Monthly Archives: March 2015

March 27, 2015 · 9:54 am

The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati Presents Disney’s ALADDIN JR

Carpets will fly this April at the Taft Theatre!

Megan Ainsley as Jasmine, Bob Herzog as the Genie & Korey Harlow as Aladdin.

Megan Ainsley as Jasmine, Bob Herzog as the Genie & Korey Harlow as Aladdin. Photo by Phil Groshong.

The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati ends its 90th MainStage Season with DISNEY’S ALADDIN JR., April 10-12 and 18, 2015 at the Taft Theatre. The show will be directed by Roderick Justice. Music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice. Book adapted and additional lyrics by Jim Luigs. Music adapted and arranged by Bryan Louiselle. Based on the screenplay by Ron Clements and John Musker; Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio.

Aladdin is a street rat who must borrow and steal to survive. When he runs into Princess Jasmine the day before her arranged wedding, they begin an unlikely friendship. In captivity, Aladdin finds a magical lamp revealing a Genie who grants wishes. Just wait till what happens next! This show will take you to “A Whole New World.”

DISNEY’S ALADDIN JR. is a collaboration with The Cincinnati Circus Company, who will bring jugglers, aerial acrobats, stilt walkers and more to the Taft Theatre stage! And, Local 12’s Bob Herzog will be featured as the Genie!

DISNEY’S ALADDIN JR., The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati, through April 18. 7:30 p.m. Friday April 10; Saturday April 11, 2 PM and 5 PM; Sunday, April 12 and Saturday, April 18, 2 PM; Taft Theatre, 5th and Sycamore Streets in Downtown Cincinnati. Tickets $7-$25. 1-800-745-3000 and www.ticketmaster.com.

The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati’s production of DISNEY’S ALADDIN JR. is made possible by the generous support of TriHealth. The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati is supported by the generosity of community contributions to the ArtsWave Campaign. The Children’s Theatre’s Season Sponsors are the Charles H. Dater Foundation and the Marge and Charles J. Schott Foundation. The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this program with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Media sponsors are Cincinnati Enquirer, LOCAL 12 and Q102. The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati Kids Club is presented by Grace Kerr Orthodontics and Time Timer.

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March 27, 2015 · 9:38 am

LCT Review of DETROIT ’67

LCT_VThis review has been reposted courtesy of the League of Cincinnati Theatres. For more LCT reviews click here to visit their reviews page.

The Ensemble Theatre CINCINNATI’S production of DETROIT ’67 is a winner. The set/lighting/props/sound are all stellar, a delicious time capsule from the 60s.

I remember being invited to a “basement party” back in the 60’s in the hood where, for a small cover, you got great music, a bar, and for a white girl like me, dance lessons! I still feel those were the best moves I ever had!

Darnell Pierre Benjamin as Sly & Bryant Bentley as Lank. Photo by Mikki Schaffner.

Darnell Pierre Benjamin as Sly & Bryant Bentley as Lank. Photo by Mikki Schaffner.

The basement in the ghetto neighborhood of Detroit serves as the underground after hours party place for locals and is a major source of income for Chelle and Lank, the sister and brother who grew up in the house and live there now as adults. They have recently inherited the house from their deceased parents. A stairwell bisects the stage and distinguishes life above ground and the life that goes on underground. The actors are constantly climbing down or up and traveling between worlds. Above the basement stairs, just a hint of the hallway and the house beyond leads your eyes to a long span of dark shadowy cityscape that reminds you where you are. The sound was marvelous. Who doesn’t want to listen to old Motown, the Temps, Marvin Gaye and the like? But in the background, muted sirens scream that the rioting isn’t far away. An old stereo that plays 45s keeps skipping to the irritation of Chelle.

The play flows through the five days and events of the 1967 Detroit riots like the music which characters turn to constantly; music for the nightly party, music to wait by, to dance to, to celebrate a moment, to tolerate a moment, to dream to, to delight one other. The characters are struggling with who they are, to the world, to each other and what stands in their way, whether it’s their own beliefs, the color of their skin, or the limits of the culture of the times they live in.

The acting is energetic and consistent, honest and earnest – not a false note in the show. Bryant Bentley as Lank, a Dayton native now in Columbus, is particularly good as he conspires with his best friend Sly, Darnell Benjamin, performing locally and teaching with Pones Inc., Know Theatre and across the Tri-State, who mollifies his sister Chelle. Burgess Byrd’s Bunny is a sight to behold. She is cast beautifully and fills the role with sexy gusto. Zina Camblin’s Chelle is sweet in her pedal pushers and sleeveless shirts, playing Lank’s big sister and is touching as she tries to keep everyone and everything safe from the troubles outside. Sly, all legs and fedora, is enthusiastic beyond all measure, Lank’s best friend and would-be beau of Chelle, if she’d take him seriously. And Leslie Goddard’s Caroline, is strong and problematic and gives her role nice complexity, so that you can’t easily tell if she’s a good girl or not. She’s a savory mystery. All the actors work beautifully together.

The production is one not to be missed!

For more information on the production, click here.

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March 26, 2015 · 2:13 pm

Ensemble Actors Needed for INHERIT THE WIND at Beechmont Players

BPI_logoBPI is in need of three male actors to be part of the ensemble of INHERIT THE WIND. The actors will have various speaking roles throughout the play – one of which requires an English accent (think Downton Abbey).

INHERIT THE WIND runs May 8-16, 2015, at the Anderson Center Theatre (8 p.m. May 8, 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. May 9, 8 p.m. May 15, 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. May 16).

If interested or to find out more, contact director Jerry Wiesenhahn (wiezj@icloud.com) and/or producer Darcy Little (darcy@beechmontplayers.org)

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March 26, 2015 · 2:00 pm

Cincinnati Ballet Presents Exciting Collaborations and World Premieres for 52nd Season

Featuring the long awaited return of Cinderella plus Balanchine, groundbreaking female choreographers and more

CB_logoCINCINNATI, OH. – Cincinnati Ballet’s 2015-2016 Season brings exciting collaborations, world premieres and the return of a beloved fairytale favorite with: The Kaplan New Works Series, Lady of the Camellias, Frisch’s Presents The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Wild Sweet Love and Director’s Choice performed at the Aronoff Center for the Arts.

The Kaplan New Works Series returns to be performed for the second time in its new home in the Aronoff Center’s beautiful Jarson-Kaplan Theater, September 11 through 19. With continual record-breaking attendance, the new location offers access to a larger audience while maintaining the intimacy for which the series is well known. New Works features three world premieres and one Cincinnati premiere from esteemed choreographers Adam Hougland, Viktor Plotnikov, Ma Cong and Gabriel Gaffney Smith. Long-time collaborator and Resident Choreographer Adam Hougland presents a solo piece, marking his sixth world premiere for Cincinnati Ballet. Viktor Plotnikov, a former principal dancer with Boston Ballet presents his new work in collaboration with UC DAAP’s acclaimed videographer Charles Woodman. Resident Choreographer for Tulsa Ballet, Ma Cong began his dance career at the Beijing Academy and has worked with the world’s most revered choreographers at the National Ballet of China. Renaissance man Gabriel Gaffney Smith, a composer and choreographer/dancer with BalletMet Columbus, presents the Cincinnati premiere, Detachment Without Reason, a pas de deux set to his own original musical composition.

Lady of the Camellias takes the stage October 23 and 24 with choreography by Val Caniparoli, accompanied by the moving music of Frederic Chopin, performed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Caniparoli’s challenging, yet breath taking choreography journeys through love and loss when Marguerite, a famous courtesan, and Armand, a young countryman, become entangled in a forbidden affair. Based on Alexandre Dumas’ classic story of two hopeful lovers in 19th Century Paris, Lady of the Camellias has inspired many screen and stage adaptations including the films Camille, featuring an Oscar nominated performance by Greta Garbo, Moulin Rouge and the popular opera La Traviata.

Frisch’s Presents The Nutcracker, one of Cincinnati’s greatest holiday traditions, runs December 18 through 27. The Nutcracker was re-envisioned in 2011 by Artistic Director & CEO, Victoria Morgan, a success Cincinnati CityBeat says “strikes a delightful balance between light family fare and serious technical ballet.” The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra will perform Tchaikovsky’s magical score live at each performance.

Cinderella returns February 12 through 14, performed for the first time in over six years, with newly refurbished sets, updated costumes and a brand new beautiful carriage. Cinderella is the classic tale of a hapless young woman who undergoes a magical transformation, leading her to find love and the enchanted life she dreams of. Victoria Morgan’s choreography pairs delightfully with the captivating music of Sergei Prokofiev, performed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, breathing new life into the treasured tale.

Wild Sweet Love with Balanchine’s Who Cares? presented March 18 and 19 marks our sixth shared production with BalletMet Columbus, as we collaborate to present a full corps de ballet in George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, backed by some of George Gershwin’s most famous melodies. Accompanied by a variety of hit songs by popular artists, including everything from Roberta Flack to Queen, Wild Sweet Love is performed by Cincinnati Ballet and follows one woman’s journey navigating the ups and downs of love. The production is punctuated by a special presentation of Age of Innocence by BalletMet Columbus, choreographed by their own artistic director, Edwaard Liang. This modern piece is inspired by Jane Austen and set to music by Thomas Newman and Philip Glass.

Ballet Toybox returns in its fifth season, offering the perfect opportunity to introduce young children to the joy of dance on Sunday, March 20. The program features the Cincinnati Ballet Second Company in a mix of ballet and storybook classics. At under an hour and only $20 a ticket, Ballet Toybox is an interactive adventure where the audience learns about the essential elements that make up the beauty, humor and inspiring discipline of dance.

Director’s Choice shines a spotlight on groundbreaking female choreographers April 29 and 30, with selections hand-picked for Cincinnati audiences by our very own Artistic Director & CEO, Victoria Morgan. The mixed-repertoire includes Cylindrical Shadows, A Solo in 9 Parts, Habitual and a world premiere by Jennifer Archibald. Cylindrical Shadows, choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa after the loss of a close friend, explores themes of life and death with music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Henry Purcell and David van Bouwel. According to Lopez, “There is no difference between life and death; they are not opposites, as we are taught to believe. They are both a part of a single continuum, the continuum of life.” A Solo in 9 Parts by Jessica Lang, founder of New York City based dance company Jessica Lang Dance (JLD), is raw, modern and refreshingly stripped-down, showcasing the true talent and athleticism of the dancers, and is set to a beautiful violin concerto by Antonio Vivaldi. A Cincinnati audience favorite and the creator of the popular DANCEFIX, Heather Britt returns with her tense and sensuous pas de deux, Habitual, with music by Gabriel Gaffney Smith, who will be familiar to audiences from The Kaplan New Works Series. Habitual a duet about feeling stuck and the attraction we have as humans to repeat what is familiar. Jennifer Archibald, the founder and artistic director of New York City’s acclaimed Arch Dance Company, returns with a world premiere piece choreographed exclusively for Cincinnati Ballet. Archibald pulls from a variety of influences to boldly and seamlessly infuse ballet with nuances of hip hop. This combination of hip hop with classical aesthetic in movement greatly influences her musical scores, which she often custom engineers to include an assortment of compositions. Described as “…voluptuous… fiery… sensual…” by the Cincinnati Enquirer, her brilliant piece Sit was met with reverence and awe by Cincinnati audiences last season as part of The Kaplan New Works Series.

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Cincinnati Ballet 2015-2016 Season Sponsors: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation, ArtsWave, Rhonda & Larry A. Sheakley Family Foundation, Rosemary & Mark Schlachter, The Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund, Ohio Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Frisch’s

About Cincinnati Ballet
Since 1963, Cincinnati Ballet has been the cornerstone professional ballet company of the region, presenting a bold and adventurous array of classical, full-length ballets and contemporary works, regularly with live orchestral accompaniment. Under the artistic direction of Victoria Morgan, Cincinnati Ballet has become a creative force within the larger dance community, commissioning world premiere works and exploring unique collaborations with artists as diverse as Grammy-winning guitarist Peter Frampton and popular, Ohio-based band Over the Rhine. With a mission to inspire hope and joy in our community and beyond through the power and passion of dance, Cincinnati Ballet reaches beyond the stage in programs that allow every person in the region to be part of the continued evolution of dance. To that end, Cincinnati Ballet presents exhilarating performances, extensive education outreach programs and offers top level professional ballet training at Cincinnati Ballet Otto M. Budig Academy.

CONNECT: READ / WATCH / LISTEN / LEARN / ENJOY at cballet.org
http://www.facebook.com/CincinnatiBallet
http://twitter.com/cincyballet

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March 26, 2015 · 12:00 pm

ArtsWave’s CincySings Competition Grows in Second Year

Drew Lachey Hosts Employee Choir Competition April 8 at Music Hall

AW_CincySingsCincinnati, OH (February 16, 2015)– Today ArtsWave announces the return of its region-wide choral competition, CincySings, hosted by artist Drew Lachey at Music Hall on Wednesday, April 8 at 7:00 p.m. Teams of employee choirs from top regional companies that participate in the ArtsWave Community Campaign will face-off in this high-energy evening of music and fun.

Tickets start at $20 and go on sale online March 1st. Proceeds benefit the ArtsWave Community Campaign. VIP tickets are available for $50, which includes entry into the event and a pre-show reception with celebrity host and judges, sponsored by Accenture. Media partners for CincySings are Q102 and Enquirer Media. The winning team of CincySings will receive a special prize package from ArtsWave and have the chance to sing the national anthem at ArtsWave’s “Art in the Park” Cincinnati Reds game on August 23.

“Last year’s CincySings introduced an entirely new way to engage employees at workplace campaigns,” said Alecia Kintner, President and CEO of ArtsWave. “The event inspired great company and community pride and brought everyone together to celebrate the arts and their impact on our lives. We knew we had to do it again and we found more companies were eager to get in on the action.”

CincySings builds on Cincinnati’s incredible choral tradition, beginning with the May Festival Chorus and extending through the 2012 World Choir Games. For several years, both P&G and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center have run “Sing Off” events as part of their ArtsWave workplace giving campaigns, encouraging employees to create small choral groups and take the stage in support of ArtsWave. Last year, Melanie Healey, Group President – P&G North America and Chair of the 2014 ArtsWave Community Campaign, suggested expanding the concept to encourage other top regional companies to run internal competitions and then send their winning choirs to face-off in a friendly showdown. The event was a great success, bringing together employees from ten local companies for an amazing evening of music. CincySings also raised awareness for ArtsWave and participating companies increased their giving by an average of 11%.

“CinsySings brought our employees together in a new and creative way,” says Manny Rios, President and CEO, American Modern Insurance Group. “It helped us raise more funds for ArtsWave than ever before and also generated a lot of goodwill and team spirit among the entire company.”

The competition has grown in its second year with fifteen companies fielding teams: American Financial Group, American Modern Insurance Group, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati Insurance Company, Duke Energy, Ernst & Young, Fifth Third Bank, GE Aviation, Horan, Horseshoe Casino, Macy’s MCCS, Northern Kentucky University, P&G, TriHealth, University of Cincinnati, and UC Health.

Four companies that took top honors at last year’s CincySings will go directly to the final round: P&G, GE Aviation, American Modern Insurance Group, and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. All other teams must compete in the CincySings Semi-Finals, a new round of the competition added for 2015, for the remaining slots. “When we saw how many teams were interested, we realized that we needed a Semi-Finals round to narrow down the competition and keep the final performance under a reasonable time limit,” says Laura Boggs, Campaign Manager, ArtsWave and Director of CincySings. “We think the extra round of competition should be great fun to watch.”

The CincySings Semi-Finals will be held March 14 at the Aronoff Center’s Jarson-Kaplan Theater from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. and open to the public with free tickets available at the door on the day of the show. Teams will have the option to be coached by local professional vocal artists in the weeks leading up to the event.

To expand the competition beyond the corporate community, one additional “Wild Card” team will be chosen by fan vote during the week of March 23rd. Any group can form a Wild Card team including churches, schools, families, etc. Submissions will be accepted from March 16-20. More details about how to enter and vote will be released soon.

Cincinnati native and recording artist Drew Lachey returns as host for CincySings. Drew is best known for being a member of the pop group 98 Degrees and as the crowned champion of season two of Dancing with the Stars. In addition to his vocal and dancing talent, Drew is an experienced stage actor with such Broadway roles as Patsy in Spamalot and Mark Cohen in Rent. Drew is a champion for the arts in Cincinnati. A graduate from Cincinnati’s School for Creative and Performing Arts, Drew is also the founder of Lachey Arts, an arts education company focused on using real working situations to better train young performers. Drew has extensive hosting experience including appearances on Dancing with the Stars, the Miss USA Pageant, The Price is Right and, closer to home, the 2012 World Choir Games. Drew is also co-owner of Lachey’s, a new sports bar in Over-the-Rhine, and focus of an upcoming reality series on A&E this spring.

“I’m excited to be back hosting CincySings,” said Lachey. “The talent of these choirs is truly amazing – an event you’ll see only in Cincinnati. And it’s an opportunity to support ArtsWave and the many arts organizations that make Cincinnati such a great place to live.”

As the nation’s first and largest community campaign for the arts, ArtsWave supports the work and impact of over 100 arts and cultural organizations with grants and services. More than 400

companies and 40,000 donors contribute to the effort each year, many through workplace giving campaigns.

Tickets for CincySings go on sale March 1st on the Cincinnati Arts Association website: http://www.cincinnatiarts.org/events. For more information on CincySings, visit http://www.theartswave.org/discover/events/cincysings and follow @ArtsWave and #CincySings on Twitter.

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About ArtsWave:

With the help of tens of thousands of individual donors, ArtsWave provides support to more than 100 arts organizations that make the Greater Cincinnati region an amazing place to live. The first and largest united arts fund in the country, ArtsWave contributors invested over $12 million in the region in 2014. The arts create benefits like attractive, lively neighborhoods and a population that comes together to share ideas and experiences.

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