Monthly Archives: May 2022

May 3, 2022 · 11:16 am

ETC Presents Ten Chances to See ELEGIES FOR ANGELS, PUNKS AND RAGING QUEENS Beginning May 13, 2022

ETC_logo (Cincinnati, OH) During the observation of International AIDS Candlelight Memorial Day and annual Pride Celebrations, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati (ETC) is proud to partner with Caracole to present Elegies for Angels, Punks, and Raging Queens by Bill Russell and Janet Hood. This piece shares the stories of 31 people from all walks of life who are affected by HIV/AIDS. Free performances of Elegies at various locations and times across the city are made possible by American Rescue Plan funds from the City of Cincinnati, administered through ArtsWave.

A celebration of lives lost to AIDS, Elegies for Angels, Punks, and Raging Queens is told through free-verse monologues and songs with a blues, jazz, and rock score. Through the perspectives of both those who died and those they left behind, this piece offers a broad look at the impact of the AIDS crisis on individuals, families, and communities – stories sometimes forgotten with today’s commonplace treatment and prevention methods. They inspire hope and healing amid tragedy, as well as ACTION to continue reducing the spread of the virus and seeking a cure.

This essential piece of theatre brings renewed awareness and education about the spread of HIV. Data shared by Caracole shows Hamilton County among the 1.5% of US counties which accounted for over 50% of new HIV diagnoses in 2016 and 2017. At least 35% of new diagnoses in 2019 included needle use, and there was a 1,375% increase in HIV diagnoses for people who inject drugs from 2015-2019. The 2019 new diagnoses were also split nearly evenly between heterosexual transmission (34%), and homosexual transmission (35%). Like COVID-19, HIV does not discriminate, and is still spreading in our community.

This production contains strong language/adult content, including descriptions of violence, homophobia, adultery, and drug use, and discussion of sexual identity.

About our partner:
Caracole is Greater Cincinnati’s nonprofit devoted to positively changing lives in the fight against HIV/AIDS. For people living with HIV, we provide housing, case management, and pharmacy services to improve health and well-being. Our prevention services focus on outreach, testing, education, and harm reduction to help people reduce their risk for HIV. The work we do to end the HIV epidemic is central to a healthy community. Volunteer, donate or find out how we can help you or someone you love at caracole.org.

Performance Information:

Friday, May 13 at 7:00 pm
Xavier University Gallagher Student Center Theatre (Evanston), 3800 Victory Parkway, Cincinnati OH 45207

Saturday, May 14 at 3:00 pm
Hoffner Park (Northside), 4101 Hamilton Ave, Cincinnati OH 45223

Sunday, May 15 at 2:00 pm
Seasongood Pavilion (Eden Park), 1600 Art Museum Dr, Cincinnati OH 45202

Saturday, May 21 at 3:00 pm & 6:00 pm
ARCO (Price Hill), 3301 Price Ave, Cincinnati OH 45205

Sunday, May 22 at 2:00 pm
Burnet Woods Bandstand (Clifton), 3251 Brookline Ave, Cincinnati OH 45220

Saturday, June 4 at 2:00 pm
Stanbery Park (Mt. Washington), 2221 Oxford Ave, Cincinnati OH 45230

Sunday, June 5 at 2:00pm
Westwood Town Hall (Westwood), 3017 Harrison Ave, Cincinnati OH 45211

Saturday, June 18 at 6:00 pm
Mt Auburn Presbyterian Church (Mt Auburn), 103 W H Taft Rd, Cincinnati OH 45219

Sunday, June 26 at 2:00 pm
Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati (OTR), 1127 Vine St, Cincinnati OH 45202

Registration:
For more information or to register online, visit www.ensemblecincinnati.org or call (513) 421-3555. Free admission.

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2021-2022 Season Presenting Sponsor is the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation.

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.

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.

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May 3, 2022 · 10:20 am

CONSIDERING MATTHEW SHEPARD Runs June 2-5

CONSIDERING MATTHEW SHEPARD
INNOVAtheatre
June 2-5
Sorg Opera House [Middletown]

Directed by Richard Lee Waldeck
Musical and orchestral direction by Sarah Plaugher

Cast: M.G.Griffith, Eva Greer, Jovoné Lewis, Danielle Aldach, Matthew Clifton, Danny Klingler, Noa, Brandon Moore, Terry Mcnear Neack, Aaron Washington, Jeannine E. Parson, Denise A. Schnieders, Richard Lee Waldeck & Ernie Rowland

Approaching the eve of the 20th anniversary of Matt’s murder, composer Craig Hella Johnson responded with his first concert-length work, Considering Matthew Shepard. This three-part fusion oratorio speaks with a fresh and bold voice, incorporating a variety of musical styles seamlessly woven into a unified whole. Johnson sets a wide range of poetic and soulful texts by poets including Hildegard of Bingen, Lesléa Newman, Michael Dennis Browne, and Rumi. Passages from Matt’s personal journal, interviews and writings from his parents Judy and Dennis Shepard, newspaper reports, and additional texts by Johnson and Browne are poignantly appointed throughout the work.

Thu-Fri, June 2-3 at 8pm
Sat, June 4 at 3pm & 8pm
Sun, June 5 at 3pm

Official page |

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May 3, 2022 · 9:53 am

DANCING FOR THE STARS 2022 | June 18 | Music Hall Ballroom

CINCINNATI, OH – Who will be voted Cincinnati’s best celebrity dancer? Which stars have the right moves to rule the dance floor? Find out on Saturday, June 18, 2022 when the Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) celebrates season fourteen of its annual fundraiser Dancing for the Stars at the Music Hall Ballroom to benefit CAA’s Overture Awards – the nation’s largest locally-run high school arts scholarship competition – and Arts Education Programs.

Inspired by the hit ABC-TV show Dancing with the Stars, Dancing for the Stars will feature six Cincinnati celebrities paired with some of the area’s finest professional dancers in a competition program, at which the audience will vote for their favorite celebrity dancer. The competitive dance for the evening will be the Foxtrot and each dance pair will have ninety seconds to woo the crowd and the judges.

In addition, Dancing for the Stars will feature:

Dance music by guest on-air DJ JD Hughes from 103.5 WGRR-FM
Pre-event bourbon & wine tasting, plus meet-and-greet reception with the stars and pros
Open dancing before and after the competition
Lite bites provided by some of Cincinnati’s finest restaurants and caterers
Cash bar

Saturday, June 18, 2022

6:00 PM – Bourbon & Wine Tasting / Meet-and-Greet Reception with the Stars and the Pros
7:00 PM – Dancing, Dinner by the Bite, Cash Bar
8:00 PM – Celebrity Dance Competition
9:30 PM – Dance the Night Away

In addition to the winner of the dance competition, Dancing for the Stars will crown a Fundraising Champion – the celebrity dancer who raises the most revenue toward the event’s fundraising goal through table/ticket sales and donations. Fans may add a donation under their favorite celebrity’s name at the time of their ticket purchase, or simply make a donation if they cannot attend the event. These direct donations (outside of the event ticket price) will help one of the fans’ favorite celebrities win the Dancing for the Stars Fundraising Champion award – which will be announced the evening of the event – and are 100% tax deductible.

Tickets are currently on sale at the following levels (a portion of the ticket price is tax-deductible):

$150 – Patron (pre-event reception and two drink tickets)
$1,500 – Corporate Table (ten Patron level tickets and a half-page program ad)
$2,000 – Celebrity Circle Table (premium “first-row” viewing of competition area, ten Patron level tickets, full-page program ad, recognition on event signage)

RESERVATIONS AND INFORMATION:

https://www.cincinnatiarts.org/membership-support/dfts22
(513) 977-4188

THE STARS:

Sebastian Castillo (Manager, Prime Cincinnati)
Jill Jansen (Director of Government & External Relations, Mercy Health)
Elizabeth Knuppel (President, Skystone Partners)
Jon Lawhead (Senior Vice President, Sinclair Broadcast Group – LOCAL 12 WKRC-TV)
Sara Mirus (Real Estate Agent, eXp Realty)
Bret Schneider (CEO & President, WOW Windowboxes)

THE PROS (WITH STAR PAIRING):

Doreen Beatrice (Independent Dance Instructor) – Sebastian Castillo
Bonita Brockert (Independent Dance Instructor) – Bret Schneider
Maura Garuccio (Independent Dance Instructor) – Jon Lawhead
Jeremy Mainous (Arthur Murray Dance Studio – Cincinnati) – Sara Mirus
Jozsef Parragh (Independent Dance Instructor) – Jill Jansen
Josh Tilford (Independent Dance Instructor) – Elizabeth Knuppel

THE HOSTS: Amanda Orlando, The Warm Morning Show, WARM 98.5

THE JUDGES:

Douglas Beal (Independent Dance Instructor)
Michael Betz (2019 Dancing for the Stars Alum and Fundraising Champion)
Guest Judge – TBA

EVENT COMMITTEE: Amal Daoud, Terry Foster, Ginger Loftin, Rosemary Schlachter, Phil Schworer, and Tracey Skale

EVENT SPONSORS: TriHealth – Presenting Sponsor, Arthur Murray – Cincinnati, Doreen Beatrice, Bonita Brockert, Maura Garuccio, Graphic Village, Jozsef Parragh, Punky’s Pixels, Josh Tilford

THIRTEEN YEARS OF DANCING FOR THE STARS WINNERS:

2007: Dr. O’dell Owens (former Hamilton County Coroner)
2008: Jenell Walton (former WCPO-TV9 Anchor and Reporter)
2009: Phil Schworer (past President, Cincinnati Bar Association; Environmental Lawyer, Frost, Brown and Todd)
2010: Donna Speigel (Owner, The Snooty Fox)
2011: Dr. Tracey Skale (Chief Medical Officer, Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services)
2012: Regina Russo (former Director of Marketing and Communications, Cincinnati Art Museum)
2013: Chris Seelbach (former Cincinnati City Councilman)
2014: Neal Schulte (Founder & President, Schulte Financial Group, LLC)
2015: Johnny Chu (Owner, AmerAsia Kungfood Restaurant)
2016: Jay Lame (Financial Analyst, Lenox Wealth Management)
2017: Rohan Hemani (former Procter & Gamble Fabric Care Intrapenuer)
2018: Dr. Marcia Bowling (Gynecologic Oncology, Oncology Hematology Care, Inc.)
2019: Halle Quinn (Community Volunteer)
2020: Event cancelled due to the pandemic
2021: Event cancelled due to the pandemic

CINCINNATI ARTS ASSOCIATION’S EDUCATION & COMMUNITY ENGAGMENT PROGRAMS

CAA’s Education & Community Engagement [ECE] Department cultivates diverse, inclusive, and accessible arts engagements, seeking to remove barriers preventing arts participation. Committed to a practice of antiracism, the ECE Department encourages the use of CAA venues, develops diverse arts supporters, and fosters an appreciation and understanding of diverse arts disciplines, while encouraging and supporting practicing arts educators and administrators, audiences, and aspiring artists.

SchoolTime presents a series of programs that feature nationally recognized artists at the Aronoff Center and Music Hall. The Artists on Tour program brings a variety of arts experiences directly to schools, community centers, and other organizations. The finest local teaching artists in the region enhance learning with unique programs that vary in culture and art form.

The Arts in Healing Initiative integrates the performing and visual arts in medical and community healthcare settings and other non-traditional locations to promote community wellness and encourage the community to explore the arts as an active part of their healing and ongoing wellness.

The Overture Awards is a program that recognizes and rewards excellence in the arts among Greater Cincinnati students in grades 9-12. Its mission is to encourage arts education as an integral part of a student’s academic experience and to create an environment that encourages training in, and appreciation of, the arts. The Overture Awards is the area’s largest solo arts competition and offers awards in six artistic disciplines: creative writing, dance, instrumental music, theatre, visual art, and vocal music.

Now in its 26th year, the Overture Awards has granted more than $950,000 to youth and schools in the Tri-state region. The Overture Awards was launched in 1996 by the Cinergy Foundation and Leadership Cincinnati (a Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce program).

CINCINNATI ARTS ASSOCIATION
Founded in 1992, the Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) is a not-for-profit organization that oversees the programming and management of two of the Tri-state’s finest performing arts venues – the Aronoff Center for the Arts and Music Hall – and is dedicated to supporting performing and visual arts. Each year, CAA presents a diverse schedule of events; serves more than 600,000 people in its venues; features the work of talented local, regional, and national artists in the Weston Art Gallery (located in the Aronoff Center); and supports the work of nearly one dozen resident companies, including Cincinnati Ballet, Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati Symphony/Pops Orchestras, May Festival, and Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Cincinnati, presented by TriHealth. Since the inception of its acclaimed arts education programs in 1995, CAA has reached nearly two million students and adults.

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May 3, 2022 · 9:40 am

World-Premiere of THE WIZ JR. Takes the Queen City By Storm

Tia Seay as Glinda & Brandi La’Sherrill as Dorothy. Mikki Schaffner Photography.

Cincinnati – The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati (TCT) celebrated the end of the 21-22 Season with a world-premiere production of THE WIZ JR. The brand-new adaptation ran from April 2-11, 2022 for a total of 17 performances (public and school) at the Taft Theatre in Downtown Cincinnati. Over 15,000 people attended across the 17 performances, breaking attendance goals. 7,179 students attended the show for school performances, and 7,453 patrons attended the public performances. Thanks to American Rescue Plan funds from the City of Cincinnati, administered by ArtsWave, 797 people attended a Free Preview Performance of THE WIZ JR.

Not only was the show a spectacle on stage, but behind the scenes as well. TCT brought on a talented cast and staging team that is 100% BIPOC. Director Zhailon Levingston (the youngest Black Broadway director in history), Choreographer Tislarm Bouie, Music Director Jason Alexander Holmes, Costume Designer Daryl Harris, and Scenic Designer Seth Howard helped bring this beloved story to life.

Enthusiastic social media comments and positive survey responses flooded in after each performance. The show welcomed patrons of all ages from across the Tri-State and saw significantly increased audience diversity. TCT believes this diverse audience will lead to increased awareness of TCT performances and programs in the future, along with building a lifelong love of theatre in young audiences.

Director Zhailon Levingston said, “I hope for the kids that may not want to be active participants in storytelling – professionally or recreationally – that they understand that the institution of theatre is a place that can be for them. It’s a door that is open for them.” “Representation matters. I think it’s very important for people to see themselves on stage. Or to look in the program and see that there is a Black set designer. And I hope that the kids that see the show take that with them for the rest of their lives,” said Choreographer Tislarm Bouie.

THE WIZ JR. is made possible by the generosity of Production Sponsors PNC Foundation and Procter & Gamble, Hotel Sponsor The Summit Hotel, Dress Run Sponsor TriHealth, and The Change Fund Sponsor The Wohlgemuth Herschede Foundation. Special thanks to Season Sponsors The Patricia A. Corbett Trust, The Charles H. Dater Foundation, H.B., E. W. and F.R. Luther Charitable Foundation, Fifth Third Bank and Narley L. Haley, Co-Trustees. The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati is supported by ArtsWave and the generosity of tens of thousands of contributors to the ArtsWave Community Campaign. The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this program with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Free preview nights of this production are made possible by American Rescue Plan funds from the City of Cincinnati, administered through ArtsWave. The Children’s Theatre is supported in part by an American Rescue Plan Act grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support general operating expenses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

THE WIZ JR. Adapted from “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” By L. Frank Baum. Book by William F. Brown. Additional Material by Tina Tippit. Music and Lyrics by Charlie Smalls. Copyright 1975, 1979, 2006, 2010. This 60-Minute Version of THE WIZ JR. was developed by The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati, Deondra Kamau Means, Resident Artist. Directed by Zhailon Levingston, straight from Broadway’s Chicken & Biscuits, Hadestown, and Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. Choreographed by Tislarm Bouie. Music Directed by Jason Alexander Holmes. Costume Designed by Dr. Daryl Harris, Scenic Design by Seth Howard. Lighting Design by Benjamin Gantose. Sound Design by Donald Moore. Stage Managed by Jadi Davis.

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