{"id":297753,"date":"2026-10-01T17:26:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T17:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/297753\/"},"modified":"2026-10-01T17:26:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T17:26:09","slug":"passionate-about-pizza-heres-how-you-can-star-in-a-play-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/297753\/","title":{"rendered":"Passionate About Pizza? Here\u2019s How You Can Star in a Play About It"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pizzaplay3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAN TALLARICO<\/p>\n

To Dan Tallarico, pizza is pure magic.<\/p>\n

Detroit-style slices disappeared before my eyes as I interviewed him at Iron Born<\/a> in the Strip District. Without shame, he told me it was his fourth pizza in as many days. I found this totally relatable<\/a> and endearing.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not gluttony, it\u2019s artistic inspiration.<\/p>\n

A self-described \u201cpizza journalist\u201d who spent years tossing dough at local joints, Tallarico\u2019s been covering Pittsburgh\u2019s greasy scene since 2011. You can read his expert analysis at PizzaWalkWithMe.com<\/a>, and in a weekly Substack<\/a> newsletter.<\/p>\n

Now he\u2019s dipping his toe in uncharted sauces as a \u201cpizza playwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Pizzaplay1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAN TALLARICO<\/p>\n

\u201cSlice Something Slice\u201d takes place on the Pizza Continent, where citizens enjoy a daily dose of their homeland\u2019s namesake dish. Led by a Pizza Prophet, they embark on a unifying quest to find the perfect pie.<\/p>\n

To celebrate his 40th birthday last March, Tallarico invited his friends and family to Bloomfield\u2019s Brillobox for the play\u2019s debut.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe experience was truly the greatest night of my life,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The adults-only pizza party returns to the venue on Oct. 29. Tickets are available online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There are six scenes, each representing a different pizzeria. As attendees arrive, they\u2019ll be invited to sign up for a part. Actors receive a script, a character description, a name tag and a chance to bask in the spotlight while a live band performs original tunes written by Chad McMurtrie.<\/p>\n

Think of it as theatre karaoke for foodies.<\/p>\n

Tallarico, who narrates the action, says folks don\u2019t need to deliver a perfect performance \u2014 like pizza, even if it\u2019s bad, it\u2019ll still be pretty good.<\/p>\n

The North Hills native grew up on a steady diet of Sir Pizza<\/a>, a place known for its round pies sliced into small squares with crumbled toppings distributed to the edge. I also bend the knee to this brand.<\/p>\n

\"Pizzaplaysirpizza\"<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO COURTESY OF KRISTY GRAVER<\/p>\n

As a teenager in the early aughts, Tallarico worked at Bellisario\u2019s Restaurant<\/a> and made his first delivery using a map scrawled on a pizza box.<\/p>\n

\"Pizzaplay2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAN TALLARICO<\/p>\n

Intrigued by Pittsburgh\u2019s sheer number of shops \u2014 and the ardent followings behind them \u2014 he immersed himself in local pizza lore. He\u2019s hit just about every time-honored institution, from Mineo\u2019s<\/a> and Aiello\u2019s<\/a> to Monte Cello\u2019s<\/a> and Beto\u2019s<\/a>, and always makes room in his belly for artisan offerings from Driftwood Oven<\/a>, Spirit<\/a>, Rockaway<\/a> and \u201877 Club<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Pizzaplay4\"<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAN TALLARICO<\/p>\n

When he\u2019s not waxing poetic about pepperoni, Tallarico trains for marathons. The guy literally runs on pizza \u2014 and he has no intention of slowing down, especially during National Pizza Month<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so much great pizza in Pittsburgh,\u201d he says. \u201cI love it all.\u201d\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOTO COURTESY OF DAN TALLARICO To Dan Tallarico, pizza is pure magic. Detroit-style slices disappeared before my eyes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297754,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74],"class_list":["post-297753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=297753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/297754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}