Author Archives: robbucher

NEWPORT, KY — The Footlighters, Inc., is proud to present a bubbly love letter to the Golden Age of musical theater, a show that sparkles with mayhem, mix-ups, and a wedding (or four!): The Drowsy Chaperone.

To chase his blues away, a reclusive musical theater addict shares his favorite Broadway cast album with the audience. Magically, the 1928 musical comedy The Drowsy Chaperone bursts to life in his apartment as he delivers a running commentary about the show. The musical tells the hilarious tale of a wedding between a popular Broadway starlet and a handsome, tap-dancing millionaire. But will the wedding take place? With a forgetful best man, a scheming ex-producer, two gangsters in disguise, and a perpetually inebriated chaperone, what could possibly go wrong?

Award-winning actor and published playwright Eric Thomas makes his musical theater and Footlighters debut as the show’s narrator, “Man in Chair.” After catching the theater bug watching his niece and nephew perform, Eric made his Cincinnati community theater debut in Village Players of Fort Thomas’ Almost Maine in 2014. He has been an onstage fixture at numerous groups over the last 10 years, including Mariemont Players, Village Players, and The Drama Workshop. Eric has served as The Drama Workshop’s President for four years and produces its Home Brew Theatre, an annual festival of short plays of local authors. He’s an engineer for Toyota by day, and community theater has allowed him to try his hand at new skills such as directing, producing, set building, light designing, and even tap dancing! He is the proud recipient of the Outstanding Performer award from the Kentucky Theater Association festival and the Kentucky Playwright’s Workshop award for Best Monologue.

Performances:

• Thursday – Saturday, September 19 – 21 at 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, September 22 at 2:00 p.m.
• Thursday – Saturday, September 26 – 28 at 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, September 29 at 2:00 p.m.
• Thursday – Saturday, October 3 – 5 at 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, October 6 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 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 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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