Monthly Archives: April 2013

ENSEMBLE THEATRE CINCINNATI ANNOUNCES FOUR SHOWS
OF THE 2013-2014 OTTO M. BUDIG FAMILY FOUNDATION SEASON

(Cincinnati, OH) Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati (ETC) announces four of its six shows for the 2013-2014 Season, which features an exciting selection of three outstanding regional premieres of critically acclaimed recent New York hits, two Pulitzer Prize finalists, and the long-awaited return of one of ETC’s beloved holiday musicals. “Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati is planning a truly original, fresh and exhilarating season of dynamic regional premieres and I am absolutely thrilled to showcase some of the hottest titles and newest voices this coming year,” says Producing Artistic Director D. Lynn Meyers. “Our ambitious lineup of plays is sure to excite audiences who have come to expect Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati as the source for the very best in contemporary theatre in our city.”

About the Plays
Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati’s twenty-eighth season opens with the highly acclaimed regional premiere of Other Desert Cities (September 4-22, 2013), a new play by Pulitzer Prize finalist and creator of TV’s hit drama Brothers & Sisters, Jon Robin Baitz. This searing comedy was named the Outstanding Play by the Outer Critics Circle and called “the best new play on Broadway” by The New York Times. When a once-promising novelist returns home to Palm Springs to visit her parents, conflict ensues after she reveals the imminent publication of her juicy tell-all memoir—a book that focuses on the politically explosive and tragic death of her antiwar-activist brother. With her parents trying to cling to their Reaganesque social status, the family is thrown into turmoil and must come to grips with its painful past. This critically acclaimed new play crackles with wit, razor-sharp one-liners, a fierce cast of characters, and a storyline that grabs you from the opening scene to its riveting conclusion.

The season continues with the regional premiere of Rapture, Blister, Burn (October 9-27, 2013), recently named the 2013 Pulitzer Prize finalist, by Gina Gionfriddo whose writing credits include Law & Order and the new Netflix series House of Cards. The Associated Press calls Rapture, Blister, Burn a “piercingly sharp, bittersweet social comedy.” Catherine’s got the sexy rockstar academic career that every Ph.D. dreams about: another book out, TV appearances, and an upcoming speaking engagement in Italy. So what’s she doing outside a bar, drunk-dialing her grad school ex-best friend, Gwen, now a stay-at-home mother and housewife married to Catherine’s old flame? Both women, coveting each other’s choices, attempt to find the happiness and fulfillment they lack by commencing a dangerous game of musical chairs, with surprising and hilarious results.

For the holidays, ETC features the long-awaited return of Around The World in 80 Days (December 4, 2013-January 4, 2014), one of the theatre’s first commissioned musicals by Joseph McDonough and David Kisor, last performed at ETC in 1999. It is 1899 and the mysterious, brilliant, mathematically precise Englishman Phileas Fogg has wagered his considerable fortune that the world can now be circumnavigated in 80 days. Will bandits, buffalo, winter storms and even the meddlesome Scotland Yard prevent him and his wily valet, Passepartout, from completing this daunting task? Jumping between trains and steamships, even employing an elephant, this magical family-friendly adventure leads Fogg to discover a wider world as well as his own heart in this swashbuckling musical retelling of Jules Verne’s classic tale.

For winter 2014, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati will present an exciting regional premiere to be announced. Scheduled dates for this production are January 29-February 16, 2014.

In the spring, ETC will present the international hit The Mountaintop (March 19-April 6, 2014) by rising young playwright Katori Hall. On April 3, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. cools down in a lonely Memphis hotel room after delivering the speech of a lifetime. When a feisty, young hotel maid makes an unexpected visit, an unlikely relationship is forged that ventures into the political and personal, compelling King to confront his destiny and the fate of the nation on the eve of one of the most critical moments in American History. Winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Play, this powerful new play is a gripping re-imagining of events the night before the iconic civil rights leader’s assassination.

To conclude its 2013-2014, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati will present an exciting regional premiere to be announced. Scheduled dates for this production are May 7-25, 2014.

Subscriptions
Subscriptions to the 2013-2014 Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati season are available now in a variety of packages. Prices start at $162 for seniors; adult subscriptions range from $174 to $192 depending upon day. The popular FlexPass is $202, which includes six flexible tickets to use for any show and in any combination.

Student Subscriptions
The 2013-2014 season will continue to offer a robust suite of affordable ticket and program options designed specifically for local area teens and students to experience professional theatre. This includes a $120 Student Subscription available for any performance and which provides a seat for each of the six productions during the season. Additionally, ETC will continue its $90 Teen Scene Subscription, a deeply discounted subscription option exclusively for students ages 13-19 (available select dates only).

Single Tickets
All single tickets for the 2013-2014 Season go on sale to the general public on Monday, August 5, 2013. Subscribers, however, may start making exchanges, purchase additional tickets, or reserve their FlexPass dates during Subscriber Only Days, July 29-August 2, 2013.

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati is supported, in part, by the generosity of community contributions to the ArtsWave Campaign. 

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

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati also receives funding from the Shubert Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. 

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati is a professional theatre dedicated to producing world and regional premieres of works that often explore compelling social issues. We fulfill our mission through our stage productions and educational outreach programs that enlighten, enliven, enrich and inspire our audiences.