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March 9, 2018 · 2:28 pm

Mars Hill Academy High School Drama presents THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE

MHA_Pirates of Penzance promo

Senior Andrew Cunningham of Liberty Twp. as Frederick; sophomore Tessa DeBra of Loveland as Ruth; and senior Aaron Admiraal of Mason as the Pirate King.

MASON — Come join a band of swashbuckling buccaneers, frolicsome Victorian maidens, and the “model of a modern Major-General” when Mars Hill Academy presents Gilbert and Sullivan’s THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE.

Set on a rocky Cornish coast, this musical comedy tells the story of a bumbling group of pirates and their young charge Frederic, who has decided it’s time to hang up the sword and become a respectable gentleman. As the pirates attempt to bring him back into the fold, there are confrontations with the police and romantic entanglements with the Major General’s daughters.

“Audiences will enjoy the rich sounds of a full orchestra, as well as the classic elegance and power of the students’ vocal performances. Their energy and sense of humor keep the show alive and exciting – the interaction between the pirates, policemen, and daughters is particularly playful,”  said Lisa Cunningham, producer for the show.

Performances of the show will be at Parrish Auditorium, Miami University Hamilton, March 22-24 at 7 p.m. and March 24 at 2 p.m. Tickets may be purchased online at www.marshill.edu or at the door. Tickets for the Thursday performance are $10 for general admission and $15 for premium reserved seats. Tickets for Friday and Saturday performances are $12 for general admission and $20 for premium reserved seats. Seats for premium tickets may be selected online.

The cast includes Frederick played by Andrew Cunningham of Liberty Twp.; Mabel played by Quinn York of West Chester Twp.; Pirate King, Aaron Admiraal of Mason; Major General, Jacob Oedy of Lebanon; Ruth, Tessa DeBra of Loveland; Kate, Emma Kirk of Cincinnati; Edith, Gita O’Brien of Cincinnati; Samuel, Daniel Taylor of Liberty Twp.; and Sergeant, Kyle Chu of Cincinnati.

Appearing as pirates are Cara Admiraal, Kyle Chu, Nate Cox, Brynn Gage, Anna Kate Hicks, Drew Hicks, Lucy Hicks, Peyton Hutchinson, Eli Mullucey, Etienne Pienaar, and Meredith Weber.

The Major General’s daughters are played by Olivia Baker, Abby Bowling, Marianne Erickson, Rylen Erickson, Michaela Estruth, Frances Hultgren, Abby Kirk, Sophie Kirk, Talita O’Brien, Lizzie Pereira, Claire Robey, Rachel Tipton, Katrina Trees, Danielle Yang, and Michelle Yang.

The police are played by Samuel Beatty, Christopher Cunningham, Michaela Estruth, Frances Hultgren, Sarah Isaacs, Julia Leonard, Jacob McGuire, Etienne Pienaar, Marcel Pienaar, and Lauren Williams.

Mars Hill Academy is Cincinnati’s only private, independent K-12 classical Christian school. One of only 42 schools nationwide accredited by the Association of Classical and Christian Schools (ACCS), Mars Hill Academy offers a proven educational method used for millennia to build sharp minds and a love for learning. For more information, please call 513-770-3223 or visit www.marshill.edu.

Mars Hill Academy presents THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE
March 22-24, 7 p.m., March 24, 2 p.m.

Parrish Auditorium, Miami University Hamilton
1601 University Blvd., Hamilton

Tickets
Thursday: $10, general admission, $15, premium reserved seats.
Friday, Saturday: $12, general admission, $20, premium reserved seats.

For more information visit www.marshill.edu.

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March 9, 2018 · 2:14 pm

Lerner & Loewe’s CAMELOT Presented by Cincinnati Music Theatre | May 11-19 | Aronoff Center

CMT_Camelot logo

Cincinnati, OH – Cincinnati Music Theatre (CMT), a resident company of the Aronoff Center for the Arts, returns to the intimate Jarson-Kaplan Theater from May 11-19 with seven performances of the Broadway triumph Camelot.

Tickets are only $26.00 for adults and $23.00 for students, seniors, military, and groups of 15 or more. Tickets are on sale now at Cincinnatiarts.org, Cincinnatimusictheatre.org, (513) 621-ARTS [2787], and the Aronoff Center Ticket Office.  Discount tickets for groups of 15 or more are available at (513) 977-4157.

Borrowing from the Arthurian legends, Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot is the duo’s fantastical masterpiece. Its Original Broadway Cast Album topped the charts for sixty weeks, with a score boasting such gems as “If Ever I Would Leave You” and “I Loved You Once in Silence.” An idealistic young King Arthur hopes to create a kingdom built on honor and dignity, embodied by his Knights of the Round Table. His ideals, however, are tested when his queen, Guenevere, falls in love with Lancelot and the fate of the kingdom hangs in the balance. 

After wrapping a sold-out run of their first cabaret partnership with the Cincinnati Arts Association, CMT is back at the Jarson-Kaplan Theater with Camelot, the type of classic Broadway production that has helped make the company a staple in Cincinnati’s community theater scene for fifty-plus years.

For its production of Camelot, CMT attracted the finest talent in the city, casting real-life husband and wife team Sarah Viola as Guenevere and Dave Wilson as Lancelot. Sarah, a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, has performed regularly at both Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center with the New York Choral Artists and Concert Chorale of New York. Dave has performed in theater, film, and television, included Guiding Light and One Life to Live.

“Sarah and Dave are a dynamic couple,” says Dennis Murphy, director of the musical. “They bring candor and affection to their scenes, and I am thrilled they are making their CMT debut with this production.”

Camelot is not new to CMT’s extensive repertoire of large-scale musicals, having been produced in 1989 with Rick Kramer (King Arthur) playing Lancelot. His wife, Kathy Kramer, played Nimue in the 1989 production and is the vocal director for this production. Rick, a two-time winner of the Cincinnati Entertainment Best Local Actor Award, is eager to play the role of King Arthur.

“While I loved singing the classic song, “If Ever I Would Leave You,” as Lancelot, Arthur’s character has more depth and dimension that I am excited to bring to life for the audience.”

One of the biggest surprises of CMT’s production of Camelot will be behind the stage, where a 28-piece orchestra (including a harp) will be directed and conducted by Charles Wilhelm, a long-time veteran of CMT who also played the French horn in the 1989 production. “An orchestra this large, especially for a community theater production, is a rarity,” says Charles. “But this score deserves it. It’s magic.”

The music and lyrics for Camelot are by the dynamic duo of Lerner and Loewe, and its Original Broadway Cast Album was on the charts for sixty weeks. Come hear the beautiful music and relive the legend with CMT’s production of Camelot at the Aronoff Center for the Arts this May!

CAMELOT is directed by Dennis Murphy and produced by Julie Beelman. It features Kathy Kramer as vocal director and Charles Wilhelm as musical director and conductor. Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot is presented by arrangement with Tams-Whitmark Music Library, Inc.

For more information about Cincinnati Music Theatre, visit www.cincinnatimusictheatre.org, LIKE us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cincinnatimusictheatre, and follow us on Twitter @CinMusicTheatre.

CAMELOT Performance Schedule 

  • Friday, May 11, 2018 – 7:30pm
  • Saturday, May 12, 2018 – 7:30pm
  • Sunday, May 13, 2018 – 2:00pm
  • Wednesday, May 16, 2018 – 7:30pm
  • Thursday, May 17, 2018 – 7:30pm
  • Friday, May 18, 2018 – 7:30pm
  • Saturday, May 19, 2018 – 7:30pm

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March 9, 2018 · 1:59 pm

Auditions Announced for THE CANTERVILLE GHOST at Beechmont Players

BPI_logoTHE CANTERVIILLE GHOST at Beechmont Players
(A play by Marisha Chamberlain, based on the story by Oscar Wilde)

Directed by Steve Phelan
Produced by Cathy Roesener

A no-nonsense American family buys a 500-year-old mansion in rural England, scoffing at warnings of a fierce resident ghost.  The spirited (and skeptical) Americans – Mother, Father, young Virginia, and her mischievous little twin brothers – find their match in the equally spirited and clever ghost, who is determined to scare them away.  Will they go, or will the ghost?

Auditions: Sunday, April 8th at 7:00pm and Monday, April 9th at 7:00pm

Cherry Grove Methodist Church, 1428 Eight Mile Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45255

Production: Six performances July 27-August 4, 2018 at the Anderson Center Theater, 7850 Five Mile Road in Anderson Township

Rehearsals will begin the week of May 14th and will scheduled according to cast availability.

Audition will consist of cold readings from the script.

CAST

  • OSCAR WILDE (the narrator) age 30-50.  May double with ghost.
  • LORD CANTERVILLE (former owner of Canterville Chase) older
  • HIRAM B. OTIS (Father of the American Family) age 40-50
  • LUCRETIA TAPPAN OTIS (Hiram’s wife) age 35-50
  • VIRGINIA OTIS (Hiram & Lucretia’s daughter) age 15
  • CHIP OTIS (Hiram & Lucretia’s other son) age 9-11
  • CHARLIE OTIS (Hiram & Lucretia’s other son) age 9-11
  • THE DUKE OF CHESHIRE (Virginia’s admirer) age 16
  • MRS. UMNEY (the English housekeeper) older
  • THE CANTERVILLE GHOST (Simon de Canterville)

Questions?    Email the director at stevephelan7588@gmail.com

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March 8, 2018 · 4:01 pm

Adult Auditions Announced for ANNIE at La Comedia Dinner Theatre

LAC_logoLa Comedia Dinner Theatre in Springboro, Ohio, is holding auditions for its upcoming production, ANNIE on Saturday, April 7, 2018, 12:00 p.m., at 765 W. Central Ave., Springboro, Ohio. All principals and chorus will be seen at the same open call.

CAST BREAKDOWN –

  • Miss Hannigan: Comic character woman, 30-60, must be able to belt and have excellent stage persona and comic ability
  • Daddy Warbucks: Character leading man, 30-50, rich baritone, imposing with an inner warmth
  • Rooster: Comic dancer/actor, 20-30, excellent comic ability
  • Grace: Beautiful leading lady, 20-30, soprano, elegant and sophisticated
  • Lilly: Comic dancer/actor, 20-30, belter, must have excellent comic sensibility

  • Ensemble: Needed are various types and ages to play multiple parts and understudy principal roles

Prepare 16 bars of a standard musical theatre song (ballad or up-tempo song), bring sheet music in appropriate key. Be prepared to dance.

Please provide a current headshot and resume.

Director/Choreographer is Chris Beiser
Rehearsals begin June 11, 2018. Performances June 28 – August 19, 2018.

Questions call Kris Byerly @ 937-746-4554 ext 241.
Non-equity.

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March 8, 2018 · 3:20 pm

Cincinnati Playhouse Presents the World Premiere of SOONER/LATER

Romantic comedy explores the role of fate in love and life

pip_sooner%2flater-promo

Photo by Tony Arrasmith/Arrasmith & Associates.

CINCINNATI—Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park will present the world premiere of SOONER/LATER in the Shelterhouse Theatre March 24 (Opening Night is March 29). The play will run through April 21 with support from The Rosenthal Family Foundation, Season Sponsor of New Work.

Written by Allyson Currin, SOONER/LATER is a captivating story with a metaphysical twist that navigates the tricky paths of romance, marriage, and parenting, while examining the role of fate in each one.

“While the play has serious themes, humor is my default setting,” Currin explains. “I don’t think I can write anything without packing in laughs. I prefer plays that make me laugh, so that’s what I try to write. I aspire to write plays that speak to the widest range of the human experience, and that includes both humor and pathos. It is my belief that plays that do both are the most universal and the easiest to care about.”

Currin was previously commissioned by the Playhouse to write High School Alien for the Playhouse’s Education and Outreach Series, and it toured to Greater Cincinnati schools and community centers in 2015.

In SOONER/LATER, single mother Nora somewhat reluctantly re-enters the dating scene. From the not-so-sidelines, her teenage daughter Lexie watches with particular — and highly vested interest — the mistakes her mom seems to make over and over again as she searches for the perfect partner. Following a series of inappropriate matches and then a string of prospect no-shows, Nora finds herself on the verge of giving up for good.

That’s when Griff improbably enters the picture — first as an inadvertent witness to Nora’s dating disasters and, ultimately, as a surprising and not-entirely-comfortable new suitor. But when complications inevitably arise, SOONER/LATER’s three characters must navigate fate’s unavoidable turns, exploring what happens when life moves from a world of possibility to one of certainty.

“With the character of Lexie, I gave myself a really special (and artistically luxuriant) opportunity to explore the dichotomies in teenagers, not only in terms of character but in structure as well,” Currin says. “I admire and respect the teen experience, and one of my biggest pet peeves is when older generations dismiss the intensity of that experience. It’s profound and important and formative… and should be treated as such in dramatic literature.”

Playhouse artistic director Blake Robison was immediately excited with the script for SOONER/LATER, which he describes as “smart, funny and heartbreaking, all at the same time.” He chose to make it the second consecutive world premiere production in the Playhouse’s Shelterhouse season this year. The fact that both premieres (the other being Deborah Zoe Laufer’s Be Here Now) are written by up-and-coming female playwrights is not coincidental.

“In recent years, the Playhouse has made a strong commitment to producing new plays by female playwrights, who have been underrepresented historically on our stages,” says Robison. “Ally is a rising star in the theatre world, and I wanted to make sure that Cincinnati audiences get to hear her voice.”

CAST
Mary Bacon as Nora, Todd Cerveris as Griff & Olivia Cygan as Lexie.

PRODUCTION
Lisa Rothe (Director); Narelle Sissons (Set Designer); Theresa Squire (Costume Designer); Barbara Samuels (Lighting Designer); Joe Payne (Sound Design and Composition); Stephanie Klapper (Casting Director); Brooke Redler (Stage Manager).

SPECIAL EVENT
Playwriting for Young Audiences with Allyson Currin
Saturday, March 31, 10 a.m. at the Playhouse. Cost is $50 per person. Open to adults and teens (16-year-olds and above). Please call the Playhouse Box Office to reserve your spot at 513-421-3888.

PERFORMANCES
Evening performances on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays start at 7:30 p.m;
Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m. Matinee performance on Saturdays start at 4pm, Sundays at 2 p.m. as well as on Wednesday, March 28 at 1 p.m. Meet the Artists are scheduled after matinee performances on April 1 and 8, as well as after evening performances on April 11 and 19.

TICKETS
Prices for SOONER/LATER start at $35 depending on seat selection and performance day and are subject to change. Tickets for teens and students are $30. Student tickets are just $15 on the day of the show. Plus, Sunday is College Night, with tickets to all 7 p.m. performances just $10. In addition to calling the Box Office, tickets can also be purchased by visiting the Playhouse website at www.cincyplay.com.

ACCESS
The Playhouse is fully accessible. Large print programs and hearing enhancement receivers are available upon request.

BOX OFFICE
513-421-3888 or 800-582-3208 toll-free in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana; or 513-345-2248 – TDD access (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf).

SPONSORS
Atkins & Pearce is the Artist sponsor. The Shelterhouse Theatre Season is presented by Heidelberg Distributing Company. The Season Sponsor of New Work is The Rosenthal Family Foundation. The Shelterhouse Theatre Season Design Sponsor is Allan Berliant and Jennie Rosenthal Berliant Family Fund. The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust provided additional support.

The Playhouse is supported by the generosity of more than 40,000 contributors to the ArtsWave Community Campaign. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund the Playhouse with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The Playhouse also receives funding from the Shubert Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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