Monthly Archives: August 2014

August 5, 2014 · 11:49 am

PHONE WHORE On Sept. 5

MISC_Phone WhorePHONE WHORE
Presented by Leapin’ Lizard Lounge
Sept. 5
Covington

Truth and taboo collide in this intimate visit with a phone sex operator. Listen closely: she may change your views on sex forever….

A slice-of-life comedy/drama, PHONE WHORE won the award for Best Female Solo show at the 2010 San Francisco Fringe Festival, Pick of the Fringe – Drama at the 2011 Victoria Fringe Festival, Critics’ Choice at the 2013 Houston Fringe Festival, and it was an official selection of the 2012 Zoofest Festival in Montréal. The play invites audiences in for an unflinching look at taboo, fantasy, and the place of “deviant” desires in society today. Mature audiences only. Q&A with artist follows.

  • Fri, Sept. 5 at 8pm

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August 5, 2014 · 10:50 am

RENT Runs Sept. 5-6

D2D_Rent1RENT
Presented by Dare to Defy Productions
Sept. 5-6
Dayton

Directed by JJ Parkey
Music directed by Ian Benjamin
Choreographed by Edward Carignan

Cast: Bobby Mitchum as Mark Cohen, Mark Beyer as Roger Davis, Lisa Glover as Mimi Marquez, Paige Dobkins as Maureen Johnson, Shawn Storms as Joanne Jefferson, Isaac Tobler as Tom Collins, Mike Embree as Angel Schunard, Mathys Herbert as Benjamin “Benny” Coffin III
Ensemble: Marcus Bedinger, Jamal Cann, Haylee Dobkins, Zach King, Danielle Kubasky, TC Schreier & Mackensie Vonderbrink

RENT is a rock opera with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini’s opera, La Boheme. It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York’s Lower East Side in the thriving days of Bohemian Alphabet City, under the shadow of AIDS. It tells the unforgettable story of a group of young artists learning to survive, falling in love, finding their voices and living for today.

  • Fri, Sept. 5 at 8pm
  • Sat, Sept. 6 at 2pm & 8pm

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August 5, 2014 · 10:19 am

MLT Announces Auditions for THE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO

MLT_logoTHE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO
Written by Alfred Uhry
Directed by Charley Shafor

About the Show:
THE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO takes place in Atlanta, Georgia, in December of 1939. Gone with the Wind is having its world premiere, and Hitler is invading Poland, but Atlanta’s elitist German Jews are much more concerned with who is going to Ballyhoo, the social event of the season. Especially concerned is the Freitag family. The family gets pulled apart and then mended together with plenty of comedy, romance and revelations along the way. Events take several unexpected turns as the characters face where they come from and are forced to deal with who they really are.

Audition Dates:
Sunday, August 10 @ 2pm
Monday & Tuesday August 11 & 12 @ 7pm

If you can’t make one of the audition days please email cshafor@middletownlyric.org for an appointment

(Performance Dates: DECEMBER 5, 6, 12 & 13)

Middletown Lyric Theater
1530 Central Avenue
Middletown, Ohio 45044
513-425-7140

Audition Requirements: Cold reading from the script

Character Descriptions:

Ages are used for guidelines this should not keep you from auditioning. 

  • Adolf Freitag, a business man, Adolf is loving, kind, quiet soul. (Late 30’s to late 40’s early 50’s)
  • Boo Levy, Adolf’s sister, a few years older.  Boo is unstoppable force.  She voices her opinions with little regard as to their effect on others. Her main objective is to have her daughter Lala attend ballyhoo and meet a future husband. (Late 30’s to late 40’s early 50’s)
  • Lala Levy, Boo’s daughter, Lala is a dreamer, somewhat immature for her age and just as opinionated as her mother.  She is obsessed with the premiere of Gone With the Wind, as she sees herself as a future novelist.  (18 – to mid-20’s)
  • Reba Freitag, Adolf’s sister. Although Reba often appears oblivious to the family’s on-goings, Reba is the voice of reason and truth.  Her insights as to what is really going on is honest and objective.  She is colorful and warm. (Late 30’s to late 40’s early 50’s)
  • Sunny Freitag, Reba’s daughter.  Sunny is well educated, but struggles with understanding  and accepting her Jewish heritage.  She is pretty and sharp and is many of the things Lala is not. (18 – to mid-20’s)
  • Joe Farkas, Adolf’s business assistant. Joe is the unexpected visitor and the outside voice that causes the Frietag household to re-examine its Jewish identity.  Joe is the intellectual match for Sunny. (18 – to mid-20’s)
  • Peachy Weil, a visitor from Lake Charles. With a name like Peachy, the fun begins.  This well to do young man from a socially acceptable family, is a possible date for Lala and Ballyhoo. Peachy is full of surprises with his outspoken, silly prankster personality. (18 – to mid-20’s)

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August 4, 2014 · 5:26 pm

Local Actor Steps Up and Steps Into HARRY Role

LOCAL ACTOR STEPS UP AND STEPS INTO MAINSTAGE ROLE

Know Theatre Casting Update for Opening Weekend of HARRY & THE THIEF

Keisha Kemper

Keisha Kemper

Due to the sudden illness of featured actor Piper Davis, currently playing the role of “Harry” in HARRY & THE THIEF, opening Friday at 8:00 PM, Know Theatre staff members were left searching last weekend for a talented local actor who could fill Piper’s role for the Opening Weekend of performances while Piper recovers.

Know Theatre was fortunate to find Keisha Kemper, whose work ethic and natural talent made her an excellent choice to step into the role of Harry, and after an action-packed tech weekend, Keisha is ready to take the stage. Keisha has most recently been seen on Cincinnati stages during the 2014 Cincy Fringe, as well as appearing as Tituba in last year’s The Crucible at UC-CCM.

Associate Artistic Director Tamara Winters says, “Piper has brought such a strong performance to the rehearsal process, and we all look forward to seeing her back in the role of Harry later in the run, when she’s fully recovered. But we want our audience to know that Keisha brings a fantastic and very different take on the character. Keisha’s performance fits in very well with this powerhouse cast; we believe the audience is in for a treat, no matter when they come to see this show.”

HARRY & THE THIEF is an epic summer blockbuster; a socially conscious riot of a play that mashes up Civil-War-era melodrama with an over-the-top action movie to tell a story full of adventure, social relevance, and answering the call of destiny.  Audiences can catch this surprising, funny, and action-packed regional premiere from August 8-30 at Know Theatre.

Since 1997, Know Theatre has been dedicated to creating explosive and evocative live entertainment. We value a playful artistic community where artists can collaborate and grow.

Know Theatre’s work is made possible, in part, by the generosity of community contributions to the ArtsWave Campaign. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund Know Theatre with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Know Theatre is also supported by The Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, helping to change our communities for the better through collaboration and innovation, and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, which provides a simple, powerful, and highly personal approach to giving.

Know Theatre is a member of Theatre Communications Group and an Associate member of the National New Play Network.

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August 4, 2014 · 4:43 pm

Brieabi Announces Productions Through March 2016

Brieabi productions is pleased to announce upcoming shows through March of 2016

BAB_LOGODecember 2014 Music of the Night: Holiday Edition. A celebration of Brieabi’s five year anniversary, along with spreading holiday cheer. FREE to the community. $10 presale includes hors d’oeuvres one hour before the show and reserved seating.

March 2015 The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, music and lyrics by William Finn, directed by Joey Schnell. Winner of the Tony and the Drama Desk Awards for Best Book, THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE has charmed audiences across the country with its effortless charm and humor. Featuring a fast-paced wildly funny and touching book by Rachel Sheinkin and a truly fresh and vibrant score by William Finn, this bee is one unforgettable experience. An eclectic group of six mid-pubescent’s vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home life, the tweens spell their way through a series of [potentially made-up] words hoping to never hear the soul crushing, pout inducing, life un-affirming “ding” of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. Six spellers enter; one speller leaves! At least the losers get a juice box. A riotous ride complete with audience participation, THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE is delightful den of comedic genius. The small cast and unit set make this a perfect option for high schools or community theatres. THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE is a fast-paced crowd pleaser and an instant theatre patron favorite.

August 2015 The Last Five Years, music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, directed by Shawn Toadvine. Starring Megan Ainsley Callahan and Zachary Huffman. This modern musical ingeniously chronicles the five year life of a marriage, form meeting to break-up and from break-up to meeting. Jason Robert Brown’s Drama Desk winner THE LAST FIVE YEARS has been translated into a handful of languages and was named one of Time Magazine’s 10 best shows of 2001. A testament to the show’s longevity and spurred by the show’s regional popularity, THE LAST FIVE YEARS enjoyed an Off-Broadway revival at Second Stage in 2013. A film adaptation is being released in 2014 starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan. An emotionally powerful and intimate musical about two New Yorkers in their twenties who fall in and out of love over the course of five years. The show’s unconventional structure consists of Cathy, the woman, telling her story backwards while Jamie, the man, tells his story chronologically; the two characters only meet once, at their wedding in the middle of the show.

December 2015 Children of Eden, music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, directed by Matthew Wilson. Based on the story of Genesis, the age-old conflict of parents and children takes the stage in this epic, heartfelt Stephen Schwartz musical. From musical theatre greats Stephen Schwartz and John Caird comes a joyous and inspirational musical about parents, children and faith… not to mention centuries of unresolved family business! An expansive and ambitious musical, the original production used a cast of sixty. Adam, Eve, Noah and the “Father” who created them deal with the headstrong, cataclysmic actions of their respective children. The show ultimately delivers a bittersweet but inspiring message: that “the hardest part of love… is letting go.”

March 2016 Barefoot in the Park, by Neil Simon, directed by Brent Alan Burington. Nominated! 1964 Tony Award for Best Play. Paul and Corie Bratter are newlyweds in every sense of the word. He’s a straight-as-an-arrow lawyer and she’s a free spirit always looking for the latest kick. Their new apartment is her most recent find-too expensive with bad plumbing and in need of a paint job. After a six day honeymoon, they get a surprise visit from Corie’s loopy mother and decide to play matchmaker during a dinner with their neighbor-in-the-attic Velasco, where everything that can go wrong, does. Paul just doesn’t understand Corie, as she sees it. He’s too staid, too boring and she just wants him to be a little more spontaneous, running “barefoot in the park” would be a start…

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