Category: News || By Submitted Reports

The South Park Theater presents "Godspell," a 1971 musical by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak, this weekend. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

Based on the New Testament's Gospel According to Matthew, the musical has a strong Pittsburgh connection. Tebelak was a master's student at Carnegie Mellon University. He was reportedly inspired to write "Godspell" --- the gospel as interpreted from a counter-culture perspective --- after attending an Easter service at St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland. Following the service, a police officer frisked him, looking for drugs.

"I left with the feeling that, rather than rolling the rock away from the tomb, they were piling more on," Tebelak said later.

South Park's production is produced by Stage 3 and is being directed by stage manager Dek Ingraham. Tickets are $10 for subscribers and $15 for non-subscribers. Call (412) 831-8552 or visit the group's website.

The theater is located at the intersection of Corrigan Drive and Brownsville Road in South Park, next door to the county police station.

. . .

Turtle Creek Bridge to Be Replaced: Work is underway to replace the Greensburg Pike Bridge, which spans Turtle Creek between North Versailles Township and Turtle Creek borough.

County spokeswoman Judi McNeil says the project includes constructing a new four-span, 663-foot-long steel girder bridge just downstream of the existing bridge; moving utilities; tying existing roadways into the new bridge; and demolishing the old seven-span steel truss structure.

There will be no traffic restrictions until the end of September 2012, McNeil says. At that time, a detour will be put in place, and the old bridge will close for approximately nine months in order to tie existing roadways into the new bridge.

Overall completion of the project is expected in August 2013.

General contractor is Brayman Construction of Saxonburg, the low bidder at $16.2 million.

According to the Bridges and Tunnels of Allegheny County website maintained by Bruce Cridlebaugh, the current bridge was constructed in 1925, and carried the Lincoln Highway --- America's first transcontinental highway --- until 1932, when the route was moved to the new George Westinghouse Bridge to avoid narrow streets in Turtle Creek.

The bridge is a Pratt-style through-truss, according to Cridlebaugh, and its total length is 845 feet.

You should type something in the 'comment'-field. Be sure to click on 'Post Comment' to store it permanently.