Category Archives: On Stage

2011 Fringe Adventure: Day Seven

Promotional Images for OTR 2081 and YOU ONLY LIVE FOREVER ONCE

Fringe performances on Tuesday, June 7th begin at 7pm. The two productions I’m attending tonight are:

  • 7pm at MOTR Pub
    OTR 2081 from DIY Productions
    It’s the winter of 2081. You leave the underground Wrigley Settlement and travel over 300 miles in an armored bus that protects you from searing heat and nuclear winds. You’ll visit OTR 2011, a resort that promises to take you back to the luxury of early 21st-century Ohio. Tour guides and re-enactors will offer you a peek at authentic pre-environmental-melt-down city life. You’ll see a functioning coffeehouse, parking garage, and “nightspot,” plus the largest known collection of Pre-EMD vehicles. It’s an adventure of a lifetime–who knows what you’ll do after you see life in 2011. 

DIY Productions have built a reputation in interactive performance art at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. Previous works include INNERCITY in 2008 and CALL ME in 2009.

  • 9:15pm at 1423 Vine
    YOU ONLY LIVE FOREVER ONCE from Four Humors Theater
    Danger. Intrigue. Dashing men. Clowns. Sexy women. Double crossing. The bad guy has a cat. Secrets. Dazzling Special effects. Puppets. The world is in peril and there is only one person who can save it! A new ridiculous comedy from Four Humors Theater and the artists who brought you THE FINKLES’ THEATER SHOW.

Reviews for both productions will be available on Wednesday.

Official Cincy Fringe site | Plan your Fringe-ing with my daily show grid |

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2011 Fringe Adventure: Day Six

Promotional images for THE MASCULINITY INDEX and OPAL OPUS: JOURNEY TO ALAKAZOO

Fringe performances on Monday, June 6th begin at 7pm. I have two shows on my schedule for the day:

  • 7pm at 1423 Vine
    THE MASCULINITY INDEX from Powerhouse Productions
    What makes a man? The answer to this question is ever elusive, but John Ware and William Brown delve fearlessly into their own hearts, minds, and guts, popular culture and conventional wisdom to uncover the truth. THE MASCULINITY INDEX  is the journey of one young man to attain a sense of having grown up and to cross the mythical barrier between boyhood and manhood. His path is littered with all the trials young men must conquer before they can rightfully call themselves men. Through soliloquy and encounters with the outside world, our young hero learns what is truly important. 

Conceived by recent CCM graduate John Ware who teams with sophomore William Brown in this two person show.

  • 8pm at Hanke 2
    OPAL OPUS: JOURNEY TO ALAKAZOO from Tangled Leaves Theatre Collective
    OPAL OPUS is a pop’ra, musically navigating the dark, whimsical, romantic, eccentric, creative processes of the soul. The “J” family is stuck in the familiar mire-muck of Disconnect – from their True Selves and one another. Desperate, the family embarks on a journey to find the Opal Opus in the mysterious land of Alakazoo. 

Serenity Fisher and Robin O’Neal Kissel, winners of the 2010 Audience Pick of the Fringe for SOPHIE’S DREAM, return this year with a new musical. In the cast, familiar names to local audiences include Ken Early, Blake Bowden and Aretta Baumgartner.

Reviews for both productions will be available on Tuesday.

Official Cincy Fringe site | Plan your Fringe-ing with my daily show grid |

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Performances for the week of May 16-22

RIGHT NEXT TO ME presented by Human Race Theatre Company, May 26-June 12. Jamie Cordes and Maria Couch in a photo by Scott J. Kimmins.

T H I S   W E E K   O N L Y

No productions this week

O P E N I N G    T H I S    W E E K 

RIGHT NEXT TO ME [Dayton]
Presented by Human Race Theatre Company through June 12
In preview Thu at 8pm
Fri-Sat at 8pm, Sun at 2pm
www.humanracetheatre.org/1011rntm.shtml
Premiere of a new musical about a war widow’s attempt to cope with her Marine husband’s death in Iraq. Gregg Coffin (Convenience, Five Course Love) takes the widow and her husband’s brother (also a Marine) on a quest to scatter her husband’s ashes where he requested, setting off flashbacks of their life and love and leading to an emotionally uplifting transformation. This final version of right next to me is the result of major transformations itself, and is much different from the content of the show when it was part of The Human Race Musical Theatre Workshops in 2009.

C O N T I N U I N G   T H I S   W E E K

HAIRSPRAY [Springboro]
Presented by La Comedia Dinner Theatre through June 26
Wed-Thu, Sun at 10:30am & 5:30pm, Fri-Sat at 5:30pm
www.lacomedia.com/11sevenbrides.htm
It’s 1962, and pleasantly plumpBaltimore teen Tracy Turnblad has only one desire – to dance on the popular Corny Collins Show. When her dream comes true,Tracy is transformed from social outcast to sudden star, but she must use her newfound power to vanquish the reigning Teen Queen, win the affections of heartthrob Link Larkin and integrate a TV network – all without denting her ‘do!

THE PAVILION [Eden Park]
Presented by Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park through June 12
Tue-Wed at 7:30pm, Thu-Fri at 8pm, Sat at 4pm & 8pm, Sun at 2pm & 7pm
http://cincyplay.com/shows/Details.aspx?performanceNumber=8946
Twenty years ago, Peter and Kari were the perfect couple – high school sweethearts and very much in love. When Kari got pregnant, a panicked Peter fled town. Now, at their high school reunion, Peter wants to win her back. As the night progresses, Peter and Kari spin a tale of what-might-have-been with what-could-be. By turns poetic and comic, romantic and philosophical, The Pavilion has been hailed by critics as “an Our Town for our time.”

C L O S I N G   T H I S   W E E K

42ND STREET [Dayton]
Presented by Wright State University through May 28
Thu-Fri at 8pm, Sat at 2pm & 8pm, Sun at 2pm
www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=188149944565320

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM [Downtown]
Presented by Cincinnati Shakespeare Company through May 25
Tue-Wed at 7:30pm
www.ticketturtle.com/index.php?ticketing=csc
Couldn’t make it to see a performance in the park last year? Can’t wait for the park tour to begin next August? Join us at CSC as we perform our touring production of William Shakespeare’s most popular comedy, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. For the low price of $12 you can enjoy the show indoors with no bugs, no rain, and no sitting on the ground!

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES [Dayton]
Presented by Dayton Playhouse through May 29
Fri-Sat at 8pm, Sun at 2pm
www.daytonplayhouse.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=112&Itemid=125
Georges and his lover Albin have lived happily together for many years. Albin is the club’s star female impersonator while Georges is the club’s Master of Ceremonies. The fireworks begin when Georges’ son, Jean-Michel, a result from a brief encounter years back, announces that he is engaged to … a girl! Anne is the daughter of a well-known homophobic politician, Edouard Dindon. Anne’s parents want to come and meet Jean-Michel’s mother and father. Little do they know that Albin, a man, has been Jean-Michel’s mother figure his whole life. Jean-Michel wants to keep Albin away from the Dindons but Albin is hurt and insists on making an appearance!

LEADING LADIES [Mariemont]
Presented by the Mariemont Players through May 29
Thu-Fri at 8pm, Sat at 4pm & 8pm, Sun at 2pm
www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=145480652188816
Two English Shakespearean actors find themselves so down on their luck that they are performing “Scenes from Shakespeare” on the Moose Lodge circuit in the Amish country of Pennsylvania. When they hear that an old lady in York, PA, is about to die and leave her fortune to her two long lost English nephews, they r…esolve to pass themselves off as her beloved relatives and get the cash. Trouble is, when they get to York, they find out that the relatives aren’t nephews, but nieces! Romantic entanglements abound, especially when one falls head-over-heels in love with the old lady’s vivacious niece, who’s engaged to the local minister.

MAURITIUS [Dayton]
Presented by Dayton Theatre Guild through May 29
Fri at 8pm, Sat at 5pm, Sun at 3pm
www.daytontheatreguild.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=111%3Amauritius&catid=41%3Aseason&Itemid=95
Stamp collecting is far more risky than you think. After their mother’s death, two estranged half-sisters discover a book of rare stamps that may include the crown jewel for collectors. One sister tries to collect on the windfall, while the other resists for sentimental reasons. In this gripping tale, a seemingly simple sale becomes dangerous when three seedy, high-stakes collectors enter the sisters’ world, willing to do anything to claim the rare find as their own.

PARALLEL LIVES [Fairfield]
Presented by Fairfield Footlighters through May 29
Fri-Sat at 8pm, Sun at 2pm
http://fairfieldfootlighters.org/page13.html
Take a fun-filled journey as two actresses march from adolescence to midlife crisis in an evening of sketches on subjects such as men, women, love, women, relationships, women, guilt, family, religion, and women. A delightful and biting satire, the play explores the plight of women and the pandemonium that ensues when the two sexes try to get along.

SHOWTUNE [Newport]
Presented by Footlighters Inc through May 28
Wed-Sat at 8pm
www.footlighters.org/shows/showtune/main.html
Sunday Clothes” and enjoy this toe-tapping revue celebrating the work of Jerry Herman, composer and lyricist for some of Broadway’s greatest shows and recipient of the 2009 Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater. Incorporating hit song after hit song, Showtune is sure to please audiences young and old alike with witty lyrics set to iconic tunes from shows including Hello, Dolly!, Mame, Mack & Mabel and La Cage aux Folles.

THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA [Downtown]
Presented by Cincinnati Shakespeare Company through May 29
Thu-Sat at 7:30pm, Sun at 2pm
www.cincyshakes.com/the-two-gentlemen-of-verona.html
They’re used to swingin’, but how will two bonafide ladies’ men deal with settling down? The lure of love is the central theme of Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona, set in the funkadelic 1970s. Check out the action as Valentine and Proteus pursue two foxy chicks, both eventually falling for lady #2. But when lady #1 comes to town disguised as a dude, the trip goes from far out to totally bogus. Join us for this hip comedy, and find out if true love conquers all, ya dig?

The information above is accurate to the best of my ability, but subject to change. Best practice is to verify before attending. 

Productions that have or are likely to sell out performances (so reserve your seats early!): LEADING LADIES

For performances by date, follow this link: https://behindthecurtaincincy.com/2011/05/23/performances-by-date-for-the-week-of-may-16-22/

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Performances BY DATE for the week of May 16-22

Performances by date will be its separate entry for the next few weeks. It is very time-consuming to do by hand, and if it is not being used, I’m going to stop doing it. In other words, click it or lose it. 🙂

TUESDAY, MAY 24
7:30pm                 A Midsummer Night’s Dream
7:30pm                 The Pavilion

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25
10:30am               Hairspray
5:30pm                 Hairspray
7:30pm                 A Midsummer Night’s Dream
7:30pm                 The Pavilion
8pm                       Showtune

THURSDAY, MAY 26
10:30am               Hairspray
5:30pm                 Hairspray
7:30pm                 The Two Gentlemen of Verona
8pm                       42nd Street
8pm                       Leading Ladies
8pm                       The Pavilion
8pm                       Right Next to Me (preview)
8pm                       Showtune

FRIDAY, MAY 27
5:30pm                 Hairspray
7:30pm                 The Two Gentlemen of Verona
8pm                       42nd Street
8pm                       La Cage Aux Folles
8pm                       Leading Ladies
8pm                       Mauritius
8pm                       Parallel Lives
8pm                       The Pavilion
8pm                       Right Next to Me
8pm                       Showtune

SATURDAY, MAY 28
2pm                       42nd Street
4pm                       Leading Ladies
4pm                       The Pavilion
5pm                       Mauritius
5:30pm                 Hairspray
7:30pm                 The Two Gentlemen of Verona
8pm                       42nd Street
8pm                       La Cage Aux Folles
8pm                       Leading Ladies
8pm                       Parallel Lives
8pm                       The Pavilion
8pm                       Right Next to Me
8pm                       Showtune

SUNDAY, MAY 29
10:30am               Hairspray
8pm                       42nd Street
2pm                       La Cage Aux Folles
2pm                       Leading Ladies
2pm                       Parallel Lives
2pm                       The Pavilion
2pm                       Right Next to Me
2pm                       The Two Gentlemen of Verona
3pm                       Mauritius
5:30pm                 Hairspray
7pm                       The Pavilion

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