July 6, 2022 - Pittsburgh City Paper

INSIDE: Local pharmacist takes on Mark Cuban’s low-cost drug venture FREE EVERY WEDNESDAY PITTSBURGH’S ALTERNATIVE FOR NEWS, ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT SINCE 1991

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pghcitypaper.com JULY 6-13, 2022 VOLUME 31 + ISSUE 27 Editor-In-Chief LISA CUNNINGHAM Director of Advertising RACHEL WINNER Director of Operations KEVIN SHEPHERD News Editor JAMIE WIGGAN A&E Editor AMANDA WALTZ News Reporter JORDANA ROSENFELD Arts & Culture Writer DANI JANAE Photographer/Videographer JARED WICKERHAM Editorial Designer LUCY CHEN Graphic Designer JEFF SCHRECKENGOST Digital Editorial Coordinator HANNAH KINNEY-KOBRE Marketing + Sponsorships Manager ZACK DURKIN Senior Account Executive OWEN GABBEY Sales Representative MARIA STILLITANO Circulation Manager JEFF ENGBARTH Featured Contributors REGE BEHE, NATALIE BENCIVENGA, MIKE CANTON, LYNN CULLEN, TERENEH IDIA, JORDAN SNOWDEN Interns LADIMIR GARCIA, RAYNI SHIRING, DONTAE WASHINGTON National Advertising Representative VMG ADVERTISING 1.888.278.9866 OR 1.212.475.2529 Publisher EAGLE MEDIA CORP.

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JULY 6 - 13, 2022

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CP PHOTO: RAYNI SHIRING

Pharmacist Kyle McCormick at work in Blueberry Pharmacy

NEWS

TAKING ON BIG PHARMA West View pharmacist says phone call with Mark Cuban staffer inspired the tycoon’s low-cost drug venture

BY JAMIE WIGGAN // JAMIEWIGGAN@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

M

ARK CUBAN’S LATEST VENTURE ',2- g-0" *# 20 ,1. 0#,2 .& 0maceuticals has earned lofty praise as a possible solution to spiraling drug costs. Launched in January, the Mark Cuban -12 *31 03% -+. ,7 -g#01 0 ,%# -$ %#,#0'! prescription pharmaceuticals at low-cost, without going through insurance plans.

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Like most of his ventures, the Pittsburgh-native’s latest move to take on “big pharma” has warmed hearts in his hometown. But another University of Pittsburgh grad, Kyle McCormick, is less enthusiastic about the hype.

McCormick says he’s been running his independent store, Blueberry Pharmacy in West View, on a similar model for two years without corporate backing. And, what’s more, he agreed to a phone call with Cuban’s CEO a year before the launch of Cost Plus, during which he openly disclosed his business workings.

McCormick says he was contacted

by Cost Plus CEO Alex Oshmyanski in January 2021 after tweeting about paying less than $10 per unit of anti-worm medication Albendazole, which Oshmyanski had been unable to source below $30.

Cost] as well,” Oshmyanski writes, “but it’s something we had well underway at the time.” “[W]e realized to really get everyone in America access to the real prices of drugs, we would have to partner with a mail order pharmacy,” he adds.

Cuban is more scathing of McCormick, who he accuses of “trolling” in an email to City Paper.

“We locked in the cost plus URL long before [McCormick and Oshmyansky] talked,” Cuban writes. “There isn’t a single idea from him that we incorporated.”

Stepping back, McCormick says that while he would have appreciated some acknowledgement for what he shared, he isn’t wholly upset by the Cuban venture.

He’s glad, ultimately, to see a major venture-capitalist throw money into a

“You don’t need a famous billionaire to solve this problem.”

McCormick believes their ensuing phone conversation convinced Oshmyanski that he would be unable to make big savings by manufacturing drugs, the company’s original plan, and to subsequently expand his model to include a pharmacy store component. He says he was approached with the understanding that Cuban’s company “was a manufacturer looking to make and sell drugs to a pharmacy,” and he would not have agreed to talk if he believed they would also be $3*ʉ'**',% !312-+#0 .0#1!0'.2'-,1 Oshmyasnki disputes this, telling Pittsburgh City Paper the company incorporated a pharmacy platform after struggling to recruit interest from local distributors, including McCormick’s.

“I was a little surprised Kyle knew -32 &-5 2- %#2 .0'!#1 1'%,'ʉ'! ,2*7 below ‘WAC’ [Wholesale Aquisition

concept he’s committed to, and says he hopes it will shake up the industry and 0',% #,#ʉ'21 2- ** “The frustrating thing for me is, like … they’re putting on this persona of ‘this is our original idea,’ and ‘it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread,’” McCormick adds. “And it’s, like, no, it’s actually already been around, it just doesn’t have a major market yet. … You don’t need a famous billionaire to solve this problem.”

McCormick believes once the industry responds to Cuban’s shakeup by adjusting its prices, his local model will have an edge over Cost Plus’s mail-order service.

“My thought is that, really, Mark Cuban’s not the competitor because, in reality, no pharmacy now can charge 02'ʉ'!' * .0'!#1 5'2& +-0# 20 ,1. 0ency in the market],” he says. “And so what will happen is, all pharmacies will CONTINUES ON PG. 6

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JULY 6 - 13, 2022

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TAKING ON BIG PHARMA, CONTINUED FROM PG. 5

CP PHOTO: RAYNI SHIRING

Pharmacist Kyle McCormick at work in Blueberry Pharmacy

have to start adopting fair and transparent pricing. And so if Giant Eagle does it, if we do it, nobody’s gonna go to Mark Cuban and wait five to seven days for the drug to get to them when they can have it the same day.”

Blueberry and Cost Plus are structured in some fundamentally different ways.

One is a national corporation fulfilling mail-order prescriptions to households across America; another is an independent storefront in a Pittsburgh suburb, where the owner knows most customers by name. (Our interview was interrupted several times by McCormick casually greeting customers with, “Hey, how’s it going, John?” and “Good to see ya, Steve.”)

One is a vertically integrated system involving manufacturing, supply, and consumer sales; the other simply buys from a wholesaler and sells on to customers after pocketing a flat $10 fee for his services.

But both say they’ve found solutions to an extortionist drug market that will bring real savings to ordinary people.

According to McCormick, who worked for years as a corporate pharmacist before

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launching Blueberry, the pharmaceutical industry is fundamentally flawed because, in the vast majority of cases, insurance providers are needlessly inserted into the equation.

BLUEBERRY PHARMACY 1018 W. View Park Drive, West View. blueberry pharmacy.com

Despite the lofty retail prices, once a new drug has a generic version on the market, pharmacies can generally obtain these for less than the cost of over-the-counter Tylenol. In this world, McCormick says insurance plans are no more necessary for routine prescriptions than car insurance is for routine oil changes.

“The intention for insurance was for high-cost, unknown events,” McCormick says. “With generic drugs, we have the complete opposite, with drugs that we know we’re gonna have to take every month for the rest of our life. So very predictable, and low cost — less than a cup of coffee. So we should not want them to

be insured. Because by adding insurance into the mix, we know that everybody is going to make money, too.”

As well as taking a cut for a needless service, McCormick says, the inclusion of insurance companies and their affiliated pharmaceutical benefit managers obscures the underlying market forces by providing cover for artificial numbers.

“The whole pharmaceutical industry is filled with prices that aren’t real prices,” he says.

For instance, the AWP — a standardized pricing used by corporate pharmacies — is typically inflated way beyond what it costs to make, and what most patients actually pay.

In the case of Dimethyl Fumarate, a generic multiple sclerosis medication McCormick carries in his store, he says the AWP is around $2,000, but he in fact buys it for $22 and sells it for $32.

While the pharmacy will bill the insurance provider $2,000, in most cases, after the plan kicks in, patients will still be on the hook for hundreds of dollars.

This is the case for Karen Judeich, who told City Paper she was initially paying

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out of pocket for her Dimethyl Fumarate prescription after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis last fall. Once she met her $4,000 deductible, her copays dropped to $300 a month — but this was still a financial hardship for someone already paying for private insurance.

“It goes through your head, ‘I can’t take on an extra $7,000 a month, so what am I going to do?’” she says.

After finding Blueberry Pharmacy through an online patient support group, Judeich now pays just $32 a month.

Not every prescription patient is guaranteed these kinds of savings at Blueberry.

And McCormick says insurance can help bring costs down for newer drugs where generic options aren’t available.

“We’re not convincing a lot of patients that have $0 copays,” McCormick acknowledges. “Whenever the patient directly can see that they save, it’s a lot easier sales pitch.”

Customers without insurance plans like Westview resident Nancy Glass and Pittsburgh resident Herman Holl — who

both identify as “between private plans and Medicare” — are obvious beneficiaries of Blueberry’s model. But McCormick says many continue to save after they enroll in Medicare, and others, like Judeich, benefit while on private plans.

COST PLUS DRUG COMPANY costplusdrugs.com

McCormick says beyond finding individual savings for his customers, he’s motivated by the bigger goal of bringing transparency to the pharmaceutical marketplace, which he hopes could bring savings to all. To that end, he lauds Cuban’s venture as an ally in a greater fight against vested interests.

“If I zoom out, this is a MASSIVE win towards moving the needle on transparency,” McCormick writes in a blog post reflecting on the launch of Cost Plus.

“Now the challenge is reshaping this move towards our vision so that affordable care is WITHIN every community.” •

Follow news editor Jamie Wiggan on Twitter @JamieWiggan PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JULY 6 - 13, 2022

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PHOTO: HEATHER MULL

Jessica Semler addresses the crowd during an abortion rally on June 24.

VIEWS

MY ABORTION STORY

BY JESSICA SEMLER // INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

I

TURNED 35 on the day before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. My belated birthday gift was waking up on the morning of the ruling to bitter waves of sadness, hopelessness, and anger.

Although reproductive freedom activists, including myself, have known for years that this was coming, the decision still felt like a stab in the heart. Until that point, the right to have an abortion

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had been the law of the land for nearly 50 years. But, as a former employee of Planned Parenthood, I was perpetually reminded for years that the lifesaving care patients came to receive was continuously under threat of being taken away.

Liberal politicians treat abortion rights like a fundraising tool. Conservatives treat abortion rights as a wedge issue when one in four people will have or have had an abortion.

And I am one of them.

Within an hour of the news dropping, local activists organized a rally in Downtown Pittsburgh, and I was asked to speak. I grabbed my laptop and headed to my favorite coffee shop to start writing.

The barista and I made eye contact when I walked in, and we both immediately started crying. She walked around the counter, and we shared a giant hug. I couldn’t open my mouth without crying

and didn’t know what to say even if I could speak. I sat staring at my laptop for about an hour with only one sentence nailed down: I am so angry.

Within just three years of the 1973 Roe decision, conservative lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde, did everything they could to create barriers for folks trying to access abortion; the Hyde Amendment, for example, barred Medicaid dollars from covering abortion.

These and other TRAP laws (Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers) implemented unnecessary waiting periods, admitting privileges, and building requirements in the name of “safety,” even though abortion is a medical procedure that is 40 times safer than a colonoscopy.

Did the Supreme Court just take us back 50 years?

I decided to use my speech to share my abortion story because smashing the stigma around the common procedure is crucial in this fight. The thing is: I don’t have a “good” abortion story.

I was not raped. It was not even medically necessary for my health. I simply found myself pregnant and didn’t want to be.

I used to share this story in great detail, outlining the circumstances of how I got there, what my life looked like at the time, the physical and emotional feelings I had when I was pregnant, and so much more. In hindsight, I wasn’t going into this detail only to make folks empathize; I was trying to justify the decision to myself, too.

nonbinary folks, Christians, Muslims, atheists, parents, young people, older people, teachers, clergy members, spouses, and single people. And there are as many reasons as there are people who choose abortion.

You are the expert on your life and experiences. You deserve respect and understanding. Hiding something so personal and intimate, even from the folks with whom you are closest, gives that secret so much more power than it deserves.

I’ve heard from numerous folks in the last couple of days who are having conversations about abortion with people who are typically unplugged politically but are very disturbed by the overturn of Roe. If you feel you’re in a safe situation to do so, share your story. Sometimes, people surprise you, and you may surprise them.

A few months after my abortion, I cried in the breakroom at work. I was in the process of a text break-up with a good friend because of the way they shamed me when I told them about my abortion.

I was not raped. It was not even medically necessary for my health.

I simply found myself pregnant and didn’t want to be.

Nowadays, I hold sacred that sharing my story is brief and to the point, with no added moral qualifiers or tugging on heartstrings, hoping the listener can find some empathy for me. At the rally, I kept it simple and told people I had an abortion, and it was OK if they had one too: full stop.

At Planned Parenthood, I witnessed a barrage of attacks as we worked through cumbersome regulations to ensure we didn’t lose our government funding to provide crucial health care, battled waves of anti-choice bills, and fought President Trump’s dangerous executive orders during his tenure. On top of that, nearly every day, walking into work meant wading through a group of protesters who made comments that ranged from patronizing to threatening.

But the fact is: all types of folks have abortions: Women, trans people,

A coworker of mine came in and asked why I was crying. Feeling vulnerable, I let her know. She nodded and very matterof-factly said, “You know, I had an abortion in my early twenties. And if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have my two kids now.” She walked out of the room, not realizing what a tremendous gift she’d given me.

Storytelling helps others feel less alone and creates so much space for others to own their story. Keep an eye out for folks who care, have empathy, and affirm the autonomy and agency of all people to make their own health care decisions. You might not only find an ally and supporter you didn’t know about, but you may also spark belonging and acceptance for someone else.

Be someone your friends and loved ones can confide in. Everyone loves someone who’s had an abortion. •

Jessica Semler is a reproductive freedom activist and an Etna councilor.

Follow her on Twitter at @JessWutYinzNeed.

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PHOTO: CAMPBELL SOUP COMPANY

2004 Campbell Soup label that was re-released in 2006

ART HISTORY

"SOUPER" SUCCESS

BY ROSSILYNNE SKENA CULGAN // INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

S

IXTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK, Pittsburgh-born artist Andy Warhol began his ascent to stardom.

On July 9, 1962, at his first solo pop art exhibition, Warhol unveiled his soup can paintings at Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles.

It came with mixed emotions. He was disappointed that he couldn’t show the paintings in New York. But, after two years of struggling to get a serious gallery to recognize his fine artwork, he was excited to show his work in California because he loved movie stars. Inside the Ferus Gallery, Warhol’s 32 Campbell’s Soup paintings lined the walls, all displayed on shelves rather than hung on the wall. Each 20-inch by 16-inch painting featured a different flavor of soup — chicken noodle, green pea, tomato — meticulously crafted with hand painting, tracing, and rubber stamps for the label’s fleur de lis.

The paintings attracted attention, not all of it positive — but it turned out to be a pivotal moment in the artist’s career.

Writing about Warhol’s 1962 show, a Los Angeles Times reviewer called him “either a soft-headed fool or a hardheaded charlatan.” Another L.A. Times

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writer complained of “seeing perhaps more paintings of soup cans than one might care to see.” A neighboring rival gallery bought actual soup cans and stacked them in their front window with a sign reading, “Do Not Be Misled. Get the original.”

radical these Pop Art paintings were, Polsky says. In the early 1960s, he continues, few people collected what we now call contemporary art. Collectors valued Impressionism. Edgier collectors in that era purchased abstract expressionist works by Jackson Pollock, Willem de

Warhol’s series of 32 soup cans has become “like a national monument in the same way people would want to have their picture taken at Mount Rushmore.”

“A lot of the public thought it was a big joke, like ‘ha-ha-ha what nonsense,’ but Andy’s point, which was brilliant, was always that he wanted to paint a lot of the things we took for granted that were in our everyday lives,” says Richard Polsky of Richard Polsky Art Authentication, who has written two books on Warhol and the art market. “That was the whole point of Pop Art.” It’s hard to imagine in 2022 just how

Kooning, or Mark Rothko.

Campbell’s itself supposedly sent a lawyer to the gallery after word spread about the paintings. “The lawyer came back kind of stumped, like most people were at the time, being like, ‘I don’t see any problems. It’s just a painted version of our soup can,’” he reported, according to what Campbell Soup Company Corporate Archivist Scott Hearn has heard. The lawyer wasn’t the only one who

was baffled by the bold Pop Art concept.

The paintings were on sale for $200 each, and just a handful sold during the Ferus Gallery show. But the gallery’s director, Irving Blum, so adored the paintings he asked the buyers to return their purchases, so he could keep all 32 together.

He convinced every buyer — even actor Dennis Hopper — and persuaded Warhol to sell them to him at a discounted rate of around $1,000 total, though Warhol wasn’t happy about the deal. At least that’s how one telling of the story goes, Polsky says, adding that we’ll never know exactly what really happened.

Even if the exhibition wasn’t a moneymaker, the controversy drew debate and helped launch Warhol to fame. By the fall, he was selected for a group show with other emerging artists in New York, then scored his first major solo show in New York at the Stable Gallery, where he presented his Marilyn Monroe paintings. The gallery promoted the show by handing out tiny Campbell’s Soup buttons.

Another indicator of his quick success: By 1964, Campbell’s — once stumped by the concept — commissioned a tomato

PHOTO: CAMPBELL SOUP COMPANY

2012 50th anniversary Campbell Soup cans

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soup can artwork for a retiring executive. The company paid Warhol $2,000 for the work, though the retiree wasn’t impressed, Hearn says, adding that he’s never been able to track down that particular piece. By 1967, Campbell’s was selling Souper Dresses, patterned paper-like garments with the soup can design that sell for thousands on eBay today.

The meaning of the soup cans has been debated ever since that first show.

One theory is that the cans are a portrait of American democracy, says John Zinsser, an artist who teaches a class on Warhol at The New School in New York City. Each can is different, but they’re all soup on the inside, just like each person in the U.S. is different, but they’re all American at their core. The soup cans also speak to the idea of populist products, Zinsser

adds. The Queen drinks the same CocaCola as everybody else; Campbell’s soup is the same in the White House as it is in your pantry. They’re “iconic monuments to shared ideals,” Zinsser adds, “where high culture meets popular culture.”

Or, each can presents a metaphorical human body with fragile skin (the paper label), skeleton (the metal can), and squishy innards (the soup), posits Kristina Olson, who teaches “The Art of Andy Warhol” at West Virginia University.

Or maybe Warhol just really liked soup, the experts agree. With Warhol’s guarded, beguiling public persona it was impossible to tell if he was putting you on, says Polsky, who met Warhol in the ’80s.

In 1985, Campbell’s continued to commission Warhol for work, including a design for the company’s new soup and CONTINUES ON PG. 12

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"SOUPER" SUCCESS, CONTINUED FROM PG. 11

recipe mix. After Warhol’s death in 1987, Campbell’s donated to a scholarship in his name. When Hearn, Campbell’s archivist, ponders the artwork’s meaning, he reminds himself of Warhol’s background in advertising before his Pop Art career.

He was someone who could see art even in a white-and-red label dating back to 1898. “He showed us the art of our own label,” Hearn says.

Eventually, Blum sold the set to New York City’s Museum of Modern Art in 1996 for a reported $15 million (considered a partial gift) where they draw crowds on par with Monet’s Water Lilies and Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Inside MoMA, Warhol’s series of 32 soup cans has become “like a national monument in the same way people would want to have their picture taken at Mount Rushmore,” Zinsser says. Parents snap photos of their kids with the paintings and millennials hold their iPhones just so for the perfect Instagram photo. Some museumgoers comment on the images — “Who knew there were all those different soups?!”

“What’s your favorite?”; others breeze

PHOTO: CAMPBELL SOUP COMPANY

Detail of a 2004 Campbell Soup label that was re-released in 2006

past, seemingly uninterested in the depiction of items they could as easily survey on a grocery store shelf. As they have for the past 60 years, these paintings spur debate: Incisive fine art or vapid, unimaginative copies?

Today, the series is valued at more than $200 million, Polsky estimates.

Warhol was fascinated by the alchemy that turned a 19¢ soup can into a painting, a commodity to sell for much more than the original object, Olson says. So it’s ironic — or maybe intentional — that his soup cans, the literal picture of consumerism, inspire more consumption today in the form of kitsch. MoMA’s gift shop sells soup can magnets, puzzles, notebooks, sticky notes, bookmarks, and prints. A search on Etsy brings up pillows, skateboards, crocheted keychains, and stickers inspired by Warhol’s soup cans.

Now, everybody can have a Warhol soup can. Maybe that’s a tribute to the artist or maybe it’s an infatuation with consumerism — or perhaps, as Warhol may have intended, those have come to be one and the same. •

A Pittsburgh-area native living in New York, Rossilynne Skena Culgan is a journalist whose writing can be found in Saveur Magazine, Atlas Obscura, Thrillist, Google Arts & Culture, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. She’s the author of the travel guidebook 100 Things to Do in Pittsburgh Before You Die and is currently writing a Pittsburgh history book. Follow her on Twitter @rossilynne.

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JULY 6 - 13, 2022

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PHOTO: BALA RICE

Sommelier

MUSIC

COME TOGETHER

BY JORDAN SNOWDEN // CPCONTRIBUTORS@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

F

or almost 10 years, SisTers PGH has been a small, but vital part of the Pittsburgh LGBTQ community.

Founded by activist, former sex worker, and trans woman Ciora Thomas in 2013, the local Black- and trans-led nonprofit serves as a welcoming and safe space for area QTBIPOC folks. But it wasn’t until last year, during Greensburg’s first in-person Pride Celebration at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art, that J. Trafford, the bassist and vocalist of local dark rock/

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post-punk band Sommelier, became aware of the organization.

From that moment, Trafford knew he wanted to work with SisTers PGH in the future. So when the opportunity to host an event at Black Forge Coffee House II in McKees Rocks arose, the idea for Sounds for SisTers — an upcoming benefit concert where all the proceeds will go directly to SisTers PGH — was an innate one.

“I have the capability to book a venue, I have friends who are musicians, and I’m

able to make new friends who are musicians,” says Trafford. “I think it just comes naturally to me, and it’s something that I want to do because I feel it’s important.”

SOMMELIER sommelierband.com

Over the past few years, Trafford has played an active role in supporting local LGBTQ organizations through the best

way he’s known how: music. In 2020, he self-released a compilation of collaborative recordings in which the proceeds benefited LGBTQ+ housing assistance nonprofit Proud Haven. Two years prior, his band Sommelier arranged a concert in Greensburg that benefited No More Dysphoria, a grassroots organization started by an artist from New Jersey that provides financial assistance for trans and gender-nonconforming individuals who are transitioning. Sommelier has

PHOTO: NATHAN B

Sommelier

"It’s something that I want to do because I feel it’s important.” also arranged concerts that benefited the Trans Women of Color Collective (a national organization based out of Washington, D.C.), and Pittsburgh’s Persad Center.

SOUND FOR SISTERS 7 p.m. Sat., July 9. Black Forge Coffee House II. 701 Chartiers Ave., McKees Rocks. $10. blackforgecoffee.com

But Trafford wants to underline that these endeavors were by no means a soloeffort on his part, or even Sommelier’s. At the end of the day, he says it’s about community support and the universal language of music bringing people together.

“I really want to emphasize the organizations foremost,” he adds, “because the only way I found out about them, to work with them, was either by attending LGBTQ-plus events where they were present or by word of mouth from friends.”

The upcoming Sounds for SisTers

event will feature performances from Sommelier, emo-grunge band Hearken, rapper Shamar, acoustic artist Thousandzz of Beez, and indie-pop singer Halloway Williams. The team at SisTers PGH approved every act, to, as Trafford puts it, make sure “everyone’s on board and everyone’s OK with this gathering of human beings coming together to support SisTers.”

Additionally, a framed print of artist and graphic designer Micah Bazant’s “No Pride in War” will be auctioned off to provide further funds to SisTers PGH. “I’m reminded of an explanation by the musician Van Dyke Parks on this subject, which I’ll paraphrase,” Trafford says in an interview with blog Of Music and Mind when asked about the role of music in community change. “Music and lyrics have a tremendous political potency — to be memorable and to unite people. I may be a dreamer, but I believe there’s a value in that which can’t be stolen or compromised. •

Follow featured contributor Jordan Snowden on Twitter @snowden_jordan

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THEATER

BEHIND THE SCENES

BY AMANDA WALTZ // AWALTZ@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

T

HE AMERICAN THEATER scene is ready to get rid of its “monsters.”

That’s the sense given by an extensive, indicting New York Times article written by the publication’s chief theater critic Jesse Green. In “Is It Finally Twilight for the Theater’s Sacred Monsters?,” published on June 8, Green takes down the revered giants of theater, all men, all with histories of being mentally, physically, and sexually abusive toward young talent, particularly women.

CP ILLUSTRATION: JEFF SCHRECKENGOST

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No one, it seems, is safe. Not Lee Strasberg, credited with shaping many of the 20th century’s greatest actors, not celebrated choreographer Jerome Robbins, and not costume designer William Ivey Long, who, as Green points out, still received a Tony Award nomination for his work on Diana, the Musical, even after stepping away from the production following allegations of sexual abuse “by at least two former assistants.”

And not Pittsburgh, which has not

escaped this apparent reckoning if the repeated allegations swirling around a local theater company are to be believed.

“With #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, and other epochal changes roiling American life, the theater has finally begun to talk openly about its foundational and continuing inequities,” Green writes.

“Sometimes the talk is just lip service, to be sure, as toothless statements on company websites attest. But more than ever, practitioners and critics are asking difficult questions about how we make actors, how we make plays, how we make seasons, how we make money — in short, how we make theater.”

In May, PICT Classic Theatre, formerly known as Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre and more familiarly known as PICT, announced that it was canceling its production of Boys in the Band. A press release sent on May 19 said Boys in the Band, set to stage June 18 through July 9 at WQED’s Fred Rogers Studio, would “not move forward due to insufficient funds to cover production costs.”

“It is with deep regret that we announce the unavoidable decision to not move forward with PICT’s much-anticipated production of The Boys in the Band at this time,” states Eileen Clancy, co-president of PICT’s Board of Directors, in the release.

“We sincerely apologize and are grateful to our donors, ticket holders, director, actors, production staff, technical crew, and volunteers who have been involved in and supported efforts to produce the play.”

The announcement was a disappointment to local theater fans and for PICT. Regarded as a groundbreaking look at the gay experience, the play, which has seen multiple stage and film adaptations since it opened in 1966, would have been a more modern departure for a company known for mostly staging works by Shakespeare and Dickens.

However, those close to the production and the company are claiming that “insufficient funds” had nothing to do with the Boys in the Band being shut down. Pittsburgh City Paper spoke to multiple people in the local and national theater community, all of whom point to actions by PICT Artistic and Executive Director Alan Standford as the real reason for the decision.

The testimony from sources, some of whom have asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation and being prevented from working in the local theater community, but whose identities were confirmed

by City Paper, speak to nearly decade-long alleged abuses by Stanford in his role at PICT, mainly a history of grooming and preying on young female performers.

This story was originally published online on June 30. Before going to print, City Paper again reached out to Alan Stanford and the PICT board over email. Stanford says the claims in the story are "inaccurate," but declined to elaborate any further. On July 5, the PICT Board announced Stanford was fired in a press release: "The Board of PICT Classic Theatre determined that it was necessary to make a change in the organization's leadership and voted to remove Alan Stanford as the Artistic and Executive Director at PICT."

The sources also speak to a wider culture in the Pittsburgh theater community more interested in protecting people in positions of power over the cast and crew members, and other staff hired to work under them.

Nick Cearley, a New York-based actor and musician who was set to play the character Larry in Boys in the Band, speaks candidly about PICT’s claims regarding the cancellation of the play.

“That’s not true,” Cearley tells City Paper in a phone interview. “That’s not true at all.”

Cearley says that, in January, he auditioned for the production over Zoom during a call that included the show’s director, Monteze Freeland. Cearley says that a week before rehearsals were scheduled to begin, a representative from PICT called him to say that “there was a board meeting the day before,” and that they were canceling the production due to allegations of sexual misconduct against Stanford “with multiple women.”

Per Cearley, the sexual misconduct complaints were filed with the Actors Equity Association, a union representing creative professionals throughout the country.

When City Paper reached out to Actors Equity to confirm that the complaints were filed, communications director David Levy replied, “We cannot confirm whether or not allegations about an individual have been made to the union.”

CP followed up with an inquiry asking if the Actors Equity could share their policy for when they receive a report of allegations, particularly ones of sexual harassment, but received no reply.

Cearley adds that the PICT Board of Directors was worried about what the “blowback” from the allegations was going to do to the theater, and they did not want it to affect Endgame, a Stanforddirected production that was already in production and ran through May 28.

“And it just felt really awful with me because I was, like, well, first of all, I don’t even know who Alan is, he was never part of any of our process,” says Cearley. “He was not at any of the auditions. I had never seen his name. He was not involved hands-on with the show.”

Cearley says the person who told him about the allegations was someone close to the situation at PICT. When CP reached out to that person, who confirmed their identity but asked to remain anonymous, they replied, “Alan Stanford was suspended with pay for 7 weeks for allegations of sexual harassment. I cannot disclose the number of complaints that were filed.”

The source also claimed that Stanford has since been reinstated by the PICT Board of Directors “with no disciplinary action.”

“They will do everything in their power to sweep this issue under the rug and act like business as usual,” says the source. “This is nothing but a slap in the face to the women that came forward to report him.”

CP once again reached out to Clancy about this claim but never heard back.

The news came as no surprise to several people who had previously worked with PICT and Stanford, including the company’s former co-founder, Andrew Paul. Now the producing artistic director at Kinetic Theatre, Paul says he first hired Stanford to direct a 2008 PICT production

“They will do everything in their power to sweep this issue under the rug and act like business as usual,” says the source. “This is nothing but a slap in the face to the women that came forward to report him.”

When asked about the allegations, Clancy reiterated, “As previously publicly announced, PICT cannot present Boys in The Band in June 2022, as initially planned, due to unavoidable financial constraints on this non-profit organization.”

CP also reached out directly to Standford, including over email and through Facebook messenger, and received no reply.

of Oscar Wilde’s Salome. From there, Paul says he sponsored a green card for Stanford, a native of Ireland who has a long career of acting in television and film projects there, so he could legally work and live in the United States.

In 2013, Paul was forced out of PICT by the then board of directors over concerns that he could not oversee the company from his new home in Las Vegas, where his wife had relocated for

a job. Stanford was then installed as the PICT’s artistic director.

Paul claims that the way Stanford was with women was well-known, even going as far as to call him “a creep.”

“I knew he had a reputation for, you know, certain behavior,” says Paul. “I never actually witnessed anything criminal or seedy with my own eyes, it’s all hearing about it from people who either reiterated stories or somebody else in the cast told them.”

Paul and one other source, who worked with PICT in the early 2010s and asked to remain anonymous, independently allege that female

performers at PICT who needed housing were assigned to stay in Stanford’s home, where they were sexually harassed by him.

That anonymous source along with one other who also worked with PICT say that Stanford engaged in other disturbing behavior, including trying to make young female performers sit in his lap. One of the sources claims they consoled young women who told them they “thought they were being mentored by Alan only to be groped after being asked to meet alone in his office.”

Tyler Crumrine, a professional dramaturg and game designer in Pittsburgh, CONTINUES ON PG. 18

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JULY 6 - 13, 2022

17

BEHIND THE SCENES, CONTINUED FROM PG. 17

CP PHOTO: AMANDA WALTZ

A sign for PICT Classic Theatre hangs over the entrance to WQED Studio in Oakland.

had done work for PICT in the past and believes the allegations against Stanford are no surprise.

“He always hires assistants that are young women freshly graduated and is a gross old man around them,” Crumrine wrote to CP in an Instagram message, “but treats it just like ‘That’s the theater!’ and they have to laugh it off or risk their careers.”

Like Crumrine, other sources believe Standford had been able to get away with this behavior because the young women he preyed on would not come forward for fear that their theater careers would be stamped out before they even began.

They also believe that, since PICT is an independent entity that only rents out theater space, victims have nowhere to go, and venues like WQED can do little but terminate the company’s lease.

Paul says the situation speaks to Pittsburgh’s larger theater scene.

“I find that the theater community here is so insular,” says Paul, who still produces shows in Pittsburgh. “The only reason I have a better perspective on it now is because I don’t live here anymore.

And so to me, I’m able to have an outsider’s perspective on it now, because I’m not in it every day. … There’s so much infighting, everybody’s very careful.”

He expands on this, saying that actors and crew in Pittsburgh stay loyal to people like Stanford in order to continue getting work, something that, in regards to PICT, Paul finds “mystifying.”

“To rely on one man who does three shows a year for your whole career? I mean, none of them are making enough

money working for him to make a living at this,” he adds.

Cearley says that, beyond the victims, Stanford’s alleged actions have had a major impact on him and others involved with Boys in the Band. The actor says that the sudden cancellation of the production left him scrambling to line up jobs for the summer, including calling up offers he had originally turned down.

“It’s really annoying that this really put a wrench in my entire, you know, essentially nearly three months of work,” says Cearley.

Because he planned to stay in Pittsburgh for the summer, Cearley and his husband sublet their apartment and basically planned the new few months around the show.

Overall, Cearley says he would have been paid an estimated $600 a week for the show over seven weeks, with a $500 travel stipend included. He says Actors Equity did arrange for PICT to pay him $1,200-1,300 plus health insurance costs but he has yet to see that money more than a month after the show was canceled.

Even after everything, Cearley wants Freeland’s version of Boys in the Band, which would have offered a more representative and diverse take on a play originally written with only white characters, to still find a stage somewhere in Pittsburgh.

“I remain so hopeful because this has nothing to do with Alan,” says Cearley. “I mean, all the pieces are in place, and why are we being punished for this other guy that has nothing to do with it?” •

Follow a&e editor Amanda Waltz on Twitter @AWaltzCP

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JULY 6 - 13, 2022

19

SAT., JULY 9

SEVEN DAYS IN PITTSBURGH

IRL / IN REAL LIFE EVENT VIRTUAL / STREAMING OR ONLINE-ONLY EVENT HYBRID / MIX OF IN REAL LIFE AND ONLINE EVENT

PHOTO: COURTESY OF REDFISHBOWL

^ Lawrenceville Art Crawl

THU., JULY 7 MAGIC • IRL Paige Thompson has performed on stages all over the country and the world, including as a contestant on Showtime at the Apollo, where she put on a daring escape act. Now, Thompson will present Pages of Time, described by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust as a “sophisticated and modern take on traditional magic.” See the 70-minute “tour-de-force” created specifically for Liberty Magic and support a growing movement of women in illusion. 7:30 p.m. Continues through Sun., July 31. 811 Liberty Ave., Downtown. $40-65. trustarts.org

FRI., JULY 8 MUSIC • IRL The Women Who Rock pop-up shop grand opening wants Pittsburghers to

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party at the SouthSide Works. The event includes a free live musical performance

by Bryana Appley & Rocket Loves Blue, cocktails, and light refreshments.

Receive 20% off select items from the Women Who Rock apparel and accessory collection, and see a portion of your purchase donated to the Magee Women’s Research Institute. 4-8 p.m. 517 S. 27th St., South Side. Free. womenwhorock.info

DRAG • IRL Everyone appreciates a good drag show, but a Lady Gaga-themed drag show is even better. Brewer’s Hotel and Bar will present B-Side Bops: Gaga Edition, where local drag queens will perform some of the most notable hits by the iconic singer.

Presented by Scarlet Fairweather, the special show will star Niona Skyler, Jackie Dior, Joy Nina Cult, and Calipso. Don’t forget tip money for the performers. 1011 p.m. 3315 Liberty Ave., Lawrenceville.

Free. facebook.com/brewersbarpgh

SAT., JULY 9 ART • IRL Businesses up and down Butler Street will host live music, family-friendly activities, parties, and more during the Lawrenceville Art Crawl. Organizers claim the crawl attracts nearly 10,000 attendees by “generating widespread interest in the small business community and local talent,” bringing together hundreds of artists, bands, and performances at 45-plus locations. Highlights include the last show by local band Scratchy Blanket and crawl stops at various galleries, restaurants, bars, and shops, as well as an after-party at Redfishbowl Studios, which organized the event. 2-9 p.m. Butler St., Lawrenceville.

Free. redfishbowl.com/lawrencevilleartcrawl

OUTDOORS • IRL Beat the summer heat when TransPride Pittsburgh hosts a pool party at the

Bloomfield Swimming Pool. TransPride states its mission as serving “the transgender, non-binary, and gender expansive community in the greater Pittsburgh region,” including through fun, inclusive events. Feel welcome to swim, have snacks and drinks, and stretch out with friends during this summer outing.

1-4 p.m. Continues through Aug. 6.

408 Ella St., Bloomfield. Included with pool admission or tag (message TransPride Pittsburgh on Facebook if you need help with cost). facebook.com/transpridepgh

OPERA • IRL Pittsburgh Festival Opera presents Rapunzel, a one-act opera that brings the classic fairy tale to life for all audiences.

Staging at New Hazlett Theater, the production puts a musical spin on the centuries-old tale of a young woman with long hair trapped in a tower by a sorceress. With music by composer Richard Brooks and librettist Harold Mason, this

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all-ages show will offer a new perspective for little fans of Disney’s Tangled. 12 p.m.

6 Allegheny Square East, North Side. $8-23. newhazletttheater.org

SUN., JULY 10 KIDS • IRL Schenley Plaza is for the children when Kid’s Day returns to Oakland. Young guests and their caretakers can enjoy free activities, including balloon artists, crafts, games, and special guests and performers.

The event will also offer complimentary whirls on the PNC Carousel, a wheelchairaccessible ride that reopened this year with fresh paint, anti-slip guards, and other new features. 12-4 p.m. 4100 Forbes Ave., Oakland. Free. pittsburghparks.org/event

TOUR • IRL DOORS OPEN invites guests into another one of Pittsburgh’s architectural gems with guided tours of the Beth Hamedrash Hagodol-Beth Jacob Synagogue. According to the DOORS OPEN website, visitors will “travel across more than 150 years of local Jewish history” at this synagogue, also known as The Downtown Shul. Ira Frank, longtime president of the congregation, and Eric Lidji, director of the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center, will lead tours throughout the day. 10 a.m.2:45 p.m. 810 Fifth Ave., Downtown. $15. doorsopenpgh.org

MON., JULY 11 GAMES • IRL Get ready to roll the dice and move some pieces when City of Play brings Board Game Night back to Spirit. Arrive early to enjoy Spirit’s happy hour fried pizza logs and

tequila drinks, and stay to partake in some friendly tabletop competition. Try something from City of Play, which is in the process of rebuilding its game library and accepting donations, or bring one of your favorites.

7-11 p.m. 242 51st St., Lawrenceville. Free. facebook.com/cityofplay

TUE., JULY 12 EVENT • IRL OK! Let’s go … to UPMC Events Center for Cheer Live! Inspired by the hit, Emmy Award-winning Netflix docuseries Cheer, the touring show promises “an electrifying exhibition” of never-before-seen stunts, pyramids, and dance performances, all executed by athletes from some of the most successful cheer programs in the country. Created by Andy Cosferent and star Cheer coach Monica Aldama, and directed by Point Park University alum Pam Chu, the show will entertain Cheer fans and non-fans alike. 7:30 p.m. 6001 University Blvd., Moon Township. $16-26. cheertourofficial.com/tickets

WED., JULY 13 MUSIC • IRL Third Eye Blind rocked the late-’90s and early aughts with hits like “Semi-Charmed Life,” “Jumper,” and “Never Let You Go.” See them along with other big names when the Summer Gods Tour comes to Stage AE. Third Eye Blind will be joined by the American emo band Taking Back Sunday and Australian surf rock band duo Hockey Dad for a night sure to please any millennial looking to relive their middle or high school days. 6 p.m.

400 N. Shore Drive, North Side. $49.50-99. promowestlive.com/pittsburgh/stage-ae

LYNNCULLENLIVE every Monday thru Thursday at 10 a.m. at www.pghcitypaper.com

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JULY 6 - 13, 2022

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IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD-22-006208 In re petition of Benjamin John Lyons-Weiler for change of name to Benjamin John Lyons.

To all persons interested: Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the filing of said petition and fixed the 26th day of July, 2022, at 9:45 a.m., as the time and the Motions Room, City-County Building, Pittsburgh, PA, as the place for a hearing, when and where all persons may show cause, if any they have, why said name should not be changed as prayed for.

IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD-22-8007, In re petition of Kristie Nicole Molanick parent and legal guardian of Jackson Kenan Lepic & Liam Michael Lepic for change of name to Jackson Kenan Molanick & Liam Michael Molanick. To all persons interested: Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the filing of said petition and fixed the 8th day of August 2022, at 9:30 a.m., as the time and the Motions Room, City-County Building, Pittsburgh, PA, as the place for a hearing, when and where all persons may show cause, if any they have, why said name should not be changed as prayed for.

IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD-22-7219, In re petition of Joshua Bloom and Anna Attar parents and legal guardian of Matthew Patrick Bloom for change of name to Ivee Attar Bloom. To all persons interested: Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the filing of said petition and fixed the 12th day of August 2022, at 9:30 a.m., as the time and the Motions Room, City-County Building, Pittsburgh, PA, as the place for a hearing, when and where all persons may show cause, if any they have, why said name should not be changed as prayed for.

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Discreet with 22 years experience. 24/7 • 412-628-1269

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We Can Help!

MISCELLANEOUS

FIGHTING FOR YOUR

SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS FOR OVER 25 YEARS!

You Could Be Eligible To Receive:

$ Steady monthly income depending on your paid in amount

A lump sum payment of benefits owed from back-pay

Annual cost of living increases

• We simplify the process & strive for quick claim approval • Starting the process is easy and takes only minutes to complete

855-447-5891 Helping thousands get the benefits they deserve

Bill Gordon & Associates, a nationwide practice, represents clients before the Social Security Administration. Member of the TX & NM Bar Associations. Mail: 1420 NW St Washington D.C. Office: Broward County Florida. Services may be provided by associated attorneys licensed in other states.

Guaranteed Life Insurance!

(Ages 50 to 80). No medical exam. Affordable premiums never increase. Benefits never decrease. Policy will only be cancelled for non-payment. HOURS: M-F 9a-10p & Sat 11a-2p EST 1-888-386-0113 (Void NY) (AAN CAN)

LEGAL Need Help with Family Law? Can’t Afford a $5000 Retainer?

Low Cost Legal Services- Pay As You Go- As low as $750-$1500Get Legal Help Now! Call 1-844-821-8249 Mon-Fri 7am to 4pm PCT (AAN CAN) https://www.familycourtdirect. com/?network=1

SERVICES AT&T TV - The Best of Live & On-Demand On All Your Favorite Screens. CHOICE Package, $84.99/mo for 12months. Stream on 20 devices at once in your home.

HBO Max FREE for 1 yr (w/ CHOICE Package or higher.)

Call for more details today! (some restrictions apply) Call IVS 1-877-350-1003

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER JULY 6 - 13, 2022

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