culture
Quantum Theatre Brings Shakespeare's Tempest to Historic Carrie Furnaces
The Pittsburgh company returns to the Carrie Furnaces National Historic Landmark with its latest Shakespeare production while its founder prepares to step down after more than three decades.
How we reported this
Quantum Theatre is staging Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Carrie Furnaces National Historic Landmark this summer. The 2026 production marks another chapter in the company’s ongoing use of the industrial site for outdoor performances.
The Return to Carrie Furnaces
Quantum Theatre has previously staged King Lear and Hamlet at the Carrie Furnaces National Historic Landmark. Those earlier productions established the site as a distinctive venue for the troupe’s work with Shakespeare. The current mounting of The Tempest continues that pattern, placing the play’s themes of isolation and renewal against the backdrop of the historic steel mill structures.
The People Who Built the Work
Founder Karla Boos has led Quantum Theatre for more than three decades. Her decision to retire at the end of 2027 comes as the company presents this latest production. Jeff Carpenter takes the central role of Prospero in the 2026 staging. The combination of Boos’s long tenure and Carpenter’s performance anchors the artistic choices that have defined the troupe’s approach to outdoor Shakespeare at the landmark site.
What Comes Next
Audiences can follow updates on the production through the company’s regular channels as the summer season progresses. The retirement timeline announced for Boos provides a clear marker for the next phase of leadership at Quantum Theatre while the current work at Carrie Furnaces continues to draw on the site’s established history with the company.