Category Archives: Press Releases

April 2, 2025 · 3:37 pm

Anderson Theatre Showcases Disney Magic with FROZEN, JR.

Anderson Theatre’s production of Frozen, Jr. involves over 80 high school and elementary students from FHSD, including cast members Luke Patterson as Hans, Easton Gliebe as Oaken, Mary Settleberry as Young Anna, Sydney Ventura as Anna, Callie Ziegler as Elsa, Winnie LeGault as Young Elsa, Henry Weddle as Kristoff, and Solomon Mrochek as Sven. Photo by Jennifer Alessandrini.

Winter will linger in Anderson Township this April when the students of Anderson Theatre present “Frozen, Jr.” for five performances in a single Spring weekend.

Adapted for the stage by Disney from their original animated film and Broadway hit, “Frozen Jr.” tells the familiar story of princesses Elsa and Anna. Anna loves her sister despite Elsa’s inability to control her magic, but when Elsa is crowned Queen, their relationship is torn apart by fear and mistrust. Their kingdom is thrown into a magical, endless winter and only true love can make things right.

Characters audiences already love, like Kristoff, Sven, Hans and Olaf, are joined by new faces like Oaken and the Hidden Folk, while new songs also join favorites like “For the First Time in Forever” and “Let it Go.”

This is Anderson High School’s 62nd Spring Musical, and they are continuing a longstanding tradition of welcoming elementary students onto the Titus Stage. Sixteen students from Ayer, Maddux, Sherwood, and Summit Elementary schools sing and dance alongside the Anderson High School cast, including Sherwood sixth grader Winnie LeGault who plays Young Elsa, and Sherwood fourth grader Mary Settleberry who plays Young Anna.

As a special treat, several “Frozen, Jr.” characters will be available to meet and chat with young audience members after each matinee performance. The show opens on Tuesday, April 24 and runs through Sunday April 27, with matinees on both Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are on sale now and can be ordered through the Anderson Theatre website, AndersonTheatre.com.

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April 2, 2025 · 3:36 pm

Who’s the Fairest of Them All? The Family Series: SNOW WHITE, April 24-27 at Aronoff Center

Cincinnati Ballet will welcome more than two thousand CPS students at special student shows

Cincinnati, OH (April 2, 2025) – “Over the seven jeweled hills, beyond the seventh fall, in the cottage of the Seven Dwarfs, dwells Snow White, fairest one of all.” Cincinnati Ballet’s annual Family Series returns to the Aronoff Center, April 24-27 with Snow White!

We are so pleased to welcome families back to the Aronoff for an interactive dance performance with children in mind. Snow White is the fifth installment of our Family Series. The show will feature everything audiences love and remember from the adventures of Disney’s first princess—like a jealous queen, poison apples, talking mirrors! Young dancers perform the roles of Snow White’s trusted friends, the Seven Dwarfs and woodland animals who guide her on her journey to find true love. The Family Series is an hour-long, narrated ballet performed by Cincinnati Ballet’s Second Company – CB2 and Cincinnati Ballet Otto M. Budig Academy Students, staged by Second Company – CB2 Director Yoshihisa Arai.

Due to ArtsWave’s “More Arts More Kids” initiative, Cincinnati ballet will welcome more than two thousand CPS students at special student shows. “More Arts More Kids” is designed to provide every student in grades 1-6 with an annual arts field trip.

The production, choreographed by Pamela Robinson Harris, is also narrated by actors playing the Brothers Grimm, making the story easy for even the youngest members of your family to understand and enjoy. The production runs a little over an hour and includes free, fun, fairy-tale themed lobby games and activities before performances. Tickets are on sale now, starting at $20 at cballet.org.

PERFORMANCE DATES AND INFORMATION

WHO: Cincinnati Ballet
Choreography: Pamela Robinson Harris
Music: Edvard Grieg and Johann Strauss II

WHAT: Family Series: Snow White

WHEN:

  • Thursday, April 24 at 7pm (Sensory Friendly)
  • Friday, April 25 at 7pm
  • Saturday, April 26 at 11am
  • Saturday, April 26 at 2:30pm
  • Saturday, April 26 at 6:30pm
  • Sunday, April 27 at 11am
  • Sunday, April 27 at 2:30pm

WHERE: Aronoff Center for the Arts – 650 Walnut St., Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

Cincinnati Ballet 2024-2025 Season Sponsors:
Margaret and Michael Valentine, Julie and John Richardson | SugarCreek, ArtsWave, Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund, Ohio Arts Council, The Austin E. Knowlton Foundation

About Cincinnati Ballet
Since 1963, Cincinnati Ballet has been the cornerstone professional ballet company of the region, presenting a bold and adventurous array of classical, full-length ballets and contemporary works, regularly with live orchestral accompaniment. Cincinnati Ballet is a creative force within the larger dance community, commissioning world-premiere works and exploring unique collaborations. With a mission to enrich, expand, and excel in the art of dance through performance, a high-caliber academy, and impactful education and community engagement in local to global communities, Cincinnati Ballet reaches beyond the stage in programs that allow every person in the region to be part of the continued evolution of dance. To that end, Cincinnati Ballet presents exhilarating performances, provides extensive education and community engagement programs, and offers top-level professional ballet training at Cincinnati Ballet Otto M. Budig Academy.

*The values for these naming opportunities are based solely on utility, placement, or perceived appeal and do not necessarily reflect the gift’s designated purpose or the actual cost. Donors are encouraged to consider undesignated gifts and/or the least restrictive designation. A signed gift agreement is required when a gift is to be recognized in the facility/on the site.

 Plans for the Cincinnati Ballet Margaret and Michael Valentine Center for Dance are not final. If alterations are required that affect a commemorative gift, an appropriate substitute will be arranged in consultation with the donor(s). These naming opportunities are for the projected life of the building or for a minimum of twenty-five years. When the time comes to refresh or rebuild the buildings, current donors will be given the first opportunity to sustain their support at the level that is appropriate at that time. In all instances, donors will receive permanent recognition for their extraordinary support.

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April 1, 2025 · 3:28 pm

‘Best of Cincinnati’ Vocal Group & Beloved Yacht Rock Trio Return to Celebrated Cincinnati Venue

David Baum, Joey Pace, Chancellor Waye, Nat Comisar, Kaeden Kass, Joshua Steele & Buck Hinman
Photo by Taren Frazier.

CINCINNATI, OH – Two-time “Best of Cincinnati” winners No Promises Vocal Band and soft rock all-stars The Three Bald Guys return to The Redmoor (Mt. Lookout) for an evening of “Sweet Harmony” on Thursday, June 19, 2025 at 7:30pm. The Baldies’ trademark three-part vocals soar through tunes by James Taylor, Kenny Loggins and Sarah McLaughlan, while No Promises offers thrilling a cappella arrangements including The Eagles, Amy Winehouse and Manhattan Transfer.

Tickets are $26 and are available at nopromisesvocalband.com or theredmoor.com. Doors open at 6:00pm to experience The Redmoor’s delicious dinner menu, along with full cash bar. Reserved table seating and general admission seating available. Complimentary on-site parking behind the venue.

June 19 will be the third annual “Sweet Harmony” concert, with seats for the 2023 and 2024 shows sold out in advance. A major No Promises concert announcement will take place during The Redmoor program.

New Dudes, New Tunes
No Promises welcomes two new members to its lineup in 2025, both young singers with extensive tight harmony experience. Tenor and WLWT-TV executive producer Buck Hinman fell in love with a cappella singing during his time at Wake Forest University, a passion he honed through three separate appearances at international barbershop quartet competitions. Recent Xavier University graduate Chancellor Waye is a bass singer who directed of his university’s a cappella group, Harmon-X, on his way to a degree in choral education. Waye manages a venue in northern Cincinnati and serves as associate music director at Bellermine Chapel. In 2024, No Promises welcomed to its ranks St. Xavier High School’s newly-tenured director of choirs, Joey Pace. Similarly coming to the group by way of barbershop music, Joey has performed with Southern Gateway Chorus and Prism and enjoys publishing multi-track a cappella recordings. Bios and photos of singers available here.

The Three Bald Guys have a consistent roster but are in the habit of constantly adapting new popular favorites for their repertoire. The June program at The Redmoor will see innovative arrangements of three celebrated 90s hits: the cherished ballad Angel by Sarah McLaughlan, Eric Clapton’s bluesy Change The World and Extreme’s timeless More Than Words.

No Promises has likewise been working up some new tunes for debut at The Redmoor, including Amy Winehouse’s Valerie, Simon & Garfunkel’s Scarborough Fair and The Eagles’ Life in the Fast Lane.

About The Bands
NO PROMISES is a Cincinnati-based professional a cappella ensemble bringing exhilarating vocals and breathtaking harmonizations to jazz and popular music favorites from 1940s classics to today’s jams. Citybeat “Best of Cincinnati” winners in 2017 and 2022, the group has entertained at festivals, concert series, stadiums and performing arts centers throughout the state. Its members have graced the stages of Broadway, fronted major symphony orchestras, and backed the likes of Jim Messina, Steve Winwood, Kenny Loggins and POCO. In their day-to-day lives, the men of NO PROMISES are clinical psychologists, television producers, concert promoters, therapists, choir directors and real estate moguls with a passion for fine a cappella singing.

In 2024, NO PROMISES was honored to make their debut at Great American Ballpark, performing the national anthem for two Cincinnati Reds games, including a nationally-televised tilt with the Boston Red Sox. During the year prior, the group premiered a newly commissioned work as part of Cincinnati May Festival’s 150th anniversary season and joined Broadway veteran Sally Wilfert in concert at historic Memorial Hall in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. 2021 saw the ensemble’s debut of “The Boy Band Diaries,” a collaboration with the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra featuring male vocal hits spanning the past century. The group’s numerous other collaborators and guest artist appearances have included the Gem City Chorus, the Southern Gateway Chorus, the Sycamore Community Singers, the Northern Kentucky Brotherhood Singers, the Queen City Sisters and the Cincinnati Collaborative Ringing Project. NO PROMISES has released three recording projects: A No Promises Christmas (2016), All Wet (2018) and The Nines (2019), as well as the pandemic-era virtual concert, NO PROMISES Saves Christmas.

The members of NO PROMISES are Joshua Steele (resident of Kennedy Heights), Buck Hinman (Walnut Hills), Kaeden Kass (Mt. Airy), Joey Pace (Clifton), David Baum (Montgomery), Chancellor Waye (Mason) and Nat Comisar (Symmes Township). Individual bios available here.

“Their harmony is tight, their arrangements are delightfully eclectic… they sound like a cross between the Four Freshmen and Pentatonix.” – David Lyman, Cincinnati Enquirer

“For my money, the best a cappella group in the region” – Thom Mariner, Movers & Makers

THE THREE BALD GUYS are Tom Steele (guitar, vocals), his son Joshua Steele (vocals, melodica) and their friend Rick Hagee (keys, vocals), playing soft rock hits by your favorite (mostly) dead singers! Performing at music venues, private parties and their resident gig at the original Montgomery Inn, their set list includes faves by James Taylor, Jim Croce, Chicago, Loggins & Messina, Simon & Garfunkel, Elton John, Dave Mason, Chicago, Steely Dan, Van Morrison, Cat Stevens, Bill Withers, The Bee Gees and many more. https://www.facebook.com/threebaldguys

For Appearances, Interviews and More Information
Contact Nat Comisar at 513.378.5801 or booking@nopromisesvocalband.com.

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March 26, 2025 · 3:25 pm

The Ghostlight Stage Company Hosts Golf Scramble Fundraiser on April 26

The Ghostlight Stage Company has it’s biggest in-person fundraiser of the year coming up next month on April 26!

Join us for The Ghostlight Stage Company’s first ever Golf Scramble Fundraiser presented by Highview Building Contractors, LLC! It will be a day of golf, surprise challenges, raffles and more, all while supporting a local nonprofit arts organization!

Included with your general ticket ($125/per person): buffet dinner, 2 drinks, cart fee, 18 holes & a tax-deductible donation of $45 to The Ghostlight Stage Company

Included with your premium ticket ($150/per person): buffet dinner, 2 drinks, cart fee, 18 holes, a custom Ghostlight golf hat, 5 raffle tickets & a tax-deductible donation of $50 to The Ghostlight Stage Company

Golf Scramble to be followed by buffet dinner and auction / raffle announcements.

During the event there will be raffle baskets available featuring tickets to sporting events, local arts events, and more. Raffle tickets will be 1 for $3 or 5 for $10.

And don’t just come for the golf – enjoy special appearances by Alphas Improv and Intuitive Roots Dance Theatre, along with live painting by Michael Thompson!

All proceeds from this fundraiser event go directly to supporting accessible innovative arts programming in Greater Cincinnati!

PLEASE REGISTER BY APRIL 11, 2025

Presenting Sponsor: Highview Building Contractors, LLC

Birdie Sponsors: ThyssenKrupp Bilstein, Single Batch Designs, Queen City Pizza

Purchase tickets and learn more at: https://www.zeffy.com/ticketing/2025-golf-scramble-fundraiser-to-benefit-the-ghostlight-stage-company

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March 25, 2025 · 3:31 pm

CAA Announces 2025 Overture Award Winners

$61,000 Awarded for Excellence in the Arts
Arts Educator Award Recipient Also Announced

[CINCINNATI, OH] – The Cincinnati Arts Association is pleased to announce the winners of its Overture Awards Competition, held on Saturday, March 15, 2025 at the Aronoff Center’s Jarson-Kaplan Theater, and the recipient of its Arts Educator Award for Excellence in Arts Instruction. The competition awarded $4,000 to six area students for education and training, $2,000 each to the 18 runners-up, and $1,000 to the Arts Educator Award recipient.

The Overture Awards recognizes, encourages, and rewards excellence in the arts among Tri-state students in grades 9-12 and is the area’s largest solo arts competition. Students are nominated by their schools and/or private studios to compete in one of six disciplines: Creative Writing, Dance, Instrumental Music, Theater, Visual Art, and Vocal Music. There are three levels of competition: Regional, Semi-Final, and Final.

The Arts Educator Award promotes and rewards excellence in arts instruction throughout Greater Cincinnati. An educator who teaches any of the following arts disciplines may be nominated: Creative Writing, Dance, Instrumental Music, Theater, Visual Art, and Vocal Music. A nominee may be a high school arts specialist, teaching artist working with high school students, or an arts professional or educator providing private lessons or instruction. Nominations are submitted by students between the ages of 14-19 who are currently enrolled in high school and competing in that year’s Overture Awards.

The Overture Awards Regional Competitions were held virtually in January 2025. The top thirty percent of competitors in each discipline advanced to the Semi-Finals, which were held at the Aronoff Center from February 12-15, 2025.

Now in its twenty-ninth year, the Overture Awards was launched in 1996 by the Cinergy Foundation (now Duke Energy) and Leadership Cincinnati (a program of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber). The Overture Awards is funded and administered by the Cincinnati Arts Association and relies on hundreds of volunteers from the community who help raise funds, adjudicate, manage the competitions, and nurture the program.

2025 Overture Award Winners

CREATIVE WRITING:  Evelyn Jeong, grade 9, Talawanda High School
HOMETOWN Oxford, OH – Evelyn has loved reading and writing for as long as she can remember, spending all of her free time reading books and crafting stories that combine her passion for fantasy and mental health. With goals of becoming a clinical psychologist and author, she hopes that all of her tales provide three important things: perspective, critiques of society’s largest problems, and escape from the exhausting rhythms of every day. 

DANCE:  Audrey Zuziak, grade 12, Dixie Heights High School / Strive Dance Collective
HOMETOWN: Independence, KY – Audrey has been dancing since the age of three. She has won numerous awards, received a perfect score on a solo, and was an Overture Awards finalist. She plans to attend college for nursing and become a travel nurse.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC:  Angela Tang, grade 10, William Mason High School / Studies with Joel Smirnoff
HOMETOWN: Mason, OH – Angela has been playing the violin for ten years. She is the assistant concertmaster at the CSYO Philharmonic Orchestra and was one of the finalists in the CSYO Concerto Competition. Angela is the state winner of MTNA Competition and Buckeye Audition. She played as a soloist with Blue Ash Montgomery Symphony Orchestra as the winner of the 2024 competition. Outside of music, Angela loves astronomy, creative writing, and photography, and is an active member of her school’s Science Olympiad Team.

THEATER:  Jai’Den Pritchett, grade 10, Sycamore High School / Musical Arts Center
HOMETOWN: Cincinnati, OH – Jai’Den has been a part of musical theatre since he was seven. He studies voice with Mr. Karl Resnick and loves the mentorship and guidance he has received. Jai’Den won the Best Overall Performance award at the 2024 SHS Variety Show. He has been in many shows with Aves Theatre, including Willy Wonka Jr. (Charlie), Footloose: Youth Edition (Ren), Freaky Friday (Ensemble), Guys and Dolls (Sky), the current production of Between the Lines (Prince Oliver/Edgar), and the upcoming Mamma Mia! (Ensemble). He plans to major in Musical Theatre after graduation.

VISUAL ART:  Allison Droege, grade 12, William Mason High School
HOMETOWN: Mason, OH – Allison has been creating art for six years, specifically fine-tuning her main media of alcohol marker and colored pencil for the past year. She has earned a national award from Scholastic as well as five Gold Keys for a portfolio and additional works. She plans on going to college to pursue Mechanical Engineering in the fall.

VOCAL MUSIC:  Eden Bee, grade 12, Turpin High School
HOMETOWN: Cincinnati, Ohio – Eden is a senior at Turpin High school and has been doing musical theatre since elementary school. She loves to sing and act and do musical performances outside of school. She plans to major in musical theatre in college.

2025 Arts educator award RECIPIENT

James Braid, Private Instructor
Discipline:  Instrumental Music
Nominated by Kieran Niska

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.

The Overture Awards are endowed by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation.

THANK YOU to the following generous supporters of Dancing for the Stars and The Overture Awards: 

Accent on Cincinnati, The Alleen Company, Scott Allgyer, Arthur Murray – Cincinnati, Arthur Murray – West Chester, Douglas Beal, Doreen Beatrice, James Branham, Bonita Brockert, Sebastian Castillo, Dance Manor, DelightMore, eat well celebrations & feasts, Maura Garuccio, Heidelberg Distributing Company, Jeff Thomas Catering, Alex Johns, Dr. Hali Jungers,  Dr. Magdalena Kerschner, Jeremy Mainous, Moerlein Lager House, Newport Aquarium, Party Source, Pepsi, Philip Bortz Jewelers, Prime Cincinnati, Primo Italian Steakhouse, Punky’s Pixels, Bret Schneider, Deb Schubert, Britton Spitler, Street City Pub, Studio 900,  Zack Thornton, Josh Tilford, Rostislav Toporski, Melissa Vaughn

Chris O’Brien & Janeen Coyle (former hosts of “Married with Microphones,” 103.5 WGRR-FM), JD Hughes (DJ, 103.5 WGRR-FM) 

Overture Scholarship Sponsors:
The Eleanora C.U. Alms Trust, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee; Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc.; Otto M. Budig Family Foundation; Summerfair Cincinnati; TriHealth

Printing Sponsor:
Harlan Graphics

The 2025 Overture Awards Finalists
Winners listed in bold.

CREATIVE WRITING

  • Evelyn Jeong, grade 9, Talawanda High School
  • Abbey Mader, grade 11, Saint Ursula Academy
  • Jai Tate, grade 11, Ohio Connections Academy
  • Asher Wesolowski, grade 10, School for Creative and Performing Arts 

DANCE

  • Nora Doyle, grade 10, School for Creative and Performing Arts/Just Off Broadway
  • Abigail Riester, grade 12, Turpin High School/College Conservatory of Music- Prep Ballet Department and Planet Dance
  • Maanasa Yarlagadda, grade 12, Sycamore High School
  • Audrey Zuziak, grade 12, Dixie Heights High School/Strive Dance Collective 

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

  • Beckett Cerón, grade 10, Seven Hills School/Studies with Jeremy Collins
  • Vivian Chang, grade 12, William Mason High School/Hong Cheng Violin Studio
  • Sonya Moomaw, grade 9, School for Creative and Performing Arts/Studies with Dr. Sarah Kim
  • Angela Tang, grade 10, William Mason High School/ Studies with Joel Smirnoff

THEATER

  • Jake Hagerty, grade 11, Highlands High School
  • Jai’Den Pritchett, grade 10, Sycamore High School/Musical Arts Center
  • Clarissa Ramirez, grade 12, Sycamore High School
  • Natalie Schmall, grade 10, Ursuline Academy 

VISUAL ART

  • Allison Droege, grade 12, William Mason High School
  • Nathan Knoll, grade 12, Elder High School
  • Faith Ogenyi, grade 12, Lakota East High School
  • Andrew Sichak, grade 12, Loveland High School

VOCAL MUSIC

  • Eden Bee, grade 12, Turpin High School/Studies
  • Ishanvi Karthikeyan, grade 12, Lakota West High School/Studies with Malathy Vijay
  • Devi Kool, grade 10, Wyoming High School/Studies with Stacey Sands
  • William Wittekind, grade 11, Saint Xavier High School/Studies with Musical Arts Center

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 upwards of 700,000 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 programs in 1995, CAA has reached more than 2.1 million students and adults. 

CAA is proud to be a member of Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, Greater Cincinnati Alliance for Arts Education, Greater Cincinnati Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky African American Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, National Organization of Arts in Healthcare, National Guild for Community Arts Education, Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce, and Visit Cincinnati (formerly Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau)

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