New Hazlett makes big changes amid thorny theatrical landscape

In the wake of a rocky year for some of Pittsburgh’s largest theater companies, the New Hazlett Theater is staking its future on locally produced work. The North Side theater announced the appointment of Melissa Cardello-Linton as the company’s first-ever artistic director as well as the launch of a new program aimed at local, original show production. “I’ve come to know that when a community invests in artists, those artists have the power to transform it,” Cardello-Linton tells Pittsburgh City Paper . The announcement comes as New Hazlett celebrates its 20th anniversary, including with Making Space: The Story of the New Hazlett Theater , a new documentary described as chronicling the theater’s roots “as the first Carnegie Music Hall and then the original home of Pittsburgh Public Theatre, to its modern standing as a beacon for performing arts.” The film will premiere on Thu., July 30 during an event at the theater. Cardello-Linton is no stranger to Pittsburgh or New Hazlett, having grown up in the South Side before embarking on a 20-year career as a producer, actor, and director in New York. She returned to her hometown to work at the New Hazlett in 2024. During her tenure at the New Hazlett, Cardello-Linton led two of the nonprofit’s largest original work initiatives: Community Supported Art and Sounds of the Seasons, according to a statement from New Hazlett. Multiple artists who worked on those projects credit Cardello-Linton with their success. “Carnegie Hall” sign on the New Hazlett Theater Credit: CP Photo: Mars Johnson Ramin Akhavijou produced his work Ego through New Hazlett’s CSA program, launching it at the theater in spring 2025. “Melissa brings together artistic sensitivity and a profound sense of responsibility,” Akhavijou tells City Paper . “In my work on Ego , she cultivated a space where creativity could unfold with trust, clarity, and intentio