Category Archives: Press Releases

January 14, 2017 · 8:30 pm

Two Seasons Announced at West Side Theatres

Covedale Center and Warsaw Federal Incline Theater Boast
Exciting, Eclectic Titles Through Spring 2018 

CLPCincinnati Landmark Productions announced its next slate of shows at its two theaters tonight at the annual Double Season Announcement party.

With the Covedale Center for the Performing Arts wrapping up its 15th year and the Warsaw Federal Incline Theater in its second full year, the west side theatre group is now producing year-around at its two venues. CLP designed three production seasons at the two theaters to appeal to current patrons and to reach new audiences.

Tonight, the west-side theater group announced its 2017-18 Covedale Center ‘Marquee Series’ as well as the 2017-18 Warsaw Federal Incline Theater ‘District Series.’

The shows are:

Covedale Center Marquee Series, presented by Cincinnati Federal and TriHealth:

  • The Miracle Worker, September 7 – October 1, 2017
  • Young Frankenstein, October 19 – November 12, 2017
  • Annie, November 30 – December 23, 2017
  • Guys and Dolls, February 15 – March 11, 2018
  • Oklahoma, April 5-29, 2018

Warsaw Federal Incline Theater District Series:

  • Cabaret, September 28 – October 15, 2017
  • Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, January 25 – February 11, 2018
  • Monty Python’s Spamalot, March 22 – April 8, 2018

CCPAThe Covedale Center Marquee Series subscriptions are $120 for all 5 shows and are now available. Current subscribers can renew their seats through June 23, 2017. Tickets to single shows go on sale July 24, 2017. The Covedale Center for the Performing Arts is located at 4990 Glenway Avenue.

District Series subscriptions for the Warsaw Federal Incline Theater are $69 for all 3 shows and are now available. Current subscribers can renew their seats through June 23, 2017. Tickets to single shows go on sale July 24, 2017. The Warsaw Federal Incline Theater is located at 801 Matson Place.

At the announcement event, Cincinnati Landmark Productions outlined some programming changes as well. Beginning with the 2017-18 theatre season, CLP will reduce the Marquee Series from 6 productions to 5 and the District Series from 4 to 3 productions. Then, beginning in Summer 2018, an additional production will be added to the Summer Classics Season, bringing it from 3 shows to 4.

“From an organizational perspective, this greatly streamlines production bandwidth and maximizes our greatest strengths while still allowing us to grow and build new audiences,” said Tim Perrino, executive artistic director of Cincinnati Landmark Productions. “Most importantly, this allows us to truly offer year-round, affordable, locally-produced entertainment for our base audience.”

Perrino said that the company would be no less busy. There are 212 annual performance nights planned in this new structure, with 90 performances planned for the Covedale Center and 122 at the Warsaw Federal Incline Theater.

WFIT_Sign at nightThe Marquee Series and District Series seasons complement Cincinnati Landmark Productions’ previously announced 2017 Summer Classics Season at the Warsaw Federal Incline Theater, presented by TriHealth:

  • Damn Yankees, May 24 – June 18, 2017
  • Blithe Spirit, June 28 – July 23, 2017
  • The Drowsy Chaperone, August 2-27, 2017

The Warsaw Federal Incline Theater, opened in June 2015, is a brand new, purpose-built, 229-seat performing arts center and parking garage in the Incline District in East Price Hill. Located at the corner of Matson Place and West 8th Street, the $6 million project was finished on time and on budget. All 45 performances during the debut 2015 Summer Classics Season were sold out.

Cincinnati Landmark Productions has been serving the West Side for over 30 years – first through its Cincinnati Young People’s Theatre program and then through its ownership and management of the Covedale Center for the Performing Arts in West Price Hill. Since opening in 2002, the arts center quadrupled its subscribership. Attendance ballooned from 13,990 in the 2002-03 season to over 55,000 (representing more than 300 zip codes) last season.

Sponsorships and Donor programs for the theaters and new seasons are still available. For more information, call (513) 241-6550.

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FULL SHOW DESCRIPTIONS

2017-18 Covedale Center Marquee Series
presented by Cincinnati Federal and TriHealth

THE MIRACLE WORKER
September 7 – October 1, 2017
By William Gibson

Immortalized on stage and screen by Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke, this classic tells the story of Annie Sullivan and her student, blind and mute Helen Keller. The Miracle Worker dramatizes the volatile relationship between the lonely teacher and her charge. Trapped in a secret, silent world, unable to communicate, Helen is violent, spoiled, almost sub-human and treated by her family as such. Only Annie realizes that there is a mind and spirit waiting to be rescued from the dark, tortured silence. With scenes of intense physical and emotional dynamism, Annie’s success with Helen finally comes with the utterance of a single, glorious word: “water.” Winner of the 1960 Tony Award.

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
October 19 – November 12, 2017
Book by Mel Brooks & Thomas Meehan; Music & Lyrics by Mel Brooks

Grandson of the infamous Victor Frankenstein, Frederick Frankenstein (pronounced “Fronk-en-steen”) inherits his family’s estate in Transylvania. With the help of a hunchbacked sidekick, Igor (pronounced “Eye-gore”), and a leggy lab assistant, Inga (pronounced normally), Frederick finds himself in the mad scientist shoes of his ancestors. “It’s alive!” he exclaims as he brings to life a creature to rival his grandfather’s. Eventually, of course, the monster escapes and hilarity continuously abounds. Young Frankenstein has all the panache of the screen sensation with a little extra theatrical flair added. With such memorable tunes as “The Transylvania Mania,” “He Vas My Boyfriend” and “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” Young Frankenstein is scientifically proven, monstrously good entertainment.

ANNIE
November 30 – December 23, 2017
Book by Thomas Meehan; Music By Charles Strouse; Lyrics by Martin Charnin

With equal measures of pluck and positivity, little orphan Annie charms everyone’s hearts despite a next-to-nothing start in 1930s New York City. She is determined to find the parents who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of a New York City orphanage that is run by the cruel, embittered Miss Hannigan. With the help of the other girls in the orphanage, Annie escapes and foils Miss Hannigan’s evil machinations… and even befriends President Franklin Delano Roosevelt! She finds a new home and family in billionaire Oliver Warbucks, his personal secretary Grace Farrell, and a lovable mutt named Sandy.  Features some of the greatest musical theatre hits ever written, including “Tomorrow.” Winner of 7 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

GUYS AND DOLLS
February 15 – March 11, 2018
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser; Book by Jo Swirling and Abe Burrows

Set in Damon Runyon’s mythical New York City, Guys and Dolls is an oddball romantic comedy. Gambler Nathan Detroit tries to find the cash to set up the biggest craps game in town while the authorities breathe down his neck. Meanwhile, his girlfriend and nightclub performer Adelaide laments that they’ve been engaged for fourteen years. Nathan turns to fellow gambler Sky Masterson for the dough, and Sky ends up chasing the straight-laced missionary Sarah Brown as a result. Guys and Dolls takes us from the heart of Times Square to the cafes of Havana, Cuba, and even into the sewers of New York City, but eventually everyone ends up right where they belong.

OKLAHOMA!
April 5-29, 2018
Music by Richard Rodgers; Book & Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II; Based on the play “Green Grow the Lilacs” by Lynn Riggs

Set in a Western Indian Territory just at the turn of the century, the high-spirited rivalry between the local farmers and the cowboys provides the colorful background against which Curly, a handsome cowboy, and Laurey, a winsome farm girl, play out their love story. Although the road to true love never runs smooth, with these two headstrong romantics holding the reins, love’s journey is as bumpy as a surrey ride down a country road. That they will succeed in making a new life together we have no doubt, and that this new life will begin in a brand-new state provides the ultimate climax through the triumphant title song.

2017-18 Warsaw Federal Incline Theater District Series:

CABARET
September 28 – October 15, 2017
Book by Joe Masteroff; Based on the play by John Van Druten; Stories by Christopher Isherwood; Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred Ebb

The scene is the Kit Kat Klub, a night club in Berlin, 1931. The Nazis are rising to power. A young American writer, Cliff Bradshaw, is in a very complicated relationship with 19-year-old English cabaret performer Sally Bowles. As he seeks a meaningful life, she claims to seek only its pleasures. Meanwhile, the doomed romance between German boarding house owner Fräulein Schneider and her elderly suitor Herr Schultz, a Jewish fruit vendor, is headed for tragedy as Germany veers toward fascism. Overseeing the action is the Master of Ceremonies, presenting the songs in the club as ominous political developments seep into the lives and hearts of the lovers. This Tony Award-winning Best Musical includes the songs “Willkommen,” “Maybe This Time,” “The Money Song” and the all-time hit “Cabaret.”

FIVE WOMEN WEARING THE SAME DRESS
January 25 – February 11, 2018
By Alan Ball

During an ostentatious wedding reception at a Knoxville estate, five reluctant, identically clad bridesmaids hide out in an upstairs bedroom, each with her own reason to avoid the proceedings below. They are Frances, a painfully sweet but sheltered fundamentalist; Mindy, the cheerful, wise-cracking lesbian sister of the groom; Georgeanne, whose heartbreak over her own failed marriage triggers outrageous behavior; Meredith, the bride’s younger sister whose precocious rebelliousness masks a dark secret; and Trisha, a jaded beauty whose die-hard cynicism about men is called into question when she meets Tripp, a charming bad-boy usher to whom there is more than meets the eye. As the afternoon wears on, these five very different women joyously discover a common bond in this wickedly funny, irreverent and touching celebration of the women’s spirit.

Monty Python’s SPAMALOT
March 22 – April 8, 2018
Book and Lyrics: Eric Idle; Music: John Du Prez

Lovingly ripped off from the classic film comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Spamalot retells the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table and features a bevy of beautiful show girls, not to mention cows, killer rabbits, and French people. Did we mention the bevy of beautiful show girls?  The 2005 Broadway production won three Tony Awards, including “Best Musical,” and received 14 Tony Award nominations. Hilarious songs include: “I’m Not Dead Yet,” “His Name is Lancelot” and “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life!”

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January 13, 2017 · 6:51 pm

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company to Announce Debut Season at The Otto M. Budig Theater on February 1

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Producing Artistic Director Brian Isaac Phillips at the Topping Out (Final Beam) Event on December 5, 2016 at the new Otto M. Budig Theater.

CINCINNATI (Jan 12, 2017) — Cincinnati Shakespeare Company (CSC) continues to reach important milestones as it prepares for its move into The Otto M. Budig Theater. This next celebration in a series of Milestone Events will be an event to reveal the titles of the shows that will be produced in 2017-2018 for the debut season at The Otto M. Budig Theater. All contributors to the Making History Unexpected Capital Campaign and Press are invited, and the event is open to the public.

There will be a hard hat tour and a “Guess the Titles” game for those that want to see the progress of the theater and try to predict the shows CSC will produce in their brand new space. At each stop on the tour participants will receive clues about the shows and can try to guess the titles and the lineup of the season. Guests who participate in the game will be entered into a drawing to win door prizes including a pair of tickets for an invitation-only preview of the first show in the new theater. The celebration will continue across the street at the Transept with a cocktail party and the official season reveal of titles by Producing Artistic Director, Brian Isaac Phillips.

The hard hat tour and “Guess the Titles” game begins at 6:00 PM. Tickets can be purchased with a donation of $15 per person, and include a reservation to the cocktail party. For those who just wish to attend the cocktail party and titles release, the Transept will be open at 6:30 PM. Brian Isaac Phillips will announce the titles and line up of all the shows starting around 7:15PM. The event at the Transept is complimentary, although reservations are required.

In November 2015, CSC announced a $17 million capital campaign titled “Making History Unexpected” to construct a new theatre at 12th and Elm Streets, in the heart of Over-the-Rhine. The new facility will incorporate space for modern theatrical technology, increased seating capacity and lobby, expanded education and community outreach opportunities, as well as on-site production areas and administrative offices. The theatre will also become the “finale” of a planned “Classical Arts Corridor” connecting Music Hall, Memorial Hall, the School for Creative and Performing Arts, and Washington Park.

The project is on schedule and on budget to begin operations this summer and for the first production’s opening on September 8, 2017.

PHOTO/INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE

  • 6:00 PM — Messer Construction Field Office (12th Street door just behind new construction). Hard hat tour of new theater.
  • 6:30 PM – the Transept. Cocktail reception begins.
  • 7:15 PM  – the Transept. Brian Isaac Phillips will reveal the titles of the Debut Season in the Otto M. Budig Theater.

About Cincinnati Shakespeare Company:
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is a professional theatre company dedicated to bringing Shakespeare and the classics to life for audiences of all ages.  Currently located in the heart of downtown Cincinnati, CSC produces a dozen mainstage productions each season. In the summer of 2017, the theater will relocate to the Otto M. Budig Theater, a brand new facility in OTR. CSC’s repertoire is made up of the works of William Shakespeare, literary adaptations, and contemporary classics. CSC performs on a Small Professional Theatre contract with Actors’ Equity Association. Cincinnati Shakespeare is a member of the Theater Communications Group and the Shakespeare Theater Association.  Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s Education and Outreach Programs reached over 50,000 young people and underserved community members each season by taking Shakespeare into schools, parks, community centers and by hosting educational matinees of mainstage productions.  In 2015, CSC was proud to become one of the first five theaters in the United States to “Complete the Canon” by producing all 38 plays by William Shakespeare. CSC is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible.  Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is proud to be Cincinnati’s stage for the classics!

About The 2016-2017 Season:
This season is generously sponsored by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation.  Cincinnati Shakespeare Company receives operating support from The Ohio Arts Council, the Shubert Foundation and is supported, in part, by the generosity of thousands of individuals and businesses that give annually to ArtsWave. The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this organization with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Production dates and information on the season are available online at http://www.cincyshakes.com.

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January 13, 2017 · 6:48 pm

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS Travels to the Arts Center at Dunham for Free Family Fun

pip_around-the-world-in-80-days-promoCINCINNATI, OH – January 13, 2017 — Bring your passport on Saturday, January 21 at 2 p.m. for AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, part of the Free Family Fun Series at the Arts Center at Dunham.

The Playhouse in the Park’s Off the Hill Productions by Toby Hulse is based on the Jules Verne book and is provided courtesy of a grant from Price Hill Will Arts CAT. Join Phileas Fogg in the world’s most amazing race. Via rail, boat and even elephant, Fogg must travel the globe in just 80 days or he will forfeit a fortune. But a snooping detective, a possible human sacrifice and even the will of Mother Nature all conspire against Fogg’s adventure of a lifetime. Just three actors portray 19 different characters to create a spirited, fast-moving, highly imaginative and hilariously entertaining comedy. The show is recommended for ages 8 and up.

Reservations are recommended for the FREE Family Fun Series and can be made online (www.sunsetplayers.org) or by calling 513-588-4988.

All Free Family Fun Series performances are on Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. The remaining series includes:

–       March 11, 2017 ROKCincy Opera for Children: “The Magic Flute”

ROKCincy is thrilled to present Mozart’s beloved fairy tale opera “The Magic Flute.” The performance is 40 minutes in length and includes a question and answer session with the cast. ROKCincy is a non-profit program with a mission to introduce young people to the thrill of live, fully staged opera and to give developing professional musicians an opportunity to hone their performance skills through experience.

–       April 22, 2017 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe based upon the story by C.S. Lewis, dramatized by Le Clanche du Rand and performed by the Playhouse in the Park’s Off the Hill Productions. Courtesy of a grant from Price Hill Will Arts CAT.

In Narnia, a land of talking animals, mythical creatures and eternal winter, the White Witch holds power over all. Any who dare to dissent are turned instantly into stone. But one day, a little girl named Lucy enters this magical land through an enchanted wardrobe, and her fantastical adventure signals the fulfillment of a prophecy and great change to come. Step through the wardrobe with Lucy, Peter, Susan and Edmund in this tour-de-force, two-actor adaptation of the beloved and heroic tale of good’s triumph over evil. Recommended for ages 5 and up.

The Arts Center at Dunham is a fine arts center for the west side of Cincinnati and its vision is to provide affordable creative and performing arts for Price Hill and surrounding communities. Housed in one of the three remaining buildings of what was the first municipally owned tuberculosis sanatorium in the United States, the Arts Center includes a 350-seat performance venue as well as extensive studio and programming space. The Arts Center is in the Dunham Recreation Complex. See what is happening at the Arts Center at Dunham on Facebook.

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January 12, 2017 · 6:49 am

DADAN 2017 | February 19 | Aronoff Center

caa_kodo-logoNorth American Premiere

Sunday, February 19, 2017 – 7:00 PM
Aronoff Center – Procter & Gamble Hall

Pre-show performance at 6:30 PM by Cincinnati Dayton Taiko
Otto M. Buding Lobby (Loge Level)

The World’s Supreme Taiko Drumming Troupe Brings Unparalleled Artistry and Athleticism to 22 American Cities, Celebrating a Sensational 35 Years

“Indeed, if there is such a thing as perfection in music, Kodo comes as near to it as any group in the world.” – Boston Globe

“Superlatives don’t really exist to convey the primal power and bravura beauty of Kodo.” –   Chicago Tribune

CINCINNATI, OH – The Cincinnati Arts Association is proud to present Kodo – the world’s foremost professional taiko company which has singularly played the most important role in popularizing modern taiko drumming. The acclaimed company, direct from Japan, will present its newest program, DADAN, in North America for the first time. The much-anticipated tour will play the Aronoff Center’s Procter & Gamble Hall on Sunday, February 19, 2017 at 7:00 PM. The event is part of CAA’s 2016-17 Season.

Tickets are $50, $40, and $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.  HALF-PRICE STUDENT DISCOUNT:  available in person at the Aronoff Center Ticket Office with a valid student ID (limit 2 tickets per student)

A pre-show performance by Cincinnati Dayton Taiko is scheduled for 6:30 PM in the Otto M. Buding Lobby (Loge Level). Cincinnati Dayton Taiko (CDT) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting Japanese style taiko drumming through performance and education.  CDT performances are based on a traditional foundation, but emphasize the fun and community spirit of taiko.

Forging new directions for the traditional Japanese drum, Kodo will bring a display of their raw athleticism and rhythmic mastery back to the U.S. with this cutting-edge and ever-evolving production, featuring the men of Kodo in a bold portrayal of the essence of drumming through this vibrant living art form.
Simultaneously raw and refined, DADAN was created by artistic director and Japanese “Living National Treasure” Tamasaburo Bando. Simply meaning “Drumming Men,” DADAN features only the company’s young male members and is unique among Kodo’s programs in its absence of singing, dancing, flutes, and female performers. Instead, this production exclusively uses taiko drums of all shapes and sizes, as well as other forms of percussion.

The climax of DADAN features a succession of compelling solos, and with each new drummer’s relentless and rhythmic pounding of the hirado o-daiko (big low drum), the reverberations build to soul-stirring heights. The solos then crescendo into a round of rousing ensemble pieces, completely immersing the audience in sound as they watch the taiko soar to new levels. More than any other piece in the Kodo repertoire, DADAN simultaneously challenges the limits of the player’s physical, technical, psychological, and spiritual talents.

DADAN saw its world premiere in Tokyo in September 2009, and its foreign debut at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, France, with four sold-out performances in 2012. The production toured across Japan in 2012 and was showcased twice at the “Earth Celebration” annual international performing arts festival on Sado Island. Tours of Spain and France followed during 2014, and in October 2015, DADAN was performed in Hong Kong – a first in Asia outside of Japan. The South American debut took place in March of 2016 in Brazil, and the 2017 DADAN performances will be its first North American tour.

For a preview of DADAN, click here.

About Kodo
In Japanese, the word “Kodo” holds a double meaning. It can be translated as “heartbeat,” the primal source of all rhythm. If read in a different context, however, Kodo can also mean “children of the drum,” which reflects the group’s desire to play the drums with the simple heart of a child. Since the group’s debut at the Berlin Festival in 1981, Kodo has given 5,800 performances in 49 countries on five continents (this figure includes 3,900 performances under the “One Earth” banner). The ensemble also participates in a wide range of projects and events, which includes headlining major international festivals, contributing to motion picture soundtracks, and collaborating with a wide variety of global performing arts leaders.

Kodo’s members, staff, and apprentices live in Kodo Village, a 33-acre, self-contained section of the Ogi Peninsula on Sado Island in the Sea of Japan, isolated from the rest of the island’s residents. Since 1971, Sado Island has been the home to Kodo, some of the most disciplined performers in the world, whose work and artistry transcends borders, genre, and time. In this beautiful natural environment, Kodo developed their extraordinary compound, devoted to creativity, education, and exchange, which includes a central office building, a rehearsal hall, residential building and guest house, a workshop, a recording studio, and the legendary Kodo Apprentice Center.

For more information about Kodo, visit www.kodo.or.jp/index_en.html.

About Tamasaburo Bando
Tamasaburo Bando is a leading Kabuki actor, and the most popular and celebrated onnagata (actor specializing in female roles) currently on stage. His theatrical directing credits include Romeo & Juliet and Kaijin Besso, and he has directed the films Gekashitsu, Yume no Onna, and Tenshu Monogatari. Bando accepted the invitation to become Kodo’s artistic director from 2012 through 2016, and was recognized as an Important Intangible Cultural Property Holder (“Living National Treasure”) in Japan. In 2013, he was decorated with the highest honor – Commander – of France’s Order of Arts and Letters.

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, 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.  www.CincinnatiiArts.org

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January 12, 2017 · 6:18 am

New Edgecliff Draws on Non-Traditional Casting for Tennessee Williams’ Classic THE GLASS MENAGERIE

In February, New Edgecliff Theatre will join a long tradition of productions of Tennessee Williams’ THE GLASS MENAGERIE utilizing casts of color

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Keisha Kemper as Amanda, Talia Brown as Laura, Andrew Ornelas as Tom & Landon E. Horton as Jim

In this 20th century “memory play,” we see the Wingfield family caught up in a painful struggle between illusion and reality, and the means employed by each of them to escape that struggle. Originally conceived by Williams in 1944 as a Depression-era dysfunctional white family, the play has nonetheless been frequently staged with African-American or multi-ethnic casts – the first being a production by the Howard Players at Howard University in 1947.

In Philip C. Kolin’s article “Black and Multi-Racial Productions of Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie,” he states, “Black and multi-ethnic productions of THE GLASS MENAGERIE…liberate the subtext from racially-imposed constraints.” He goes on to say, “In fact, I have argued that it is only through a production of a Williams play with an all-Black cast that certain dimensions of the subtext can be realized and released.”

NET Producing Artistic Director Jim Stump explains why he was compelled to further explore this approach: “Last year I was listening to an interview with a sociologist about a book she had written. It was a history of the matriarchal single-parent African American family.  It discussed, among other things, the separation of family members during slavery, the need to travel great distances for work in the antebellum era, and the disassociation of many soldiers returning from war in the first half of the Twentieth Century.  As she was discussing fracturing of the African American family during this time, it made me think of the family in Tennessee Williams’ THE GLASS MENAGERIE.  The more I considered it, the more I realized this story could have been about any family, regardless of cultural background.  And with recent events in American society, I thought it was more important to present a story that would make audiences think about the concerns we all share – family, happiness, success – rather than one that reinforces our differences.”

Taking the helm in this production will be NKU professor Daryl Harris (recently named a Fulbright Specialist), who returns after directing two previous NET productions: Athol Fugard’s Master Harold…and the boys and David Mamet’s Race.  The cast will feature Talia Brown, Landon E. Horton, Keisha Kemper and Andrew Ornelas.  Of Harris, Stump says, “Once I settled on this approach, my first call was to Daryl Harris.  His passion for storytelling and his background in multi-cultural performance was the ideal combination for a project like this.”

In the play, Amanda Wingfield is a faded, tragic remnant of Southern gentility, living in poverty in a dingy St. Louis apartment with her son, Tom, and her daughter, Laura. Amanda strives to give meaning and direction to her life and the lives of her children, though her methods are ineffective and irritating. Tom is driven nearly to distraction by his mother’s nagging and seeks escape in alcohol and the world of the movies. Laura also lives in her illusions. She is crippled, and this defect, intensified by her mother’s anxiety to see her married, has driven her more and more into herself.

THE GLASS MENAGERIE by Tennessee Williams
February 9-25 2017, all performances 7:30 p.m.
The Hoffner Lodge, 4120 Hamilton Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45223

Tickets available at CincyTicket.com or by calling 1-888-428-7311
For more information go to: www.newedgecliff.com 

About the play: Amanda Wingfield is a faded, tragic remnant of Southern gentility, living in poverty in a dingy St. Louis apartment with her son, Tom, and her daughter, Laura. Amanda strives to give meaning and direction to her life and the lives of her children, though her methods are ineffective and irritating. Tom is driven nearly to distraction by his mother’s nagging and seeks escape in alcohol and the world of the movies. Laura also lives in her illusions. She is crippled, and this defect, intensified by her mother’s anxiety to see her married, has driven her more and more into herself. The crux of the action comes when Tom invites a young man of his acquaintance to take dinner with the family. Jim, the caller, is a nice ordinary fellow who is at once pounced upon by Amanda as a possible husband for Laura. In spite of her crude and obvious efforts to entrap the young man, he and Laura manage to get along very nicely, and momentarily Laura is lifted out of herself into a new world. But this crashes when, toward the end, Jim explains that he is already engaged. The world of illusion that Amanda and Laura have striven to create in order to make life bearable collapses about them. Tom, too, at the end of his tether, at last leaves home.

A drama of great tenderness, charm and beauty, “The Glass Menagerie” is one of the most famous plays of the modern theatre.

About the Director:  Daryl Harris is a 40-year veteran of traditional, experimental, applied and educational theatre. He has studied and worked as a producer, writer, director, actor, costume designer, professor and lecturer throughout the United States, Canada, Scandinavia, West Africa, China and Australia. In addition to teaching diverse interdisciplinary theatre courses, Harris’ work involves multicultural programming and projects that link the Underground Railroad Movement to the fields of theatre and dance, connecting themes emerging from the Movement to current social problems in ways that promote understanding and greater social harmony.  Mr. Harris holds a B.A. from The University of Southern Mississippi, a M.F.A. from The University of Southern Mississippi and a Ph.D. from The University of Alabama.  He was recently named a Fulbright Specialist.

About the Fulbright Program (from the Kentucky Tribune): Northern Kentucky University professor Dr. Daryl Harris has been selected for the Fulbright Specialists program, a five-year appointment during which he will act as an expert consultant for other universities across the globe.

A writer, director, costume designer, and actor who has worked on nearly every continent, Harris will take his expertise to other educational institutions, helping to teach students and assisting faculty in developing curriculum.

Harris is an associate professor of performance art at NKU’s School of the Arts, which is part of the College of Arts and Sciences. He specializes in multicultural programming and linking theatre to other disciplines, and teaches his students that theatre is about more than acting.

“Theatre helps students gain confidence when speaking, to think broadly by finding multiple solutions to a problem, and to develop the ability to think quickly on one’s feet. These lessons can be applied to many fields,” he said.

The prestigious Fulbright Specialists Program pairs prominent U.S. faculty and professionals with academic institutions around the world in need of their expertise. Appointments to the program are peer-reviewed and approved by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FFSB). The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

The program is designed to build relationships among U.S. faculty and professionals and their peers in more than 140 nations who participate in the program. That includes helping train foreign faculty, hosting seminars and lectures, organizing workshops, and helping develop curriculum.

About the Cast

Talia Brown (Laura) is ecstatic to be in her first production with New Edgeliff Theatre. She is currently a junior at Northern Kentucky University where she is working toward her BFA in Acting.  She has performed in several productions at NKU, including “Undraped”, “The Wedding Story”, and “The Bacchae”.

Landon E. Horton (Jim) is from Louisville and is currently finishing his BFA in Playwriting at NKU. He has previously appeared with New Edgecliff Theatre in “Master Harold and the Boys” (also directed by Daryl Harris) as Willie in 2007. He has performed in a variety of shows, such as “Of Mice and Men” as Crooks, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” as Cutler, and “BlackTop Sky” as Wynn. He is overjoyed to be working with the great Daryl Harris and New Edgecliff Theatre once again.

Keisha Kemper (Amanda): A Cincinnati native, Keisha graduated from Withrow High School. She has a B.S. degree from the University of Toledo, Master of Education degree in Health Education from the University of Cincinnati (UC) and has earned her BFA in Dramatic Performance from CCM.  Keisha is also a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

Keisha has performed as Harry in Harry and the Thief at the Know Theatre of Cincinnati, with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra during a performance of Prokofiev’s Suite from Romeo and Juliet as the Chorus/Nurse, with The Burying Beetles in Revolting Circumstances as Carolyn/Prophet, and Radio Gomorrah LIVE! as Typhoon in the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. She has also appeared in original works with RoJo Productions, Jewel Entertainment Group, & God’s Champion Entertainment.  As a student at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music (CCM), Keisha performed as Tituba in The Crucible, Antonia in Pentecost, Gilly, Witch #3 and Victim in Living Dead in Denmark and as Caithness in Macbeth.

Keisha proudly served in the U.S. Army as a Health Physics Technician (91SN4). Her Basic Training was held at Fort Jackson, SC and her job training (AIT) at Fort Sam Houston, TX.

Keisha has over 10 years of Healthcare experience as an Exercise Physiologist specializing in Cardiac Rehabilitation and Cardiology. As an Exercise/Fitness Specialist, she worked in a Corporate Health Department providing health screenings and education to workers across Cincinnati.

Andrew Ornelas (Tom) is incredibly excited to be playing Tom. He hopes to bring this beautiful character to life and create a unique world on stage. Andrew is currently a senior at Northern Kentucky University pursuing a Bachelor’s in Theatre and Creative Writing. When not acting at NKU or around it, Andrew enjoys directing and playwriting. This coming semester has many exciting things in store for him and he is beyond thankful! 

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