In PULP, playwright Joseph Zettelmaier, author of Know’s 2015 hit Star Wars caper All Childish Things, puts classic genre tropes in a blender to create a brand new comedy that jumps from paperback to paperback down the bookshelves as the mystery unfolds.
Bringing this noir world to the stage is an all star cast of Cincinnati favorites.
Know’s Education Director Maggie Lou Rader (Silent Sky, Hearts Like Fists) returns to the MainStage as femme-fatale romance writer Desiree St. Clair.
Justin McCombs (Silent Sky, Moby Dick) takes on the role of Walter Kingston-Smith, a wealthy playboy who dabbles at writing superhero pulps. Know favorite Darnell Pierre Benjamin returns for the first time since 2014’s Harry & the Thief as Bradley Rayburn, an up and coming sci-fi writer.
Rounding out the the suspects is MadCap Puppets Artistic Director Dylan Shelton (The Dragon, Bull) as horror writer R.A. Lyncroft.
And making his Know Theatre debut as PI Frank Ellery is longtime Cincinnati Shakespeare Company ensemble member Paul Riopelle.
PULP is part of a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere, which kicked off at the Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis last spring. The show will be produced at Michigan’s Williamston Theatre concurrently to the Know’s production.
NNPN’s Rolling World Premiere program supports three or more theatres that choose to produce the same new play within a 12 month period. The result is a rolling world premiere, giving a playwright the chance to develop a new work with multiple creative teams in at least three different communities.
The playwright is part of the process, working on the script and making adjustments based on what is learned from each production.
PULP is the second NNPN rolling world premiere in which Know Theatre has taken part, the first being Steve Yockey’s Pluto in 2014.
Says Artistic Director Andrew Hungerford, “There are so many things that excite me about tackling this show: our fantastic cast, the thrill of working on an evolving world premiere script, and my own personal love for the pulp stories of the 30s through 50s.
I grew up reading Ray Bradbury’s science fiction, and the Maltese Falcon is a favorite of mine (both the book and the film). And of course we had such a great time with Joe’s All Childish Things, we’re excited to bring another of this prolific playwright’s works to Cincinnati audiences.
PULP runs October 7 through 29. Come find out what mayhem unfolds when reality becomes stranger than fiction in this rolling world premiere comedy.
Cast in Alphabetical Order
- Darnell Pierre Benjamin as Bradley Rayburn
- Justin McCombs as Walter Kingston-Smith
- Maggie Lou Rader as Desiree St. Clair
- Paul Riopelle as Frank Ellery
- Dylan Shelton as R.A. Lyncroft
Production Team
- Director & Lighting Designer – Andrew Hungerford
- Scenic & Prop Designer – Sarah Beth Hall
- Costume Designer – Noelle Wedig
- Sound & Video Designer – Doug Borntrager
About the National New Play Network
The National New Play Network (NNPN) is the country’s alliance of non-profit professional theaters dedicated to the development, production, and continued life of new plays. Since its founding in 1998, NNPN has supported more than 150 productions nationwide through its innovative National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere program, which provides playwright and production support for new works. Additional programs – its annual National Conference, National Showcase of New Plays, and MFA Playwrights Workshop; the NNPN Annual and Smith Prize commissions; its residencies for playwrights, producers and directors; and the organization’s member accessed Collaboration, Festival, and Travel banks, and online information sessions – have helped cement the Network’s position as a vital force in the regional theater landscape. NNPN’s programming allows its members and their affiliated artists to create, grow, and share new work across the country and around the world, and it strives to pioneer, implement, and disseminate ideas and programs that revolutionize the way theaters collaborate to support new plays and playwrights. Its most recent project, The New Play Exchange (www.newplayexchange.org), launched in January of 2015, is already changing the way playwrights share their work and others discover it. NNPN’s 29 Core and more than 75 Associate Members – along with the more than 250 affiliated artists who are its alumni, the thousands of artists and artisans employed annually by its member theaters, and the hundreds of thousands of audience members who see its supported works each year – are creating the new American theater.
For more information please visit nnpn.org.
Calendar Listing
Production:
- PULP by Joseph Zettelmaier
When:
- 8:00pm October 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28, 29
- 3:00pm October 9, 16*, 23
*A pre-show brunch is available on this date with purchase of $35 “Brunch + Show” tickets in advance. Deadline for brunch reservation is October 9. Brunch provided by Water Tower Fine Wines
Where:
- Know Theatre of Cincinnati. 1120 Jackson Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 in historic Over-the-Rhine.
Tickets:
- $25 regular Price
- $15 Rush tickets at the door 10 minutes prior to curtain (when available)
- FREE performances on Wednesday, as part of Know’s Welcome Experiment initiative. Advance reservations to Welcome Experiment performances are $5.00.
- Walkup tickets are available for free the day of the show.
- Tickets can be purchased by visiting knowtheatre.com or calling 513.300.5669 (KNOW).
Know Theatre is Cincinnati’s Theatrical Playground. The Know showcases unexpected voices, new works, and plays that embrace the inherent theatricality of the live experience. Know Theatre seeks to be a place where artists and audiences feel welcome to take artistic risks, creating work that is cutting edge and accessible.
Know Theatre’s work is made possible, in part, by the generosity of community contributions to the ArtsWave Campaign. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund Know Theatre with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Know Theatre is also supported by The Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, helping to change our communities for the better through collaboration and innovation, and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, which provides a simple, powerful, and highly personal approach to giving.
Know Theatre is a member of Theatre Communications Group and an Associate member of the National New Play Network.
Sinclair Theatre will present 3 FREE performances of STANDING ON CEREMONY, THE GAY MARRIAGE PLAYS , on October 5-6, in Sinclair’s Black Box Theatre, building 2, on the downtown Dayton campus.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Troy Civic Theatre has had to withdraw the anticipated second show of the season, Two By Two. The board of directors decided at their September board meeting to replace the musical with the dramatic comedy SEEING STARS IN DIXIE by Ron Osborne. TCT veteran directors Derek Dunavent and Terressa Knoch will be co-directing the show.
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 