• After a hiatus, my irregular online On Stage Journal has just reappeared in our new Web format, which is easier to post to and also allows reader interaction. Look for the link in the right-hand column at post-gazette.com/theater (the theater homepage) or post-gazette.com/a&e (arts & entertainment). The logo is a microphone, which doesn't seem right, but it'll do until we come up with a comedy-tragedy mask or something else appropriate.

• This week, I'll be posting regularly from the Shaw and Stratford festivals, where I'm conducting the annual theater tour for a couple of dozen PG readers.

Playhouse memories 1

• A month or so ago, when the news broke about Point Park's plans for a new Pittsburgh Playhouse Downtown, I asked readers to send Playhouse memories, to stockpile against the day when we have to bid the legendary place a fond farewell.

But why wait that long? The new Playhouse (if that's what they do call it) will take years. In the meantime, I have some submissions that are too good to hold back, like this from Barbara Russell:

"My first theater work right after college was with the Catholic Theatre Guild. I remember in the Passion Play I played a blind beggar who showed up in every scene including the crucifixion. Bob Nellis, one of the directors, had worked at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, and he introduced me to Fred Burleigh, the artistic director. Fred cast me in my first show there; a children's show, 'Many Moons,' by James Thurber.

"I remember coming home after the first rehearsal and telling my mother, 'I have hit the big time. Rehearsals start and end on time. I don't have to paint the set or sell tickets. All I have to do is wear my own underwear and say my words!' And yes, I met Don Brockett, my future comedy partner for 35 years, at the Playhouse, too. "

I've received a few other choice Playhouse memories to share in the weeks ahead, but please send more to crawson@post-gazette.com.

Playhouse query

• On May 22, I published online Richard E. Rauh's long (but admittedly incomplete) list of all those "actors, actresses, directors, lighting designers, costumers and set designers" who worked at the Playhouse, 1934-73. I asked for any additions or emendations, and heard this from Susan Hinkson:

"My mother, who passed away in 2004 at the age of 87, played piano at the Pittsburgh Playhouse in the '40s with Ken Welch, Gino Conte, Dave Crantz, Mitzi Welch and others. Her name then was Margaret (Magi) Jones. Her later married name was Hinkson. Just thought you'd like another name to add to the list."

Yes, thanks for the addition -- especially because it takes real dedication to read through a non-alphabetical list of some 450 names to determine what's missing.

So here's the pitch: I'd love to find some theater buff who would alphabetize the whole list. You can find it at post-gazette.com/pg/08142/883956-325.stm (or, if you prefer, go to the PG homepage and search for Rauh and Crantz). Copy it, alphabetize it by last names, send it to me, and I'll post it online and give you laud and praise, to boot.

Theater program protocol

• Lois Jackson writes that the "Take Me Out" (barebones) and "Salome" (PICT) programs listed their casts in order of importance, not of appearance, while "Peter Pan" (CLO) listed its cast in order of appearance but then printed their bios in order of importance, not alphabetically, as is usual. She finds this confusing and asks, "Do we have some kind of revolution going on here?"

Surprisingly, given the amount of time I spend looking at programs, I've never given this any organized thought. I agree that it's most useful when the cast list is in order of appearance. As to bios, the CLO actually follows the common practice of printing them in order of billing until they get to the ensemble, when alphabetical order takes over. But some companies use alphabetical order throughout.

Is anyone else bothered by this?

The Call Board

• Joe Manganiello (Mt. Lebanon native, CMU '00) writes that he's playing his "dream role," Stanley in ""A Streetcar Named Desire," being directed by one of his former CMU professors, Geoff Hitch, for the West Virginia Public Theatre in Morgantown, July 15-20. He promises, "It's going to be a killer show!"

• Little Washington's Terra Nova Theatre and Pittsburgh Playworks offer the first of their new Friday Night 'Wrights series, "Elves/Burn," by T.S. Frank. They call it "a mix of comedy and tragedy, drama and storytelling, [which] investigates the secret lives of the children who serve us our burgers in this Fast-food Nation." It's Friday, 8 p.m., at Wash Arts' Inspiration Cafe, 243 S. Main St., Washington, Pa.; 724-413-0650 or www.terranovatheatregroup.org.

• Playwright Tammy Ryan will be a Walter Dakin Fellow at this year's two-week Sewanee Writers' Conference, thanks in part to a Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council grant. That's the program at the University of the South, started by a bequest from Tennessee Williams. Tammy will join workshops with Romulus Linney and Arlene Hutton, working on her latest, "Lost Boy Found in Whole Foods." She writes, "This year, it's Mom who gets to go to summer camp!"

• Atlanta's Alliance Theatre is completing its full 10-play August Wilson Pittsburgh Cycle by staging "Gem of the Ocean" (set in 1904) and "Radio Golf" (set in 1997), both to run in rotating repertory, Aug. 29-Sept. 28, using the same company of actors. Former Alliance artistic director Kenny Leon will direct "Gem," as he did on Broadway, and current associate artistic director Kent Gash (CMU '82) will do "Radio Golf." (The Pittsburgh Public also completes its Pittsburgh Cycle this fall, staging "Radio Golf.")

• Mark Clayton Southers, founder and artistic director of the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre, announces the appointment of Jerry Starr as managing director. Starr has produced various theatrical events and written many articles and six books, including "The Arts in Social Change" and "Air Wars: The Fight to Reclaim Public Broadcasting" (2000), based on his campaign to stop WQED's commercialization and sale of Channel 16. More to the point, he also wrote a play, "Buried: The Sago Mine Disaster" (2006), developed at Pittsburgh Playwrights.

The bottom line

• Paid admissions at city's pro theaters for the week ending July 6: