Monthly Archives: March 2025

BIRTHDAY CANDLES Runs April 19-May 18

PIP_Birthday CandlesBIRTHDAY CANDLES 
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
April 19-May 18
Shelterhouse Theatre [Eden Park]

Directed by Joanie Schultz

Cast: Will Allan as Billy/John, Barbara Chisholm as Ernestine, Amira Danan as Alice/Madeline/Ernie, Mierka Girten as Joan/Alex/Beth, Adam Poss as Matt/William & Bill Timoney as Kenneth

The ingredients for the cake are simple: eggs, butter, sugar, salt. Look closer, though, and you’ll see the essence of life itself. Every year, Ernestine bakes a cake and celebrates with her family on her birthday — a delicious ritual that unfolds onstage across 90 years of birthdays. We meet Ernestine and the people who sweeten her life every year on this day as she grows from 17 to 107 years old. Through glimpses of Ernestine’s life as the years go by, Birthday Candles tenderly explores motherhood, family, love, loss and finding your place in the universe. This charming new play, recently performed on Broadway, will warm the soul. Note: Birthday Candles is recommended for older teenage and adult audiences. Using a bit of strong adult language, the play celebrates life and the pain and beauty that comes with it – from serious illness, loss and grief to love, sex, family and birthday cake.

  • In preview, Sat, April 19 at 7:30pm
  • In preview, Tue-Wed, April 22-23 at 7:30pm
  • Thu-Fri, April 24-25 at 7:30pm
  • Sat, April 26 at 2pm & 7:30pm
  • Sun, April 27 at 2pm
  • Tue-Fri, April 29-May 2 at 7:30pm
  • Sat, May 3 at 2pm & 7:30pm
  • Sun, May 4 at 2pm
  • Tue, May 6 at 7:30pm
  • Wed, May 7 at 1pm & 7:30pm
  • Thu-Fri, May 8-9 at 7:30pm
  • Sat, May 10 at 2pm & 7:30pm
  • Sun, May 11 at 2pm
  • Tue-Fri, May 13-16 at 7:30pm
  • Sat, May 17 at 2pm & 7:30pm
  • Sun, May 18 at 2pm

Official page | Facebook event |

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CHURCH AND STATE Runs April 18-27

CHURCH AND STATE
Xenia Area Community Theatre
April 18-27
[Xenia]

Directed by Mike Taint

Cast: Steve Mongelli as Senator Charles Whitmore (R/NC), Amy Taint as Sara Whitmore, Jonah Reed as Alex Klein, Shawn Furl as Tom & Brandon Castillo as Marshall

Church & State is a fast-paced dramedy about faith, politics, and “The Twitter”. The play is about Charles Whitmore’s Senate re-election campaign, and how he decides to finally tell the public exactly what’s on his mind, no filter. As his devoutly Christian wife and liberal Jewish campaign manager try to contain the damage, the play looks at how religion influences politics and how politics has become a religion. The play is simultaneously funny, heartbreaking, and uplifting.

  • Fri-Sat, April 18-19 at 7pm
  • Sun, April 20 at 3pm
  • Fri-Sat, April 25-26 at 7pm
  • Sun, April 27 at 3pm

Official page |

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The French Rivera Comes to Newport, KY in the Hilarious Musical Comedy DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS

NEWPORT, KY — The Footlighters, Inc., is ecstatic to present the fourth and final show of their 2024–2025 season, a side-splitting comedy based on the 1988 Steve Martin and Michael Caine movie of the same name, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

Lawrence Jameson makes his lavish living by charming wealthy women out of their money. Freddy Benson swindles much humbler amounts from sympathetic women with fabricated stories about his grandmother’s failing health. After a chance meeting on a train, the men attempt to work together—only to find that this small French town isn’t big enough for the two of them. They agree on a settlement: The first one to extract $50,000 from heiress Christine Colgate wins, and the other must leave town. But who’s really conning who?

After bringing the house down night after night as UPS delivery man Kyle in last year’s Legally Blonde, longtime community theater stalwart and accomplished performer Rob Workley graces the Footlighters stage once again as French inspector Andre Thibault. After catching the theater bug watching a close friend perform in Chess, Rob made his community theater debut in Cincinnati Music Theatre’s La Cage aux Folles in 2006. He has been an onstage fixture at numerous groups over the last 19 years, including Cincinnati Music Theatre, Mariemont Players, Loveland Stage Company, and Footlighters. Just as capable offstage as onstage, Rob serves on Cincinnati Music Theatre’s Board of Directors as their Aronoff liaison, and he can often be found working behind the scenes—whether running the Aronoff’s fly rail, working as master carpenter to build sets, or serving on various committees. He’ll add another line to his already impressive resume as he puts his design skills to work as set designer and master carpenter of Cincinnati Music Theatre’s fall show, A Christmas Story.

Performances:

  • Thursday – Saturday, May 1 – 3 at 7:30 p.m.
  • Sunday, May 4 at 2:00 p.m.
  • Thursday – Saturday, May 8 – 10 at 7:30 p.m.
  • Sunday, May 11 at 2:00 p.m.
  • Thursday – Saturday, May 15 – 17 at 7:30 p.m.
  • Sunday, May 18 at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets: $25 each and available online at footlighters.org/tickets or by contacting the box office via text or phone call at (859) 652-3849 or FootlightersTickets@gmail.com.

The Footlighters, Inc., has been producing quality community theater shows in Greater Cincinnati for over 60 years. The group was established in 1963 by a small group of 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 2021, Footlighters completed the third and final phase of their accessibility project by adding ADA-compliant seating in their theater to complement the ADA ramp and elevator installed in 2017 and 2018, 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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THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW Runs April 17-27

THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW
Queen City Productions
April 17-27
Art Center at Dunham [West Price Hill]

While driving on a rainy night, strait-laced lovebirds Brad Majors  and Janet Weiss  end up by chance at the castle of  Dr. Frank-N-Furter and his bizarre entourage and find that he’s having a party. This is no ordinary party. This is the unveiling of the doctor’s latest creation: Rocky Horror, a man-made Adonis that will give absolute pleasure. Over the course of the night, Frank seduces both Brad and Janet, Janet and Rocky become Biblically involved, and Dr. Everett V. Scott arrives looking for his nephew, Eddie.  This is an exceedingly grand visual and musical camp satire of the golden days of the B-movie horror and science-fiction genres. With a memorable, musical soundtrack to give audience participation a new meaning, this shall be a night that Brad and Janet and audience members will remember for a very long time. Join us for an exciting new take on this sexually kinky, rock ‘n roll world of a gender-bending scientist – and his time warped plans.

  • Thu, April 17 at 7:30pm (Denton Cast)
  • Fri, April 18 at 8pm (Transylvania Cast)
  • Sat, April 19 at 2pm (Denton Cast)
  • Sat, April 19 at 10pm Interactive/Audience Participation (Transylvania Cast)
  • Thu, April 24 at 7:30pm (Transylvania Cast)
  • Fri, April 25 at 8pm (Denton Cast)
  • Sat, April 26 at 2pm (Transylvania Cast)
  • Sat, April 26 at 10pm Interactive/Audience Participation (Denton Cast)

Official page | Facebook event |

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DURING/AFTER Runs April 4-12

DURING/AFTER
Falcon Theatre
April 4-12
[Newport]

Written by Wendy Vogel
Directed by Ed Cohen

Cast: Rick Grant as Lucas, Samantha Weil as Eden, Ryan Bowron as Aaron, Tristan Pianovski as Nate & Bill Keeton as James

Every decision we make sculpts our lives, inch by inch. Told through interweaving monologues and flashbacks, this world premiere examines choice and consequence, redemption and forgiveness in the stories of three men whose lives are connected in ways they could never conceive.

  • Fri-Sat, April 4-5 at 8pm
  • Sun, April 6 at 4pm
  • Fri-Sat, April 11-12 at 8pm

Official page |

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