NEWPORT, KY — The Footlighters, Inc., proudly presents the second show of its 2022-2023 season, the contemporary musical Next to Normal.
Winner of three 2009 Tony Awards, including Best Musical Score and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize, Next to Normal takes an unflinching look at a suburban family struggling with the effects of mental illness. Next to Normal was also chosen as “one of the year’s ten best shows” by critics around the country, including The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times.
With an energetic pop/rock score, Next to Normal is a deeply emotional, moving piece of theater that addresses issues such as grief, ethics in modern psychiatry, and suburban life.
Next to Normal marks the Footlighters’ debut of local director Kaleigh-Brooke Scheiding and her music director husband Jon Scheiding, but they are no strangers to the Tri-State theater scene. Kaleigh-Brooke has a BA in theatre with a focus on directing and performing from Miami University. She studied primarily under Lewis Magruder and has previously directed numerous plays and children’s musicals. Her most recent credits have been with The Nerve Theatre Company in Dayton. Jon is an accomplished sound and lighting designer as well as music and vocal director, having worked extensively with Beechmont Players, Loveland Stage Company, Mason Community Players, Village Players of Ft. Thomas, and Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative in the past.
Performances:
- Thursday – Saturday, December 1 – 3 at 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday, December 4 at 2:00 p.m.
- Thursday – Saturday, December 8 – 10 at 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday, December 11 at 2:00 p.m.
- Thursday – Saturday, December 15 – 17 at 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday, December 18 at 2:00 p.m.
Tickets: $25 each and are available online at footlighters.org/tickets or by contacting the box office at (859) 652-3849 or FootlightersTickets@gmail.com.
The Footlighters, Inc., has been producing quality community theater shows in Greater Cincinnati for over 55 years. The group was established in 1963 by a small group of community theater volunteers who wanted to bring theater opportunities to the west side of Cincinnati.
In 1987, the group bought the Salem United Methodist Church in Newport and transformed it into The Stained Glass Theatre. The theater is on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated a Kentucky landmark. In September of 2018, Footlighters added an ADA ramp to the front of their building to complement the elevator installed in September of 2017, allowing access for all patrons with limited mobility.
For more information, please visit footlighters.org or like The Footlighters, Inc., on Facebook.
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Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 