CINCINNATI, OH – The Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) is pleased to present the Griffin Theatre Company’s production of Ghosts of War: The True Story of a 19-Year-Old GI by Ryan Smithson, adapted for the stage by William Massolia, on Friday, December 9, 2016 at 8:00 PM at the Aronoff Center’s intimate Jarson-Kaplan Theater. The show is part of CAA’S 2016-17 Season.
Tickets are $30 and are on sale now at www.CincinnatiArts.org, (513) 621-ARTS [2787], and the Aronoff Center Ticket Office. Group discount tickets for 10 or more are available by calling (513) 977-4157.
The Griffin Theatre Company returns to the Aronoff Center for a second year with a show about the impact of war. Ryan Smithson was a typical 16-year-old high-school student until 9/11. “I’d thought about joining the military the moment I saw the towers fall,” he relates in this profoundly moving theatrical production based on Smithson’s acclaimed memoir. Smithson enlisted in the Army Reserve the following year and, a year into the Iraq war, was deployed to an Army engineer unit as a heavy-equipment operator. His poignant, often harrowing account, especially vivid in sensory details, chronicles his experiences in basic training and his tour of duty in Iraq.
“Only after we have been completely destroyed can we begin to find ourselves,” Smithson says of his basic training, offering an unflinchingly honest portrait of the physical and psychological brutality of that experience. His account of his tour of duty in Iraq is no less compelling. He lucidly recounts the intensity of battle and the pain of losing comrades. For Smithson, the war is a source of personal enlightenment, and this one-man play is a remarkable, deeply penetrating exploration of duty, patriotism and sacrifice.
To enhance the theatrical experience, the performance is followed by a post-play discussion.
Griffin Theatre Company
The mission of the Griffin Theatre Company is to create extraordinary and meaningful theatrical experiences for both children and adults by building bridges of understanding between generations that instill in its audience an appreciation of the performing arts. The Griffin achieves this mission and vision through artistic collaboration, produces literary adaptations, original work and classic plays that challenge and inspire, with wit, style and compassion for the audience. The company is supported by an ensemble of Artist in Residence with a range of disciplines include acting, designing, directing and production.
Over the last twenty-five years the Griffin has provided a wide range of work including world and mid-west premieres of acclaimed scripts, critically lauded productions of Shakespeare and original adaptations of novels. Many of the Griffin’s 100 plus productions have appeared on Chicago area critics “Best of the Year” lists. The Griffin is the recipient of 46 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations for theatre excellence in Chicago and numerous other awards and citations for its work. Last year the Griffin Theatre had the pleasure to perform its touring productions for over 100,000 young people and adults nationwide.
For more information about the Griffin Theatre Company and Ghosts of War, visit www.GriffinTheatre.com.
Cincinnati Arts Association SPONSORS
Season Sponsors: AMERITAS (Founding Season Sponsor), FIFTH THIRD BANK (Lifetime Endowment Partner), FURNITURE FAIR, LOCAL12 WKRC, The P&G FUND of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation
SEASON PRESENTING SPONSORS: 21C Museum Hotel, Cincinnati Herald, CityBeat, Heidelberg Distributing, Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, Hyatt Regency Cincinnati , Macy’s, Pepsi, Skyline Chili, TriHealth, Ultimate Air Shuttle, Wells Fargo Insurance Services USA
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 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 1.4 million students.
For more information, visit www.CincinnatiArts.org.
PULL UP A CHAIR – WE HAVE SOME STORIES TO SHARE AT
(CINCINNATI) – Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati and The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati are joining together once again to bring beloved characters to life across the Tristate with a number of special holiday appearances beginning Nov. 12.
Characters from Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s 26th annual production of A Christmas Carol, presented by U.S. Bank; Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati’s world premiere production of the musical Cinderella: After Ever After, sponsored by Macy’s; and The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati’s holiday production of Elf The Musical JR., also sponsored by Macy’s, will spread holiday cheer at events around the city from mid-November through Nov. 27.
The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park has been offering local audiences the finest in professional theatre for 57 years. Winner of two Tony Awards, the Playhouse is nationally known for its commitment to new works and as an artistic home for America’s best actors, directors and designers. Faithful storytelling and spellbinding special effects combine in the Playhouse’s annual production of A Christmas Carol, one of the city’s most popular family plays, which returns Nov. 23 through Dec. 31 for its 26th season. For more information, visit 
CINCINNATI–Cincinnati Opera and Catacoustic Consort are pleased to announce the formation of a new strategic partnership. This partnership will strengthen Catacoustic Consort’s administrative infrastructure, allowing the Consort to focus on its artistic product and organizational growth. The partnership will also furnish Cincinnati Opera with a source of deep expertise in the special issues of Baroque music, as the Opera responds to the broadening musical palates of local audiences and the community’s enthusiasm for varied musical experiences.
The strategic partnership between Cincinnati Opera and Catacoustic Consort is a natural outgrowth of previous successful collaborations. Catacoustic players comprised a critical part of the orchestra for Cincinnati Opera’s 2014 mainstage production of Cavalli’s La Calisto, and Opera News praised the musical accompaniment as “a constant source of delight.” Catacoustic Consort also partnered with Cincinnati Opera on “The Songs of Love and War,” a concert presented in 2014 as part of “Cincinnati Remembers WWI,” Cincinnati Opera’s series of programs focused on the World War I era in support of the opera Silent Night.
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 