Category Archives: Events

Walnut Hills High School Theatre Department Brings Four Performances to One Stage in A Student Directed One Act Festival

“We’re all mad here”

You won’t want to miss Walnut Hills High School Theatre Department’s very first Student Directed One Act Festival, with two junior high plays: ALICE adapted by Lindsay Price from the novel by Lewis Carroll, & SUPERHEROES: WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY by Ian McWethy; and two senior high plays: TERMINAL LUCIDITY: A DADA INSPIRED FEMINIST SCREAM by Amy Bernstein, & THE ACTOR’S NIGHTMARE by Christopher Durang. Each of the four plays will run with two performances in the Rick Steiner Black Box Theater.

WHHS One Act press-AliceALICE Show Synopsis:
ALICE follows the white rabbit down the rabbit hole into Wonderland, where she meets a cornucopia of strange creatures. A caterpillar gives advice, the Mad Hatter and March Hare are always at tea time, and the Queen of Hearts continually cries, “Off with her head!” The Cheshire Cat says everyone in Wonderland is mad, and therefore Alice must be too. Has Alice lost her head? Only the Cheshire Cat knows for sure.

Directed by Sophia Rooksberry
Stage Manager: Lucia Johns

Featuring:
Kaelyn Carr as Alice, Wolf Singer as Cheshire Cat 1/Mad Hatter, Khara Rosebrook as Cheshire Cat 2/March Hare, Molly Rebber as Cheshire Cat 3/Doormouse, Ella Shaffer as White Rabbit, Nate Caudill as Caterpillar/King of Hearts, Josie Leanza as Pigeon/Queen of Hearts, Clare Graff as Duchess/Jury Member, Lizzy Rebber as Low Door/Cook, Theresa Nguyen as Door 1/Baby/Knave, Charleigh Bates Door 2/Footman 1/Card 2, Shannon Speaker as Door 3/Footman 2/Card 5, Aidan Brogan as Door 4/Lackey/Card 7, Paloma Lanzador as Key/Stove/Jury Member, Naima Jones as Bottle/Stove/Jury Member, Kyra Doty as Cake/Stove/Jury Member

WHHS One Act press-SuperheroesSUPERHEROES: WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY Show Synopsis:
For superheroes, saving the world is tough, but the time spent away from work is tougher. The Hulk has to do taxes, a crime-fighting sidekick joins a support group, and Batman goes stir-crazy without enough criminals to take down. SUPERHEROES is a funny, fast-paced series of vignettes that explores how the caped crusaders deal with life in street clothes.

Directed by Peter Godsey
Stage Manager: Chloe Burwinkel

Featuring:
Isabella Lachey as Black Widow, Maya Busche as Storm, Jude Shotwell as Batman, Sarah Gebremeskel as Nelly/Ventnor, Marcus Ray as Clark/Tommy, Anna Visger as Ulma/Teen 2, Iris Westfall as Tucker/Teen 1, Caitlyn Hollywood as Hulk/Jimmy, Nola Stowe as Woman/Tina/Fan, Helen Sandhu as Felicia/Mia, Alejandra Frecker as Orin/Client, Andrew Canter as Robin/Boss, Julia Wasem as Garth/Manager, and Katie Berich as Penelope/Teen Girl.

Both Junior High One Acts run Friday, December 6 at 7 PM, and Saturday, December 7 at 2 PM.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for staff and students.

WHHS One Act press-Terminal LucidityTERMINAL LUCIDITY: A DADA INSPIRED FEMINIST SCREAM Show Synopsis:
She could be your friend, your neighbor, your relative: And she’s struggling to cope with a monster in her midst. What’s the right thing to do? Is there a right thing?

Directed by Bettina Ernst
Stage Manager: Grace Allen

Featuring:
Sophie Christian as Journalist, Lily Clark as Senator, Diana Hutchinson as Soldier, Uyen Dao as Offspring, Grace Kelly Fulton as Wife/Mistress, Avery Frank as Old Woman, Anna Gavin as BPC, Nina Roberto as Girl, and Sarah Mansfield as Baroness.

WHHS One Act press-Actor's NightmareTHE ACTOR’S NIGHTMARE Show Synopsis:
Having casually wandered onstage, George is informed that one of the actors, Eddie, has been in an auto accident and he must replace him immediately. Apparently, no one is sure of what play is being performed but George (costumed as Hamlet) seems to find himself in the middle of a scene from Private Lives, surrounded by such luminaries as Sarah Siddons, Dame Ellen Terry, and Henry Irving. As he fumbles through one missed cue after another the other actors shift to Hamlet, then a play by Samuel Beckett, and then a climactic scene from what might well be A Man for All Seasons—by which time the disconcerted George has lost all sense of contact with his fellow performers.

Directed by Talia Raider-Roth
Stage Manager: Hannah Wardlow

Featuring:
Allison Robertson as George Spelvin, Christina Picklo as Sarah Siddons, Lily Canter as Dame Ellen Terry, Colby James as Meg, Ella Vaughn as Executioner, and Jackson Prus as Henry Irving.

Festival Production Stage Manager: Olive Leonardi
Festival Assistant Stage Managers: Reagan Warvel & JP Oberst

Both Senior High One Acts run Saturday, December 7 at 7 PM, and Sunday, December 8 at 2 PM.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for staff and students.

To purchase tickets: https://sites.google.com/view/whhstheatredepartment/tickets

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THE LYIN’ KINGS Presented by The Capitol Steps at Memorial Hall

MISC_The Lyin Kings loogThe Capitol Steps: THE LYIN’ KINGS
March 7 at 5pm & 8pm

“They’re the best. There’s no one like them, no one in their league.”
— Larry King, CNN

“The Capitol Steps make it easier to leave public life.”
— Former President George H. W. Bush

OVER 30 YEARS AGO, the Capitol Steps began as a group of Senate staffers who set out to satirize the very people and places that employed them. In the years that followed, many of the Steps ignored the conventional wisdom (“Don’t quit your day job!”), and although not all of the current members of the Steps are former Capitol Hill staffers, taken together the performers have worked in a total of eighteen Congressional offices and represent 62 years of collective House and Senate staff experience.

Since they began, the Capitol Steps have recorded over 35 albums, including their latest, THE LYIN’ KINGS. They’ve been featured on NBC, CBS, ABC, and PBS, and can be heard twice a year on National Public Radio stations nationwide during their Politics Takes a Holiday radio specials.

The Capitol Steps were born in December, 1981 when some staffers for Senator Charles Percy were planning entertainment for a Christmas party. Ronald Reagan was President when the Steps began, so co-founders Elaina Newport, Bill Strauss and Jim Aidala figured that if entertainers could become politicians, then politicians could become entertainers! Their first idea was to stage a nativity play, but in the whole Congress they couldn’t find three wise men or a virgin! So, they decided to dig into the headlines of the day, and created song parodies & skits which conveyed a special brand of satirical humor that was as popular in Peoria as it was on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Most cast members have worked on Capitol Hill; some for Democrats, some for Republicans, and others for politicians who firmly straddle the fence. No matter who holds office, there’s never a shortage of material. Says Elaina Newport, “Typically the Republicans goof up, and the Democrats party. Then the Democrats goof up and the Republicans party. That’s what we call the two-party system.”

ALTHOUGH the Capitol Steps are based in Washington, DC, most of their shows are out-of-town or for out-of-town audiences, whether it’s the National Welding Supply Association, a University audience, High Schoolers, or State Legislators. In fact, the Capitol Steps have performed for the last 5 Presidents (6, if you include Hillary). The only complaints the Steps seem to get are from politicians and personalities who are not included in the program!

No matter who or what is in the headlines, you can bet the Capitol Steps will tackle both sides of the political spectrum and all things equally foolish. What more would you expect from the group that puts the “MOCK” in Democracy?!

Click here to purchase tickets.

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Anderson Theatre brings MAMMA MIA! to the Titus Stage this November!

AHST_Mama Mia #1Warm your heart on a Greek Island paradise where, on the eve of her wedding, Sophie’s quest to discover the identity of her father brings three men from her mother Donna’s past back to the island they last visited 20 years ago. Friends and family sing, dance, and share secrets as they try to reconcile Donna’s past with Sophie’s future. Emotions run high and surprises abound in this sunny and funny musical tale of love and friendship, appropriate for all ages.

Set to the unforgettable music of ABBA, the show includes such hits as “Super Trouper”, “Lay All Your Love on Me”, “Dancing Queen”, “Knowing Me, Knowing You”, and “Take a Chance on Me.” It premiered on London’s West End in 1999, on Broadway in 2001, and is the longest-running jukebox musical in Broadway history. Over 60 million people have seen “Mamma Mia” since its 1999 debut, and this November Anderson Theatre gives you the chance to fall in love with it as well. Don’t let this ship sail without you!

Performances are November 22 and 23 at 7pm and November 24 at 2pm. Tickets are $10 each and can be purchased online at www.showtix4u.com/events/AndersonTheatre.

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Romantic Comedy THE BARTERED BRIDE Opens CCM’s 2019-2020 Opera Series

CCM_The Bartered Bride promo

CCMONSTAGE Opera Series presents THE BARTERED BRIDE on Nov. 21-24, 2019. Tickets are on sale now

CINCINNATI, OH — UC’s College-Conservatory of Music opens its new CCMONSTAGE Opera Series with Bedřich Smetana’s romantic comedy THE BARTERED BRIDE, which runs Nov. 21-24, 2019 at Patricia Corbett Theater. This classic Czech opera is described as “irresistible for its charming characters and lively pace, and, above all, for its rich, colorful score” by the New York Times.

Part bubbly operetta and part Bohemian folk pageant, CCM sets THE BARTERED BRIDE in a Czech community in Texas in 1948. Mařenka is arranged to marry the son of a rich landowner, but she is in love with someone else. Defiantly, Mařenka vows before her parents that she will only accept her love, Jeník, as her husband. As her parents and the matchmaker fight for the arranged marriage, the young lovers fight against tradition in order to be together.

“This story lends itself wonderfully to being shaped from a modern point of view,” says CCM Artist Diploma student Audrey Chait, director of the opera. “This production explores what it means to be a young American immigrant, preserving the traditions of the old country while embracing a new way of life.”

CCM’s production is conducted by guest artist and CCM alumnus Levi Hammer (DMA Orchestral Conducting) and features a new English singing libretto by CCM Opera faculty member Kathleen Kelly. The opera’s original libretto is by Karel Sabina. The process of translation and adaptation started between Kelly and Chait in the summer. In order to make the translation more authentic to the immigrant experience, some text is left in the original Czech.

“In the spirit of realism, the folk songs are sung as-is, as are moments when characters do not want to filter their most urgent thoughts through a second language,” Chait adds.

Movers and Makers magazine named CCM’s production of THE BARTERED BRIDE a “must see” event of Cincinnati’s music and opera of the fall season. Read more about this season’s Opera Series in The News Record.

The 2019-20 CCMONSTAGE Opera Series presents THE BARTERED BRIDE on Nov. 21-24, 2019, at Patricia Corbett Theater. Tickets are on sale now through the CCM Box Office; student discounts are available.

Creative Team 

  • Audrey Chait*, director
  • Levi Hammer, conductor
  • Kathleen Kelly, master coach
  • Molly Getsinger*, chorus master
  • David Adams, Czech language advisor
  • Joshua E. Gallagher*, scenic designer
  • Blaine Shepherd*, costume designer
  • Nina Algelvis*, lighting designer
  • Zachory Ivans*, sound designer
  • Cheyenne Holbert*, wig and make-up designer
  • Marley Giggey*, production stage manager
  • Myrrh Sewell*, prop master
  • Shauna Steele, movement consultant
    * CCM Student

Cast List

  • Samuel Kidd*, Jordan Krack+ as Krušina, a peasant
  • Deborah Rivera-Badillo*, Rachel Ballitch+ as Ludmila, his wife
  • Jordan Stadvec*, Brittany Olivia Logan+ as Mařenka, their daughter
  • Turner Staton as Mícha, a landowner
  • Elana Bell as Háta, his wife
  • Tayte Mitchell*, Mishael Eusebio+ as Vašek, their son
  • Victor Cardamone*, Jordan Loyd+ as Jeník, Mícha’s son by a former marriage
  • Michael Hyatt*, Ryan Wolfe+ as Kecal, a marriage broker
  • Manfred Anaya as Principál komediantů, ringmaster
  • Justin Burgess as actor
  • Anyeé Farrar*, Vistoria Ellington+ as Esmeralda, dancer and comedienne
  • Manfred Anaya, Alexander Kapp, James Henry Benson, Haksung Lee, Megan Graves, Anna Mosoriak, David Guzmán, Michael Pandolfo, Saane Halaholo, Josey
    Poppin, Johan Hartman, Yi-Chun Tsai, Andrea Tulipana as ensemble
  • Sophie Beadie, Sarah Santarsiero, Lily Kozub, Rebekah Docea, Erika Shi, Meg Green, Ying-Chi Lu as circus performers
    * Thursday, Nov. 21 and Saturday, Nov. 23
    + Friday, Nov. 22 and Sunday, Nov. 24

Performance Times

  • 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21
  • 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22
  • 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23
  • 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24

Location
Patricia Corbett Theater, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Single tickets prices start at $39.50; Student discounts and group rates are also available.

Learn about additional ticket options for current CCM students.

Subscribe to CCMONSTAGE’s Three-Show Opera Series for just $89.

Tickets and subscriptions can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online now through our e-box office.

Directions and Parking
CCM is located on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. Please visit
ccm.uc.edu/about/directions for detailed driving directions to CCM Village.

Parking is available in UC’s CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors.

CCMONSTAGE Production Sponsor: Macy’s and Dr. & Mrs. Carl G. Fischer

Opera Production Sponsor: Genevieve Smith

Story by CCM Graduate Student Kelly Barefield

A preeminent institution for the performing and media arts, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is the largest single source of performing arts presentations in the state of Ohio. All event dates and programs are subject to change. For a complete calendar of events, please visit us online at https://ccm.uc.edu/.

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World Premiere, LIKE DEMONS on Nov. 22-25

IBP_Like Demons logoInBocca Performance is pleased to announce the World Premiere of LIKE DEMONS, a brand-new show from playwright Maggie Lou Rader and director Alice Flanders.

We’ve all learned in history class that the Civil War pitted brother against brother. This autumn, leave the history books behind and learn the untold real-life story of the women who hid their true selves and dressed like men to give their lives for their country and Eight for what they thought was right. Focusing on Sarah Emma Edmonds (Nurse and Spy in the Union Army,) playwright Maggie Lou Rader brings the same careful study to the women of the Civil War as she did to Mary Shelley in the Know Theatre’s 2018 hit production of Mary’s Monster.

Come join us for a swashbuckling, emotionally charged adventure you definitely didn’t learn about in high school! Starring eight Cincinnati favorites: Elizabeth Carman, Esther Cunningham, Hannah Gregory, Ashley Morton, Ryan-Chavez Richmond, Chaslee Schweitzer, Rory Sheridan, and Kate Stark.

LIKE DEMONS will run Friday, November 22nd through Monday, November 25th. All performances are at 7:30 P.M. at Leapin Lizard (724 Main St, Covington, KY 41011).

Tickets are $15, and the show is appropriate for most ages (please be advised there is light cursing and stylized depictions of war and violence.)

To order tickets, please visit inboccaperformance.com or follow the links
below:

InBocca Performance utilizes experimental theatre methods to create devised works highlighting women specifically, which build actors’ craft and produce a unique experience for the audience; all under general direction from producer Caroline Stine.

History of the Company
InBocca Performance humbly began as the Cliffview Players in a basement in 1997 and became a main stage company in 2008. Notable past performances for the Ft. Thomas Community Theatre were Peter Pan in 2008 and Into the Woods in 2010. Artistic Director Caroline Stine began working with young actors to devise theatrical pieces in the summer of 2011 at The Village Players in Ft. Thomas, KY. In 2012, they created The Maid of Orleans, an emotionally charged production about Joan of Arc. The next year, they created Romeo y Margarita, a story that combined the lyricism of Shakespearean verse with the romance of the Spanish language. They then expanded to create art within greater Cincinnati, including a sellout production of Swan Lake: A Waking Dream at the
Southgate House Revival in 2015, followed by My Twisted Face at Cincinnati Fringe Festival. In 2016, InBocca performed at Cincy Fringe again with Charlie’s Girls, which built a script almost entirely from testimonies from the trials of the Charles Manson murders. In 2017, InBocca created ALICE, a dance/theatre sequel to Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland set in a Victorian asylum. Ms. Caroline Stine received her Bachelor degree from Butler University and her Masters in Contemporary Performance from Naropa University in Boulder, CO. She received theatrical training in Italy and Russia and participated in the Crisis Arts Festival in Arezzo, Italy. She is currently teaching at Northern Kentucky University and Notre Dame Academy.

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