Stephanie Kalina Metzger

Broadway musical fans take note and be sure to mark your calendars for what can arguably be deemed the most popular musical of the decade when “Hamilton” arrives at Pittsburgh’s Benedum Center for the Performing Arts.
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s groundbreaking musical is being performed now through Sept. 19. The Broadway musical tells the story of Alexander Hamilton beginning with the founding father’s childhood, proceeding to his role in the Revolutionary War and ending w...

/Editor's Pick
Joan Marcus
Broadway musical fans take note and be sure to mark your calendars for what can arguably be deemed the most popular musical of the decade when “Hamilton” arrives at Pittsburgh’s Benedum Center for the Performing Arts.
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s groundbreaking musical is being performed now through Sept. 19. The Broadway musical tells the story of Alexander Hamilton beginning with the founding father’s childhood, proceeding to his role in the Revolutionary War and ending w...

/Editor's Pick
You know summer is winding down when the Corks & Kegs Festival kicks off a weekend of fun at the Hollywood Casino at the Meadows in North Strabane. The free event, sponsored by the Observer-Reporter, is slated for this Saturday and Sunday and expects to attract not only beer and wine aficionados, but kids and teetotalers too.
Vendors Weigh In
The event began in 2015, when Hollywood Casino at the Meadows and the Observer-Reporter joined together with a goal to make the event the...

/Entertainment
A timeless tale of love, faith and modernity is coming to the Geyer Performing Arts Center in Scottdale. “Fiddler on the Roof,” which runs today through Sunday, tackles the tough topics that emerge when tradition clashes with a desire for change.
Set in the heart of a quaint Russian village in the early 20th century, the musical follows Tevye, a poor milkman, who struggles with valued religious traditions like arranged marriage in the context of his own family. His age-old beli...

Eyes will look to the skies when the Shop ‘n Save Westmoreland County Airshow comes to the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport at 148 Aviation Lane, Latrobe this Saturday and Sunday.
The popular event attracts between 30,000 and 40,000 observers a day, according to Gabe Monzo, Westmoreland County Airport Authority Executive Director.
Monzo lists, as one of the highlights of this year’s show, the F-35 Strike Fighter, which will be flown by the F-35A Demo Team.
“It’s the U.S. Air Force’s latest fift...

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Luxury culinary company owners to open downtown Charleston restaurant
Courtney Zentner and her husband Michael are looking forward to playing a permanent part in Charleston’s burgeoning restaurant scene with a boîte called Merci, which they plan to open before the end of 2024.
“Opening a restaurant in downtown Charleston is something we have always dreamed of,” said Courtney.
The couple is no stranger to the culinary scene, having operated a full-service design a...

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Luxury culinary company owners to open downtown Charleston restaurant
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Courtney Zentner and her husband Michael are looking forward to playing a permanent part in Charleston’s burgeoning restaurant scene with a boîte called Merci, which they plan to open before the end of 2024.
“Opening a restaurant in downtown Charleston is something we have always dreamed of,” said Courtney.
The couple is no stranger to the culinary scene, having operated ...

Photo by Matt Unger
The newest exhibit at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) gives visitors the opportunity to view artifacts from ancient Egypt.
“The Stories We Keep: Conserving Objects from Ancient Egypt” promises to be interesting not only to those who enjoy “getting into the weeds” of historical preservation, but also to those who are simply curious. The exhibit allows visitors to view the artifacts that have been tended to for more than a century and learn how th...

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‘The Walking Dead’ stars unveil downtown Greenville restaurant
August 5, 2024
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Greenville foodies take note. Another restaurant has emerged on the ever-growing restaurant scene, this time in the West End, at 1 Augusta St., at the former Smoke on the Water location.
Nic & Normans, owned in part by Greg Nicotero and Norman Reedus, will celebrates its grand opening on Aug. 6. And if the names seem familiar, it’s because both Nicotero and Reedus...

The U.S. Department of Labor’s new overtime law is drawing mixed reviews and challenges across the United States.
The law, which went into effect on July 1, requires that employees making at least $43,888 per year ($844 per week) must receive overtime, or time and a half, pay if they work more than 40 hours a week.
In January, 2025, the threshold increases to include those making at least $58,656 ($1,128 per week). Prior to the rule, the threshold was capped at $35,568.
Beginning in 2027, the...

/Living
One doesn’t have to suspend reality to recognize that Pittsburgh’s new Museum of Illusions at 267 North Shore Drive is off to a great start.
The attraction, which opened late last year, welcomed 2,000 visitors the first day.
“We expected about half that, so we were excited at how enthusiastically the community responded,” said Sales and Marketing Coordinator Kenny McKernan.
The horseshoe-shaped space is home to about 80 illusions with accompanying explanations as to why people’s minds...

Clifford and Michael Lindgren are making a spirited investment—transforming a shuttered bank into the newest brewery in Perry County.
The father/son team spent years renovating the former PNC Bank building on Duncannon Square and recently opened the Lindgren Craft Brewery.
The pair has been brewing on their farm in Penn Township since 2018, and, in 2019, brought brewer Jason Simmons on board. From that time on, customers were able to purchase their colorfully named libations at several differ...

/Entertainment
Each year, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens ushers in the summer with something new to delight and amaze. This year is no exception.
The flower show, dubbed “Under the Sea,” invites guests on a fantasy adventure which takes place underwater. The vibrant scenes meant to rival those that one might observe in the depths of the ocean, challenge visitors to use their imaginations to explore a land where sea creatures frolic and flora flourish.
Jordyn Melino, associate direc...

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Long-anticipated brewery and tap room opens
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Clifford and Michael Lindgren are reveling in the limelight of being the freshest face of the Perry County craft beer scene. The father/son team spent years renovating a stately old bank on Duncannon square and recently opened the Lindgren Craft Brewery to the public.
How It Began
The pair has been brewing on their farm in Penn Township since 2018. In 2019, they brought brewer Jason Simmons on board, w...

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Seafood spot replaces Growler Haus location in downtown Spartanburg
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The Spartanburg-based Morgan Square Hospitality Group, responsible for Delaney’s Irish Pub and Gerhard’s Café, recently opened another eatery that they anticipate will be as popular as the others.
The new restaurant, known as Isla’s on the Square, is located at 113 N. Church St., in an old building that was previously home to The Growler Haus.
“The building is 120 years old...