Monthly Archives: April 2018

April 9, 2018 · 10:12 am

Cincinnati Playhouse Brings Murder, Intrigue and Hilarity in May with MURDER FOR TWO

Photo by Tony Arrasmith/Arrasmith & Associates.

Zany comedy MURDER FOR TWO runs May 5-June 10

CINCINNATI—Who killed the great American novelist Arthur Whitney? That’s what audiences will wonder when MURDER FOR TWO opens May 5 at Cincinnati Playhouse. The riotous two-person musical comedy — which The New York Times called “ingenious”— runs through June 10 (Opening Night is May 10).

When Whitney is found dead in his isolated, rural mansion on the night of his surprise birthday party, every guest has a motive. Could it be his loopy, scene-stealing widow? Or the glamorous but menacing, prima ballerina? Maybe it’s the loose-lipped, overly friendly psychiatrist? The mystery unfolds in hilarious fashion as one actor plays an overwhelmed detective and another plays a dozen suspects — and they both play piano.

Written and composed by Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair, MURDER FOR TWO is a comical throwback to classic whodunit novels of the 1920s and is performed with zany, vaudevillian sensibility.

“Early on we had the idea: what if the Marx Brothers performed an Agatha Christie play?” Blair explained in an interview with 5th Avenue Theatre. “The detective would be trying to take things seriously because the stakes would be so high, but inevitably things would just devolve into chaos.”

The result is a highly entertaining farce defined by its exaggerated characters, music hall entertainment and silent film-style comedy. And the results speak for themselves: when MURDER FOR TWO made its world premiere at Chicago Shakespeare Theater in May of 2011, it was extended four times and ran for a total of six months. Its off-Broadway production at Second Stage Theatre was extended twice before it was transferred to off-Broadway’s New World Stages for a nine-month run. The musical then enjoyed an 18-month national tour and nominations from the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Lucille Lortel awards. Kinosian and Blair also won the 2011 Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Musical Work.

The Playhouse’s production of MURDER FOR TWO is directed by Paul Mason Barnes, who makes his Playhouse debut with the musical comedy. Directing credits across the country include the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Denver Center Theatre Company andthe Folger Shakespeare Theatre, among many others. He is a founding producing director of the Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona, Minnesota, and of the Oregon Cabaret Theatre.

“Kinosian and Blair have framed a fun and delightfully intriguing story with a delectable confection of zaniness and style,” says Barnes. “My job will be to honor their story and the style with which they’ve chosen to tell their story as best as best I know how.”

CAST
Eric Shorey (The Suspects); Eric Van Tielen (Marcus Moscowicz)

PRODUCTION
Paul Mason Barnes (Director); Bill Clarke (Set Designer); Tracy Dorman (Costume Designer); Lonnie Rafael Alcaraz (Lighting Designer); Jason Sebastian (Sound Designer); Stephen Goers (Music Director); Stephanie Klapper (Casting Director); Jenifer Morrow (Production Stage Manager)

SPECIAL EVENT
Physical Comedy Workshop
May 19, at 10 a.m. at the Playhouse.

Get out of your head and into your body with physical comedy in the style of MURDER FOR TWO! Make audiences laugh while exploring the potential of space and movement for the stage with a Playhouse resident teaching artist. Adults and teens ages 16 and up with all skill levels are welcome! Cost is $50 per person and does not include a ticket to the show.

Playhouse Pride Night
June 1, pre-show party at 6 p.m., with 8 p.m. performance and post-show party

Now in its fourth year, Playhouse Pride provides an opportunity for LGBTQIA community members and allies to gather together and enjoy a performance. In partnership with ArtsWave Pride.The full Pride Night package is $90 per person and includes:

Pre-show party at 6 p.m. with live entertainment, open bar and horsd’oeuvres; Performance at 8 p.m. Post-show party with open bar and a DJ.
A portion of the proceeds benefits the Transgender Health Clinic at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, a non-profit organization that provides an accepting atmosphere and healthcare services for patients 5 to 24 years old
Regularly priced tickets to the show start at $45 and include the post-show party only with cash bar. Subscription tickets already scheduled for June 1 include the post-show party with cash bar. Subscribers may upgrade their tickets to the entire Pride Night package for $35.

PERFORMANCES
Evening performances on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays start at 7:30 p.m; Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m. Matinee performance on Saturdays start at 4pm, Sundays at 2 p.m. as well as Wednesday, May 30, at 1 p.m. Meet the Artists are scheduled after matinee performances on May 13 and May 20, as well as after evening performances on May 23 and 30.

TICKETS
Prices for MURDER FOR TWO start at $35 depending on seat selection 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.

ACCESS
The Playhouse is fully accessible. Large print programs and hearing enhancement receivers are available upon request.

BOX OFFICE
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).

SPONSORS
Playhouse Pride is the Artist sponsor. Production Sponsor is The Daley Family Foundation.
Huntington Bank is Design Sponsor, and Honorary Producers are Charles and Joan Mead.

The Shelterhouse Theatre Season is presented by Heidelberg Distributing Company. The Season Sponsor of New Work is The Rosenthal Family Foundation. The Shelterhouse Theatre Season Design Sponsor is Allan Berliant and Jennie Rosenthal Berliant Family Fund. The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust provided additional support.

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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April 9, 2018 · 8:50 am

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF Quick Review

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF presented Cincinnati Shakespeare Company through April 28. I attended the opening night performance.

CSC_Cat on a Hot Tin Roof CSC web-302_preview

The cast. Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.

In a word, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s production of CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF is excellent. Director Michael Evan Haney has helmed a detailed and nuanced production that works extremely well in CSC’s new intimate theater.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof CSC web-92_preview

Maggie Lou Rader as Maggie. Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.

Supported by an incredibly strong ensemble, it is the stand-out performances by Maggie Lou Rader, Jim Hopkins, and Grant Niezgodski that set this play apart.

As Maggie the Cat, Rader commands your attention. Sexy, confident, defiant, and yet exposing her desire to be loved by the very man who seems to hate her.

Jim Hopkins’ Big Daddy is larger than life, loud, and crass; but at the same time shows a sharp mind and open-mindedness beyond his station in life. His grand relief at having survived his own brush with mortality makes his fall to reality that much more tragic.

However, it is Niezgodski’ Brick that sets this production apart from others. Many times, I have seen Brick played as overly stoic, who mainly serves as the target for Maggie’s and Big Daddy’s pleas for answers to Brick’s deteriorating behavior. Grant’s Brick is completely engaged in every moment of conversation and displays a vulnerability in the character seldom seen. Ironically, I seemed to like Brick more the more drunk he became. You could hear a pin drop as Big Daddy and Brick confront their respective truths in the second half of act two.

CSC_Cat on a Hot Tin Roof CSC web-464_preview

Grant Niezgodski as Brick and Jim Hopkins as Big Daddy. Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.

The production crew doesn’t miss a beat. Set, lighting, properties, costumes, and hair work perfectly together to create a totally believable world.

Brutally honest, emotionally true, and deeply engaging, this is easily the best production of this Tennessee Williams American classic I have seen.

My rating: 5 out of 5.

Click here for more information on the production.

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April 6, 2018 · 12:00 pm

2018-2019 Season Announced by Human Race Theatre Company

32nd season is “History in the Making” for Dayton’s Official Theatre Company with a powerful mix of drama, comedy, adventure and music.

(Dayton, OH) — The Human Race Theatre Company (HRTC) is proud to introduce the lineup for its 2018-2019 Eichelberger Loft Series – a five-show collection of works that examines specific moments in history—real and imaginary, corrects ancient history and revisits a part of the company’s own history. The season, featuring one fierce musical and four engaging plays, begins September 6, 2018. In addition to the fully-produced works on the Loft Series, HRTC is launching a new Monday Night Playreading Series with the table readings of three diverse, crowd-pleasing scripts.

The 2018–2019 Eichelberger Loft Series opens with the world premiere about the 1989 battle of wills between Pete Rose and Major League Baseball Commissioner Bart Giamatti – Patricia O’Hara’sBanned from Baseball (September 6 – 23, 2018); followed by an eye-opening, gut-busting visit from The Almighty Herself, An Act of God (November 1 – 18, 2018) by David Javerbaum; 2019 begins with a globetrotting adventure for the whole family in Mark Brown’s adaptation of Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days (February 28 – March 17, 2019); spring sees the return of a delightful hit from The Human Race’s 1996–1997 season, Sylvia (April 25 – May 12, 2019), A.R. Gurney’s comedy about love and marriage…and a dog; and the season closes with a daring rock musical that tells the tale of what happened when “Lizzie Borden took an ax…,” Lizzie (June 13 – 30, 2019) by Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer, Alan Stevens Hewitt and Tim Maner.

“While looking at this season a theme became very apparent,” says Human Race President and Artistic Director Kevin Moore. “Each show has a sense of history surrounding it. Whether that be history made or history being made, fictional history or even a piece of Human Race history, each fit our mission of sharing stories that show our humanity. These are stories to share with your friends, your family and loved ones. Next season, history will thrill us, puzzle us, make us laugh and maybe even cry. You don’t want to miss it.”

The five plays perform in the Loft Theatre, The Human Race’s intimate 212-seat downtown performance space, located in the Metropolitan Arts Center at 126 North Main Street. Throughout the productions’ scheduled three-week runs are a number of associated special events: a Thursday night preview performance, preceded by the “Inside Track” discussion with the director; Friday Opening Night with a free post-show party with the cast; Lite Fare at the Loft, a Tuesday night pre-show dining in the Loft Lobby, with food items provided by Citilites Restaurant; a “While We’re on the Subject” talkback following a Sunday matinee; and a Saturday night signed and audio-described performance opportunity.

The 2018-2019 Eichelberger Loft Series Lineup

BANNED FROM BASEBALL
by Patricia O’Hara
World Premiere
September 6 – 23, 2018

It’s 1989 and a battle for the soul of Major League Baseball is brewing between Commissioner Bart Giamatti and Pete Rose, the reigning Hit King and manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Rose is accused of betting on baseball—even on his own team—an allegation he denies despite the mounting evidence. The intellectual Giamatti wants Rose’s confession, while the larger-than-life Rose wants the Commissioner to believe his denials. This collision of wills comes to a head as they meet face to face. If the charge proves to be true, “Charlie Hustle” could be banned from the game—for life—leaving a black mark on the sport both men love and forever tarnishing a living legend.
Tickets on sale summer 2018.

AN ACT OF GOD
by David Javerbaum
November 1 – 18, 2018

Thou shalt laugh! Get ready for an audience with The Almighty that will have you holy rolling in the aisles. God is here—in human form—and She wants to set the record straight with a new set of Commandments. Joined by Her faithful angels, Michael and Gabriel, She’s ready to clear up a few misconceptions, share a few secrets and answer the big questions that have baffled mankind since Creation itself. The comedy’s divine in the hottest show since the burning bush.

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
by Mark Brown
adapted from the novel by Jules Verne
February 28 – March 17, 2019

Jules Verne’s classic tale springs to life in this clever, fast-paced comedy for the whole family. Proper gentleman Phileas Fogg strikes a wager and sets off on a race that puts his fortune and life at risk. With his faithful servant at his side, he has just 80 days to circle the globe—an inconceivable feat in the year 1872! Fierce natives, furious typhoons, runaway trains, a damsel in distress and a dogged detective threaten to delay him at every step in this delightful, whirlwind odyssey that will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to unexpected end.

SYLVIA
by A.R. Gurney
April 25 – May 12, 2019

Middle-aged Greg brings home a dog he found—or rather, one that found him—in the park. With no other identification other than “Sylvia” on her nametag, she’s a street-smart mutt with a mind of her own and no shortage of opinions. Sylvia quickly becomes a major bone of contention between Greg and his wife, Kate. To him, she’s a welcome escape from an unhappy job and a loss of purpose. To Kate, Sylvia’s a slobbering, hairy rival for her husband’s affection. This ingenious take on a twisted love triangle leads to plenty of laughs and revelations on love and marriage…and a dog.

LIZZIE
music by Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer and Alan Stevens Hewitt
lyrics by Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer and Tim Maner
book by Tim Maner
June 13 – 30, 2019

“Lizzie Borden took an ax…” And we know what happened next. Or, do we? It’s a powerhouse rock-show retelling of the sensational—and bloody—double murder that shocked New England in the summer of 1892, as told through the fierce performances of four stellar actresses. What starts as the abuse and despair of a troubled woman results in a shocking act of revenge when she takes a hatchet to her oppressive father and stepmother. Charged with the killing of her parents, Lizzie becomes a media sensation even as the trial takes its toll on the relationships with those dearest to her.

The 2018-2019 Monday Night Playreading Series Lineup

SWEAT
by Lynn Nottage
Monday, November 12, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.

Winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, this fiery story explores identity, racial tension and economic politics in the industrial, blue-collar world of the American labor force. Set in hard-hit Reading, Pennsylvania, much of the action unfolds in a local bar where factory coworkers congregate to laugh and commiserate as layoffs loom in the new economy that no longer values things made with human labor – with sweat.

HAND TO GOD
by Robert Askins
Monday, March 11, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.

Mischief is at hand when a possessed Christian-ministry puppet named Tyrone and his awkward teen puppeteer, Jason, wreak havoc on their small Texas town. Jason’s mom is preparing the church puppet club to perform after Pastor Greg’s Sunday sermon, but foulmouthed Tyrone has different plans. It’s a struggle between good and evil suitable for adults only that’s so ridiculously raunchy, irreverent and funny, you’re bound to be sore from laughing.

FALLEN ANGELS
by Noël Coward
Monday, May 6, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.

From one of England’s wittiest writers comes a farcical 1920s romantic romp turned titillating treat. Best friends Julia and Jane are both in stable—but sometimes boring—marriages. Their lives are turned upside down when a past lover of both ladies plans a visit. Should they be good wives, or give over to remembered passion? Nerves, alcohol and jealousy make for a hysterical reunion reminiscent of the hijinks of “Lucy and Ethel.”

Monday Night Playreading Series Tickets

Tickets to each reading are $20, with $15 discounted tickets on sale now to Loft Series subscribers. Single tickets go on sale to the general public this summer. Seating is general admission.

More ticketing and performance information on The Human Race Theatre Company’s 2018–2019 and 2017–2018 seasons are available online at http://www.humanracetheatre.org or by calling Ticket Center Stage at (937) 228-3630, and at the Schuster Center box office.

Productions, artists, performance dates and prices subject to change.

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2017–2018 marks the 31st season for The Human Race Theatre Company, “Dayton’s Official Professional Theatre Company.” Founded in 1986, The Human Race moved into the Metropolitan Arts Center in 1991, taking up residence in its current home, 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 and a summer youth program. Human Race organizational support is provided by the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District, Culture Works, 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 2017–2018 Sustainability Sponsors are the ELM Foundation, Anne F. Johnson, Steve and Lou Mason, and Morris Home. The 2017–2018 Loft season sponsor is the Jack W. and Sally D. Eichelberger Foundation of the Dayton Foundation, with additional support from Premier Health, Heidelberg Distributing Company and Buckeye Vodka.

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April 6, 2018 · 11:14 am

MamLuft&Co. Dance to premiere ICEMAN 3000

Susan Honer of MamLuft&Co. Dance and Sean Simon

An original work co-presented by the Contemporary Arts Center
May 24-26, 2018
with support from the National Endwoment for the Arts

Cincinnati, Ohio — MamLuft&Co.’s newest work ICEMAN 3000 is based on the story of Ötzi, the 5,300 year old mummified “iceman” discovered by hikers in the Austrian Alps in 1991. The Ötzi discovery was stunning for the body and belongings incredibly preserved in the ice. But while the biological and physical materials draw our immediate attention, the true significance of the find emerges as the man and his surrounding block of ice enter into the scientists’ (and our) speculative imaginations. The narrative of the man, his times, and his death constitute the true treasure gradually extracted from the ice.

Choreographer Susan Honer and sculpture artist/composer Sean Simonwill reimagine the iceman story in the year 3000 A.D. with dance, sculpture, and sound. Using the Ötzi discovery and deciphering of the remains and artifacts, as well as the forensics and fantasies of murder as a framework, ICEMAN 3000 imagines a new discovery set in a land where the earth’s climate has changed significantly. Human culture is aquatic and these futuristic beings find a chunk of ice containing a body (and its possessions) from 2018. The dancers interact with the sculpture and body in an effort to imagine what 21st century life, culture, and dance might look like to humans living many millennia into the future, and how this iceman met his demise.

MamLuft&o. Dance’s second new work of the 2017-2018 season is funded with the support of the National Endowment for the Arts, ArtsWave (fueled by the generosity of more than 40,000 contributors to the ArtsWave Community Campaign), and The Ohio Arts Council (made possible by state tax dollars that support quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically).

ICEMAN 3000 will be presented in the iconic fifth floor gallery of the Contemporary Arts Center.

This presentation is co-presented by the Contemporary Arts Center and is presented in conjunction with the installation Deep North by Chris Larson as part of his larger exhibition Function Is Redundant. Deep North documents the performance of a medieval looking machine inhabiting a frozen shotgun house that turns into a rhythmic apparatus as it moves chunks of ice from one end of the house to the other. (Honer’s work will echo the “shotgun” house of Larson’s exhibit by composing the dance along the length of the gallery.)

Performances take place Thursday, May 24, 2018 7:30pm; Friday, May 25, 2018 7:30pm; and Saturday, May 26, 2018 2:00pm. Tickets are $15 for CAC Members. Tickets for the general public are $15 before May 21st and $20 after.

More information can be found at MLCo.org/iceman. Tickets are available from the Contemporary Arts Center at 44 E. 6th Street, 513.345.8400, or at contemporaryartscenter.org/iceman.

The performance features MamLuft&Co. Dance Company Members: Corrinne Bailey (Columbus, Ohio), Samantha Conte (Springboro, Ohio), Claire Dieringer (Lima, Ohio), Susan Honer (Roanoke, Virginia), Gabriel Martinez Rubio (Queretaro, Mexico), and Hannah Williamson (Liberty Township, Ohio).

MamLuft&Co. Dance is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to bring more Modern Dance to more people through creating, advocating for, and educating in dance that is innovative, palpable, and accessible.

MamLuft&Co. Dance’s work is supported in part by individual donors, big and small.
This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. MamLuft&Co. Dance is made possible through the generosity of more than 40,000 contributors to the ArtsWave Community Campaign. The Ohio Arts Council helps to fund this organization with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. ML&Co. is a resident company at the Aronoff Center for the Arts and The Liberty Exhibition Hall (in Northside). This performance could not be possible without partnership with the Contemporary Arts Center.