Monthly Archives: January 2020

January 29, 2020 · 9:29 am

THREE Runs Feb. 28-March 2

THREE: A Radical Re-imagining of Three Sisters
Cincinnati Artist’s Theatre
Feb. 28-March 2
Liberty Exhibition Hall [Northside]

Directed by Landon Hawkins

THREE is an original work presented by CAT. Over the next month our team of talented ensemble members will work together under the direction of Landon Hawkins to create a brand new take on an old story. Our initial discussions regarding this piece have sparked questions about finding the connective threads between the live paraphrasing of Chekhov’s text, horrible puns, and, weirdly, baseball. We’re excited to see where this piece takes us and what we discover!

Fri-Sun, Feb. 28-March 1 at 8pm
Mon, March 2 at 9pm

Official page | Facebook event |

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January 29, 2020 · 9:12 am

2020-2021 Season Announced by Rivertown Players Inc.

9 TO FIVE the Musical
July 23-25
Lawrenceburg High School

Pushed to the boiling point, three female coworkers concoct a plan to get even with the sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot they call their boss. In a hilarious turn of events, Violet, Judy and Doralee live out their wildest fantasy – giving their boss the boot! While Hart remains “otherwise engaged,” the women give their workplace a dream makeover, taking control of the company that had always kept them down. Hey, a girl can scheme, can’t she?

DEATH OF A DOORNAIL
October 2020
Hillforest Mansion

Eccentric Millionaire, Albert Doornale has invited all of his close friends to his estate; including his ex-wife Abigail, his current fiance Candy Bombay, and his childhood friend from the Lower East Side, Salvatore Carbone. Everyone arrives at the estate greeted by the grumpy Butler and cutlery carrying cook. The only problem is, Albert is not there, no one has seen him. Not his nerdy Nephew or his socially spoiled daughter. None of the guests have any idea why they are there or what happened to their host. That is until blood is found in the upstairs bathroom.

BLACK COMEDY
TBA
TBA

Lovesick and desperate, sculptor Brindsley Miller has embellished his apartment with furniture and objects d’arte “borrowed” from the absent antique collector next-door, hoping to impress his fiancée’s pompous father and a wealthy art dealer. The fussy neighbor, Harold Gorringe, returns just as a blown fuse plunges the apartment into darkness and Brindsley is revealed. Unexpected guests, aging spinsters, errant phone cords, and other snares impede his frantic attempts to return the purloined items before light is restored.

Disney’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Spring 2021
TBA

Travel down the rabbit hole and join Alice in her madcap adventures. Featuring songs from Disney’s thrilling animated motion picture, Disney’s Alice in Wonderland JR. is a fast-paced take on the classic tale. The ever-curious Alice’s journey begins innocently enough as she chases the White Rabbit. Her adventures become increasingly more strange as she races the Dodo Bird, gets tied up with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, raps with a bubble-blowing Caterpillar and beats the Queen of Hearts at her own game!

For more information visit www.rivertownplayers.com.

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January 28, 2020 · 2:32 pm

ALL THE WAY Quick Review

ALL THE WAY presented by Cincinnati Shakespeare Company through Feb. 15. I attended the opening night performance.

The Cast: Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.

Jim Hopkins as President Lyndon B. Johnson. Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.

If you do not have enough political drama in your life at the moment, then I highly recommend ALL THE WAY, the current offering by Cincy Shakes. The play opens shortly after the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 and continues through Lyndon B. Johnson’s reelection in November of 1964. Although the story is dense with characters and covers a lot of territory in its 185-minute run time, I never felt overwhelmed thanks to Brian Isaac Phillips focused staging and smart pacing.

Sylvester Little Jr. as Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.

Across the board, the cast of 17 (portraying more than 40 roles) is excellent. This production showcases the talent and versatility of the ensemble. Jim Hopkins is engaging to watch as LBJ, allowing the audience to see the man beneath all the bluster. Sylvester Little, Jr. portrays Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. with an outward patience and dignity that does not hide the passion of his beliefs. Actors joining CSC’s ensemble for this production include Michael Bath, Bruce Cromer, Joneal Joplin, “ranney,” Brent Vimtrup, and Kate Wilford.

Kate Wilford as Lady Bird Johnson & Jim Hopkins as President Lyndon B. Johnson. Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.

The pre-recorded video elements looked authentic and worked very well. Great attention to detail was evident in the costuming and props. The set elements and tight lighting design complemented the staging. Truly a showcase for the technical team.

Overall an interesting and engaging historic drama wonderfully told.

On stage seating is available for this production.

My rating: 5 out of 5.

Click here for more information on the production.

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January 28, 2020 · 2:09 pm

Auditions Announced for 13TH AND REPUBLIC at Walterhoope

Title: 13TH AND REPUBLIC
Poetry by Tyrone Williams
Music Composition by Kaleel Skeirik
Produced by Walterhoope (Audrey Bertaux, Producing Artistic Director)

Director/Choreographer: Darnell Pierre Benjamin
Musical Director: Michael Goist

Union Status: Union & Non-Union

All positions are paid.

1st Rehearsal: April 7, 2020
Opening: April 24, 2020
Closing: May 2, 2020

Performance Location: 1st Lutheran Church, Cincinnati

Auditions Date: Monday, February 10, 2020
Audition Time: 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Walterhoope is seeking the following performers for its upcoming world premiere of 13th & Republic, a dance and musical reflection on excessive use of police force in Black communities. The piece will follow a single character who interacts with an ensemble of dancers and chorus of singers to tell their story. Abstracted and refocused, sometimes told out of time, sometimes painfully in time, the story carries the audience through the performance to answer the question, “Where do we go from here?”

Auditions by appointment. Please email your headshot and resume to casting@walterhoope.com to schedule an appointment. Preparation instructions for the audition will be provided once scheduled.

Casting Breakdown:

Apollo: African-American. Strong and vulnerable, between 20s and 30s. Ability to move from hip-hop to modern dance seamlessly. Keen sense of awareness, and physically unapologetic. Experience with classical and poetic text, and ease of facility with making the text come alive. Risk-taker, but also knows how to play by the rules. Strong vocalist, with a voice that commands the space.

2 Dancers: Agile and smooth as butter. Natural ability towards musicality in movement. Can tell a story just with the body, but also has the strength of text work. Ability to shift from character to character with tangible extremes. Vulnerable and able to dig deep.

4 Singers: Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass for Chamber Opera Vocal Quartet. Standard ranges. Styles: Recitation with Percussion improvisation, Chamber Opera and Solo Singing, Contemporary-Renaissance Madrigal, Gospel, 20th Century Classical styles (some dissonant multi-meter and intensely rhythmic singing). Embody the voices of the community and ancillary characters.

Percussionist: Performer will be working alongside the dancers during rehearsals developing percussive elements in an open ended and semi-improvisatory context. Instruments will be provided during the audition.