Category Archives: Press Releases

April 27, 2025 · 6:43 pm

Announcing the 2025 Cincinnati Fringe Festival Lineup

The 2025 Cincinnati Fringe Festival
Celebrating the Joyful and Defiant Spirit of Independent Theatre Artists for 22 Years

Announcing this year’s extraordinary Festival Lineup

The Cincinnati Fringe Festival returns for its 22nd year with a radical vision: art as liberation! Diversity as non-negotiable! Joy and radical kindness as acts of resistance! As the tentacles of American imperialism turn inward on its people, the Cincy Fringe champions trans, queer, and marginalized artists, radical creativity, and the power of independent art to resist tyranny.

From May 30th to June 14th, the festival will unleash a whirlwind of uncensored theatre and experimental performance from more than 40 independent local, national, and international theatre artists. The Cincy Fringe is Cincinnati’s Summer Theatre Party – a 14-day celebration of the joyful and defiant spirit of artists who refuse to be silenced.

“Fascists are terrified by free expression,” says Katie Hartman, Cincy Fringe Producer. “When our history is erased and voices are suppressed, making art is rebellion. When we elevate marginalized artists, when we create space for joy, when we gather together to experience this incredible diversity of perspectives, we’re not just putting on a festival – we are building a better world.”

This year we march onward carrying the torch of creative community care and radical self-expression with:

  • 26 Primary Lineup Productions
  • 42+ Productions and over 190 performances (Including 3 Fringe Development projects, 9 Limited Run Productions, and 2 Kids Fringe shows) to entertain at 6 venues across Over-the-Rhine: Know Theatre, Gabriel’s Corner, Coffee Emporium, First Lutheran Church, and the Miami University Center for Community Engagement in Over-the-Rhine.
  • Kids Fringe Performances on Weekend Afternoons
  • Free Nightly After Hours Events in the Know Theatre Underground Bar
  • Introducing Conceptual Fringe: 4 productions ranging from performance art for an audience of one to unique and experimental happenings that defy the festival boundaries of time and space.

TICKETING INFORMATION

  • 50% of all Box Office revenue is given to the Producing Fringe Artists.
  • Single tickets to the 2025 Cincy Fringe are $20
  • The Full Schedule will go live and single tickets go on sale Tuesday, April 29th at 12p EST at www.cincyfringe.com
  • The All-Access Pass ($330) is good for one entry into all Primary Lineup, Limited Runs, FringeDevelopment and Kids Fringe performances.
  •  Our 5-ticket Flex Pass ($90) can be used in any combination of shows and is transferable among individuals.
  • Volunteers see shows for free
  • All passes are currently on sale at www.cincyfringe.com

This year’s Primary Lineup totals 26 productions and features new work from 13 local creators, 10 productions from across the U.S., and 3 international artists from Canada and Australia.

With 32 world premieres, 11 regional premieres, 1 national premiere and 19 producing companies that have never-been-seen in Cincinnati, adventurous audiences are guaranteed an experience of a brave and unabashed creative community that can’t be had anywhere else.

The 2025 Cincy Fringe Festival Primary Lineup

1 Gay Wedding and Absolutely No Funerals
Ben & Justin Present
Cincinnati & Columbus, OH
Hair? Done. Nails? Done. Dead Body? We’re working on it.

A Cabaret of Legends
Dynamite Lunchbox Entertainment
Orlando, FL
A cabaret of black female vocal legends from Ella to Beyonce.

ARSENIC AND OLD SPICE
Silver Linings Productions
Cincinnati, OH
Tried Neville and Barry’s “special” cake? It’s to die for.

Bruce Ryan Costella: MUTTNIK
Bruce Ryan Costella
Orlando, FL
The first dog in space tells its life story.

BUBBLEGUM
Solasta Theatre Lab
Cincinnati, OH
A NOT-for-children children’s show whimsically set in a dumpster fire.

Camp Loretto
Jack Fogle and the River Rat Puppet Collective
Cincinnati, OH
Hi Camper! Ready for an unforgettable day at Camp Loretto?

Date Me
Carolyn Guido Clifford and Tessa D’Errico
Cincinnati, OH
Looking for the perfect meet-cute? You + Us + Fringe

Eleanor’s Story: Life After War
Ingrid Garner
Los Angeles, CA
Granddaughter performs teen’s return to America after surviving WWII Berlin.

History Hates Lovers
Queen City Queers Productions
Cincinnati, OH
Learn from history, or be doomed to repeat it.

Jon Bennett: AMERICAN’T
JON BENNETT
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA
Jon moved to the USA during Covid and was arrested at the border.

Likes Moths to a Flame: New Dances
Megan Flynn & Teresa VanDenend Sorge
Cincinnati, OH
Like moths to a flame – Do we blow out the match, or light a thousand?

Martin Dockery: Every Good Story Ends With One
Martin Docker
Brooklyn, NY
An all-true, hilarious story about an unbelievably mysterious romance.

Me, Myself and Other
Diana Romero/Maggie Whittum
Los Angeles, CA
A heathen crip battles outside forces to finally find herself.

Somewhere Over the Holler
Pones
Cincinnati / Northern KY
Sharing rural queer stories through film and dance.

Stuck
Wicked Cat Productions
Brooklyn, NY
Teenage fantasy becomes messy reality when old friends reunite.

Tea TIME
Erika MacDonald
Covington, KY
It’s about tea! It’s about time! F**k off, I’m steeping.

The Campfireball
Cory Howard
Johnson City, Tennessee
A storytelling show about you — the audience!

THE FAMILY CROW: A Murder Mystery
The Pucking Fuppet Co.
Toronto, ON, Canada
Puppets! Puns! Murder!

The Second Circumcision of Lili Rosen
Lili Rosen
New York, NY
Trans woman of Hasidic experience grapples with her most controversial decision yet.

The Squid and The Octopus
Jim Julien
Drexel Hill, PA
Cephalopod shadow puppet show with knives!

Traitors
Stix Eris
Cincinnati, OH
In the near future, queer gangs survive under tyrannical rule.

TRUMPETS! A Pretty Gay Video Game Play
Studio Apartment Theatre Collective
Cincinnati, OH
One part parody, two parts fanfiction, three parts identity crisis.

Velma & Clarice (a.k.a. The AMAZING Amazing Race Roadtrip)
Patricia Mullins
Cincinnati, OH
Sisters on a Thelma & Louise-esque Romp Across the Country

Whispers From The Deep
A to Z Productions
Covington, KY

WINNING:Winning
Sweet Action Theatre Company
Toronto, ON, Canada
A silent-ish clown journey to unlock the true winner inside.

Yoga for Falling Apart
Feminist Commune Theatre Collective
Wooster, OH
A one-woman show masquerading as a yoga class 🙂

2025 Cincy Fringe Festival Limited Runs

[TITLE OF MEMOIR] or 2.5 Pots of Coffee a Day is Too Much and Other Advice I Didn’t Think I Would Need to Hear or On How Judith Light Saved My Life 
p.s. Please thank…
FaithGGI Art
Cincinnati, OH
Comedy, chaos, and caffeine-fueled confessions.

A Clockwork O’Fringe
Gauravi Shah
Newport, KY
Question reality. Are you in control?

Alphas: On Fire! – A Comedy Variety Show
Alphas Comedy
Cincinnati, OH
A joyful women’s variety show with improv, sketch, music, & dancing!

Plan V: The Rise of Reverence
Dance Naked Creative
Portland, OR
Patriarchy perishes. Shame abates. Pleasure prevails! Feminism foils fascism!

trueFRINGE 2025
True Theatre
Cincinnati, OH
Fringe artists sharing true, personal, behind-the-scenes stories!

Yes anD&D!
Cincy Shirefolk
Cincinnati, OH
A completely improvised D&D gameplay performance – with audience participation!

2025 Cincy KIDS Fringe

FORGING LEGENDS: The Tall Tale Chronicles 
sKribble sKratch Productions
Cincinnati, OH
Active imaginations vibrantly bring beloved tales and new stories to life.

The Green Moon/La Luna Verde
Gabriel Martinez Rubio/Dos-Corazones Productions
Cincinnati, OH
Shadow puppetry, Modern Dance, and Poetry inspired by Garcia Lorca.

2025 Cincy Fringe Development

In The Presence Of…
Leave No Trace
Cincinnati, OH
Nature documentary-ghost story of the great blue heron.

The Mother
Claudia Pompeya
Cincinnati, OH
One clown. Infinite mothers. A mythic fever dream.

Z is for Zebra 
Katie Scarlett
Cincinnati, OH
Humor, heart, and pill bottles. Class is in session.

The 2025 Cincy Conceptual Fringe

Confide & Dance/Sing/Sit
Performance Gallery
Cincinnati, OH
Opportunities to  engage, awaken and affirm yourself and your community.

Invisible Women
Miami University/Ashley Goos
Oxford, OH
Interdisciplinary, hands-on, choose your own adventure, centering women’s experiences

Perspectivation
Jim Sorge
Cincinnati, OH
Immersive dance meets VR: reimagining perspectives.

Think Tank: A Public Display Of Creation
Amica Hunter
Mount Vernon, WA
Amica Hunter (ANATOMICA, SeaMAN), plunges into a voluntary captivity performance-art experiment.

We are Know Theatre of Cincinnati: where artists and audiences can come together to produce and experience work that you haven’t seen before.  We strive to build a community around viscerally theatrical, exciting new works. 

The 22nd Annual Cincinnati Fringe Festival is made possible by a generous partnership with our neighbors Coffee Emporium, First Lutheran Church, and the Miami University Center for Community Engagement in Over-the-Rhine.

Know Theatre is supported by the generosity of tens of thousands of contributors to the annual ArtsWave Campaign, the region’s primary source for arts funding.

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 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.

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April 27, 2025 · 6:17 pm

DANCING FOR THE STARS 2025 Announces Winners 

Celebrity Dancer Erin Mignano and Dance Pro Jozsef Parragh Crowned New Dancing for the Stars Champs

Bill Chappie Honored as Fundraising Champion

[CINCINNATI, OH] – Erin Mignano (Vice President and General Manager, Turner Construction) and dance pro Jozsef Parragh (Independent Dance Instructor) were crowned the champions of the Cincinnati Arts Association’s seventeenth annual Dancing for the Stars on Saturday, April 19, 2025, at the Music Hall Ballroom. The dance pair earned perfect scores of (10) from each of the four judges. Bill Chappie (Hair Designer and Owner, Studio 900) took home the Fundraising Champion Award as the celebrity who raised the most money for the event through ticket sales and donations – more than $20,000.

Ryan Anderson (Assistant Vice President, Human Resources, Cincinnati Financial Services) and James Branham (Arthur Murray Dance Studio – West Chester) took second place. Karla Boldery (Business Advisor – Ohio SBDC at Miami University Regionals; Founder,  Latina Entrepreneur Academy Cincinnati; Local Sales Manager – La Mega | Urban 1) and and Josh Tilford (Independent Dance Instructor) placed third.

As the Cincinnati Arts Association’s largest annual fundraiser, the popular event raised more than $110,000 in support of the organization’s acclaimed arts education programs, including the Overture Awards – the nation’s largest locally run high school arts scholarship competition. 

The other three dance pairs included:

  • Fundraising Champion Bill Chappie (Hair Designer and Owner, Studio 900) and Maura Garuccio (Independent Dance Instructor)
  • Dylan Morton (Professional Roller Skater, D. Morton Skate Nation) and Bonita Brockert (Independent Dance Instructor)
  • Stacy Sims (Author, Playwright, and Founder of The Well) and Alyenendrov “Lenny” Tsorokean (Phoenix Rising Ballroom)

Inspired by the hit TV show Dancing with the Stars, Dancing for the Stars 2025 featured six Cincinnati celebrities paired with some of the area’s finest professional dancers in a competition program at which the audience vote and judges scores propelled the winners to victory. The competitive dance theme for the evening was the 1920s, and each dance pair had 90 seconds to woo the crowd and the judges.

Event emcees were Chris O’Brien and Janeen Coyle (former hosts of “Married with Microphones,” 103.5 WGRR-FM). The competition judges were Douglas Beal (Independent Dance Instructor), Carri Chandler (Vice President, St. Elizabeth Foundation; Celebrity Dancer, Dancing for the Stars 2011), Johnny Chu (Owner, KungFood Chu’s AmerAsia; Winner, Dancing for the Stars 2015 ), and Desireé Mainous (Arthur Murray Dance Studio – Montgomery).

In addition, Dancing for the Stars 2025 featured:

  • Dinner-by-the-Bite provided by Baru, DelightMore, eat well celebrations and feasts,  KungFood Chu’s AmerAsia, Moerlein Lager House, Prime Cincinnati, Sebastian Bakehouse, Skyline Chili, Street City Pub, Vintage on Race.
  • A speakeasy provided by Willow Run Custom Bourbons that featured samples of custom bourbon blends based on each celebrity’s bourbon palette. Bill Chappie had the favorite bourbon blend of the evening, which will be entered into the running to become the Aronoff Center’s 30th Anniversary Bourbon, available only at Willow Run Custom Bourbons during the 2025-26 season (the Aronoff Center will celebrate its 30th Anniversary in October 2025). A portion of the proceeds from each bottle sold will benefit the Cincinnati Arts Association.
  • Dance music by popular DJ and 103.5 WGRR personality JD Hughes.
  • Open dancing before and after the competition.
  • Entertaining exhibition dances by talented Dancing for the Stars dance pros.
  • An inspiring video about the Overture Awards, featuring interviews with the six student winners of the 2025 Overture Awards finals competition.
  • A special showcase performance by 2025 Overture Awards dance finalist Maanasa Yarlagadda (grade 12, Sycamore High School).
  • Two big screens that featured live video of the competition and engaging video introductions of the stars and pros (interviews and rehearsal footage) before their dances.
  • Humorous, astute, and supportive comments from the Dancing for the Stars panel of judges.
  • Stunning 1920s-themed and Art Deco-inspired décor and attire worn by the event’s dancers and guests.
  • Exceptionally responsive, raucous, and energetic audience reactions, which included large cheering sections holding signs with various messages in support of their favorite stars.

Dance and Song Selections (based on the 1920s theme )

  • Erin Mignano and Jozsef Parragh: “Rock and Jive” by Old Boys and “Easy Now” by Joe Stanley
  • Ryan Anderson and James Branham: “St. James Ballroom” by Alice Francis
  • Karla Boldery and Josh Tilford: “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody” from The Great Gatsby soundtrack by Fergie, Q-Tip, and GoonRock
  • Bill Chappie and Maura Garuccio: “Young and Beautiful” by Lana Del Rey and “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody” from The Great Gatsby soundtrack by Fergie, Q-Tip, and GoonRock
  • Dylan Morton and Bonita Brockert: “Bananaphone” by Raffi and “Phone” by Lizzo
  • Stacy Sims and Alyenendrov Tsorokean: “Great Balls of Fire” by Jerry Lee Lewis
  • Bonita Brockert and Gene Brockert (exhibition dance): “Man of La Mancha (I Don Quixote)” from Man of La Mancha by Linda Eder and “The Plaza of Execution,” from The Mask of Zorro soundtrack by James Horner
  • Maura Garuccio and Przemek Fokt-Skierecki (exhibition dance): “The Rest of His Days” by Anne Takle                    

Event Committee:  Douglas Beal, Doreen Beatrice, Terry Foster, Alex Johns, Ginger Loftin, Rosemary Schlachter

Presenting Sponsor: TriHealth 

Event Sponsors:  Accent on Cincinnati, Arthur Murray – Cincinnati, Arthur Murray – West Chester, Bonita Brockert, Maura Garuccio, Heidelberg Distributing, Jozsef Parragh, Party Source, Phoenix Rising Ballroom, Punky’s Pixels, Josh Tilford, Willow Run Custom Bourbons

The Cincinnati Arts Association is supported [in part] by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Cincinnati Arts Association’s Education & Community Engagment Programs
CAA’s Education & Community Engagement department cultivates diverse, inclusive, and accessible arts engagements, seeking to remove barriers preventing arts participation. Committed to a practice of antiracism, the Education and Community Engagement department encourages the use of CAA venues, develops diverse arts supporters, and fosters an appreciation and understanding of diverse arts disciplines, while encouraging and supporting practicing arts educators and administrators, audiences, and aspiring artists.

SchoolTime presents a series of programs that feature nationally recognized artists at the Aronoff Center and Music Hall. The Artists on Tour program brings a variety of arts experiences directly to schools, community centers, and other organizations. The finest local teaching artists in the region enhance learning with unique programs that vary in culture and art form.

The Arts in Healing Initiative integrates the performing and visual arts in medical and community healthcare settings and other non-traditional settings to promote community wellness and encourage the community to explore the arts as an active part of their healing and ongoing wellness.

The Overture Awards is a program that recognizes and rewards excellence in the arts among Greater Cincinnati students in grades 9-12. Its mission is to encourage arts education as an integral part of a student’s academic experience and to create an environment that encourages training in, and appreciation of, the arts. The Overture Awards is the area’s largest solo arts competition and offers awards in six artistic disciplines: creative writing, dance, instrumental music, theatre, visual art, and vocal music.

Now in its 29th year, the Overture Awards has granted more than $1,000,000 to youth and arts educators in the Tri-state region. The Overture Awards was launched in 1996 by the Cinergy Foundation (now Duke Energy) and Leadership Cincinnati (a Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce program).

CINCINNATI ARTS ASSOCIATION
Founded in 1992, the Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) is a not-for-profit organization that oversees the programming and management of two 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 more than 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, including Cincinnati Ballet, Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati Symphony/Pops Orchestras, May Festival, and Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Cincinnati, presented by TriHealth. Since the inception of its acclaimed arts education programs in 1995, CAA has reached more 2.1 million youth and adults.

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April 24, 2025 · 5:37 pm

Pones and Partners Share Rural Queer Stories Through Film and Dance

(Cincinnati, OH) In a powerful new project, Pones is amplifying voices often overlooked by mainstream narratives with the debut of Somewhere Over the Holler—a unique celebration of rural queer identities through an innovative fusion of film, dance, music, drag, burlesque, and movement. This immersive experience seeks to preserve, honor, and elevate the stories of those who identify as both Appalachian and LGBTQIA+, giving voice to a community too often marginalized.

As the culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) faces increasing challenges, Pones proudly stands alongside those whose identities cannot and should not be hidden. Rural communities often lack resources and can be isolating for queer individuals. Additionally, there is rarely an archive to preserve rural queer stories, causing them to be dismissed and lost. Somewhere Over the Holler is a bold statement of resilience and authenticity in a time when isolation and erasure threaten the most vulnerable among us.

Hattie Clark, a Pones company dancer and teacher, says, “queer joy and expression are beautiful elements of life that should be preserved, especially from rural and Appalachian cultures which often are and/or feel forgotten about.” Somewhere Over the Holler is inspired by the lived experiences of Hattie and others from and surrounding their hometown of Lebanon, Kentucky. This piece was supported by the ArtsWave Pride Grant, a funding initiative that aims to foster inclusion, visibility, and creative expression within the LGBTQ+ community while enriching the cultural landscape of the Greater Cincinnati area.

Through this dynamic production, Pones will transcend geographic and identity binaries by showcasing the complex intersection of rural Appalachian life and queer existence. The performance invites audiences into an emotionally charged narrative that blends dance, music, and visual storytelling with a deep focus on the power of community, empathy, and understanding.

The performance is also a call to action—an invitation to confront societal prejudices and ask important questions about identity, place, and belonging. Pones encourages audiences to engage with the diverse stories of rural queer life and act on the urgent need for unwavering advocacy and appreciation in an increasingly divided world.

Pones has been part of Cincy Fringe since 2009, holding multiple Critic’s Pick and Producer’s Pick awards throughout the years.

To enjoy and celebrate SOMEWHERE OVER THE HOLLER, come to Gabriel’s Corner (1425 Sycamore St, Cincinnati, OH 45202) on the following days:

  • Saturday, May 31st at 7:00pm
  • Sunday, June 1st at 2:30pm
  • Wednesday, June 4th at 8:45pm
  • Thursday , June 5th at 8:45pm
  • Thursday, June 12th at 7:00pm

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April 21, 2025 · 3:43 pm

Come ‘Under the Sea’ with Walnut Hills High School as They Present the Loveable Disney classic, THE LITTLE MERMAID JR.


Sienna McClain as Ariel & Amelia Hoops as Ursula. Photo by Mikki Schaffner.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Cincinnati, OH- The Walnut Hills High School Theatre Department is thrilled to be closing out the season with their Junior High Musical, The Little Mermaid Jr.  The show runs May 8-10th, 2025 at 7pm in the WHHS Auditorium.

The Little Mermaid Jr. journeys “under the sea” with Ariel and her aquatic friends. The script is adapted from Disney’s Broadway production and the motion picture (featuring the enormously popular Academy Award-winning music and delightfully charming book and lyrics).

In a magical underwater kingdom, the beautiful young mermaid, Ariel, longs to leave her ocean home — and her fins — behind and live in the world above. But first, she’ll have to defy her father, King Triton, make a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, and convince the handsome Prince Eric that she’s the girl whose enchanting voice he’s been seeking.

Tickets are $13 for adults and $11 for students.Tickets can be purchased at: https://sites.google.com/view/whhstheatredepartment/tickets

This production and the entire WHHS Theatre Season is graciously sponsored by:

  • The Walnut Hills High School Class of 1964 Performing Arts Fund
  • The Walnut Hills High School Alumni Foundation
  • Wings Walnut Hills Theatre Boosters
  • WHHS Parent Association
  • Solution Roofing
  • Riverview Heating and Cooling
  • Dr. Pepper and Family

Featuring Sienna McClain as Ariel, Oscar Syroney as Prince Eric, Amelia Hoops as Ursula, Levi Singer as King Triton, Ellis Klump-Lawson as Sebastian, Benno Gibson as Flounder, William Crone as Scuttle, Carolina Junewick as Flotsam, Samuel Ray as Jetsam, Carter Symon as Chef Louis/Carp/Seahorse/Tentacle Puppeteer, David Everingham as Grimsby/Fluke, Red Kinnear as Aqualta/Princess 1/Jellyfish 1/Chef, Sophia Puthoff as Andrina/Princess 2/Plaice/Chef, Katherine Hoffman as Arista/Princess 3/Bass/Chef, Charlie Hans as Atina/Princess 4/Chub/Chef, Felix Leslie as Adella/Princess 5/Sax/Chef, Rachel Everingham as Allana/Princess 6/Jellyfish 1/Chef, Aubrey Lowe as Carlotta/Newt/Tentacle Puppeteer, Tomi Olakanmi as Pilot/Harp/Chef, Emmanuel Magba-Kamara as Sailor/Sea Creature/Sea Chorus/Lagoon Animal, Silas Dronen as Sailor/Gull 1/Sea Creature/Sea Chorus/Lagoon Animal, Ivy Syroney as Sailor/Gull 3/Sea Creature/Sea Chorus/Tentacle Puppeteer/Chef, Annie Sayre as Gull 2/Sea Creature/Sea Chorus/Tentacle Puppeteer/Chef, Adina Morvay as Sea Creature/Sea Chorus/Tentacle Puppeteer/Chef, Riya Pasare as Sea Creature/Sea Chorus/Lagoon Animal/Tentacle Puppeteer/Chef, Liv Moore as Sea Creature/Sea Chorus/Lagoon Animal/Tentacle Puppeteer/Chef, Eleanor Faye as Sea Creature/Sea Chorus/Lagoon Animal/Chef, Daphne Steele as Sea Creature/Sea Chorus/Lagoon Animal/Chef, Lenora Cable as Sea Creature/Sea Chorus/Lagoon Animal/Chef, Eva Wesley as Sea Creature/Sea Chorus/Lagoon Animal/Chef, Naomi Madaris as Jellyfish 2/Sea Creature/Sea Chorus/Lagoon Animal/Chef, Roux Maynard as Sea Creature/Sea Chorus/Lagoon Animal/Chef, Jackson Alexander as Sea Creature/Sea Chorus/Lagoon Animal/Chef, Ani Ensminger as Sea Creature/Sea Chorus/Lagoon Animal/Chef, and Denise Wentz as Sea Creature/Sea Chorus/Lagoon Animal/Chef.

  • Directed by Mike Sherman
  • Assistant Directors- Andrew Canter and Caroline Lovelace
  • Music Director- Bret Albright
  • Student Choreographers- Lauryn Shafer and Elijah Cook
  • Technical Director-  Helen A. Raymond-Goers
  • Production Stage Manager- Noa Jaffee
  • Assistant Stage Managers-Easton Taylor  and Violet Garitson
  • Costume Designers- Amelia Price and Megan Reidy
  • Hair and Makeup Designers- Lauryn Shafer and Adah Mosher
  • Props Designer/Costume Manager- Al Carmicle
  • Puppet Designer/Head Electrician- Abbie Kershner
  • Marketing and Publicity Head/House Manager- Adelaide Linser
  • Lighting Designer- Norah Boehm
  • Production Manager/Sound Designer- Nyla Shahanavaz
  • Assistant Sound Designers- Lily Pavelka and Molly Wermuth
  • Scenic Designers: Polly Willson and Gerard Madson-Clemen

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April 21, 2025 · 3:43 pm

CHRISTMAS TOGETHER with Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith & CeCe Winans | Fri., Dec. 5, 2025 | Aronoff Center

GRAMMY®-WINNERS AMY GRANT, MICHAEL W. SMITH & CECE WINANS
TO CO-HEADLINE THE CHRISTMAS TOGETHER TOUR
THIS COMING HOLIDAY SEASON

CHRISTMAS TOGETHER
with Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith & CeCe Winans

December 5, 2025
Aronoff Center – Procter & Gamble Hall 

Tickets on sale Friday, April 25 at 10:00 AM

[Cincinnati, OH] – Grammy®-winners Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith and CeCe Winans have announced plans to co-headline the spectacular Christmas Together Tour this coming holiday season. The exclusive tour will hit nine major markets across the U.S., including a stop at the Aronoff Center’s Procter & Gamble Hall on Friday, December 5, 2025, at 7:00 PM. The concert is part of the Cincinnati Arts Association’s 2025-26 Season.

Tickets go on sale Friday, April 25 at 10:00 AM at www.CincinnatiArts.org, (513) 621-2787 [ARTS], and the Aronoff Center Ticket Office. For Group Sales (10 or more), call (513) 977-4155. Ticket prices included all applicable service fees and are subject to change.

While Grant and Smith’s holiday concerts have become one of the most heralded events of the season for more than thirty years, the Christmas Together Tour will mark the first time they’ve been joined by Winans on the holiday venture since she originally appeared on their 1998 Christmas tour.

“We all know Christmas is hands down my favorite time of year,” Smith told Billboard this week in an exclusive report. “And getting to tour with Amy always makes it even more special. But this year we’re taking it to the next level! We’re beyond excited to have our dear friend CeCe Winans join us. After so many years of touring together, adding CeCe’s incredible voice and spirit to the mix feels like the ultimate Christmas gift. To say that the three of us are thrilled about this tour is simply an understatement.”

“I’m so excited to be joining Michael and Amy for the Christmas Together tour,” Winans added. “There’s nothing like coming together with friends to celebrate the true meaning of the season through music, worship, and joy. I can’t wait to share these unforgettable nights with audiences across the country.”

“I look forward to every moment of Christmas Together with Michael and CeCe – the rehearsals, the travel, the concerts,” Grant said. “We can’t wait to celebrate Christmas together and with all of you!”

The highly anticipated Christmas Together Tour will feature selections spanning the artists’ expansive Christmas repertoires and combine their vast collection of traditional classics and critically acclaimed holiday albums. Grant’s five studio Christmas albums have produced such holiday favorites as “Breath of Heaven,” “Grown-Up Christmas List,” and “Tennessee Christmas,” among many more. Smith’s numerous chart-topping holiday offerings have also been staples of the season with favorites like “All Is Well,” “Welcome To Our World,” “Christmas Day,” and more. Winans released the critically acclaimed Joyful, Joyful: A Christmas Album last year, featuring her rendition of “Joy to the World,” which rose to No. 6 on Billboard’s Hot Gospel Songs chart.

For more information on the upcoming tour, visit AmyGrant.com, MichaelWSmith.com, and CeCeWinans.com.

2025 Christmas Together Tour with Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith & CeCe Winans
All dates and venues are subject to change without notice.

  • Nov. 28 – Greensboro, NC – Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts
  • Nov. 29 – Richmond, VA – Altria Theater
  • Nov. 30 – Oxon Hill, MD – The Theater at MGM National Harbor
  • Dec. 01 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre Detroit
  • Dec. 03 – Rosemont, IL – Rosemont Theatre
  • Dec. 04 – Fisher, IN – Fishers Event Center
  • Dec. 05 – Cincinnati, OH – Aronoff Center
  • Dec. 06 – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre
  • Dec. 08 – St. Louis, MO – Fabulous Fox Theatre

ABOUT AMY GRANT
Amy Grant’s career spans more than forty years and stretches from her roots in gospel into becoming an iconic pop star, songwriter, television personality, and philanthropist. With three multi-platinum albums, six platinum albums, and four gold albums, her total career album sales have exceeded thirty million and over one billion global streams. Grant’s chart success has been consistent throughout her career with six No. 1 hits, ten Top 40 pop singles, seventeen Top 40 Adult Contemporary tracks, and multiple Contemporary Christian chart-toppers.

In addition to her six Grammy® Awards, Grant has earned twenty-six GMA Dove Awards (including four Artist of the Year Awards) and has been awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as well as the Music City Walk of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Conventional wisdom has it that Grant put Contemporary Christian Music on the map, becoming the first Contemporary Christian artist to have a platinum record, the first to hit No. 1 on the Pop charts, and the first to perform at the Grammy® Awards. With that, her legacy as one of the most influential artists of the past four decades is assured.  In 2020, the T.J. Martell Foundation – the music industry’s leading nonprofit to fund innovative medical research focused on treatments and cures for cancer – honored Grant with the Tony Martell Outstanding Entertainment Achievement Award at their annual Honors Gala. Most recently, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts included Grant as one of their five distinguished Honorees to receive the 45th Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievements.

In 2023, Grant toured in seventy cities across the country and released her first new music in a decade, starting with the single “Trees We’ll Never See” (March) and “What You Heard” (April).  Grant released Lead Me On Live 1989 in October 2023, which is a full-concert documentation from the 1988-1989 Lead Me On Tour.  Grant finished the year with two Christmas tours including dates with Michael W. Smith as well as the annual Christmas at the Ryman residency with Vince Gill which celebrated over one-hundred headline shows at the Ryman, the first co-headliners to mark this incredible milestone.

In 2024, Grant toured the country playing thirty-three shows in the spring, including two headlining shows at the Ryman Auditorium over Mother’s Day weekend, which she will do once again in May 2025.  She released the long-sought-after Songs From The Loft album (originally released in 1993) for the first time on digital formats. This past fall, Grant released an “Expanded Anniversary Edition” of her classic album “House of Love” with never before heard tracks and remixes and recently finished a twenty-plus show headlining tour featuring many songs from House Of Love. Grant closed out the year with the annual “Christmas at the Ryman” residency with Vince Gill featuring songs from their recent “When I Think of Christmas” album. Currently, Grant continues to tour across the country and is also writing songs for her next musical project to release in 2025.

Get connected with Amy Grant:

ABOUT MICHAEL W. SMITH
Michael W. Smith has been releasing new music regularly and performing around the world to sold-out crowds for the last thirty-five-plus years. During his storied career, he’s written and recorded over thirty-six No. 1 songs, been bestowed with three Grammy® Awards, forty-five-plus Dove Awards, and one American Music Award. He was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and has sold more than fifteen million albums. More than just an outstanding songwriter and performer, Smith has given back to the global community throughout his career. He has raised funds to battle AIDS in Africa; started Rocketown, a safe haven for young people in Tennessee to meet and find hope; and has helped more than 70,000 children through Compassion International.

Smith is married to the love of his life, Deborah, and together they have five children and seventeen grandchildren.

Get Connected With Michael W. Smith:

ABOUT CECE WINANS
CeCe Winans, the best-selling and most-awarded female gospel artist, is firmly established as one of the most accomplished and celebrated women in modern music history. Her illustrious career is marked by an impressive seventeen Grammy® Awards, thirty-one Dove Awards, and sixteen Stellar Awards. She has been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the Nashville Music City Walk of Fame. Additionally, she has been honored as a Trailblazer of Soul by BMI and has received multiple NAACP Image Awards, Soul Train Awards, and Essence Awards.

CeCe’s first live recording, Believe For It (PureSprings Gospel/Fair Trade Services, LLC), exceeded all expectations, amassing over one billion U.S. streams. In 2023 alone, her entire catalog garnered over two billion impressions on YouTube. Her current album, More Than This, features the award-winning single “That’s My King,” already hailed as a Winans classic, and “Come Jesus Come” is being touted as the next anthem that’s here to stay. The highly anticipated More Than This Tour is underway with most dates nearly sold out. Beyond music, CeCe and her husband, Alvin Love, are the founders of Nashville Life Church in Nashville, TN.

Get Connected With CeCe Winans:

Cincinnati Arts Association SPONSORS 

The Cincinnati Arts Association is supported [in part] by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Season Sponsors:  AMERITAS (Founding Season Sponsor), ARTSWAVE, LOCAL 12 WKRC-TV, The P&G FUND of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation 

SEASON PRESENTING SPONSORS:  21C Museum Hotel, Bahl & Gaynor, Cincinnati Herald, CityBeat, Fairfield Inn & Suites Cincinnati Uptown/University Area, Harlan Graphics, Heidelberg Distributing, Kinley Cincinnati, Pepsi, ProSource, Skyline Chili, TriHealth

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CALENDAR INFORMATION

WHAT:                CHRISTMAS TOGETHER with Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith & CeCe Winans
WHEN:                Friday, December 5, 2025 @ 7:00 PM

WHERE:              Aronoff Center – Procter & Gamble Hall

PRICE:                 Ticket prices start at $49, including all fees. Subject to change.

INFO:                   Celebrate the magic of the season with three Grammy® Award-winning Gospel Music Hall of Fame members — Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, and CeCe Winans. The highly anticipated Christmas Together Tour will feature selections spanning the artists’ expansive Christmas repertoires and combine the vast collection of their traditional classics and critically acclaimed holiday albums. This tour marks the first time Grant and Smith have been joined by Winans for a holiday concert since she originally appeared on their 1998 Christmas tour.

TICKET INFORMATION – on sale Friday, April 25 at 10:00 AM

  • www.CincinnatiArts.org
  • (513) 621-ARTS [2787]
  • Aronoff Center Ticket Office
  • Group sales (10 or more): (513) 977-4155

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