NET Announces Restructured Season

New Edgecliff Announces Restructured Season
TALK RADIO out, PROOF in

As most have heard by now, New Edgecliff Theatre was given an 11th hour surprise in June, with the news that the Columbia Performance Center was no longer available. Artistic Director Jim Stump says, “Our original response was, ‘Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead!’” Since then they’ve been reassessing, and just last week, the board and staff sat down and took a hard second look at the numbers, coming to the conclusion that with the venue expense being nearly quintupled, they needed to reassess the wisdom of trying to maintain the full production schedule they’d originally planned for the CPC. Stump adds, “It just seemed prudent to more efficiently focus our resources.”

Eric Bogosian’s “Talk Radio”, originally slated to open the season in September, will be dropped. The newly restructured plan is to open at the Aronoff’s Fifth Third Theater with the already scheduled double bill of David Sedaris’ “The Santaland Diaries” and Ginna Hoben’s “The 12 Dates of Christmas” in November/December. Resident Playwright Catie O’Keefe’s new play, “Slow Descent From Heaven,” still scheduled for the February/March slot, will move to a yet-to-be-named venue. The April slot will remain at the Fifth Third, with the originally scheduled “Miss Witherspoon” to be replaced by David Auburn’s “Proof”.

In addition to their regular season, in October, NET will continue its traditional one-night-only Fall fundraiser, the annual Sweet Suspense Radio Drama. This year it’s “The Canterville Ghost”, once again adapted by Catie O’Keefe.

Executive Director Michael Shooner sees the short-term pain as leading to inevitable long-term gain. He says, “When we decided on the season theme of ‘Next’, we had no idea how apropos it would be. Our response to this unexpected chain of events has put us in a position to imagine a great variety of next steps. We’re excited to see where it all leads!”

For “The Santaland Diaries / The 12 Dates of Christmas” reservations, call the Cincinnati Arts Association ticket offices at 513.721.3344. For further information, go to newedgecliff.com or call 513.399.6638.

Season Schedule

October 20th, 2012 – “The Canterville Ghost” by Oscar Wilde, adapted for the stage by Catie O’Keefe

NET’s annual Sweet Suspense Radio Drama returns with a family friendly radio style adaptation of the Oscar Wilde classic. This one night only event includes a recreation of an early radio studio complete with live sound effects by Mike Martini.

Where others have run screaming in terror, the Otis family seems quite comfortable in their new haunted house. After moving to England and into Canterville Chase, this family of Americans finds nothing frightening about the famous Canterville ghost. In fact, his attempt to replenish an old blood stain is nothing but annoying and his efforts to scare the family members usually end in the ghost hiding in fear. It’s not until the young daughter, the Virginia, takes an interest in helping the murderous spirit, that the family and the ghost find peace and quiet. The production will once again be under the direction of Bob Allen.

November 28 – December 8, 2012 – “The Santaland Diaries” by David Sedaris (adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello) and “The 12 Dates of Christmas” by Ginna Hoben

Everyone’s favorite elf Crumpet, the elf fixated on spastic children, obnoxious parents, nutty co-workers and, oh yeah … “One Life to Live”, is back in this alter native holiday favorite.

Then, in “12 Dates of Christmas”…what happens when Mary sees her fiancé making out with his co-worker on national TV at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade? She dumps him and then spends the next year being set up, hooked up, strung up, and fed up as she navigates her life “alone” as a New York actor in her thirties.

“Hoben has created a woman’s show to join the annual, male-dominated Christmas lineup, but like “The Santaland Diaries”, it is a tale of real life and holiday hope touching us all.” — Eric Minton, Shakespeareances.com

February 20th-March 2nd, 2013 – “Slow Descent from Heaven” by Resident Playwright Catie O’Keefe

NET resident playwright Catie O’Keefe and director Ed Cohen join forces for our winter show with the world premiere of “Slow Descent from Heaven”. NET produced O’Keefe’s “Darker” in the Fringe Festival last year to rave reviews and she has adapted the last two Radio Dramas.
Relationships for Molly have never come easy; part of that might have to do with the fact that she’s worked hard to advance her career as a NASA scientist in the late twentieth century. From the passionate Russian lover to the practical minded momma’s boy, she has her work cut out for her. Taking a glimpse into Molly’s life in between two world-changing events in NASA, we see that life for some is a lot like the painful push to leave the Earth’s atmosphere, while for others it’s more like the slow descent back down from Heaven.

April 17th – 27th, 2013 – “Proof ” by David Auburn

Winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play, David Auburn’s “Proof” is a smart, mysterious, surprising, and compassionate play of ideas. On the eve of her twenty-fifth birthday, Catherine, a troubled young woman, has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father, a famous mathematician. Now, following his death, she must deal with her own volatile emotions; the arrival of her estranged sister, Claire; and the attentions of Hal, a former student of her father’s who hopes to find valuable work in the 103 notebooks that her father left behind. Over the long weekend that follows, a burgeoning romance and the discovery of a mysterious notebook draw Catherine into the most difficult problem of all: How much of her father’s madness—or genius—will she inherit?