Monthly Archives: June 2022

June 3, 2022 · 10:34 am

THE UNSUNG HERO On June 17 at Irish Heritage Center

IHC_Unsung HeroTHE UNSUNG HERO by award-winning Irish playwright David Gilna is an unforgotten love story from Easter week 1916 between Michael O’Rahilly, (The O’Rahilly) the Co-Founder of The Irish Volunteers and his wife Nancy O’Rahilly, Vice-President of the Cumann na mBan.

Starring Michael “Mick” Mellamphy (Red Dead Redemption 2, Seafarer, Law & Order, Shadow of a Gunman, Juno and The Paycock, The Plough and The Stars) a company member of the famed Irish Repertory Theatre and the newly appointed Artistic Director of The Origin Theatre Company.

David Gilna is an award-winning playwright, producer & performer from Swords, Co. Dublin, Ireland best known for his plays My Bedsit Window & The Unsung Hero.

THE UNSUNG HERO will be performed live on the IHC Stage, June 17th at 7 PM.

Tickets are:
$25 for IHC Members
$27 for IHC Guests
$30 Day of

For tickets, visit www.simpletix.com/e/the-unsung-hero-tickets-105069

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June 3, 2022 · 10:20 am

2022-2023 Season Announced by Fairfield Footlighters

fflFairfield Footlighters is happy to announce their 2022-2023 season!

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE
By Agatha Christie
Directed by Carter Perry
September 23-25, 2022

Ten strangers are summoned to a remote island. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they’re unwilling to reveal and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. As the weather turns and the group is cut off from the mainland, the bloodbath begins and one by one they are brutally murdered in accordance with the lines of a sinister nursery rhyme.

GOOD PEOPLE
By David Lindsay-Abaire
Directed by Darren Lee
November 18-20, 2022

Welcome to Southie, a Boston neighborhood where a night on the town means a few rounds of bingo, where this month’s paycheck covers last month’s bills, and where Margie Walsh has just been let go from yet another job. Facing eviction and scrambling to catch a break, Margie thinks an old fling who’s made it out of Southie might be her ticket to a fresh new start. But is this apparently self-made man secure enough to face his humble beginnings? Margie is about to risk what little she has left to find out.

LOVE/SICK
By John Cariani
Directed by Chase Engel
February 24-26, 2023

John Cariani’s LOVE/SICK is a collection of nine slightly twisted and completely hilarious short plays. Set on a Friday night in an alternate suburban reality, this 80-minute romp explores the pain and the joy that comes with being in love. Full of imperfect lovers and dreamers, LOVE/SICK is an unromantic comedy for the romantic in everyone.

MAMA WON’T FLY
A Jones-Hope-Wooten Comedy
Directed by Kevin Noll
May 26-28, 2023

An outrageously hilarious race against the clock begins when Savannah Sprunt Fairchild Honeycutt agrees to get her feisty mother all the way from Alabama to California in time for her brother’s wedding. Savannah’s problem: Mama won’t fly. With only four days to make it to the ceremony, this determined daughter has no choice but to drive cross-country with her equally willful mother, Norleen Sprunt, in Mama’s vintage sedan.

For more information visit www.fairfieldfootlighters.org.

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June 3, 2022 · 9:58 am

Performance Options for June 4 & 5 at Cincy Fringe

CFF2022 logoNew Fringers can be a bit intimidated by the overwhelming number of choices available on the Fringe Show Schedule.

This year performances are scheduled so that you have at least 15 minutes to travel between venues within the Art Academy and Know Theatre.

Below I have broken down your options in each time block for the opening weekend. You can choose one show in each block.

For a complete list of performance information, visit my Fringe page or the Cincy Fringe website.

SATURDAY JUNE 4

CFF22_The Barn Identity logoBlock I (2pm start time)

  • THE BARN IDENTITY

Block 2 (3:30pm or 3:45pm start times)

  • WUTHERING: A Musical on the Moors
  • SALEM SALLY AND THE SPOOKTACULAR BIRTHDAY EXTRAVAGANZA
  • DESTINY, U.S.A.
  • JINKIES

Block 3 (5:15pm or 5:30pm start times)

  • TEXAS ANNIE: The Legend of the Moan Ranger
  • A MORGUE OF THE FORGOTTEN
  • UPLINE – It’s Not a Show, It’s an Opportunity
  • FATHER, DAUGHTHER & HOLY TOAST
  • JUNKMAIL ORACLE

Block 4 (6:45pm, 7pm or 7:15pm start times)

  • SEXY SEXY MATTRESS TIME
  • BENT COMPASS
  • OUT OF CHARACTER
  • EXPERI-MENTAL
  • BANNED FROM HEAVEN, BARRED FROM HELL
  • MAKE A F*CKING SHOW YOU P.O.S.

Block 5 (8:30pm, 8:45pm or 9pm start times)

  • WHISKEY FLICKS LIVE!
  • THE SEX LIFE OF BUTTERFLIES
  • CHANGING MY MAJOR TO JOAN
  • ROSEGOLD
  • SOFT
  • THE REAL BLACK SWANN: CONFESSIONS OF AMERICAN’S FIRST BLACK DRAG QUEEN

SUNDAY, JUNE 5

CFF22_Sexy Sexy Mattress Time logoBlock 1 (3:30pm or 3:45pm start times)

  • SEXY SEXY MATTRESS TIME
  • FIRE IN THE METH LAB
  • FATHER, DAUGHTHER & HOLY TOAST

Block 2 (5pm, 5:15pm or 5:30pm start times)

  • WUTHERING: A Musical on the Moors
  • BENT COMPASS
  • HEDY! The Live & Inventions of Hedy Lamarr
  • JINKIES
  • BANNED FROM HEAVEN, BARRED FROM HELL
  • THE REAL BLACK SWANN: CONFESSIONS OF AMERICAN’S FIRST BLACK DRAG QUEEN

Block 3 (6:45pm, 7pm or 7:15pm start times)

  • WHISKEY FLICKS LIVE!
  • THE SEX LIFE OF BUTTERFLIES
  • CHANGING MY MAJOR TO JOAN
  • THE BARN IDENTITY
  • JUNKMAIL ORACLE

Block 4 (8:30pm, 8:45pm or 9pm start times)

  • TEXAS ANNIE: The Legend of the Moan Ranger
  • SALEM SALLY AND THE SPOOKTACULAR BIRTHDAY EXTRAVAGANZA
  • OUT OF CHARACTER
  • EXPERI-MENTAL
  • MAKE A F*CKING SHOW YOU P.O.S.

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June 3, 2022 · 9:18 am

TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS Quick Review

TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS presented by Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati through June 25. I attended the opening night performance.

ETC_Tiny Beautful Things2

Kearston Hawkins-Johnson* as Letter Writer #2, Taha Mandviwala* as Letter Writer #3, Michael G. Bath* as Letter Writer #1 & Kelly Mengelkoch* as Sugar. Photo. by Ryan Kurtz

Kelly Mengelkoch is excellent as “Sugar,” giving a layered and emotionally true performance as the online advice columnist. Providing her with great support as the various online “submitters” are Michael G. Bath, Kearston Hawkins-Johnson and Taha Mandviwala. As the requests for advice cover a variety of topics, I think each audience member will be impacted differently by these stories depending upon how they relate to their individual life experiences. Personally, I found the letter from a grieving father (Mr. Bath) to be especially well-performed and touching. This 80-minute intermission less performance reminds us to find and appreciate the tiny beautiful things in our lives.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Click here for more information on the production.

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June 3, 2022 · 9:11 am

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Quick Review

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD presented by Broadway in Cincinnati through June 12. I attended the opening night performance.

BIC_To Kill a Mockingbird Courtroom

Arianna Gayle Stucki as Mayella Ewell, Richard Thomas as Atticus Finch, Stephen Elrod as Bailiff, Richard Poe as Judge Taylor, Greg Wood as Mr. Roscoe and Joey Collins as Bob Ewell. Photo by Julieta Cervantes.

I cannot say enough good things about this production. Aaron Sorkin’s excellent adaption breathes new life and energy into this American classic. The amazing cast is led by pitch perfect Richard Thomas as Atticus Finch (sorry you will always be John Boy to me) and features Mary Badham (Scout from the motion picture that starred Gregory Peck). In this version, Jem and Dill serve as co-narrators to Scout. Coming in at three hours with intermission, the show never lost momentum and kept me engaged from start to finish. I have never seen an Aronoff audience react so strongly and positively to a play. If you are on the fence about seeing this one, I highly encourage you to go.

My rating: 5 out of 5.

Click here for more information on the production.

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