Yearly Archives: 2018

JANUARY 23 – FEBRUARY 17, 2018

(Cincinnati, OH) Set the table and pull up a chair! Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati presents the regional premiere of the 2016 Tony Award Winner for Best Play, The Humans by Pulitzer Prize finalist Stephen Karam. This evocative drama brings a family face to face with their most familiar fears, and provides a poignant reminder of why we gather together. Featuring an all-star cast and an incredible two-story set, The Humans serves up trials, traditions, and turkey. Playing January 23 – February 17, 2018. Directed by Michael Evan Haney. Production Sponsor is The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation.

Breaking with tradition, Erik Blake has brought his family from Scranton, Pennsylvania, to celebrate Thanksgiving at his daughter’s dingy apartment in Manhattan. As darkness falls outside the ramshackle pre-war duplex and eerie things start to go bump in the night, family tensions reach a boiling point…and the hilarity and horrors of the Blake clan are exposed. Hailed as a new American classic, this haunting play encapsulates what we all dread most about the holidays and the pressure to present our best selves to those who mean the most to us.

“Stephan Karam’s The Humans is a monumental American play,” explains Director Michael Evan Haney. “It explores the current turbulent state of contemporary America through the lens of a working class family’s Thanksgiving dinner. Karam explores his themes with perfectly-pitched dialogue that exposes the deepest feelings and fears of each family member.” 

About the Cast
Tony Campisi (Erik Blake) returns to Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, having previously appeared in Permanent Collection and Glimmer, Glimmer, and Shine. He was seen at Playhouse in the Park in Men on the Take, Durango, Brighton Beach Memoirs, and You Can’t Take it with You. Other regional theatres include Cleveland Play House, McCarter Theatre, Studio Arena Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Mark Taper Forum, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Geva Theatre Center, New York Stage and Film, and Hudson Guild, among others. Broadway: Awake and Sing! (Tony Award), The Nerd, and Pvt. Wars. Off-Broadway: Lincoln Center Theatre, Roundabout Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, and Primary Stages. His television credits include: Seven Seconds (Netflix), Blue Bloods, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Ally McBeal, Profiler, Matlock, EZ Streets, and several soap operas; film credits include: Cruzando, A Home of our Own, Tyson (HBO), and Green Plaid Shirt. 

Christine Dye (Deirdre Blake) last performed at Ensemble Theatre in When We Were Young and Unafraid. She has also appeared onstage in Much Ado About Nothing, Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival; August: Osage County, Riverside, and Sarge, Clifton Performance Theatre; Dracula, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; House of Yes, Untethered Theatre; Jeffery, Parallel Lives, and Valhalla, Ovation Theatre; Power Failure, Night of the Iguana, and Bus Stop, New Edgecliff Theatre; and Vagina Monologues, Miss Reardon Drinks a Little, and Shirley Valentine, Middletown Lyric Theatre. Her film credits include Carol, Old Man and the Gun, Donnybrook, A Case of Murder, Mom and Dad, Aftermath, and First Kill. Ms. Dye can also be seen around town as a spokesperson for Miami Valley Gaming Casino, as “Lucy” the Lucky Buckeye Lady. 

Jeff Groh (Richard Saad) returns to Ensemble Theatre where he last performed in the 2004 production Blue/Orange and was a member of the Professional Acting Intern Program years ago. He has been working as an actor and educator in the Cincinnati area for nearly twenty years and is currently the Head of School at The New School Montessori. He has performed with Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Know Theatre of Cincinnati, and won the 2009 Cincinnati Entertainment Award for Best Local Actor portraying R.P McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. 

Dale Hodges (Fiona “Momo” Blake) returns to Ensemble Theatre, where her favorite credits include Outside Mullingar, Other Desert Cities, Grey Gardens, and Mrs. Mannerly. She was most recently seen at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, as well as Wit, King Lear, and 23 years of A Christmas Carol. Ms. Hodges has worked on Broadway in Equus and Benefactors, off-Broadway in Top Girls and A Woman in Mind, and in regional theatres around the country. 

Becca Howell (Brigid Blake) was last seen on the Ensemble Theatre stage in Bloomsday and Around the World in 80 Days. After graduating from Northern Kentucky University with a BFA in Acting, she completed the Professional Acting Internship Program at ETC during the 2013-2014 season. Ms. Howell recently worked on stage in several installments of Serials! at Know Theatre of Cincinnati and Poor Behavior at Falcon Theatre. Her film credits include A Twisted Fate, Curvature, and The Funeral. 

Jennifer Joplin (Aimee Blake) returns to Ensemble Theatre where her credits include Outside Mullingar, Tribes and Rapture, Blister, Burn. She has called Cincinnati home for more than seven years. Some of her favorite roles include Lady Macbeth and Cleopatra at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. She is a graduate of Wright State University’s professional actor training program and longtime resident artist with Human Race Theatre Company in Dayton where her credits include the world premiere of 26 Pebbles, Glass Menagerie, Other Desert Cities, and God of Carnage, among others. Ms. Joplin can be seen on the big screen in Donnybrook and Old Man and the Gun, both recently filmed in Cincinnati.  She is a proud member of Actor’s Equity and is the founder and lead coaching artist for Spotlight Training.

Production team includes D. Lynn Meyers (Producing Artistic Director), Brian c. Mehring (Set Designer), Jack Murphy (Technical Director), Matthew Hollstegge (Lighting Designer, Production Manager, & Master Electrician), Shannon Rae Lutz (Properties Master & Design Assistant), Matt Callahan (Sound Designer), and Reba Senske (Costume Designer). 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 $35 for adults; student tickets are $28; and children are $24. Half-Price Rush Tickets: All remaining tickets for the current day’s performance(s) are available two hours prior to each show time for half-price (discount does not apply to children’s tickets) when purchasing by phone or in person. $15 Student Rush Tickets: Students may purchase up to two $15 student rush tickets two hours prior to show time with valid student I.D. Available in person only.

Available Discounts
Military, Educator, AAA, ArtsWave Artspass, and ArtsWave CincYPerks 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.

2017-2018 Season Presenting Sponsor is the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation. Additional support provided PNC. 

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.