LUNA GALE by Rebecca Gilman
Sept. 8-27
A veteran social worker, thinks she has a typical case on her hands when she meets Peter and Karlie, two teenage drug addicts accused of neglecting their baby. But when she places their infant daughter in the care of Karlie’s mother, Caroline sparks a family conflict that exposes a shadowy, secretive past—and forces her to make a risky decision with potentially disastrous consequences. Powerful and arresting –Dramatic Publising
Nick Cearley as Henry in Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati’s NEXT TO NORMAL. Photo by Ryan Kurtz.
BUYER AND CELLAR by Jonathan Tolins
Oct. 13-Nov. 1
Inspired by Barbra Streisand’s My Passion for Design, Buyer & Cellar is part truth, part fiction. The facts: Streisand has a shopping mall in the basement of her Malibu home, featuring a doll shop, an antique clothing store and a sweets shop, complete with a frozen yogurt machine, as detailed in her 2010 book. Playwright Jonathan Tolins takes the wackiness a step further as he imagines a man who is hired to work in the basement of the mall…with Babs as his only customer. The one-man show tells the story of Alex More, a struggling Los Angeles actor who takes a gig working in the basement mall, and develops an unlikely and hilarious friendship with Streisand. – Broadway.com. Starring Cincinnati native Nick Cearley.
CINDERELLA
Dec 2-Jan. 3
Romantically-challenged Prince Freddy, having just received his Doctor of Philosophy, has returned to his home kingdom and is being pressured by his all-business father, King Frederick, to quickly choose a bride at the upcoming royal ball. Domineering Brunhilda and greedy daughters, Clarissa and Priscilla, are excited to go to the ball but smart and modern stepdaughter Cinderella would rather stay home and read with her animal friends Aristotle the Crow, Plato the Toad, and Socrates the Spider. Magical Gwendolyn the Well-Wisher appears and urges Cinderella to go to the ball. Stubborn Cinderella finally agrees to go… provided she doesn’t have to wear any stupid glass slippers.At the ball, Cinderella and Prince Freddy dance and fall in love, but the ball erupts into chaos at midnight with every girl losing a glass slipper; Cinderella loses her red sneaker. Prince Freddy tours the countryside with his trusty friend, Gaston to reunite the sneaker with its rightful owner. Brunhilda, Clarissa and Priscilla throw obstacles in the would-be princess’ way, but Cinderella and Freddy find each other by learning that appearances aren’t important and it’s better to trust your heart. –Theatrical Rights. Book by Joseph McDonough, music by Fitz Patton and lyrics by David Kisor.
GROUNDED by George Brant
Jan. 25-Feb. 14
Seamlessly blending the personal and the political, Grounded tells the story of a hot-rod F16 fighter pilot whose unexpected pregnancy ends her career in the sky. Repurposed to flying remote-controlled drones in the Middle East from an air-conditioned trailer near Vegas, the Pilot struggles through surreal twelve-hour shifts far from the battlefield, hunting terrorists by day and being a wife and mother by night. A tour de force play for one actress,Grounded flies from the heights of lyricism to the shallows of workaday existence, targeting our assumptions about war, family, and the power of storytelling. –Oberon Books
TBA
March 22-April 10
VIOLET
Book by Brian Crawley, music by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics by Brian Crawley. Based on The Ugliest Pilgrim by Doris Betts
May 3-22
As a girl, Violet was struck by a wayward axe blade when her father was chopping wood, leaving her with a visible scar across her face. With enough money finally saved she’s traveling across the 1964 Deep South towards a miracle – the healing touch of a TV evangelist that will make her beautiful. Though she may not succeed in having the scar on her face healed, Violet is able to repair those that are lying deeper than her skin; and on the way she meets a young, African-American Soldier whose love for her reaches far past her physical “imperfections”. – Music Theatre International
For more information visit www.ensemblecincinnati.org.
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