Monthly Archives: March 2017

March 27, 2017 · 4:15 pm

2017-2018 Season Announced by Xenia Area Community Theatre

xactIt’s our pleasure to announce the 2017/ 2018 Season, “Defying Expectations.”

PLAY ON!
Written by: Rick Abbot
Directed by: Patrick Taylor
Auditions: July 10 & 11
Show: Sept. 8 – 17 (No show on Sept. 10)

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES
Written by: Tim Kelly
Directed by: Tony Copper
Auditions: Aug. 21 & 23
Show: Oct. 27 – Nov. 5 (No show on Oct. 29)

WHAT HAPPENED AFTER ONCE UPON A TIME
Written by: Alexi Alfieri
Directed by Jenn Sparks
Auditions: Sept. 29 – 30 (Friday & Saturday)
Show: Dec. 8 – 17

LAST OF THE RED HOT LOVERS
Written by: Neil Simon
Directed by: Connie Strait
Auditions: Nov. 20 -21
Show: Feb. 9 – 18 (No show on Feb. 11)

WAIT UNTIL DARK
Written by: Frederick Knott
Directed by: Tony Copper
Auditions: Jan. 22 & 24
Show: Apr. 6 – 15 (No show on Apr. 8)

YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU
Written by: Moss Hart & George S. Kauffman
Directed by: TBD
Auditions: March 19 – 20
Show: May 25 – June 3 (No show on May 27)

We hope to see you at the theatre!

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March 27, 2017 · 2:15 pm

Ken Ludwig’s BASKERVILLE: A SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY Brings Your Favorite Detective to Cincinnati Playhouse April 22-May 2o

The Cleveland Play HouseKen Ludwigs Baskerville Photo by Roger Mastroianni

Rafael Untalan as Sherlock Holmes & Jacob James as Doctor Watson. Photo by Roger Mastroianni.

(CINCINNATI)–Sherlock Holmes returns to the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park with a comedic twist in Ken Ludwig’s BASKERVILLE: A SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY. Adapted from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s beloved novel The Hound of the Baskervilles, the play runs April 22 to May 20 in the Marx Theatre. Equal parts comedy and mystery, the production’s humorous take on a classic adventure makes it the perfect opportunity to introduce the next generation to Sherlock Holmes.

Ken Ludwig, whose Broadway productions include Lend Me a Tenor, Crazy for You, Moon Over Buffalo and Twentieth Century, adapted the novel for the stage. The play features five actors—two playing Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, and three others playing more than 40 different characters.

“When Artistic Director Blake Robison first approached me to direct BASKERVILLE for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, I was thrilled,” says director Brendon Fox. “I had a wonderful experience a few seasons back working on Shipwrecked! An Entertainment here, and Cincinnati Playhouse has since then has continued to produce some of the most exciting work in the regional theatre scene.”

For Ludwig, BASKERVILLE: A SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY presents an opportunity to embrace theatricality.

“There is a great tradition of melodrama in our theatre, both English and American,” Ludwig says. “In melodramas, we sit on the edge of our seats watching exciting stories where anything can happen. There are villains, there are mysteries, there are fortunes lost and reputations regained… My hope is that BASKERVILLE is about the theatre as much as it is about Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. I want it to succeed not only as a tale of fellowship and courage but also as an adventure in itself.”

The Hound of the Baskervilles tells the exciting story of detective Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick, Doctor John Watson, as they investigate mysterious happenings at a country mansion. The master of the house has died, and a giant, ghostly hound dog has been spotted on the grounds. Is it a supernatural curse? It’s up to Holmes and Watson to deduce the answer.

The third of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s crime novels, The Hound of the Baskervilles was originally published in The Strand Magazine between August 1901 and April 1902. Doyle had killed off beloved detective Sherlock Holmes eight years earlier in his story The Final Problem, but brought the detective back by setting the events of The Hound of the Baskervilles prior to the detective’s fateful fall. The fan response to the new story was so strong that Doyle acquiesced and officially revived the character. Since then, Sherlock Holmes has endured, and even experienced a heightened popularity in recent years. Thanks to movie and television adaptations, new audiences are embracing the classic Doyle stories and falling in love with the mystery genre.

“I’ve always loved mysteries in that they often remind us how often we take things at face value, and how chameleonic people can be—even (or especially) those close to us,” says Fox. “One of the biggest mysteries BASKERVILLE wrestles with—besides the hound—is that of human nature. If human beings can change easily and often at times, how can we trust them?

“The way people’s identities and agendas can transform quickly in this play is manifested in our five-person cast. With three actors playing everyone Holmes and Watson meet in London and on the moors trying to solve the case, they not only symbolize the slipperiness of identity, but highlight the fact that BASKERVILLE needs to be seen live onstage. To watch an actor transform before our very eyes is a treat for a live audience.”

Tickets for Ken Ludwig’s BASKERVILLE: A SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY start at $35; they vary depending on seat location and performance day and are subject to change. Tickets for teens and students are $30. Student tickets are just $15 on the day of the show. Plus, Sunday is College Night, with tickets to all 7:00 p.m. performances just $10.The Playhouse is fully accessible. To purchase tickets, call the box office at 513-421-3888 or 800-582-3208 toll-free in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana; or 513-345-2248 – TDD access (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) or visit the Playhouse website at www.cincyplay.com

The 2016-17 Marx Theatre season is presented by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation. Co-sponsors are the production are Johnson Investment Counsel and Clark, Schaefer, Hackett & Co. Honorary Producer is The Lemmerman Family. Design Sponsor is Huntington Bank. Marx Theatre Season Design Sponsor is Macy’s. Season Sponsor of New Work is The Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation.

The Playhouse is supported by the generosity of more than 40,000 contributors to the ArtsWave Community Campaign. 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 and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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SPECIAL EVENT
A CRAFT BEER EXPERIENCE: Patrons can join us before Friday evening performances of BASKERVILLE for a special craft beer experience featuring MadTree and Rhinegeist Brewing, and a specially designed menu by Vonderhaar’s Catering. Tastings take place on April 28, May 5, May 12 and May 19 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $32 per person. Patrons must call the Playhouse Box Office at 513-421-3888 in advance to attend.

DESCRIPTION (Two Acts; Running time– TBD, including one intermission)
With equal parts comedy and adventure, Baskerville’s fast-moving, pulse-pounding and murderously funny ride plays out in grand scale, proving just how far from elementary the truth can be. The world’s favorite detective returns in the most famous case of his career. This time it’s the gloomy and foreboding world of fog, quicksand, moors and monsters that combine to create a dizzying web of clues. Sherlock Holmes and his faithful companion Doctor Watson must unravel them quickly if they hope to save the latest heir to the Baskerville fortune from a centuries-old curse. Grab your deerstalker and cape— the play’s afoot!

CAST (in alphabetical order)
JACOB JAMES (Doctor Watson); BRIAN OWEN (Actor One); EVAN ALEXANDER SMITH (Actor Two); NISI STURGIS (Actress One); RAFAEL UNTALAN (Sherlock Holmes)

PRODUCTION
BRENDON FOX (Director); TIMOTHY R. MACKABEE (Set Designer); LEX LIANG (Costume Designer); PETER MARADUDIN (Lighting Designer); VICTORIA DEIORIO (Original Music and Sound Designer); STEPHANIE KLAPPER (Casting Director); JENIFER MORROW (Production Stage Manager); ANDREA L. SHELL (Stage Manager)

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March 27, 2017 · 1:58 pm

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati Closes Season with Regional Premiere Drama BLOOMSDAY, April 4-23, 2017

ETC_Bloomsday logo(Cincinnati, OH) Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati (ETC) closes its 31st season with a trip to Ireland in the regional premiere of Bloomsday by award-winning playwright Steven Dietz. Set against the backdrop of James Joyce’s groundbreaking modernist novel Ulysses, an American man searches for the Irish woman who first captured his heart 35 years earlier during a Bloomsday walking tour in Dublin. This lyrical, intriguing drama transports audiences into a world of history, humor, and heartache to explore a love affair that might have been. Playing April 4-23, 2017. Directed by Michael Evan Haney.

James Joyce’s mega-novel Ulysses (itself based on The Odyssey) charts the life of an Irish man, Leopold Bloom, on June 16, 1904—a day now celebrated annually as Bloomsday worldwide. Dietz’s play finds Robert, a modern-day, middle-aged American, time-traveling to 1980s Dublin in search of Cait, a Bloomsday tour guide and the woman he once loved. Dancing backwards through time, they relive the unlikely, inevitable events that brought them—if only briefly—together. Not just another what-might-have-been story, this charming, Irish time-travel-love-odyssey is a buoyant, moving appeal for making the most of the present before it is past.

“It’s hard to go wrong when you pick up a Steven Dietz play,” explains Producing Artistic Director D. Lynn Meyers. “There is an honesty in his writing that is unparalleled. Bloomsday gives us the perfect opportunity to get in touch with our younger and present selves.” Guest Director Michael Evan Haney adds “Bloomsday is the kind of story that we conjure up in those foggy moments before we sleep or before we are truly awake. It examines the subject of lost chances and lost love and how we rationalize the decisions we make in our lives. It’s a dream play.” 

About the Cast

Annie Fitzpatrick (Cait) was last seen in Luna Gale at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati. Her other favorite productions include Hands On A Hardbody, Next Fall, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Rabbit Hole, String of Pearls (for which she received an Acclaim Award), Wayfarer’s Rest, Intimate Apparel, and Earhart. Additionally, Ms. Fitzpatrick received Cincinnati Entertainment Awards for her performances in Copperheads, Dinner With Friends, and Mauritius. She appeared in A Prayer for Owen Meany, To Kill A Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice, A Christmas Carol, and Hank Williams: Lost Highway, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; Richard III, Death Of a Salesman, Little Women, A Man For All Seasons, and Blithe Spirit, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company; and Silent Sky, Pluto, and Collapse, Know Theatre. She has worked regionally at Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Geva Theatre, Florida Stage, Florida Studio, CATCO, Human Race Theatre Co., Porthouse Theatre, and New Edgecliff Theatre. She was a founding member of The New Group in New York and toured internationally with Murder à La Carte. She has appeared in numerous soaps and in local and national commercials. Her TV and film credits include Those Who Kill on A&E, Army Wives, Little Accidents, Fun Size, and Milk Money.

Becca Howell (Caithleen) graduated from Northern Kentucky University with a BFA in Acting and was a member of the 2013-2014 Professional Acting Internship Program at ETC, where she was seen in Around the World in 80 Days. Ms. Howell recently worked on stage in the latest installment of Serials! at Know Theatre of Cincinnati and Prelude to a Kiss at Falcon Theatre. In addition to stage work, she has appeared on film in A Twisted Fate and Curvature. 

Barry Mulholland (Robert) is delighted to return to Ensemble Theatre, having previously appeared in Tribes, Freud’s Last Session, and End Days. Other local appearances include To Kill A Mockingbird, Pride & Prejudice, and Burkie, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; The Diary of Anne Frank, The Elephant Man, and Much Ado About Nothing, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company; and The Music Man in Concert with the Cincinnati Pops at Music Hall.
Mr. Mulholland appeared Off-Broadway in Ghost Sonata, Danton’s Death, Wild Oats, Balloon (Outer Critics Circle nomination, Best Play), and in the L.A. production of Love Streams starring Gena Rowlands, directed by John Cassavetes. Regional credits include leading roles with such theatres as Long Wharf Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Capital Repertory Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre, Clarence Brown Theatre, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Intiman Theatre, and A.C.T. Seattle. His plays Barnes & Noble Conquer the World and Existential Therapy have been featured in new play festivals in New York and Massachusetts. Recent screen credits include A Kind of Murder, Curvature, and Surviving Compton. 

Patrick Phillips (Robbie) last appeared at ETC as Prince Freddy in Cinderella: After Ever After. He is a graduate of Xavier University with a BA in Theatre. His previous Ensemble credits include Luna Gale, Violet, Love and Information, and Sleeping Beauty. His other regional theatre credits include The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre; Henry VI, Part I, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company; and Saint Joan and Relatively Speaking, Diogenes Theatre Company.

Production team includes Brian c. Mehring (Resident Scenic & Lighting Designer), Jack Murphy (Technical Director), Matthew Hollstegge (Production Manager & Master Electrician), Shannon Rae Lutz (Properties Master & Design Assistant), Matt Callahan (Sound Designer), Stormie Mac (Costume Designer), and Julia Guichard (Dialect Coach). Production Stage Manager is Brandon T. Holmes. Assistant Stage Manager is Elizabeth Freyman. 

Performance Information
Performances run Tuesday through Sunday. Tuesday-Thursday, 7:30 pm; Friday and Saturday, 8:00 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 2:00 pm; and Sunday, 7:00 pm. A complete calendar of performances is available online at www.ensemblecincinnati.org. 

Ticket Prices
Ticket prices start at $28 for adults; student tickets are $25; and children are $18. For the 2016-2017 Season, ETC continues its popular $15 student and half-price rush tickets for all performances, which are available two hours prior to show time and may be purchased by phone or in person at the box office.

Available Discounts
Military, Educator, ArtsWave ArtsPass, AAA, and Enjoy the Arts discounts available; tickets and seating are subject to availability.

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Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati is supported, in part, by the generosity of community contributions to the ArtsWave Campaign.

The Ohio Arts Council helps fund Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati also receives funding from the Shubert Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

2016-2017 Season Presenting Sponsor is the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation. 

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati is a professional theatre dedicated to producing world and regional premieres of works that often explore compelling social issues. We fulfill our mission through our stage productions and educational outreach programs that enlighten, enliven, enrich and inspire our audiences.

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March 24, 2017 · 11:26 am

Local Equity Auditions at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park

PIP_logoAnnual Local Equity Principal Auditions

Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park will be holding their Local Equity Principal Auditions on March 27, 2017, 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. We will be seeing Equity members and Equity Membership Candidates. Non-union/Non-EMC actors are asked to submit their photo and resume for consideration.

To schedule an appointment, contact Playhouse at 513-345-2242 during the hours of 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. We will be scheduling appointments by phone only during these stated hours.

One or two (contrasting) monologue(s) not to exceed three minutes, OR, for musical audition, one monologue and one song not to exceed three minutes. If interested in a musical audition, please schedule an afternoon audition slot. An accompanist will be provided between 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Clearly marked music will be required for the accompanist. No pre-recorded music please. Please bring a headshot and resume.

 

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March 23, 2017 · 4:15 pm

Clifton Players and Untethered Theater Brings Manly Comedy to Clifton

SMALL ENGINE REPAIR Opens March 30 at Clifton Performance Theatre

CT_Small Engine Repair promo

CINCINNATI OHIO–MARCH 23, 2017– Opening March 30, 2017 a comedy, SMALL ENGINE REPAIR will run at Clifton Performance Theatre through April 16, 2017.

Producer and Actor Carter Bratton says about, SMALL ENGINE REPAIR: “It’s about life-long friendship and loyalty. What ultimately made me need to produce it is the question it raises about the difference between men and boys and how their actions butterfly effect this modern world… and it’s the funniest most thrilling piece of theatre I’ve read in a long time.”

“What begins as an impromptu reunion of three childhood friends quickly changes gears into a high-octane, edge of your seat roller-coaster of a play with an ending you have to see to believe!” said director, Jared Doren. “SMALL ENGINE REPAIR by John Pollono, is a hilariously crude and irreverent comedy-thriller about middle-aged men living in a fast-paced, social media world they don’t quite understand anymore.”

Featuring: Nathan Neorr, Charlie Roetting, Carter Bratton and Rupert Spraul. Directed by: Jared Doren. Produced by: Carter Bratton, Untethered Theatre, & Clifton Players.

Synopsis: Former high school buddies Frank, Swaino and Packie—now past their prime—meet off-hours one night in Frank’s out-of-the-way repair shop under cloudy circumstances that only Frank seems to have a handle on. Enter Chad, a plugged-in, preppy college jock, whose arrival ignites a long-simmering resentment that sets this taut, twisty, comic thriller on its breathless course.

Show runs March 30 – April 16, 2017 at Clifton Performance Theatre, 404 Ludlow Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45220. Performances Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 8pm: March 30, 31, April 1, 3 (Industry Night), 6, 7 , 8, 13, 14, 15 with Sunday Matinees at 2pm: April 2, 9 & 15.

Tickets are $25. Seniors are $20, and students with ID are $15. There is also a special buy-one-get-one offer upon request via phone. Tickets are available via phone at: 513.813.7469 or online on the Clifton Performance Theatre’s website at: www.cliftonperformancetheatre.com.

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About the Clifton Players:
The Clifton Players, founded in 2007, are a collective of actors committed to presenting the best local talent performing the funniest, most challenging and irreverent material they can find. The Clifton Players is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

About the Clifton Performance Theatre:
The Clifton Performance Theatre opened its doors in 2007, as the home for the Clifton Players, and other theatre groups. The theatre also hosts youth camps, workshops, classes, as well as rentals for parties, and for like-minded group performances.

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