Yearly Archives: 2012

(CINCINNATI) – Coming next to the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park is the funny and exciting world premiere of DEAD ACCOUNTS by award-winning Cincinnati native playwright Theresa Rebeck. Commissioned by the Playhouse, this play set in Cincinnati begins previews in the Playhouse’s Robert S. Marx Theatre January 14 and continues through February 11.

At first, prodigal son Jack’s unexpected visit to Cincinnati from New York City appears to be an exercise in the mass consumption of comfort foods from his youth – Graeter’s, Skyline and LaRosa’s. However, his family soon wonders if he’s coming home or running away. And where did he get all the money? This world premiere play painfully and hilariously portrays Midwestern values and family dynamics to reveal why home remains important no matter where you live.

Theresa Rebeck’s prolific career has encompassed theatre, film, television and literature. Her world-premiere play, Seminar, debuted in November on Broadway; Mauritius was also produced on Broadway. Rebeck was a Pulitzer Prize finalist as the co-author of Omnium Gatherum. Feature films include Harriet the Spy, Gossip and independent features Sunday on the Rocks and Seducing Charlie Barker, the latter of which was adapted from her play, The Scene. She has a Peabody Award for NYPD Blue and is the creator/executive producer of the upcoming NBC show Smash. Rebeck is also the author of two novels, Three Girls and Their Brother and Twelve Rooms with a View. DEAD ACCOUNTS is Rebeck’s third production at the Cincinnati Playhouse. The audaciously funny Bad Dates was produced in 2005, and the Kafkaesque-with-laughs look at the backstage world of The Understudy was performed in 2010.

The cast for DEAD ACCOUNTS features Stephen Barker Turner as Jack, Susan Greenhill (The Clean House) as Barbara, Carly Street as Lorna, Haynes Thigpen as Phil and Victoria Mack as Jenny.

Giovanna Sardelli will direct. She has directed an array of world-premiere plays, including the recent Off-Broadway production of Apple Cove. According to Sardelli, “I was fortunate to attend a very early reading of DEAD ACCOUNTS, and I loved it the minute I heard it. I thought the play was so smart and filled with humor. It operates on so many levels. There are these intricate and complicated family dynamics that run through the play. I think it is through those relationships that we are able to recognize ourselves in the story.”

The design team for DEAD ACCOUNTS includes Set Designer Scott Bradley, Lighting Designer Japhy Weideman, Costume Designer Clint Ramos and Sound Designer/Composer Jeremy J. Lee.

Prices for DEAD ACCOUNTS range from $25 – $66, depending on day and seat location, and are subject to change. Tickets are just $25 for the preview performances at 8 p.m. Saturday, January 14; 2 p.m. Sunday, January 15; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 17; and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 18. Some restrictions apply. The official opening night is Thursday, January 19 at 8 p.m.

Performances take place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sundays.

Tickets to Dead Accounts are on sale now. For more information, call the Playhouse box office at 513/421-3888 (toll-free in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana at 800/582-3208) or visit http://www.cincyplay.com. Call 513/345-2248 for TDD accessibility.

The Playhouse is fully accessible. Audio enhancement receivers, large print programs and complete wheelchair access are available.

The Playhouse is supported, in part, by the generosity of the tens of thousands of individuals and businesses that give to ArtsWave.

The Ohio Arts Council helps fund the Playhouse with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.

The Playhouse also receives funding from the Shubert Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.