Monthly Archives: February 2019

Cincinnati Playhouse Travels 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA March 15

PIP_20000 leagues promo

Photo by Tony Arrasmith/Arrasmith & Associates.

“Off the Grid” for One-Night-Only at Newport Aquarium 

For one night only, audiences can immerse themselves directly in the action of a theatrical adventure when Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park goes off the grid for 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA at Newport Aquarium on Friday, March 15. Tickets are now available for three performances at 6:30, 9 and 10:15 p.m.

“Newport Aquarium will be transformed into the Nautilus, Captain Nemo’s scientific marvel of a submarine,” explains Daunielle Rasmussen, director of the production and director of education and community engagement for the Playhouse. “The performance will be a progressive play experience, meaning audience members will journey through the Nautilus as members of the Orka Fleet, tasked to apprehend the elusive war criminal known as Captain Nemo. In this immersive production of 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, audience members become part of the action and go on a journey that will lead them into uncharted waters.”

The performance, written by Ryan Underbakke and Nick Ryan and based on the book by Jules Verne, is part of the Playhouse’s Off the Grid series. Off the Grid brings interactive, creative experiences to the community, specifically aimed at young professionals. Off the Grid events all happen out in the community, away from the Playhouse’s Eden Park facility, and have included interactive movie events, live board games and themed pub crawls.

“20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA is our biggest Off the Grid event to date and the culmination of three years of experimentation into what sorts of interactive experiences resonate most,” Rasmussen says.

Tickets for the performance, recommended for audiences 10 years and older, are $30. Audience members will stand and move throughout the performance and no seating is available, but the interactive performance is wheelchair accessible. For an additional $20 per person, audiences ages 21 and up will gain access to a VIP Party (also at Newport Aquarium) from 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. with a live DJ playing music throughout the evening, as well as light-bite appetizers and a complimentary drink ticket.

Off the Grid is supported by the generosity of the thousands of young professional contributors to the ArtsWave Campaign.

The Playhouse is supported by the generosity of almost 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.

# # #

Leave a comment

Filed under Events, Family-Friendly, Press Releases

Commonwealth Theatre Co. at NKU Announces 2019 Summer Dinner Theatre Season

CTC_logo

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KY – Commonwealth Theatre Company at Northern Kentucky University is excited to announce its 2019 Summer Dinner Theatre season. Performances will take place in the NKU Stauss Theatre. Tickets will go on sale Monday, March 18, 2019.

FALLEN ANGELS
By Sir Noël Coward
June 7-23, 2019

Before Julia and Jane married their husbands Fred and Willy – there was Maurice, a former French lover. While the women’s blissfully ignorant husbands are away on a golf trip, he shows up and reminds them of what they might be missing. Following an evening of drunkenness and fevered anticipation, Julia and Jane become concerned that indiscretions from their past will be revealed, and comedic antics ensue. Fallen Angels is a biting, hilarious comedy about rivalry and manners, resulting in a champagne cocktail of wit and charm.

CHURCH GIRLS
By Ken Jones
Lyrics by Christine Jones
Music by Jamey Strawn
July 5-21, 2019

The “ladies” of Umatilla Second Christian Church Women’s Auxiliary League are back and producing their annual Mother’s Day pageant. As the “church girls” prepare for their pageant, chaos and calamity bring out less than ‘saintly’ behavior. The result is Heaven sent hilarity! Making its farewell performance, Church Girls is a campy, cheeky, audacious musical comedy that will hit your funny bone and keep you laughing.

For more information call the NKU School of the Arts Box Office at (859) 572-5464 or visit nku.edu/ctc.

### NKU ###

Leave a comment

Filed under Press Releases, Season Announcements

NKU SOTA Announces 2019-20 Theatre + Dance Season

NKU_SOTA logo

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KY – Northern Kentucky University’s School of the Arts Theatre + Dance Program is excited to announce its 2019-20 academic season. An exact schedule of performances will be released July 2019.                                                                                                                            

THE AFRICAN COMPANY PRESENTS RICHARD III
By Carlyle Brown
Sept. 26–Oct. 6, 2019
NKU Corbett Theatre

In 1820’s Manhattan, William Henry Brown, a free black American, organizes a production of Shakespeare’s Richard III for a predominantly black audience. When the booking of a famous English actor to play Richard III by a rival theatre company threatens to close their production, his African Grove Theatre Company is forced to reflect on their lives – performing jobs of servitude by day and their artistry by night. Drawn to the stage because of their ability to create art out of their own experiences, the company members must determine if their artistry is worth risking it all. Based on a true story, The African Company Presents Richard III carries a timeless message of negotiating racial consciousness in theatre that still resonates today.

THREE SISTERS
By Anton Chekhov
Oct. 17-27, 2019
NKU Stauss Theatre

As the Prozorov sisters and their brother yearn for a return to adventure-filled life in Moscow, the pastoral setting of their new lives brings change and reflection on love, marriage, and career. In a prophetic hinting of the coming Bolshevik Revolution, the playwright weaves a memorable tale about the rise of the working class and social change in Russia. Considered one of Anton Chekhov’s greatest plays, Three Sisters is packed with action and emotion, and explores the aching desire of dreams and the often cold realities that come to pass.

FREAKY FRIDAY
Book by Bridget Carpenter
Music by Tom Kitt
Lyrics by Brian Yorkey
Nov. 14-24, 2019
NKU Corbett Theatre

When an overworked mother and her teenage daughter magically swap bodies, they have just one day to put things right again. By spending a day in each other’s shoes, Katherine and Ellie come to appreciate one another’s struggles, learn self-acceptance, and realize the immeasurable love and mutual respect that bond a mother and daughter. Freaky Friday, a new musical based on the celebrated novel by Mary Rodgers and the hit Disney films, is a heartfelt, comedic, and unexpectedly emotional update on an American classic.

H.M.S. PINAFORE
By W.S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan
Feb. 21–March 1, 2020
NKU Corbett Theatre

The gentlemanly Captain Corcoran has a daughter, Josephine, who is in love with a lowly but gallant sailor named Ralph Rackstraw. Meanwhile, the Captain’s former nanny, Little Buttercup, falls in love with him, but he hesitates to reciprocate due to his higher social rank. The whole situation is turned on its head when Little Buttercup reveals a game-changing secret she has kept for decades. H.M.S. Pinafore is filled with robust sailors, star-crossed lovers, and crazy comical antics sure to tickle your funny bone and lift your heart.

BURIED CHILD
by Sam Shepard
March 26–April 5, 2020
NKU Stauss Theatre

Deep in the American Heartland, life seems to have mysteriously come to a stop. Grappling with the disillusionment of American Mythology a family seeks to hide their past, only to become trapped by it. The surprise arrival of an estranged grandson and a mysterious finding in the field ignites the characters like fireworks on the Fourth of July. Alternately funny and darkly macabre,Buried Child weaves a twisted family drama of epic proportions.

MAMMA MIA!
Music and Lyrics by Björn Ulvaeus & Benny Andersson
Book by Catherine Johnson
April 24–May 3, 2020
NKU Corbett Theatre

On the eve of Sophie’s wedding, her quest to discover the identity of her father brings three men from her mother’s past back to the Greek island they last visited 20 years ago. But which one is her real father? The story-telling magic of ABBA’s timeless songs propels this enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship, creating an unforgettable show that is guaranteed to have you singing and dancing!

SEASON EXTRAS

First Year Show
Nov. 29–Dec. 1, 2019
NKU Stauss Theatre

This production shows off our talented freshman and transfer students. Title will be announced in September 2019.

Dance ‘20
March 20-23, 2020
NKU Corbett Theatre

Featuring a company of our best young dance artists, along with new and innovative works created by faculty, guest artists, and nationally renowned choreographers, Dance ‘20 has something for everyone – theatre dance, contemporary and classical ballet, tap, modern, jazz, and world dance.

For more information, call the NKU School of the Arts Box Office at (859) 572-5464 or visit nku.edu/sotatickets. Tickets will go on sale Sept. 2019.

### NKU ###

Leave a comment

Filed under Press Releases, Season Announcements

Cast Announced for SHERWOOD: THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD at Sunset Players

SSP_logoSunset Players is pleased to announce the cast of SHERWOOD: THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD by Ken Ludwig. Performances will run May 3-18.  Sherwood is directed by Dennis Murphy and produced by John Wesseling.

  • Robin of Locksley………………….Nicholas Dunker
  • Marion………………………………….Victoria Kirby-Schwarber
  • Sir Guy…………………………………..Matt Hannifin
  • Sheriff of Nottingham……………Kent Smith
  • Prince John/King Richard……….Mitchell Worden
  • Friar Tuck………………………………Russ Smith
  • Little John……………………………..Thurman Allen
  • Deorwynn……………………………..Heather Pfeiffer

Along with the talents of Jeff Carter, Katherine Anderson, Shelley Carter and Corrine Worrell playing a variety of roles.

For more information visit www.sunsetplayers.org

Leave a comment

Filed under Cast list

Auditions Announced for NANA’S NAUGHTY KNICKERS at The Drama Workshop

TDW_VERTThe Drama Workshop will hold open auditions for its summer production of Nana’s Naughty Knickers at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 24 and Monday, February 25 at The Glenmore Playhouse, 3716 Glenmore Ave., Cheviot, Ohio, 45211. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m.

Nana’s Naughty Knickers is a slick comedy by a new playwright, Katy DiSavino. The dialog is crisp and funny, and the action fast-paced.  Critics have said that the play “flows in a perfect rhythm, and hits every high and low note of comedy” and that “the show is so entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny from beginning to end, that it is hard to tell if the audience or the cast is having the most fun.”

Judy Berrens will direct the play which revolves around new law-student Bridget and her grandmother, who are about to become roommates in Nana’s rent-controlled New York City apartment. However, it seems Nana is running an illegal boutique from the apartment, selling handmade knickers to every senior citizen in the five-borough area! Will Bridget be able to handle all the excitement? Will her nana get arrested – or worse – evicted?

The age range of the characters in the play is quite broad, including leading roles for senior citizens as well as those in their 20s and 30s. There are roles for five women and four men. The ages listed below are “stage ages”. Actors do not have to be the character’s age.

CHARACTERS

  • SYLVIA CHARLES – In her early 80s, living like she’s in her early 20s. The mastermind behind Saucy Slips, Etc., and the proud tenant of a rent controlled apartment.
  • VERA WALTERS – Sylvia’s aged accomplice: equipped with two hearing aids and a collapsible walker.
  • BRIDGET CHARLES – Sylvia’s unsuspecting, 20-something, soon-to-be-law-student granddaughter.
  • TOM O’GRADY – The newest cop on the force, happily assigned the beat where Sylvia’s apartment is.
  • GIL SCHMIDT – The landlord, overly eager to rid himself of his aged tenants. 60s.
  • HEATHER VAN PREE – Employee of Saucy Lips, looking for better opportunities, a modeling career, or just her boxes.
  • CLAIR – The big client. Mid 60’s
  • VOICE – The man at the front desk
  • UPS MAN – Cute and a little lonely.
  • OTHER UPS MAN

Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. Please bring a resume and a headshot.

Performances are Aug. 9-25.

Leave a comment

Filed under Auditions