Monthly Archives: February 2015

The Passing of Ray Sullivan

FFL_Ray SullivanI just came across this sad news late last night

RAYMOND SULLIVAN, 1931-2015

It is with great sadness that we inform our friends of the passing of Fairfield Footlighters Co-Founder, Ray Sullivan, age 83, on January 22.  As many of you know, Ray was incredibly passionate about community theatre. He gave tirelessly of his time, both on-stage and off, spent many hours directing shows, and served as Treasurer for over ten years. Ray co-founded Fairfield Footlighters in 2001 with his good friend Sterling Uhler. Over the years, Ray worked backstage, acted, produced and directed many shows including “Crimes of the Heart” and “Wait Until Dark.”

You may pay your respects to Ray and his family at the Avance Funeral Home on Monday, January 26th from 5 – 8 p.m. Services will be held at the funeral home on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the familiy has asked that contributions be made to Fairfield Footlighters, Rotary Club of Fairfield and the Kathleen A. Sullivan Scholarship Fund, c/o the Fairfield Community Foundation.

You can use this link to make a donation.

My condolences to his friends and family.

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VIDEO: Andy Dalton’s Pepsi Press Conference: Buffalo Wild Wings Commercial Featuring Michael Shawn Starks

Michael Shawn Starks as Mike Ferris Annie Fitzpatrick as Cindy Barnes Michael G. Bath as Frank Nugent. Photo by Ryan Kurtz.

Michael Shawn Starks as Mike Ferris Annie Fitzpatrick as Cindy Barnes Michael G. Bath as Frank Nugent. Photo by Ryan Kurtz.

It’s always fun to catch local performers in commercials.

This commercial for Pepsi features Michael Shawn Starks. Andy Dalton calls him out as “you in the gray shirt.”

Cincinnati audiences may recognize Starks as the shyster car dealership owner in the Ensemble Theater Cincinnati season opener, HANDS ON A HARDBODY.

Up next, Michael has been cast in a local musical, but the theater group has asked that I not mention it by name until they have completed casting. I guess you will just have to keep an eye on my blog. 🙂

Also appearing in the commercial in blink-and-you’ll-miss moments are Lisa Marie DeRoberts (seated next to Michael in green) and Andrew Maloney in dark green around the 1:20 mark.

If you know of any other commercials to highlight, please send the links my way.

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Director Sought for STEEL MAGNOLIAS at RiverStage

RSCT_logo.jpgRiverStage Community Theatre of New Richmond is looking for a director for STEEL MAGNOLIAS that we will presented April 16-17-18th. Please contact riverstagehq@gmail.com for more information.

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Auditions Announced for WAIT UNTIL DARK and CLYBOURNE PARK at Sunset Players

SSP_logoCINCINNATI, OH – February 4, 2015 —Sunset Players is holding auditions for its next two productions, WAIT UNTIL DARK by Frederick Knott and CLYBOURNE PARK by Bruce Norris, on Sunday, February 22 and Monday, February 23 at 7:00 p.m. at the Arts Center at Dunham. The Arts Center at Dunham is located at 1945 Dunham Way, Cincinnati, OH 45238. Auditions will be a cold read from the script.

Directed by Jerry Yearout, WAIT UNTIL DARK is a thriller revolving around a sinister con man and two ex-convicts who meet their match in a blind housewife named Susy. Susy becomes the target of the three con-men who are searching for heroin hidden in a doll, which her husband Sam innocently transported from Canada as a favor to a strange woman. When the woman is murdered, the situation becomes more urgent and a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues.

The cast of characters for Wait Until Dark includes:

  • Mike Talman: Mid-20s to 50s. Career criminal.
  • Sgt. Carlino: Mid-20’s to 50s. Career criminal.
  • Harry Roat, Jr.: 30s to 50s. Criminal mastermind. Calculated and cunning.
  • Susy Hendrix:  Early 20s to mid-30s. Wife to Sam. She is blind, but is very independent.
  • Sam Hendrix:  Early 20s to mid-30s. Husband to Susy. He is a photographer that works quite a bit.
  • Gloria:  8-12 years old. A neighbor that visits and helps Susy.
  • Policemen:  20s to 50s.

Rehearsals will begin second week of March. Show dates are April 30, May 1, 2, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, and 16. For questions, contact Jerry Yearout at gyearout72@gmail.com.

Winner of 2011 Pulitzer Prize and 2012 Tony Award, CLYBOURNE PARK, directed by Mike Burke, explores race, real estate and communication in two acts set 50 years apart. Act One takes place in 1959 with nervous community leaders trying to stop the sale of a home to a black family. Act Two is set in the same house in the present day in a now predominantly African-American neighborhood battling to hold its ground in the face of gentrification.

Each cast member will play two roles, a character in Act 1 set in 1959 and a different character in Act 2 set in 2009. The cast of characters for Clybourne Park includes:

  • White male: 40s to 50s
  • While female: 40s
  • Black female: 30s
  • Black male: 30s
  • White male: 30s
  • White female: 20s to 30s
  • White male: 20s

Show dates are July 10, 11, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24 & 25. For questions, contact Mike Burke at mwb_45238@yahoo.com

Sunset Players, Inc. is a community theater group located on the west side of Cincinnati. Founded in 1979, the group performs at the Arts Center at Dunham and has produced more than 120 plays. For more information, visit our website at www.sunsetplayers.org or like us on Facebook.

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VIDEO: Trailer for ETC’s THE OTHER PLACE

Michael G. Bath as Ian Smithton & Regina Pugh as Juliana Smithton. Photo by Ryan Kurtz.

Michael G. Bath as Ian Smithton & Regina Pugh as Juliana Smithton. Photo by Ryan Kurtz.

Juliana Smithton, an accomplished scientist and pharmaceuticals pitch-woman, is a dominating personality who’s always in command, but recently her life has become unhinged. Her husband has filed for divorce, her daughter has eloped with a much older man, and her own health hangs in jeopardy. However, in this brilliantly troubling and unexpectedly humorous play, nothing is as it seems. Piece by piece, a mystery unfolds as fact blurs with fiction and the elusive truth about Juliana boils to the surface.

THE OTHER PLACE continues at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati through Feb. 15.

You can read my spoiler-free review here, as well as the reviews of:
Cincinnati.ComCityBeat | League of Cincinnati Theatres | The Sappy Critic |

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