(CINCINNATI) – The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park will launch a free reading series of works by playwrights Lauren Gunderson, Terrence McNally and Theresa Rebeck, all of whom have productions in the Playhouse’s current season. The readings will take place on selected Monday evenings beginning March 7 and continuing through April 4.
“This series broadens the reach of our regular season,” says Playhouse Artistic Director Blake Robison. “It gives our audiences the opportunity to experience other works by this spring’s trio of Shelterhouse playwrights. We hope that subscribers and others will join us to learn more about their interests, their careers and the scope of their artistry.”
The free play reading schedule includes:
March 7: ADA AND THE ENGINE, by Lauren Gunderson. An intimate, romantic, steam-powered, math-and-music fueled story of Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, Victorian computer visionaries, which premiered last October at Central Works in Berkeley. Jane Austen meets Steve Jobs in this poignant pre-tech romance heralding the computer age. Gunderson’s world premiere production of THE REVOLUTIONISTS continues in the Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre through March 6.
March 21: A PERFECT GANESH, by Terrence McNally. McNally’s 1993 play, which premiered off-Broadway, follows two rich, middle-aged women from Connecticut on a journey to India as they struggle to heal from the deaths of their sons. With Ganesha, their tour guide, they find their way to wisdom and inner peace. McNally’s MOTHERS AND SONS runs in the Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre March 18 to April 17.
April 4: OMNIUM GATHERUM, by Theresa Rebeck. Believing that lively, contentious debate is the heart and soul of a dinner party, a domestic artist and perfect hostess invites an assortment of opinionated personalities to share a surreal meal. The guests at this exquisite feast of food and argument confront the global implications of 9/11 and beyond in this work that debuted at Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival in 2003 and was a finalist for the 2004 Pulitzer Prize. Rebeck’s production of BAD DATES will be performed April 30 to June 12 in the Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre.
All readings will take place at 7 p.m. in the Playhouse’s Marx Rehearsal Hall. The readings are free, but space is limited and advance reservations are required. Limit four tickets per household per show. To make a reservation, contact the Playhouse Box Office at 513-421-3888 (toll-free in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana at 800-582-3208). Call 513-345-2248 for Telecommunications Device for the Deaf accessibility.
The Free Play Reading Series is supported in part by The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, The Louise Taft Semple Foundation and the Wohlgemuth Herschede Foundation.
The 2015-16 season is presented by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation and Heidelberg Distributing Company. The season sponsor of new work is the Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation.
The Playhouse is supported, in part, by the generosity of the tens of thousands of individuals and businesses that give to ArtsWave.
The Ohio Arts Council helps fund the Playhouse with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.
The Playhouse also receives funding from the Shubert Foundation.
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