Yearly Archives: 2017

April 13, 2017 · 6:05 pm

ALL MY SONS Runs May 13-21

SC_logoALL MY SONS
Stagecrafters
May 13-21
Sharonville Cultural Arts Center

Cast: Peggy Allen, Meagan Blasch, Chris Bishop, Linda Callahan, Olaf Eide, Aaron Epstein, Jennifer Fisher, Burt McCollom, Josh Roden & Henry Weghorst

During the war Joe Keller and Steve Deever ran a machine shop which made airplane parts. Deever was sent to prison because the factory turned out defective parts, causing the deaths of many men. Keller went free and made a lot of money. The twin shadows of this catastrophe and the fact that the young Keller son was reported missing during the war dominate the action. The love affair of Chris Keller and Ann Deever, the bitterness of George Deever returned from the war to find his father in prison and his father’s partner free, are all set in a structure of almost unbearable power.

  • Sat, May 13 at 8pm
  • Sun, May 14 at 3pm
  • Fri-Sat, May 19 & 20 at 8pm
  • Sun, May 21 at 3pm

Official page |

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April 13, 2017 · 6:01 pm

The Life of an American Icon Takes Center Stage in THURGOOD

HRTC_Thurgood

Alan Bomar Jones as Thurgood Marshall

Alan Bomar Jones stars as Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in The Human Race’s one-man show, April 27 – May 14, 2017 at the Caryl D. Philips Creativity Center

(Dayton, OH) —This spring, The Human Race Theatre Company (HRTC) celebrates one of the 20th century’s best-known jurists and civil rights icons when it presents George Stevens, Jr.’s Thurgood as the first full-length theatrical production in the 54-seat performance space at its Caryl D. Philips Creativity Center. Based on the life and career of the Supreme Court’s first African-American Justice, this powerful one-man play follows Thurgood Marshall’s rise from his childhood in back-alley Baltimore, to Howard University law school, to his victorious challenges of segregation in the South, all the way to a seat on the highest court in the land in 1967. Humorous and inspiring milestones of Marshall’s journey reveal the remarkable brilliance, perseverance and hope of one of the greatest American heroes of all time. Human Race Resident Artist Scott Stoney directs fellow Resident Artist Alan Bomar Jones as the title character. The preview performance of Thurgood is Thursday, April 27. Opening night is Friday, April 28.

Thurgood is the first play by television and film writer George Stevens, Jr., whose interest in Justice Marshall began with Separate But Equal, a miniseries he wrote and directed about the story of the Brown v. Board of Education school desegregation case on which Marshall was the lawyer for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

Alan Bomar Jones is a professional international actor, lecturer and director who has been performing with The Human Race Theatre Company for twenty years. He is also an Artist-in-Resident with the Ohio Arts Council. He is no stranger to one-man shows. His credits include “Elijah Pierce: Pierce to the Soul,” “Nelson Mandela: His Journey” and “Lewis Clarke: My Brother Milton.”Alan has appeared in over seventy professional theatrical shows and several independent films. A few of his credits include “Criminal Activities,” “Blue Car,” “The Movement” and “Missed It.” When not acting and directing, Alan travels to colleges and universities offering Performing Arts Workshops. He currently has an independent business entitled Yes, I Remember That Too, recording family memories by way of one-on-one storytelling interviews. In conjunction with The Arts Partnership of Greater Hancock County, they have produced over a dozen storytelling segments for families which has involved over several hundred family members.

Preston D. McCarthy (HRTC’s Sweeney Todd, The Full Monty, Mame and Play It by Heart) is the stage manager.

Biographies on the cast and creative team can be found on The Human Race Theatre Company’s website.

The Human Race Theatre Company’s production of Thurgood is sponsored by Oral Funk Poetry Productions, Moore Family Fund, Dave and Dulie Greer, Merle Wilberding and Susan Elliott, and Dave and Terry Williamson.

PERFORMANCE AND SPECIAL EVENT INFORMATION

Tickets for all performances of Thurgood are $25 and seating is general admission.

All performances are in The Human Race’s Caryl D. Philips Creativity Center, located at 116 North Jefferson Street, 2nd floor, in downtown Dayton, Ohio. Show times for Thurgood are 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings and at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoons.

Tickets and performance information for Thurgood are available at www.humanracetheatre.org or by calling Ticket Center Stage at (937) 228-3630, and at the Schuster Center box office. 

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Now celebrating its 30th anniversary, The Human Race Theatre Company was founded in 1986 and moved into the Metropolitan Arts Center in 1991, taking up residence at the 212-seat Loft Theatre. In addition to the Eichelberger Loft Season, The Human Race produces new works development and special event programming. Under the direction of President and Artistic Director Kevin Moore, the company also maintains education and outreach programs for children, teens and adults, as well as artist residencies in area schools, an In-School Tour, and a summer youth program. Human Race organizational support is provided by Culture Works, the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District, the Shubert Foundation, the Erma R. Catterton Trust Fund, the Jesse & Caryl Philips Foundation, the Virginia W. Kettering Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council, which helped fund this organization with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The 2016-2017 Sustainability Sponsors are the ELM Foundation, Anne F. Johnson, Steve and Lou Mason, and Morris Home. The 2016-2017 Loft season sponsor is the Jack W. and Sally D. Eichelberger Foundation of the Dayton Foundation, with additional support from Premier Health.

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April 13, 2017 · 6:00 pm

P&G’s Rohan Hemani and Dance Pro Doreen Beatrice Crowned DANCING FOR THE STARS 2017 Champs

CAA_Dancing for the Stars

Dr. Allison Holzapfel named ‘Fundraising Champion’

CINCINNATI, OH – Rohan Hemani (Procter & Gamble Fabric Care Intrapenuer) and his dance pro Doreen Beatrice (Independent Dance Instructor) were crowned the champions of the Cincinnati Arts Association’s (CAA) eleventh annual DANCING FOR THE STARS on Saturday, April 8, 2017 at the Jack Casino Ballroom.

The teams of Hemani/Beatrice and Allison Holzapfel, MD (Plastic Surgeon, Mangat-Holzapfel and Lied Plastic Surgery) and Jeremy Mainous (Arthur Murray Dance Studio – Cincinnati)  both received perfect scores of 40 (out of 40). The ultimate winner between the two perfect-scoring dance teams was decided by the audience vote.  An unexpected Bollywood dance break by the first-place team of Hemani and Beatrice was one of the highlights of the night, sending the crowd into wild cheers and applause.

First-runner-up Allison Holzapfel also took home the ‘Fundraising Champion’ Award, as the celebrity who raised the most money for the event through ticket sales and donations. Holzapfel set a Fundraising Champion record of more than $22,000.

Amal Daoud (Community Volunteer) and Josh Tilford (Independent Dance Instructor) placed third in the competition.

The sold-out event welcomed more than 670 guests.  As CAA’s largest annual fundraiser, it raised more than $125,000 in support of the organization’s acclaimed arts education programs, including the Overture Awards – the nation’s largest locally-run high school arts scholarship competition. The popular event will return next season to the Music Hall Ballroom, which is currently under extensive renovation and will reopen in early October 2017.

This year, the DANCING FOR THE STARS’ silent auction went online two weeks prior to the event to allow fans and supporters to participate whether or not they were at the fundraiser, and bidding at the event was done on laptops and/or mobile phones. This new digital approach resulted in the most successful auction in the event’s eleven-year history, raising more than $22,000.

The remaining five dance pairs included:

  • Alvin H. Crawford, MD (Honoris Causa, FACS, Professor Emeritus, Orthopaedic & Pediatric Surgery, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine) and Bonita Brockert (Independent Dance Instructor)
  • Robin Creighton (Owner/Photographer, Robin McKerrell Photography/Mecca OTR/Cheapside Café) and Alyenendrov (Len) Tsorokean (Phoenix Rising Ballroom)
  • Mark Heidrich (Director of National Accounts, Prosource) and Leigh Bradshaw (Cincinnati Ballroom Company)
  • Joe Rozzi (Vice President of Sales, Rozzi Famous Fireworks) and Desiree Mainous (Arthur Murray Dance Studio – Cincinnati)
  • Amy Tobin (Director, New Riff Distillery and Event Center) and Jozsef Parragh (Independent Dance Instructor)

Inspired by the hit ABC-TV show Dancing with the Stars, DANCING FOR THE STARS 2017 featured eight Cincinnati celebrities paired with some of the area’s finest professional dancers in a competition program, at which the audience vote and judges scores propelled the winners to victory. The competitive dance for the evening was the Foxtrot, and each dance pair had 90 seconds to woo the crowd and the judges.

Event emcees were Chris O’Brien and Janeen Coyle (“Married with Microphones,” 103.5 WGRR-FM). The four competition judges were Douglas Beal (Independent Dance Instructor), Barbara Hauser (Manager, Ohio Community Relations, Procter & Gamble – Dancing for the Stars 2015 Celebrity participant), Jamie Humes  (Vice President-Marketing, Traditions Group – Dancing for the Stars 2016 Fundraising Champion), and John Morris Russell (Conductor, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra).

Currently in its eleventh year, Dancing for the Stars has become one of the most-anticipated (and imitated) fundraising events of the season.  Since the event’s debut in 2007, more than 80 local notables have ‘danced for a cause’. The impressive list of past champions includes:  2007 – Dr. O’dell Owens (former president, Cincinnati State Technical and Community College; former Hamilton County coroner); 2008 – Jenell Walton (reporter, WLWT-TV5; former reporter, The List; former WCPO-TV9 anchor and reporter); 2009 – Phil Schworer (Attorney, Frost Brown Todd; former president, Cincinnati Bar Association); 2010 – Donna Speigel (owner, The Snooty Fox); 2011 – Dr. Tracey Skale, M.D. (chief medical officer, Greater Cincinnati Behavioral  Health Services), 2012 –  Regina Russo (former chief of communications, Contemporary Arts Center; former director of marketing and communications, Cincinnati Art Museum; former anchor/reporter, WXIX-TV19), 2013 – Chris Seelbach (Cincinnati City Councilman), 2014 – Neal Schulte (founder & president, Schulte Financial Group, LLC), 2015 – Johnny Chu (owner, KungFood Chu’s AmerAsia restaurant), and  2016 – Jay Lame (Financial Analyst, Lenox Wealth Management).

In addition, Dancing for the Stars 2017 featured:

  • Dinner-by-the-bite provided by Eddie Merlot’s, Gold Star Chili, Incredible Delights, Jeff Thomas Catering, Lala’s Blissful Bites, Metropolitan Club, Palomino Restaurant & Bar, Prime Cincinnati, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Vonderhaar’s Catering, and Whole Foods Market
  • Pre-event wine tasting and meet-and-greet with the stars
  • Open dancing before and after the competition

Event highlights included:

  • An inspiring video about the Overture Awards featuring interviews with many of the student competitors.
  • Two big screens that featured live video of the competition and engaging video introductions of the stars and pros (interviews and rehearsal footage) before their dances.
  • Humorous, astute, and supportive comments from the Dancing for the Stars panel of judges.
  • Exceptionally responsive, raucous, and energetic audience reactions, which included large cheering sections holding signs with various messages in support of their favorite Stars.
  • After the competition, the dance floor at the Jack Casino Ballroom filled with hundreds of guests who danced the night away to music by DJ Rockin’ Ron from 103.5 WGRR.

DANCING FOR THE STARS 2017 Presenting Sponsor: TriHealth

DANCING FOR THE STARS 2017 Silent Auction Sponsor: Lenox Wealth Management

DANCING FOR THE STARS 2017 Event Sponsors:  Arthur Murray – Cincinnati, Cincinnati Ballroom Company, Crest Graphics, Pebble Creek Group, Bonita Brockert, Jozsef Parragh, Phoenix Rising Ballroom, Josh Tilford.

DANCING FOR THE STARS 2017 Event Committee:  Terry Foster (co-chair, Dancing for the Stars 2010 Celebrity participant),  Joe Rigotti (co-chair, Dancing for the Stars 2012 Celebrity participant), Christina Bolden, Sue Gilkey, Jim Howland, Ginger Loftin, Rosemary Schlachter, Phil Schworer, and Dr. Tracey Skale.

CAA’s OVERTURE AWARDS AND ARTS EDUCTION PROGRAMS
Cincinnati Arts Association’s Education and Community Relations programs promote life-long engagement in the arts, while contributing to individual, organizational, and community success.  With a mission to educate, inspire, and engage the Tri-state region, these accessible arts programs ignite the imagination of students of all ages.

The Overture Awards is one of several programs (which also include Artists on Tour, SchoolTime, Emerging Arts Leaders, and more) that have served more than 1.5 million children and adults since the inception of CAA’s Education and Community Relations programs nearly two decades ago.  CAA is proud of its newest initiative, “Arts in Healing,” that will promote wellness through the arts.

The Overture Awards – the largest locally-run, high school arts scholarship competition in the country – recognizes, encourages, and rewards excellence in the arts among Tri-State students in grades 9-12.  It also provides students an opportunity to share their talents and interests among their peers in a supportive environment outside of their individual schools.

Each year, more than 450 students are nominated by their schools to compete, and this year’s competition awarded $42,000 in scholarships for excellence in Creative Writing, Dance, Instrumental Music, Theater, Visual Art, and Vocal Music. To date, the Overture Awards has awarded more than $665,000 to support artistically-talented students in pursuit of their dreams.  Now in its 21st year, the Overture Awards was launched in 1996 by the Cinergy Foundation and Leadership Cincinnati (a Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce program).

For more information about CAA’s Education and Community programs, visit www.cincinnatiarts.org/education-community.

CINCINNATI ARTS ASSOCIATION
Founded in 1992, the Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) is a not-for-profit organization that oversees the programming and management of the Tri-state’s finest performing arts venues – the Aronoff Center for the Arts and Music Hall – and is dedicated to supporting performing and visual arts. Each year, CAA presents a diverse schedule of events; serves upwards of 700,000 people in its venues; features the work of talented local, regional, and national artists in the Weston Art Gallery (located in the Aronoff Center); and supports the work of more than one dozen resident companies.

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April 13, 2017 · 5:56 pm

ERMA BOMBECK: AT WIT’S END Brings the Humor of a Favorite Author to Life at Cincinnati Playhouse

PIP_At Wits End promo

Barbara Chisholm in Arena Stage’s production of ERMA BOMBECK: AT WIT’S END by C. Stanley Photography

One-woman show honors wit and wisdom of famous Dayton, OH native

CINCINNATI–Cincinnati Playhouse presents a hilarious, intimate chat with a national and hometown favorite in ERMA BOMBECK: AT WIT’S END. Adapted from Bombeck’s classic books and columns and directed by David Esbjornson, the show runs May 6 through June 11 in the Shelterhouse Theatre. Using the groundbreaking columnist’s own wit and wisdom, which gave a voice to suburban housewives everywhere, the play paints a warm and funny portrait of the woman who dared to ask, “If life is a bowl of cherries, what am I doing in the pits?”

The play was written by twin sister playwrights Allison Engel and Margaret Engel, both of whom are mothers and journalists, who relate to Erma Bombeck’s work.

“As we researched Erma’s life, we were struck by the sustained quality of her writing, especially when she was turning out three columns per week for decades,” the Engel sisters said. “We were amazed by her discipline in finishing deadlines before her children came home each afternoon. Although she was a favorite guest of Johnny Carson’s on The Tonight Show, was a contributor for years on Good Morning America and was one of the most recognized and beloved women in America, she was not seduced by fame, money or Hollywood. She managed to be extraordinary by being ordinary.”

Erma Bombeck, a Dayton, Ohio, native, rose to prominence in the 1960s with a syndicated newspaper column sharing her insights about motherhood and domestic life. Bombeck was 37 and had just sent the youngest of her three children to kindergarten when she began her column. She wrote candidly about the messiness of raising children, the difference between the perfect American Dream life portrayed in magazines and the reality of suburbia, and the indignities of getting older as a woman.

Her popularity increased with additional feature writing in magazines including Good Housekeeping, Redbook and McCall’s; a series of popular books, beginning with 1976’s The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank; and later television appearances, including an association with Good Morning America that spanned more than a decade.

Actress Barbara Chisholm will portray Bombeck in this one-woman show. Chisholm previously played the role in the world premiere production in Washington, D.C. According to the Engel sisters, Chisholm “is such an appealing figure on the stage that audiences immediately are taken in.”

For Chisholm, playing Bombeck is the culmination of a lifelong admiration.

“For those who love and remember Erma, I think they’ll be moved and touched to learn how much grit and depth there was to her,” Chisolm says. “Erma overcame and worked through tremendous personal challenges. She used her celebrity to work passionately for passage of the ERA… I believe this play gives her a measure of respect and gravitas to add to the deep affection in which she’s held. There’s nothing trivial about the world Erma inhabited and wrote. Those who are not familiar with her will be astonished and amazed and appreciative of a formidable…and trailblazing woman.”

Prices for ERMA BOMBECK: AT WIT’S END 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 p.m. performances just $10. In addition to calling the Box Office, tickets can also be purchased by visiting the Playhouse website at www.cincyplay.com.

Hilliard Lyons is production sponsor of ERMA BOMBECK: AT WIT’S END. Artist Sponsors are TriVersity Construction and Jenny and David Powell. The 2016-17 Shelterhouse Theatre season is presented by Heidelberg Distributing Company. Season Sponsor of New Work is The Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation.Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre Season Design Sponsor is Allan Berliant and Jennie Rosenthal Berliant Family Fund.

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 Events

  • ERMA BOMBECK BOOK CLUB
    May 1 and May 22, 2017, at 7 p.m. at Joseph-Beth BooksellersAs a part of the Playhouse’s inaugural book club and discussion series, we will dig deeper into ERMA BOMBECK: AT WIT’S END. Books can be purchased or ordered through Joseph-Beth. Discussion events are free, but registration is required in advance through the Playhouse Box Office at 513-421-3888.
  • ERMA BOMBECK MEMOIR WRITING WORKSHOP
    May 20, 2017, from 10 a.m. to noon at the PlayhouseAccess your inner Erma Bombeck with author Katrina Kittle, who will share writing strategies that will help you get to the core of your own story. The registration fee is $50. To register, call the Box Office at 513-421-3888 or visit cincyplay.com.

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April 13, 2017 · 5:55 pm

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company Bids Farewell to Race Street Theater with Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST

CSC_The Tempest promo

Nicholas Rose as Prospero in THE TEMPEST. Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.

This is the final production before the company’s planned move to The Otto M. Budig Theater in OTR this summer

CINCINNATI, April 13, 2017 – THE TEMPEST, the last of William Shakespeare’s great romances, will close out Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s run at their theater on Race Street. The production, running April 28 – May 20, 2017, will be co-directed by Producing Artistic Director Brian Isaac Phillips and Associate Artistic Director Sara Clark, and Director of Creative Education and Outreach Jeremy Dubin.  The production will feature founding company member Nicholas Rose as Prospero. The production is generously sponsored by Barnes Dennig, LPK, PNC, Towne Properties, and Murphy Landen Jones PLLC. The season is sponsored by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation, ArtsWave, and the Ohio Arts Council.

Betrayed by his usurping sister Antonia (Kelly Mengelkoch) and exiled to a deserted island with only his books and his young daughter for company, the magician Prospero (Nicholas Rose) has spent years plotting his revenge. When chance places all his old enemies within his reach, Prospero summons a magical storm that brings them crashing down onto his shores. This rollicking voyage, replete with magic and monsters, love and liquor, and retribution and redemption, is sure to be a stupendous farewell to the theater that has housed Cincinnati Shakespeare Company since 1998.

“THE TEMPEST is considered to be the last of Shakespeare’s great solo plays,” says co-director Jeremy Dubin. “It’s both about remembering the past and looking forward to the horizon, and so it felt like a fitting and poignant acknowledgement of our history as a company, and a wonderful expression of our excitement about what’s coming next for us.”

The production’s design will feature a Renaissance aesthetic, infused with organic, natural, and fantasy influences. The performance space will be transformed to tell the play’s story in an evocative and innovative fashion that’s sure to surprise and delight audience members of all ages, making THE TEMPEST a great choice for families.

After THE TEMPEST, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company will relocate to their new custom-built home at The Otto M. Budig Theater in Over-the-Rhine to open William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in September.

THE TEMPEST runs April 28 – May 20, with performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sunday at 2:00 PM as well as Saturday May 20 at 2:00 PM. There is no performance on Sunday, April 30. Preview performances are Wednesday April 26 and Thursday April 27.

The theater is currently located at 719 Race Street, downtown Cincinnati, two blocks west of the Aronoff Center.  Single ticket prices range from $22-$38 on Thursdays and Sundays and from $26-$42 on Fridays and Saturdays.  Previews are $25.  If available, $14 student rush tickets may be purchased thirty minutes before a show with a valid student ID.  This production is a part of this season’s subscription package. Visa, Discover, MasterCard, and American Express are accepted.  Ticketing fees may apply.  Discounts are available for students, seniors and groups as well as AAA members.  To purchase tickets or for more information, call the CSC Box Office at 513.381.BARD (2273) ext. 1, or go online at www.cincyshakes.com.

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About Cincinnati Shakespeare Company:
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is a professional theatre company dedicated to bringing Shakespeare and the classics to life for audiences of all ages.  Currently located in the heart of downtown Cincinnati, CSC produces a dozen mainstage productions each season. In the summer of 2017, the theater will relocate to the Otto M. Budig Theater, a brand new facility in OTR. CSC’s repertoire is made up of the works of William Shakespeare, literary adaptations, and contemporary classics. CSC performs on a Small Professional Theatre contract with Actors’ Equity Association. Cincinnati Shakespeare is a member of the Theater Communications Group and the Shakespeare Theater Association.  Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s Education and Outreach Programs reached over 50,000 young people and underserved community members each season by taking Shakespeare into schools, parks, community centers and by hosting educational matinees of mainstage productions.  In 2015, CSC was proud to become one of the first five theaters in the United States to “Complete the Canon” by producing all 38 plays by William Shakespeare. CSC is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible.  Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is proud to be Cincinnati’s stage for the classics!

About The 2016-2017 Season:
This season is generously sponsored by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation.  Cincinnati Shakespeare Company receives operating support from The Ohio Arts Council, the Shubert Foundation and is supported, in part, by the generosity of thousands of individuals and businesses that give annually to ArtsWave. The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this program/organization with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Production dates and information on the season are available online at www.cincyshakes.com,

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