Kelly Mengelkoch as MISS HOLMES. Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.
The game is afoot in this reimagined, fresh, and female-focused take on a classic character!
Cincinnati, July 9, 2019 – Cincinnati Shakespeare Company starts its 2019-2020 Season of the Woman at The Otto M. Budig Theater with Christopher M. Walsh’s, Miss Holmes. The production is directed by guest director, Assistant Professor of Theater at Washington and Lee University, Jemma Alix Levy and features a 9 person cast with CSC Resident Ensemble Members Kelly Mengelkoch as Miss Sherlock Holmes, and Sara Clark, as Dr. Dorothy Watson.
Sherlock Holmes like you’ve never seen HER before. When a young newlywed suspects her husband, a high-ranking investigator at Scotland Yard, has murdered his previous two wives, she fears she has nowhere to turn. But the game is afoot when her case is taken by two fiercely intelligent and independent women who refuse to be contained by the conventions of their time: Miss Sherlock Holmes and her stalwart companion Doctor Dorothy Watson. This clever reimagining of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic characters pits its heroes not only against cunning criminal masterminds, but also against the rigid and restrictive rules of Victorian society and the roles in which it is bent on casting them. [The cast also includes: Geoffrey Warren Barnes II, Darnell Pierre Benjamin, Jeremy Dubin, Sean Hagerty, Josh Katawick, Miranda McGee & Maggie Lou Rader. -Rob]
Miss Holmes is a play by Christopher M. Walsh. Written in 2016, Miss Holmes first premiered at the Lifeline Theatre in Chicago during the same year. Since then, it has been performed across the country and was nominated for the Non-Equity Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Production (Play). Time Out Chicago wrote “Playwright Christopher M. Walsh unearths new resonances in familiar aspects of the Holmesian world, all while remaining loyal to what the world has found compelling about Doyle’s stories for so many years… it’s fun, it’s thoughtful, it’s compelling and empowering and unexpected.”
CSC is very pleased to welcome Jemma Alix Levy for her CSC directorial debut for Miss Holmes. She has directed critically acclaimed productions in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Texas, and Illinois, including during her ten years as Artistic Director of Muse of Fire Theatre Company in Evanston, IL. She is also a playwright, and has written two Shakespearean adaptations: Queen Margaret, from Henry VI tetralogy and Richard III; and Believe None of Us, from Hamlet.
The creative team transforming The Otto M. Budig Theater stage into 1881 England is made up of Shannon Moore (Scenic Designer), Justen N. Locke (Lighting Designer), Douglas J. Borntrager (Sound Designer), Clara Jean Kelly (Costume Designer), and D’Arcy Smith (Dialect Coach). They are joined by Fight Choreographer, Gina Cerimele-Mechley.
Miss Holmes runs July 19-August 4, 2019 with performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2:00 PM, as well as Saturday July 20th, and Saturday, August 3rd at 2:00 PM. Preview performances are Wednesday, July 17th and Thursday, July 18th at 7:30 PM and tickets are $45. Advance sale single ticket prices start at $28. Day-of Student Rush tickets are $14 and may be purchased thirty minutes before a show with a valid student ID if available. This production is a part of this season’s subscription package. Visa, Discover, MasterCard, and American Express are accepted. Ticketing fees apply. To purchase tickets or for more information, call the CSC Box Office at 513.381.BARD (2273) ext. 1, or go online at http://www.cincyshakes.com.
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is located at The Otto M. Budig Theater at 1195 Elm Street in OTR, adjacent to Washington Park. There are many parking spaces available on the street and in nearby lots and garages- for more information visithttp://www.otrchamber.com/pages/WheretoPark.
CSC also offers Valet Parking for every performance! Make reservations for $20 in advance when purchasing tickets or visit www.cincyshakes.com/parking. Purchasing in advance guarantees a spot. Valet is available right at the corner of 12th and Elm Street in front of the theater and begins approx. 1.5 hours before a performance. Cars can be picked up for up to one hour following a performance. (After one hour, you will need to arrange pick up with the valet service directly.) The valet will have your name on the list after you purchase- it’s that easy!
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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. In the summer of 2017, the theater relocated 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 Theatre Association. Each year, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s Education and Outreach Programs reach 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 2019-2020 Season of the Woman:
From June of 1919 to August of 1920, these United States passed and ratified the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. In commemoration of this centennial, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company will shine the spotlight on the Women of Cincinnati Shakespeare Company in our “Season of the Woman”, both onstage and off, and join organizations across the city in an ArtsWave led initiative called “Power of Her” to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage!
The season is generously sponsored by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation. This season is also funded by ArtsWave. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company receives operating support from The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, JR./U.S. Bank Foundation, The Ohio Arts Council, and The Shubert Foundation. The season’s marketing design sponsor is Grey Midwest. 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.
About POWER OF HER:
POWER OF HER is a collaboration of organizations across the Greater Cincinnati region, united to activate and amplify women’s voices in the arts. Led by ArtsWave, and inspired by the women’s suffrage movement, the initiative salutes the women who came before us, and honors female leadership and woman-centric works of all kinds.
At its core, POWER OF HER underscores creativity as a vehicle for inclusion and equality by celebrating the female voice — and the many ways it champions a more diverse and vibrant world. Learn more at https://www.artswave.org/discover/power-of-her
NANA’S NAUGHTY KNICKERS
ROCK OF AGES
I have a few reading opportunities in our various departments of the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired if you would be interested in helping out.
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 