Category Archives: On Stage

August 17, 2023 · 7:00 am

SOUVENIR Runs Aug. 25-Sept. 3

LTC_SouvenirSOUVENIR
Lebanon Theatre Company
Aug. 25-Sept. 3
[Lebanon]

Directed by Saul Caplan
Produced by Kate Edington

For more than half a century the name Florence Foster Jenkins has been guaranteed to produce explosions of derisive laughter. Not unreasonably so, as this wealthy society eccentric suffered under the delusion that she was a great coloratura soprano when she was in fact incapable of producing two consecutive notes in tune. Nevertheless, her annual recitals in the ballroom of the Ritz Carlton hotel brought her extraordinary fame. Her growing mob of fans packed her recitals, stuffing handkerchiefs in their mouths to stifle their laughter—which Mrs. Jenkins blissfully mistook for cheers. SOUVENIR, by turn hilarious and poignant, tells her story through the eyes of her accompanist, Cosme McMoon. Eyewitness accounts of their concerts vary so wildly it is almost impossible now to separate fact from gossip. Hence this fictional “biography,” in which we follow the story of their partnership from its earliest days to their infamous concert in Carnegie Hall and its aftermath. With each new imagined triumph Florence’s confidence soars. Faced with her boundless certainty, Cosme comes to revise his attitude, not only towards her singing but to the very meaning of music itself. A musical odd-couple for the ages.

  • Fri-Sat, Aug. 25-26 at 7:30pm
  • Sun, Aug. 27 at 2pm
  • Fri-Sat, Sept. 1-2 at 7:30pm
  • Sun, Sept. 3 at 2pm

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August 17, 2023 · 6:59 am

THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME Runs Aug. 25-Sept. 3

INNOVA_Hunchback of Notre DameTHE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME
INNOVAtheatre
Aug. 25-Sept. 3
Sorg Opera House [Middletown]

Directed by Richard Lee Waldeck
Musical and orchestral direction by George Drewyor
Choregraphed by Isadore Karrick

The musical begins as the bells of Notre Dame sound through the famed cathedral in fifteenth-century Paris. Quasimodo, the deformed bell-ringer who longs to be “Out There,” observes all of Paris reveling in the Feast of Fools. Held captive by his devious caretaker, the archdeacon Dom Claude Frollo, he escapes for the day and joins the boisterous crowd, only to be treated cruelly by all but the beautiful Romani woman, Esmeralda. Quasimodo isn’t the only one captivated by her free spirit, though – the handsome Captain Phoebus and Frollo are equally enthralled. As the three vie for her attention, Frollo embarks on a mission to destroy the Roma – and it’s up to Quasimodo to save them all.

  • Fri-Sat, Aug. 25-26 at 8pm
  • Sun, Aug. 27 at 3pm
  • Fri-Sat, Sept. 1-2 at 8pm
  • Sun, Sept. 3 at 3pm

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August 15, 2023 · 6:20 am

THE SOUND OF MUSIC Runs Aug. 25-Sept. 1

MTC_Sound of MusicTHE SOUND OF MUSIC
Merit Theatre Company
Aug. 25-Sept. 1
Anderson Center

Directed and produced by Benjamin and Kaitlyn Iocco
Vocal Direction by Marnie Lemma
Conducted by Benjamin Price
Choreographed by Jerry Armelli, Mia Armelli, and Danielle Ashley

Cast: Rachel Cobbs as Maria Rainer, Holly Price as Mother Abbess, Chris Murphy as Captain Georg von Trapp, Dylan Shelton as Franz, Marnie Lemma as Frau Schmidt, Corinne Baumann as Liesl von Trapp, Owen Iles as Friedrich von Trapp, Molly Crimmins as Louisa von Trapp, Luca Brol as Kurt von Trapp, Claire Hunkler as Brigitta von Trapp, Evelyn Heubach as Marta von Trapp, Zoe Lemma as Gretl von Trapp, Austin Mills as Rolf Gruber, Delaney O’Toole as Elsa Schraeder, Alex DeVore as Max Detweiler, Miriam Cantwell as Sister Berthe/Frau Zeller, Mariah Smith as Sister Margaretta, Bernadette Calvino as Sister Sophia, Bob Dronberger as Baron Elberfeld, Cheryl Eresman as Baroness Elberfeld, Matt Dentino as Herr Zeller & John Dorney as Admiral von Schreiber
Ensemble: Olivia Barthauer, Morgan Becker, Cheryl Eresman, Gregg Farrier, Mark Kozelek, Maggie Lemma, Marnie Lemma, Grace Manning, Max McDaniel, Veronica Nies, Sydney Orndorff, Kate Pahls, Erika Sammond, Kenna Scott, Josephine Shaut, Ethan Wecklery & Adria Whitfill

One of the most beloved musicals of all time! In 1938 Austria, an exuberant young governess brings music and joy back to a broken family, only to face danger and intrigue as the Nazis gain power.

  • Fri, Aug. 25 at 7:30pm
  • Sat, Aug. 26 ta 2pm & 7:30pm
  • Sun, Aug. 27 at 3pm
  • Thu, Aug. 31 at 7:30pm
  • Fri, Sept. 1 at 7:30pm

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August 15, 2023 · 6:09 am

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY Runs Aug. 24-26

TREE_August Osage CountyAUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY
Tree County Players
Aug. 24-26
[Greensburg, Ind.]

Directed by Sean Durbin

Cast: Tom Flemming as Beverly Weston, Lori Durbin as Violet Weston, Allie Myers as Barbara Fordham, Erich Davies as Bill Fordham, Taylor Dennis as Jean Fordham, Julie Webster as Ivy Weston, Toni Kellems as Karen Weston, Shawna Schroeder as Mattie Fae Aiken, Bob Eister as Charlie Aiken, Rocky Miano as Little Charles Aiken, Liza as Johnna Monevata, Conlin Durbin as Steve Heidebrecht & Devin Morgan as Sheriff Deon Gilbeau

Winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for Best New Play, August: Osage County centers around the Weston family, brought together after their patriarch, world-class poet and alcoholic Beverly Weston, disappears. The matriarch, Violet, depressed and addicted to pain pills and “truth-telling,” is joined by her three daughters and their problematic lovers, who harbor their own deep secrets, her sister Mattie Fae and her family, well-trained in the Weston family art of cruelty, and finally, the observer of the chaos, the young Cheyenne housekeeper Johnna, who was hired by Beverly just before his disappearance. Holed up in the large family estate in Osage County, Oklahoma, tensions heat up and boil over in the ruthless August heat. Bursting with humor, vivacity, and intelligence, August: Osage County is both dense and funny, vicious and compassionate, enormous and unstoppable. Contains strong language and intense subject matter, including drug use, suicide, addiction, sexual references, and intergenerational trauma. Intended for mature audiences only. Recommended for ages 18+.

  • Thu-Sat, Aug. 24-26 at 7pm

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August 13, 2023 · 7:39 pm

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM Runs Aug. 18-20

SISP_Midsummer Nights DreamA MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
Shakespeare in South Park
Aug. 18-20
South Park Green [Dayton]

Directed by Jene Rebbin Shaw

Cast: Galen Wilson as Theseus, Duke of Athens, Susan Robert as Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, his bride, Elizabeth Horner as Philostrate, John Wysong as Egeus, Maura Piroch as Helena, Mary Beringer as Hermia, Chris Petree as Lysander, Benjamin Hedrick as Demetrius, Ray Geiger as Oberon, King, Kelly Johnson as Titania, Queen, Amelia Merithew as Puck, Oberon’s servant, Heather Atkinson as First Fairy, Phyllis Tonne as Second Fairy/Musician, Erin Bailey as Peaseblossom, Cindy Myers as Cobweb, Ruthey Schultz as Moth, Amanda Korb as Mustardseed, Athenian workmen, Wayne Wolfe as Peter Quince, a would-be playwright, David Meadows as Nick Bottom, a weaver, Marcus McCarty-Towers as Francis Flute, a bellows-mender, Caleb Boquist as Snug, a joiner, Scott Randolph as Tom Snout, a tinker & Raymond Goerig as Robin Starveling, a tailor

William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is made up of several interlocking plotlines, particularly the convoluted love story of Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius, and the disagreement between the fairy king Oberon and his queen Titania. Connecting these two storylines is Puck, Oberon’s mischievous fairy jester, who drives much of the action of the play. The frame narrative of Theseus’ marriage to Hippolyta in Athens is important, as its orderliness provides a contrast to the chaotic forest where magic reigns and the expected is constantly subverted.

  • Fri-Sun, Aug. 18-20 at 8pm

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