Scott Tady: Let's get intimate & nostalgic with this 25th anniversary column

"What good is sitting alone in your room?/Come hear the music play/ Life is a cabaret, old chum/Come to the cabaret."

Ah, a night at the cabaret is always a fun time. Though not enough people have come to the Greer Cabaret Theater in Pittsburgh's Cultural District.

And that worries the theater's managers, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, which will respond with a major overhaul for the 250-seat venue that opened 20 years ago.

An extensive redesign will provide a more welcoming and visible entrance. The current Greer entrance is almost hidden in a Penn Avenue lobby where the main outdoor signage says "Meat & Potatoes" (a chic gastropub.)

Once inside the redesigned Greer and its adjacent Backstage Bar, entertainment seekers will notice more pizazz.

“The theater will transform from the black box you see now into an intimate cabaret on par with New York venues like Joe’s Pub and 54 Below," Nick Gigante, senior vice president of development for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, said. "The Backstage Bar will be expanded, and the lobbies for the box office and restaurant will become one grand space, streamlining, and elevating the patron experience.”

The space will be configured for maximum flexibility, befitting a solo singer or a more showy theatrical play or musical. An expanded kitchen will bring the dining experience up to a higher standard as well, Gigante said.

The Greer will remain open a few more months, with upcoming cabaret shows including the adult comedy "Dixie's Tupperware Party" through May 28, then "Puffs," from June 10 to July 31, a stage comedy about students at a wizard school paralleling that other famous film and book series about a boy wizard.

Greer Cabaret will close in August and reopen in May 2023.

Silver anniversary

Next week marks my 25th anniversary of writing this column.

I figure this is a perfect time to thank all you readers who have stuck with me through the years. Your news tips were invaluable; your encouragement means the world to me.

So many Beaver Valley entertainers have accomplished amazing things for me to chronicle.

Think of the songwriters like Melvin Steals (The Spinners' "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love"), Dusty Drake (who toured with Blake Shelton), Vanessa Campagna and Brooke Annibale (both earning multiple TV placements) and Andre Costello (a WYEP-FM mainstay); and the venue-packing rockers like Donnie Iris, the Granati Brothers, The Jaggerz and the late-B.E. Taylor.

Reality TV stars like "Survivor" champ Amber Brkich, "America's Next Top Model" runner-up Joanie Dodds and "American Idol" contestant Morgan Gruber made fans coast-to-coast.

From Antwan Carter to Zig Daniels; Mushcup to Juno Vega; Wine & Spirit to Sidewinder; Damon Foster to Eldorado, Beaver Valley musicians have made exciting things happen. One of the nicest to interview were the Chandler triplets from Hopewell Township, who toured with Kenny Rogers.

When I took over the beat in 1997, I was writing about Greene Township's Kim Staley, a nationally signed recording artist who penned songs for Faith Hill and Tracy Byrd. Lately, I've written about national recording artist Charles Wesley Godwin, whose stalwart backing band are Beaver County guys who will join him on stage this year at the hallowed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Aug. 20 and the famed Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado on Nov. 3.

It's been fun following North Sewickley Township's rising Broadway performer Amber Ardolino, and Center Township keyboardist Joe Munroe warming up Rolling Stones stadium crowds as a member of Pittsburgh's Ghost Hounds.

I've enjoyed updating you on our county's Blues Society of Western Pennsylvania champions −Billy Evanochko, Charlie Barath, Ron Yarosz, and Bobby Thompson & The Groove − each representing the Pittsburgh area at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.

Long ago, this morphed from a column where I unleash opinions, to a weekly writeup spotlighting Beaver Valley and Pittsburgh entertainers.

Judging by reader reaction, that's what you want, too.

I mean with social media today, everyone can spout off with opinions, right?

Though, I've voiced opinions over the course of 25 years, such as:

1. The Beaver Valley entertainment scene is strong for its size, but there's always room for improvement.

2. I wish more bars hosted live music, and I wish more bands performed original material.

3. I wish bar shows started at 7:30 p.m. like venues with nationally touring concert acts do. Leave the post-11 p.m. timeslot to people looking to mingle or hook up.

4. I wish hip-hop would evolve more from lyrical bravado; modern country would take a break from songs about pickup trucks and beer; and punk-rock would return to its roots, and all would address more social issues.

5. I wish network TV would quit depending on crime scene shows and try more creative comedies.

6. I wish there were fewer streaming channels ... Netflix, HBO and maybe Peacock would be fine.

7. I wish one of the lower-rated Pittsburgh radio stations would try a yacht rock format. Or maybe WMBA in Ambridge could spin off from WBVP and go totally yacht rock.

8. I wish Facebook ceased to be (though I'll keep posting my column there.)

So again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading this column.

Now quick... email me some entertainment news tips at stady@gannett.com

More:Scott Tady: Grushecky to play Beaver; Huey Lewis brings the news about helping birds

Check out the animals:Check out some of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium's 4,000 animals

Tidbits

*Negotiations are underway to book a B.E. Taylor family & friends concert this summer at Beaver Station Cultural & Event Center. Like one of the annual Hopewell High Holly Jolly holiday shows, the band could include Taylor's son, drummer B.C. Taylor, and niece, recording artist Bailey (BayTay) Taylor, plus esteemed musicians like Hermie Granati and Greg McIltrot who worked with the late-Taylor through the years.

If finalized, this concert would be part of a three-show series, sponsored by St. Barnabas and Beaver County Radio, including already confirmed Beaver Station shows starring Pittsburgh's breakout Americana act Buffalo Rose on July 22 and rocker Joe Grushecky on Aug. 26.

*Anthony Caltury Sr., co-owner of Inner Groove Records Store in Monaca, died May 20 following a three-month illness. He was 56.

Caltury and his close friend Mike Pavlinch, let their passion for vinyl albums benefit all music lovers, with the late-2020 opening of Inner Groove Records, the county's first and only traditional record store to open this century.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Tady: Theater closing, opinions & nostalgia in this 25th anniversary column