Amanda Waltz

Pittsburgh

Arts and Entertainment Editor at Pittsburgh City Paper

A&E editor at the @PGHCityPaper She/her

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Articles

Steel City Horror Show haunts movie fans with secret screenings, spooky antics, and more

18 hours ago | pghcitypaper.com | Amanda Waltz

Live reptiles, burlesque performers, paranormal investigators, and even Pittsburgh documentarian Rick Sebak have added immersive elements to The Steel City Horror Show. That the screening series is celebrating its first anniversary speaks to the enthusiasm of horror fans willing to attend an event where the featured film and guests are, mostly, kept under wraps. "I think the element of surprise is essential," organizer Sean Collier tells Pittsburgh City Paper.
WYEP expands its live music reach with first-ever Neighborhood Concert Series

1 day ago | pghcitypaper.com | Amanda Waltz

WYEP spent 2024 celebrating 50 years of bringing emerging artists, local talent, and iconic acts to listeners. Included among the retrospectives, countdowns, and other anniversary festivities were, according to WYEP program director Liz Felix, discussions about “big things” the independent, nonprofit radio station could be doing. “One of the ideas we came up with was to start a live music fund,” she tells Pittsburgh City Paper.
An all-things-cannabis update on adult-use legalization, regulation, and the possible impact of Trump’s tariffs

1 week ago | pghcitypaper.com | Amanda Waltz

Pennsylvania loves to tout its supremacy over Ohio in its friendly rivalry with the neighboring state. In Pittsburgh, that means talking smack on the Cleveland Browns, deriding Ohio “cuisine” like Cincinnati Chili, and mercilessly roasting Vice President J.D. Vance, who represented Ohioans before being elected to the second-highest position in government.
Spirit marks 10-year milestone as a place for food, art, music, and more

2 weeks ago | pghcitypaper.com | Amanda Waltz

Lawrenceville gained a place for live music, dance parties, and great pizza in 2015 when Spirit opened in an abandoned former Moose Lodge. Since then, the substantial, two-story venue has become a central part of the neighborhood, attracting crowds with big-name acts, local art, outdoor fun, and eclectic events ranging from weekly trivia and Bingo nights to beat-box tournaments. The far-reaching impact of the space was by design, according to chef and owner Tom Barr.
Step into Pittsburgh’s growing progressive country music culture

2 weeks ago | pghcitypaper.com | Amanda Waltz

On a chill Friday night in March, Bottlerocket Social Hall becomes a honky-tonk. Past the retro, U-shaped bar, patrons dressed in variations of country western attire — some are all duded up, others don a simple cowboy hat or boots — awkwardly follow an instructor teaching the steps to an ultimate line dancing classic, the 1991 hit “Boot Scootin' Boogie” by Brooks and Dunn. This is ’90s country night, after all.
Pittsburgh Public Theater bares its teeth with Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

1 month ago | pghcitypaper.com | Amanda Waltz

An old smoker’s laugh rattled as Broadway veterans Daniel Jenkins and Tasha Lawrence entered the mid-century, lamplit living room set on the stage of the O’Reilly Theater. In their Pittsburgh Public Theater debuts, the formidable duo initiated the 3.5-hour-long tug-of-war in Edward Albee’s iconic play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Pittsburgh Kyūsha shifts local Japanese car culture into high gear

1 month ago | pghcitypaper.com | Amanda Waltz

David Krepley has never been to Japan, doesn't speak Japanese, and claims no Japanese heritage. However, he has felt drawn to one aspect of the country — its automobiles. "There was always kind of a fascination there for me," Krepley tells Pittsburgh City Paper, adding that anime and the Fast and the Furious franchise, particularly the Tokyo Drift installment, both had a role in introducing him to this niche interest.
A non-Catholic gives an unsolicited opinion on Pittsburgh fish fries

1 month ago | pghcitypaper.com | Amanda Waltz

Food has close ties to various religious and cultural practices, many of which even I, an avowed atheist, enthusiastically embrace. I’ve enjoyed brisket and horseradish during a Jewish friend’s Passover celebration, dumplings made by a fellow grad student for Chinese New Year, and pączki, that filled, donut-like Polish pastry associated with Fat Tuesday.
Looking back on The Blair Witch Project as Pitt adds the film to its archives

1 month ago | pghcitypaper.com | Amanda Waltz

Even the most hardcore horror fans will tell you the 1990s was a rough time for the genre. The decade's biggest hits (see: Scream) were less concerned with originality and more focused on smugly deconstructing the slasher tropes that made them possible, starting with Hitchcock's Psycho. American viewers were stuck with tired sequels in franchises far past their prime, mildly entertaining teen screams, and bad remakes, with the occasional bright spot mixed in (Candyman, for one).
Ode to the play coat

2 months ago | pghcitypaper.com | Amanda Waltz

Winters in Pittsburgh can be beautiful, producing idyllic scenes of snowball fights, sledding down the city's many hills, and snow falling as skaters circle the rink at PPG Place. However, in a city with as much air pollution and traffic as Pittsburgh, that crisp white powder usually turns to grey slush in a matter of days. Then comes the mud, the grime-covered vehicles (ain't nobody worrying about car washes when it's 5 degrees outside), and general wet sloppiness.