In celebration of Pittsburgh’s 250th anniversary, actors and theatrical lighting will bring the murals of Maxo Vanka to life in the play “Gift To America,” which will run at 8:30 PM, May 7-10 at St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale.

The one-hour play is a conversation about the murals between Vanka and Father Albert Zagar, the priest who commissioned the murals. Two female characters also are a part of the dramatic reading, which will be accompanied by Tamburitzan music. Scripted by Carnegie Mellon Professor Emeritus of English David Demarest, the play originally was staged in 1981. Described by Time magazine as “one of the few distinguished sets of murals in the U.S.,” the murals depict the ravages of war and the sacrifices of immigrant workers in early 20th century industrial America. They honor the congregation’s Croatian heritage and their Christian faith. Vanka had recently immigrated when he began to paint the murals in 1937, and called them his “gift to America.”

The vivid imagery depicted on the walls and ceilings of the Millvale church reveal a passion that is universal yet uniquely Croatian. After seeing the murals, Rock musician David Byrne of The Talking Heads called Vanka “the Diego Rivera of Pittsburgh.”

The Society to Preserve The Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka is staging the play, with support from the Pennsylvania Labor Center at IUP, and hopes to raise a greater awareness of the paintings while launching a campaign to fund the illumination, restoration and preservation of the murals.

Tickets are $10 and will be available at the door. Click here for directions.