Category Archives: Press Releases

January 4, 2017 · 5:45 pm

Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park Presents LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

See the Classic Musical Comedy Jan. 21-Feb. 19, 2017

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Nick Cearley as Seymour.

(CINCINNATI) — The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park heats up winter with a hothouse production of the beloved, campy classic LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, running in the Robert S. Marx Theatre Jan. 21 through Feb. 19.

The New York Times called the musical, “Exuberant … leaves the audience ravenous for more.” Based on Roger Corman’s 1960 cult film classic, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS was adapted for the stage by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken in 1982. It is one of the longest-running off-Broadway musicals in history.

In addition to LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS’ hilarious storyline, audiences will enjoy the songs, written by Ashman and Menken — best known for their songs in popular Disney films, including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin.

“Only at the Playhouse can you experience the perfect combination of a large-scale musical like LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS in an intimate space like the Marx Theatre,” says Playhouse Artistic Director Blake Robison. “The show is wildly entertaining and features the unequaled artistry of some of the nation’s top theatre talent, including the director Bill Fennelly, whose work has been seen both on Broadway and off-Broadway.”

The show’s popular and infectious score combines the best elements of rock, Motown and Broadway as it tells the story of a down-on-his-luck floral assistant, the sweet but troubled girl of his dreams and the bloodthirsty plant who sends them down a diabolical path. LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is also known for its elaborate Audrey II puppet, a giant plant that ultimately takes over the stage and requires its own puppeteer and voice actor.

“The true theatrical roots of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS are thrillingly and smartly ancient,” explains Fennelly. “Complete with a girl-group spin on a Greek Chorus, it is really a morality play for a modern audience. The story weaves together thematic threads of a subverted hero’s journey with elements of traditional Faustian legend: a man who sells his soul to the devil to gain power, wealth and love. Roger Corman, Howard Ashman and Alan Menken have all contributed to the creation of an enduring story that delightfully employs the timeless tools of humor, horror and satire to hold up a mirror to all of us.”

Tickets for LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS are on sale now and start at $35 for previews and $40 for regular performances. Prices are subject to change. Discounted tickets for children, teens and students are available for all shows. For more information, call the Playhouse Box Office at 513-421-3888 (toll-free in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana at 800-582-3208) or visit www.cincyplay.com. Call 513-345-2248 for Telecommunications Device for the Deaf accessibility.

CAST (in alphabetical order)
EBONY BLAKE (Ronnette), NICK CEARLEY (Seymour), DAVID MEYERS (Mr. Mushnik), GINO MILO (Audrey), JOHARI NANDI (Chiffon/Dance Captain), CHAZ ROSE (The Voice of Audrey II/Wino 1), JAMISON STERN (Orin/Snip/Luce/Wino 2), ALEXIS TIDWELL (Crystal)

PRODUCTION
HOWARD ASHMAN (Book and Lyrics), ALAN MENKEN (Music), BILL FENNELLY (Director), KENT ZIMMERMAN (Choreographer), RICK LEWIS (Music Supervisor), MICHAEL SCHWEIKARDT (Set and Puppet Designer), KATHLEEN GELDARD (Costume Designer), WILLIAM C. KIRKHAM (Lighting Designer), JEREMY J. LEE (Sound Designer), CASI PACILIO (Original Sound Effects), STEPHEN KRIZ GARDNER (Audrey II Puppeteer/Manipulator), STEPHEN GOERS (Conductor/Keyboard 1), JENIFER MOROW (Production Stage Manager), ANDREA L. SHELL (Second Stage Manager), BROOKE REDLER (Second Stage Manager)

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is sponsored by Tony Alper and Judy Curtin. The orchestra and design sponsor is Fifth Third Bank. The 2016-17 Robert S. Marx Theatre season is presented by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation, and Macy’s is the Robert S. Marx Theatre season design sponsor. The season sponsor of new work is the Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation.

The Playhouse is supported by the generosity of more than 40,000 contributors to the  ArtsWave Community Campaign. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund the Playhouse with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The Playhouse also receives funding from the Shubert Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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January 4, 2017 · 6:35 am

The Carnegie 2016-17 G.E.T. Together Series Presents TEAM KARAOKE CHALLENGE

karaoke-finalWHAT: The Carnegie G.E.T. Together Series presents Team Karaoke Challenge

WHEN: Saturday, February 11, 2017 at 7pm | Happy Hour 6-7pm

WHERE: The Carnegie | 1028 Scott Blvd | Covington, KY 41011

DESCRIPTION: A team-based Karaoke event unlike any other in the city. Teams of four will participate in a knock -out style tournament composed of three rounds of play and with the audience acting as the judging panel. First, teams will sing their best group number, then play or steal in the karaoke trivia round, and finally they’ll put up their best soloist to win the game. $1,000 in prizes will go to the 1st through 3rd place teams. Audience members are invited to cheer for their friends and jeer their opponents before voting for the winner of the Team Karaoke Challenge. Attendees are invited to a happy hour in The Carnegie Galleries at 6pm. 

TEAM REGISTRATION: Team registration is $60 and must be completed by Friday, February 3. Teams can register by emailing Carnegie Theatre Director Maggie Perrino at mperrino@thecarnegie.com. Registration includes one complimentary drink per person.

TICKETS: Tickets include one complimentary drink and are $21 for adults and $18 for students.  Tickets to Carnegie G.E.T. Together Series performances are available at The Carnegie Box Office, open Tuesday-Friday 12 p.m. – 5 p.m., online at www.thecarnegie.com, or by phone at (859) 957-1940.

ABOUT THE CARNEGIE G.E.T. TOGETHER SERIES: The Carnegie G.E.T. Together Series is a collaborative effort from the Carnegie’s Gallery, Education, and Theatre Departments. The interactive series has something to offer audiences of all kinds, and showcases talent from Northern Kentucky and beyond. 

ABOUT THE CARNEGIE:
The Carnegie is Northern Kentucky’s largest multidisciplinary arts venue providing theatre events, educational programs and art exhibitions to the Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati community. The Carnegie facility is home to The Carnegie Galleries, the Otto M. Budig Theatre, and the Eva G. Farris Education Center.  More information about The Carnegie is available at www.thecarnegie.com or by calling (859) 491-2030.

The Carnegie is supported by the generosity of more than 40,000 contributors to the ArtsWave Community Campaign. The Carnegie receives ongoing operating support from the Cincinnati Wine Festival, The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Kenton County Fiscal Courts, the Kentucky Arts Council and the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile Jr. / US Bank Foundation.

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December 29, 2016 · 6:10 pm

InBocca Performance Brings ALICE to the Stage

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Nicole Hershey as the Red Queen. Photos by Streetlight Studios.

InBocca Performance is pleased to announce its winter theatre production of ALICE, a dance theatre retelling of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Ten years after Alice’s childhood excursion to Wonderland, her elder sister has her committed to an asylum to be treated for hallucinations. Under the rule of a wicked Doctor, Alice must decide if Wonderland is worth surrendering her freedom—and her sanity.

ALICE will run Wednesday, January 18th through Saturday, January 21st. All performances are at 7:30 P.M. at The Mockbee (2260 Central Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45214). Tickets are $11 for students and seniors and $16 for adults, and the show is appropriate for most ages. To order tickets, please visit inboccaperformance.com or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/alice-tickets-30473944388?aff=eac2

InBocca Performance utilizes experimental theatre methods to create devised works, which build actors’ craft and produce a unique experience for the audience. Actors construct their own scenes, choreograph dance segments, and work with diverse musical genres, all under general direction from producer Caroline Stine and director Mandie Reiber.

History of the Company
InBocca Performance humbly began as the Cliffview Players in a basement in Ft. Thomas, KY in 1997. It then moved to a backyard in 1999, and became a main stage company in 2008. Notable past performances for the Ft. Thomas Community Theatre at Highlands High School were Peter Pan in 2008 and Into the Woods in 2010.

Artistic Director Caroline Stine began working with young actors to devise theatrical pieces in the summer of 2011 at The Village Players in Ft. Thomas, KY. In 2012, they created The Maid of Orleans, an emotionally charged production about Joan of Arc. In the summer of 2013, they created Romeo y Margarita, a story that combined the lyricism of Shakespearean verse with the romance of the Spanish language.

Since 2013, they have expanded to create art within the greater Cincinnati area. This includes a sellout production of Swan Lake: A Waking Dream at the Southgate House Revival in 2015. That summer, My Twisted Face performed in Cincinnati Fringe Festival, addressing the concept of rape as a part of our society. In 2016, InBocca performed at Cincy Fringe again with Charlie’s Girls, which built a script almost entirely from testimonies from the trials of the Charles Manson murders.

Ms. Caroline Stine (producer and artistic director) is a graduate of Highlands High School, and received her Bachelor degree from Butler University and her Masters in Contemporary Performance from Naropa University in Boulder, CO. She received theatrical training in Italy and Russia and participated in the Crisis Arts Festival in Arezzo, Italy. She is currently teaching at Northern Kentucky University and Notre Dame Academy.

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December 29, 2016 · 6:01 pm

Cincinnati Ballet Leaps into the New Year for Free Family Fun at the Arts Center at Dunham

cb_second-companyCINCINNATI, OH – December 29, 2016 — The Free Family Fun Series pliés into 2017 with the Cincinnati Ballet and The Typical Day in the Life of a Dancer on Saturday, January 7 at 2 p.m.

Dancers from the Cincinnati Ballet will provide an exciting peek into a day in the life of a professional dancer. Audience members will:

  • Learn the fundamentals of the art of ballet including the basic elements of dance. They will also gain an understanding of the discipline and athleticism required for a professional career in ballet.
  • Actively participate in the dance demonstration, applying the five basic ballet positions of the arms and feet to their own bodies and experimenting with other fun coordination exercises.
  • Experience an up close and personal performance by Cincinnati Ballet dancers and gain a greater understanding of performance etiquette.
  • Openly ask questions to the dancers in a positive, casual question and answer discussion.

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

–       January 21, 2017 Around the World in 80 Days by Toby Hulse from the book by Jules Verne and performed by the Playhouse in the Park’s Off the Hill Productions. 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 in this exciting adaptation of the Jules Verne classic. Just three actors portray 19 different characters to create a spirited, fast-moving, highly imaginative and hilariously entertaining comedy. Recommended for ages 8 and up.

–       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.

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

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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December 28, 2016 · 6:12 pm

Know Theatre Kicks Off 2017 with the Darkly Romantic DRAGON PLAY

ktc_dragon-play-logoA new drama by Jenny Connell Davis

Directed by Tamara Winters
January 27 – February 18, 2017

In rural Texas, a teenage boy and a dragon fall in love.
A thousand miles north, a woman’s fragile marriage is tested when her fire-breathing ex-lover arrives on her doorstep…

Know Theatre’s 19th Season leaps into 2017 with a darkly romantic regional premiere about the extremes to which we’ll go for love – and the collateral damage our choices leave behind.

Associate Artistic Director Tamara Winters returns to the Know MainStage at the helm of this intense new drama, and she has assembled a fantastic cast to bring to life Jenny Connell Davis’ poetic world: where love is complicated, and sometimes, people are dragons.

DRAGON PLAY follows the story of Woman, who suddenly has a choice to make between her mysterious past and the life she’s sacrificed everything to build.

Played by Torie Wiggins, Woman’s worlds collide when Dragon (played by fellow CCM alumnus Claron Hayden) appears, fifteen years after their last goodbye. Cincy Fringe Festival favorite Paul Strickland, in a rare dramatic turn, plays her embattled husband, who must must defend the life and home they’ve built from both Dragon’s allure and the pull of Woman’s past.

Unfolding alongside Woman’s story is the unlikely love affair of Dragon Girl and Loser Boy, brought to life by two Cincinnati theatre newcomers, Kearston Hawkins-Johnson and Josh Reiter. Kearston makes her Know Theatre debut in this regional premiere, in between her first semester at Northern Kentucky University; while current UC-CCM student Josh Reiter previously appeared October’s interactive horror event The Other Rhine.

Director Tamara Winters says “Dragon Play mixes mythology, legend, and an intensely personal story of longing, obsession, and devotion; crafting a world both like and unlike our own. And though you may not have met a literal dragon in your life before, I’ll bet you’ll recognize your own longings and triumphs in Davis’ fantastical tale.”

The Know Theatre design & tech team is gearing up for some theatrical magic, as well. Says Ms. Winters, “The unique conventions of this script – wherein people can also be dragons, and time is fluid – demand some serious creative thinking. How do you create a world in which dragons hide among us, yet also present a story that feels visceral and true for our audience? We’re playing with projection, light, shadow, and other theatrical magic to bring the audience along this emotional journey – and we can’t wait for you to enjoy the ride!”

Why is DRAGON PLAY the right show for the Know MainStage in this moment in time? Says Artistic Director Andrew Hungerford, “DRAGON PLAY is a piece of art that helps us learn how to better live in what poet Stephen Dunn calls, ‘the despoiled and radiant now.’”

DRAGON PLAY is brought to you with support from the Mitchell S. & Jacqueline P. Meyers Foundation, and runs January 27 – Feb 18 on the MainStage.

Join us for this intense and intimate drama about what you sacrifice for love, and what you do when who you were confronts who you want to become.

Cast in Alphabetical Order

  • Dragon Girl – Kearston Hawkins-Johnson
  • Dragon – Claron Hayden
  • Boy/Loser Boy – Josh Reiter
  • Man – Paul Strickland
  • Woman – Torie Wiggins*
    *Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States, appearing under a Special Appearance Contract.

Production Team

  • Director – Tamara Winters
  • Lighting & Scenic Designer – Andrew Hungerford
  • Scenic Charge & Prop Designer – Sarah Beth Hall
  • Costume Designer – Noelle Wedig
  • Sound & Video Designer – Doug Borntrager

Calendar Listing

DRAGON PLAY by Jenny Connell Davis

  • 8:00pm January 27, 28; February 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18
  • 3:00pm  January 29; February 5*, 12
    *A pre-show brunch is available on this date with purchase of $35 “Brunch + Show” tickets in advance. Deadline for brunch reservation is January 30. Brunch provided by Water Tower Fine Wines

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 walk-up tickets are available on Wednesdays, as part of Know’s Welcome
    Experiment initiative. Advance reservations to Welcome Experiment performances
    are $5.

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.

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