburgh Playhouse at Point Park University, is a 90,411 square-foot center for arts and entertainment that serves as an artistic laboratory for the prestigious Conservatory of Performing Arts (COPA) and Downtown Pittsburgh’s newest home for arts and entertainment. The Playhouse is comprised of professional, artist educators dedicated to an approach to training that enables students to pursue careers as professionals. COPA includes Departments of Theatre, Dance, and Cinema. The four-story, arts facility, located in Downtown Pittsburgh at 350 Forbes Avenue, features the 550-seat PNC Theatre,; the 200-seat Highmark Theatre, and the 99-seat Rauh Theatre. The Pittsburgh Playhouse is grateful for support from Even Hotels, The Heinz Endowments, Highmark, Mid Atlantic Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Tomayko Foundation, and UPMC.
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