Category Archives: Press Releases

January 31, 2022 · 11:55 am

HARPERS FERRY 2019 at the Know Theatre

KTC_Harpers Ferry 2019 promo“I can’t join any crusades right now, I just can’t!”

HARPERS FERRY 2019
by Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin

March 4 – 20, 2022
NOW Livestreaming Through March 19

What happens when history threatens to repeat itself?

When three young park rangers clash over a work assignment, sparks of romance and revolution fly up in Harpers Ferry 2019, running March 4 – 20 at Know Theatre of Cincinnati.

In sleepy West Virginia, a love triangle of National Park rangers train for a living history reenactment about John Brown’s ill-fated raid on Harpers Ferry one hundred sixty years after the event while a reality tv documentary crew looks on. When race and politics enter the equation, the realities of American life collide explosively with the narratives of our history.

This production is presented simultaneously live onstage and livestreaming. Livestreamed performances are Wednesday through Saturday, at 8 PM. The base ticket price for livestreaming is $10; we also offer a $20 livestream ticket option for audiences who would like to support our Living Wage initiative.

The Know’s third show back on our Jackson Street MainStage after we were shuttered by the pandemic, Harpers Ferry 2019 is a world premiere. This dark comedy by Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin had a workshop reading at The Alliance in Atlanta and will be fully staged for the first time for Cincinnati audiences.

Abolitionist John Brown’s 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry, on the banks of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, was a flashpoint leading up to the Civil War. Brown’s attempt to seize the U.S. Armory at Harpers Ferry did not, as he hoped, incite an uprising among the enslaved people in America, and Brown was convicted and hanged for treason, but Harpers Ferry has become a national historic park serving as a monument for the struggle for freedom and civil rights. 

Now, on the 75th anniversary of that park and the 160th anniversary of Brown’s ill-fated raid, three young park rangers prepare for a celebration and re-enactment, under the watchful eyes of a reality TV crew, documenting it all. But this isn’t “Real World: Harpers Ferry,”  and the sparks of interpersonal drama have the potential to light a metaphorical powder keg.

Tamara Winters, the Associate Artistic Director of the Know and director of Harpers Ferry 2019, shared her excitement for this world premiere:

“Playwright Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin is asking tough questions about whose perspective gets canonized when history gets recorded, and how the lens through which you view your history can wildly distort your view.

Is this a story a dark comedy about three young park rangers whose personal lives get increasingly tangled, a story about a reality tv crew trying to capture the drama of a complicated workplace, or an evisceration of our complicity in how we perpetuate cycles of violence?

The answer is YES to all three… plus it’s funny as hell.”

KTC_HARPERS FERRY 2019 cast

Samuel Fisher, Veronica Dang* & Ryan-Chavez Richmond.

Ryan-Chavez Richmond plays Jay, the ambitious park ranger who’s tasked with directing a living-history reenactment of John Brown’s raid. Veronica Dang* plays Celia, whose bright and polished demeanor hides a host of secrets. Samuel Fisher appears as wannabe-revolutionary Paul, who struggles to set aside his past with Celia even as he dreams of a bright future. The Know is pleased to welcome all three of these actors to their Know Theatre MainStage debuts.

Join us, in-person or livestreaming, for this brand-new play about the histories we re-tell – and the histories we repeat.

Tickets are available on our website, knowtheatre.com, or by calling our box office at 513-300-5669.

CAST

  • Veronica Dang* as Celia
  • Samuel Fisher as Paul
  • Ryan-Chavez Richmond as Jay
    *member of Actors’ Equity Association

PRODUCTION TEAM

  • Director: Tamara Winters
  • Lighting & Scenic Designer: Andrew J. Hungerford
  • Costume Designer: Noelle Wedig-Johnston
  • Sound and Projections Designer: Douglas J. Borntrager
  • Props Designer: Kayla Williams
  • Technical Director: Jim Stark
  • Stage Manager: Ben Dudley 

AT A GLANCE
Production: Harpers Ferry 2019 by Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin

Dates: March 4 -20, 2022; Wednesday – Saturday shows are at 8 PM; Sunday matinees are at 3 PM.

Where: Know Theatre, 1120 Jackson Street in Over-the-Rhine

Tickets: The standard ticket price is $25. Audiences may opt to support the Know’s initiative to pay all artists and employees a living wage by selecting the $35 Living Wage Ticket. Low-cost admission available for $15. On Wednesdays, as part of our Welcome Experiment, tickets are $5 in advance or FREE beginning one hour prior to the show. The Welcome Experiment is bright to you this season by Judge Mark P. Painter (Ret). 

Know Theatre is Cincinnati’s Theatrical Playground. The Know showcases unexpected voices, new works, and plays that embrace the inherent theatricality of the live experience. Know Theatre seeks to be a place where artists and audiences feel welcome to take artistic risks, creating work that is cutting edge and accessible. 

Know Theatre’s work is made possible, in part, by the generosity of community contributions to the ArtsWave Campaign.  

The Ohio Arts Council helps fund Know Theatre with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. 

Know Theatre is also supported by The Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation, helping to change our communities for the better through collaboration and innovation, and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, which provides a simple, powerful, and highly personal approach to giving.

 Know Theatre is a member of Theatre Communications Group and an Associate Member of the National New Play Network. 

###

Leave a comment

Filed under Press Releases

Tagged as

January 31, 2022 · 10:41 am

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati Presents ETC Summer Camps 2022

ETC_logo(Cincinnati, OH) Embrace your spark and run with it! Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati (ETC) presents a summer of fun, active camps, which feature a variety of exciting opportunities for kids and teens to connect with and learn from world-class theater professionals. Our camps and classes ignite students’ imaginations through the collaborative process of theatre, empower them as creative thinkers, and support their development as artists and young adults. No audition is necessary; however, space is limited.

Currently, all 2022 camps are scheduled to be in-person from 9:00am-5:00pm, and campers will be required to provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 as defined by the CDC.

Junior Summer Camp
Ages 7-15
July 11-22, 2022 (Mon-Fri only)
Tuition: $675

Unleash your child’s creativity with this fun two-week camp that focuses on acting fundamentals and promotes self-confidence, communication, and teamwork. Camp culminates in a production shared with family and friends. Workshops and topics include performance techniques, improv and acting, movement and stage combat, audition skills, and more! 

Technical Theatre Summer Intensive
Ages 13-18
July 18-22, 2022
Tuition: $295

This one-week intensive with technical theatre professionals takes a deep dive backstage as participants develop resourcefulness, teamwork, and creative problem-solving while exploring props, lighting, sound, set design, stage management, and more!

High School Summer Intensive
Ages 13-18
July 25-29, 2022
Tuition: $295

This one-week intensive includes five exciting, fun-packed days aimed at refining young artists’ acting skills and is appropriate for actors working to take their craft to the next level. Participants delve into more advanced performance topics including improv, acting, audition techniques, character development, script analysis, and more. This summer camp culminates in a showcase performance for family and friends. 

Registration
For more information or to register online, visit www.ensemblecincinnati.org/camps-classes or call (513) 421-3555. Save $25 on all registrations before March 31, 2022.

###

2021-2022 Season Presenting Sponsor is the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation.

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati is supported, in part, by the generosity of community contributions to the ArtsWave Campaign.

The Ohio Arts Council helps fund Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati also receives funding from the Shubert Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati is a professional theatre dedicated to producing world and regional premieres of works that often explore compelling social issues. We fulfill our mission through our stage productions and educational outreach programs that enlighten, enliven, enrich and inspire our audiences.

Leave a comment

Filed under Press Releases, Summer Programs for Youth

Tagged as

January 31, 2022 · 9:53 am

Human Race Passes the Artistic Leadership Baton to Emily N. Wells

HRTC_Emily N WellsThe Human Race Theatre Company Board of Trustees, the Artistic Director Search Committee and Executive Director, Kappy Kilburn, are pleased to announce the appointment of Emily N. Wells as The Human Race’s next Artistic Director. The Search Committee, comprised of artists, community leaders, Board members and Human Race staff voted unanimously to appoint Wells after a thorough nationwide search that began last summer.

“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we are so excited that Emily N. Wells will be leading The Human Race as the next Artistic Director,” said Board Chair Jaresha Moore Smith. “Emily is an extraordinary artist, an advocate for inclusiveness and community engagement, and has a strong vision for The Human Race’s future while embracing the success of the past. We are excited to see the innovation, the artistry, and excellence she will bring to The Human Race both on stage and off.”

Emily N. Wells is an award-winning theatre director, creative producer and educator with over 25 years experience including a significant emphasis on new plays and musicals. Joining Human Race Theatre Company as the new Artistic Director realizes a dream come true for Emily, as the company’s mission echoes her own: to open the doors of art and creativity to all people through stories that reflect our shared humanity.

While a senior producer for Houston Grand Opera, Emily focused on community building through new work development of pieces with significance to the 3rd largest Metro in the US. Her role at HGO encompassed producing a vast scale of works, including the Telly Award-winning Starcross’d opera web series. Emily will direct the 2023 HGO world premiere of Another City, a new opera that tells the true stories of un-housed Houstonians and those who aid them. She also served as guest director and adjunct faculty at Houston’s prestigious Rice University, and led several fundraising efforts for congenital heart disease.

Prior to living in Houston, Emily’s other directing credits include Gulfshore Playhouse, Circuit Playhouse, Theatreworks/USA among others. She holds an MFA in Directing from the University of Memphis, a BA in Theatre from Washington University in St. Louis, and is an SDC and AEA Member. In her early career, Emily stage managed on and off Broadway, regionally and on national tours – including a week for The Human Race’s production of Green Gables while in development in East Hampton during the summer of 2004.

Wells will join The Human Race staff remotely in January while she finishes some projects. After spending the last 5 ½ years in Houston, she looks forward to enjoying all four changing seasons in Dayton with her husband and daughter. She plans to be full-time by the beginning of March, when she and Kevin Moore, founding member and retiring Artistic Director, will spend time together making a seamless transition into the “next act” while finalizing the 2022-2023 Loft Theatre season.

Emily Wells will be the fourth Artistic Director in the company’s 35 years, following founding Artistic Director Suzy Bassani in 1986, who passed the torch to founding member Marsha Hanna in 1993. After Marsha’s untimely passing in 2011, founding Executive Director Kevin Moore became Artistic Director. Moore will officially leave the company in June, 2022.

The company is working on plans for several community introductions and engagement events with Emily and Kevin. Stay tuned.

The Human Race acknowledges its gratitude for the public and private support which makes these productions possible: Loft Season support: The Jack W. and Sally D. Eichelberger Foundation of The Dayton Foundation; Additional Season support: Miriam Rosenthal Foundation for the Arts; Organizational support: Culture Works, Montgomery County, Ohio Arts Council, The Shubert Foundation, Erma R. Catterton Trust Fund, The Virginia W. Kettering Foundation; Sustainability support: Anne F. Johnson, Steve and Lou Mason and Morris Home.

###

Leave a comment

Filed under Press Releases

Tagged as

January 26, 2022 · 3:44 pm

Cast Announced for MENOPAUSE the Musical at Aronoff Center

CAA_Menopause the Musical 2022MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL® ANNOUNCES CAST FOR CINCINNATI ENGAGEMENT
ARONOFF CENTER’S JARSON-KAPLAN THEATER

FEBRUARY 15-27, 2022

Great For a Girls’ Night Out! Tickets On Sale Now!
New Group Sale Discounts Recently Announced

CINCINNATI, OH – GFour Productions, winners of 56 Drama Desk and 44 Tony Awards®, today announced the cast of leading ladies for the international hit show Menopause The Musical®, which will play the Aronoff Center’s intimate Jarson-Kaplan Theater from February 15-27, 2022 for fifteen performances (see performance schedule below). The show is part of Cincinnati Arts Association’s 2021-22 Presenting Season.

Tickets are on sale now at www.CincinnatiArts.org, (513) 621-ARTS [2787], and the Aronoff Center Ticket Office at 650 Walnut Street, Downtown. Ticket price: $65 (all seats). Applicable services fees may apply.

The following new group sales discounts (for 8 or more) have been recently announced:

  • 50%-OFF the following performances (while supplies last; discount tickets are limited):  Wed., 2/16 @ 7:30pm; Sun., 2/20 @ 7:30pm; Tue., 2/22 @ 7:30pm; Wed., 2/23 @ 7:30pm; Thu., 2/24 @ 7:30pm; Fri., 2/25 @ 7:30pm
  • 20%-OFF all other performances
  • To purchase group tickets, contact (513) 977-4175 or ticketing@cincinnatiarts.org.

Menopause The Musical® continues to empower women across the globe, keeping hot flashes “HOT” through 20 years of production, playing to more than 17 million fans worldwide. The cast of Menopause The Musical® includes Donna J. Huntley (Professional Woman), Kimberly Vanbiesbrouck (Soap Star), Megan Cavanagh (Earth Mother), and Roberta B. Wall (Iowa Housewife).

MEGAN CAVANAGH (Earth Mother) is most recognized as Marla Hooch from the Penny Marshall movie A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN. Other film credits: Mel Brooks’ ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS (Broomhilde) and (Essie) DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT. She starred with Tim Allen in FOR RICHER OR POORER (Levinia Yoder), and voiced Judy Neutron in the Academy Award nominated animated feature JIMMY NEUTRON: BOY GENIUS. TV credits include the recurring character Trudy (who married Al) on HOME IMPROVEMENT. She was a series regular (Chris) on BOB with Bob Newhart and Betty White. She guest starred on DRUNK HISTORY, FRIENDS, WILL & GRACE, JUST SHOOT ME, ER, and many others. She has performed in MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL® since 2004. Noted regional credits include: BLITHE SPIRIT (Madame Arcati), A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM (Pseudolus), JUBILEE (Queen/Butch), and HIGH SPIRITS (Madam Arcati). Megan has been a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association since 1987, and a SAG-AFTRA member since 1988. Visit her website: MeganCavanagh.com.

DONNA J. HUNTLEY (Professional Woman) is a Youngstown, Ohio native who has enjoyed playing Professional Woman and Soap Star across the nation off and on since 2004 after completing world tours as a Guest Entertainer with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. With numerous regional commercials and TV appearances to her credit, some favorite Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Regional theatre credits include: LENA HORNE: THE LADY AND HER  MUSIC, SHADOW BOX (Beverly), OUR LADY OF 121ST STREET (Inez), HAIRSPRAY (Motor Mouth Mable), NUNSENSE (Sister Herbert), CHICAGO (Matron Mama Morton), and BARNUM (Joyce Heth). Winner of a Presidential Award for Best Overseas USO Tour, Donna worked with Richard Pryor “Here and Now,” co-wrote and recorded with Atlantic Records as a member of Company B, and solo with Sleath Records in Holland. She performed with The Platters, Ben Vereen, Mary Wilson of the Supremes, Latin Superstars El Puma and Chayanne, to name a few. “It is truly an honor to be a part of the MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL® family. To bring joy and laughter to our audiences while building lasting friendships and sisterhood on and off the stage continues to be a wonderful experience.” Donna is a proud member of AEA.

KIMBERLY VANBIESBROUCK (Soap Star) started ballet when she was four years old. She went on to earn her Bachelors Degree in Theatre and Dance from Western Michigan University and now has the good fortune to work professionally as both an actor and choreographer. As Choreographer Supervisor for MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL®, Kimberly has staged the production in theaters across the country. Her first time performing as the Soap Star was in her hometown of Detroit, where MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL® was awarded the honor of longest-running musical in the city’s history and Best Ensemble Cast. Currently she resides in Chicago, where some of her other credits include MOTHERHOOD THE MUSICAL, Judy Garland in BEYOND THE RAINBOW, FORBIDDEN BROADWAY, SWEET CHARITY, ALWAYS, PATSY CLINE, A CHORUS LINE, and CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF. Kimberly is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association, as well as a certified Yoga, Barre and Kickboxing instructor. She is thankful to have the opportunity to work for GFour Productions, continuing to bring the joy of Menopause to audiences everywhere. Kimberly would like to send all her love and appreciation to the best production she ever created… her beautiful daughter, Isobel.

ROBERTA B. WALL (Iowa Housewife) first stepped on stage with MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL® in the original L.A. production, which opened in 2003. Since then, she has toured with the show in the role of “Iowa Housewife,”performing coast to coast. She was brought on as vocal director for MENOPAUSIA, the Spanish version of the show in 2013, and has continued on as National Asst. Musical Director. Her other performing credits include Broadway: original casts of SISTER ACT and LEAP OF FAITH; National Tours: SISTER ACT, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST; Regional: Sacramento Music Circus, Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Laguna Playhouse, Long Beach C.L.O., La Mirada C.L.O. Recordings include the cast albums of LADY BE GOOD, PARDON MY ENGLISH, and OH, KAY! on the Gershwin record label, Roxbury Records. Her eclectic career has also included singing Doo Wop with the group “Double Date” at Universal Studios Tour and Disneyland in Los Angeles and appearing as a special guest on THE TONIGHT SHOW with Johnny Carson.

ABOUT THE SHOW
Menopause The Musical® is a groundbreaking celebration of women who are on the brink of, in the middle of, or have survived “The Change.” Now celebrating twenty years of female empowerment through hilarious musical comedy, Menopause The Musical® has evolved as a “grassroots” movement of women who deal with life adjustments after forty by embracing each other and the road ahead.

Set in a department store, four women meet while shopping for a black lace bra at a lingerie sale. After noticing similarities among one another, the cast jokes about their woeful hot flashes, mood swings, wrinkles, weight gain, and much more. These women form a sisterhood and unique bond with the entire audience as they rejoice in celebrating that menopause is no longer “The Silent Passage.” 

Inspired by a hot flash and a bottle of wine, Menopause The Musical® was created as a celebration of women who find themselves at any stage of “The Change.” The laughter-filled 90-minute production gets audience members out of their seats and singing along to parodies from classic pop songs of the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s.

Menopause The Musical® is now in its twentieth year and fifteenth year as the longest-running musical in Las Vegas history, performing nightly at Harrah’s Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Seen by more than seventeen million people, it has played every state in the continental U.S. and more than five hundred cities and seventeen countries worldwide; has toured internationally in Australia, Canada, Croatia, France, Hungary, New Zealand, Slovenia, South Korea and the U.K.; and has been translated into nine languages. For more information, visit www.MenopauseTheMusical.com.

Menopause The Musical® Performance Schedule

  • Tuesday, February 15 @ 7:30 PM
  • Wednesday, February 16 @ 7:30 PM
  • Thursday, February 17 @ 7:30 PM
  • Friday, February 18 @ 7:30 PM
  • Saturday, February 19 @ 1:00 PM & 7:30 PM
  • Sunday, February 20 @ 1:00 PM & 7:30 PM
  • Tuesday, February 22 @ 7:30 PM
  • Wednesday, February 23 @ 7:30 PM
  • Thursday, February 24 @ 7:30 PM
  • Friday, February 25 @ 7:30 PM
  • Saturday, February 26 @ 1:00 PM & 7:30 PM
  • Sunday, February 27 @ 1:00 PM

About GFour Productions
GFour Productions is the proud producer of some of the nation’s highest caliber shows, from regional theatre to Broadway, including MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL®. Other recent productions include THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG on Broadway and U.S. tour, winner of London’s Olivier Award for Best Comedy; THE INHERITANCE, TINA: THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL, and SIX THE MUSICAL on Broadway; the Tony Award®-nominated production of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF on tour in the U.S.; AMERICAN SON starring Kerry Washington, recently adapted for Netflix; and the premiere of David Mamet’s BITTER WHEAT, starring John Malkovich in the West End. Other selected highlights include winning the 2013 Tony Award® for their 50th anniversary production of Edward Albee’s WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF; co-financing the five-time Tony Award®, five-time Drama Desk Award, and seven-time Olivier Award winner for Best Musical, MATILDA THE MUSICAL; and producing the popular 9 TO 5: THE MUSICAL, with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton, and RING OF FIRE the Johnny Cash Musical Show. Their combined shows have been nominated for 121 Tony Awards®, winning 44, and 110 Drama Desk Awards, winning 56. For more information, visit http://www.GFourProductions.com.

CINCINNATI ARTS ASSOCIATION SPONSORS

SEASON SPONSORS:  AMERITAS (Founding Season Sponsor), FIFTH THIRD BANK (Lifetime Endowment Partner), CINCINNATI-NORTHERN KENTUCKY HONDA DEALERS, LOCAL 12 WKRC-TV, The P&G FUND of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation

SEASON PRESENTING SPONSORS:  21C Museum Hotel, Cincinnati Herald, CityBeat, Graphic Village, Heidelberg Distributing, Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Cincinnati Downtown, Jeff Ruby’s Culinary Entertainment, Ohio Valley Wines, Pepsi, Philip Bortz Jewelers, Prime Cincinnati, Rhinegeist Brewery, Skyline Chili, Spoon & Cellar, Street City Pub, TriHealth, Vivial (formerly The Berry Co)

MEDIA PARTNER:  WGRR-FM

Founded in 1992, the Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) is a not-for-profit organization that oversees the programming and management of the Tri-state’s finest performing arts venues – the Aronoff Center for the Arts and Music Hall – and is dedicated to supporting performing and visual arts. Each year, CAA presents a diverse schedule of events; serves upwards of 600,000 people in its venues; features the work of talented local, regional, and national artists in the Weston Art Gallery (located in the Aronoff Center); and supports the work of more than one dozen resident companies. Since the inception of its acclaimed arts education and community engagement programs in 1995, CAA has reached nearly two million students and adults. For more information, visit www.CincinnatiArts.org.

#  #  #

Leave a comment

Filed under Cast list, Press Releases

Tagged as ,

January 24, 2022 · 10:40 am

World Premiere Comedy Takes Root at Cincinnati Playhouse Feb. 12

PIP_S4_Rooted_Newsroom

Photo by Tony Arrasmith/Arrasmith & Associates.

ROOTED by Deborah Zoe Laufer is the third world premiere of 2021-22 season

CINCINNATI (Jan.24, 2022) — A warm-hearted world-premiere comedy about people, plants and the idiosyncrasies of both opens in the Rosenthal Shelterhouse Theatre this February. ROOTED, commissioned by the Playhouse and presented with support from the Rosenthal Family, begins in previews Feb. 12 and runs through March 20. (Official opening night is Feb. 17.)

ROOTED is a follow-up to playwright Deborah Zoe Laufer’s acclaimed Be Here Now production. It tells the story of the reclusive and eccentric Emery Harris — a botanist who has lived in a treehouse for more than a decade and records her amateur research on YouTube. Unaware that she’s gained a large and devoted following due to her reclusive lifestyle, she learns that her YouTube subscribers elected her as their new-age messiah.

“Deborah Laufer returns to the Rosenthal Shelterhouse Theatre with a quick-witted comedy showcasing her signature balance of comedic dialogue and lovable characters,” said Blake Robison, producing artistic director. “Audiences will relate to the entertaining story about living your truth, finding your people and being yourself.”

The production features a highly innovative stage design by Se Hyun Oh that brings audiences into Emery’s world of plants and botanical experiments. Her treehouse is full of plant life and greenery, built around a giant oak tree that stretches so high characters can only enter if they climb a ladder and enter through a hatch.

The story embodies feelings around isolation that are particularly resonant today,” Laufer explained. “Emery has literally put herself up a tree to escape other humans. She’s surrounded herself with plants to feel safe. The play is very alive with the longing for connection, the fear of connection and what it takes to truly make that connection.”

CAST
Tarah Flanagan (Emery Harris), Emily Kratter (Luanne), Tasha Lawrence (Hazel)

PRODUCTION
Deborah Zoe Laufer (Playwright), Noah Himmelstein (Director), Se Hyun Oh (Set Designer), Gordon DeVinney (Costume Designer), David Lander (Lighting Designer), Megumi Katayama (Sound Designer and Composer), Betsy Rosen (Puppetry Consultant), Stephanie Klapper, CSA (Casting Director), Andrea L. Shell (Stage Manager), Tenley Pitonzo (Assistant Stage Manager)

TICKETS
To purchase tickets or for more information, call the Playhouse Box Office at 513-421-3888 (toll-free in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana at 800-582-3208) or visit www.cincyplay.com. For patrons who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, deaf-blind or speech-disabled, dial 711 to connect to the Box Office via Ohio Relay Services.

Performances on Tuesdays through Saturdays will begin at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m. There is one Wednesday matinee at 1 p.m. on February 23.

Individual tickets start at just $35. Student tickets are just $15 on the day of the show for all other performances. Discounted ticket prices for teens are available for all productions and are $30 to $45, depending on show and seat location. There will be four post-show meet-the-artist discussions during the run. Details are on the website.

ADVISORY: Rooted introduces you to memorable human characters named Emery, Hazel and Luanne – and memorable plants named Mabel, Cynthia and Gerald, among others. While the plants don’t use strong adult language and explore mature themes like mental health, the humans do, so we recommend that human audience members be at least 14 years or older to attend.

EVENTS
MEET THE ARTISTS Stay after select performances for a behind-the-scenes discussion with the cast and crew:

  • Feb. 20 at 2 p.m.
  • Feb. 27 at 2 p.m.
  • Mar. 2 at 7:30 p.m.
  • Mar. 10 at 7:30 p.m.

HEALTH AND SAFETY
All patrons must present either proof of vaccination or negative Covid PCR or Abbott ID Now test to attend a performance. Additionally, face masks covering the nose and mouth must be worn at all times, in all areas of the Playhouse building — including while seated during the performance. Visit the Health & Safety page for details.

SPONSORS
Production Sponsor is The Geiler Company. Additional support provided by The Harold and Mimi Steinburg Charitable Trust and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation. Season Sponsor is Heidelberg Distributing Company. Season Sponsor of New Work is the Rosenthal Family Foundation.

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.

ACCESS
The Playhouse is fully accessible. Audio enhancement receivers, large print programs, and complete wheelchair access are available.

###

Leave a comment

Filed under Press Releases

Tagged as