Category Archives: Press Releases

August 30, 2016 · 6:44 am

Ayad Akhtar’s Smart, Provocative DISGRACED Kicks Off Cincinnati Playhouse’s Thompson Shelterhouse Season

PIP_Disgraced promo(CINCINNATI) – Some plays seem ageless, while others are uncannily current. DISGRACED is the kind of play that succeeds in being both timeless and timely. Winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for drama and a 2015 Tony Award nominee for best play, Ayad Akhtar’s DISGRACED makes its regional premiere to open the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s 2016-17 Thompson Shelterhouse season from Sept. 24 through Oct. 23.

DISGRACED asks audiences to examine taboo subjects such as religion and politics, to explore their own biases surrounding culture and identity and to question preconceived notions regarding the American Dream and the experiences faced by Muslims in our country. Currently one of the most-produced plays across the U.S., DISGRACED was a sold-out hit in New York, London and Chicago.

Amir Kapoor is a hotshot lawyer who has achieved considerable success. But, in order to reach those heights, Amir believes it necessary to reinvent himself, putting as much distance as he can between his current life and his Muslim upbringing without fully understanding the ramifications of his decisions. Ironically Amir’s wife Emily, an up-and-coming painter, finds her own work increasingly inspired by the patterns and forms of classic Islamic art. When the couple hosts a dinner party for friends — Jory, a colleague hoping, like Amir, to earn a partnership at the law firm where they both work, and her husband Isaac, a curator at the Whitney Museum who has an interest in Emily’s new paintings — polite conversation escalates into explosive debate. It’s a discussion that illuminates in startling terms the not-so-hidden prejudices very much alive in America.

“DISGRACED puts the ideal 21st-century situation onstage — four successful people, equally balanced in gender, religion and ethnicity, share a meal — and the protagonist of the play is a prosperous Pakistani-American,” says director Lisa Portes, who is making her Playhouse debut. “There it is: the American Dream. Everyone’s different, everyone’s winning and everyone gets along. And then the whole thing blows up.

“Why? I think that’s the point of curiosity for audiences,” Portes continues. “In trying to build a truly pluralistic 21st-century America, what are we missing? What do we learn about ourselves when the American experiment fails?”

Playwright Ayad Akhtar, the son of Pakistani doctors who migrated to the United States in the late 1960s, was born in New York and raised in Wisconsin. He became hooked on writing in high school, but struggled for years to find his voice. As an adult, “I started to understand I was running from who I was,” Akhtar told Arena Stage earlier this year. “I had been inculcated in the literary values of European modernism. I was trying to be a kind of writer that I wasn’t. I was trying to ignore that my parents came from Pakistan and that I had a Muslim background. I didn’t want to have anything to do with it … When I started to understand that, I had enough presence of mind to not do anything about it, but just observe. And as I observed, I metaphorically looked over my shoulder at what I had been running from, and it led to an explosion of creativity.”

The results included Akhtar’s critically acclaimed 2012 coming-of-age novel American Dervish and DISGRACED, as well as plays The Who & The What and The Invisible Hand.

While the play resonates in the current environment of Islamophobia, Akhtar believes it also can be viewed more broadly. “I’m writing to the universal,” he told The Wall Street Journal. “I just happen to be situated, because of my history, my upbringing, my passions, my ecstasies and my demons, to be writing subject matter that seems to be meeting the world in an unusually direct way.”

The cast of DISGRACED includes Barzin Akhavan (Amir), Amin El Gamal (Abe), Maury Ginsberg (Isaac), Bethany Jillard (Emily) and Krystel Lucas (Jory).

In addition to Portes, the DISGRACED creative team features Brian Sidney Bembridge (set designer), Gordon DeVinney (costume designer), Thomas C. Hase (lighting designer) and Ray Nardelli (sound designer/composer). Andrea L. Shell is the stage manager.

DISGRACED is sponsored by Schueler Group.

Tickets for DISGRACED start at $35. Prices are subject to change, and patrons are encouraged to buy early for the best seats at the best prices. The show is appropriate for adult and older teenage audiences.

Tickets to 7 p.m. Sunday College Night performances are priced at just $10 for college students with a valid school ID. Student tickets are just $15 on the day of the show for all other performances.

Discounted ticket prices for teens and students are always available for $30.

Previews for DISGRACED are at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24; 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27; and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28. The official opening night is Thursday, Sept. 29, at 7:30 p.m.

Performances take place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays; 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; and 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays.

Free Meet the Artists programs that allow audiences to interact with the cast and others associated with DISGRACED will be held after the following performances: 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2; 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12; and 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20. Playhouse Perspectives talk-backs, supported by a gift from Roderick and Barbara Barr, will follow all other regular performances.

The Playhouse invites patrons to go beyond the play and take part in Playhouse Perspectives discussions at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26, and 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10. The first, featuring representatives from The Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati, will focus on a basic understanding of Islam and what it means to be an American Muslim today. The second will look at representations of Muslims in the media. The discussions are free and open to the public, but reservations are required and may be made by contacting the Playhouse Box Office at 513-421-3888.

Additionally, The Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati has graciously offered to provide special 90-minute tours for Playhouse patrons interested in visiting its facility in West Chester. Participants will learn about the basics of Islam and have the opportunity to explore the art and architecture of the campus, including the mosque and education building. A $2 donation is suggested at the door. Space is limited, so reservations should be made by calling the Playhouse Box Office at 513-421-3888.

The Playhouse is fully accessible. Audio enhancement receivers, large print programs and complete wheelchair access are available.

Tickets to DISGRACED are on sale now. 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.

The Playhouse is fully accessible. Audio enhancement receivers, large print programs and complete wheelchair access are available.

The 2016-17 Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre season is presented by Heidelberg Distributing Co., and the Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre season design sponsor is the Allan Berliant and Jennie Rosenthal Berliant Family Fund. 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.

Leave a comment

Filed under Press Releases

Tagged as

August 24, 2016 · 7:27 am

Fancy a Shave? Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Sets up Shop at HRTC

HRTC_SweeneyTodd promo1

Rebecca Watson as Mrs. Lovett and Jamie Cordes as Sweeney Todd. Photo by Scott J. Kimmins.

Tony Award-winning tale of madness, murder and meat pies opens The Race’s 30th Anniversary Season, September 8 – October 2, 2016 at the Loft Theatre

(Dayton, OH) — The Human Race proudly kicks off  its 2016-2017 Eichelberger Loft Season with the smash hit Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – A Musical Thriller. Created by the Tony Award winning team by Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics) and Hugh Wheeler (book) and based on an adaptation by Christopher Bond, this masterpiece of suspense invites audiences to attend the tale of Sweeney Todd. A barber unjustly imprisoned by corrupt Judge Turpin, Sweeney returns to 19th century London after fifteen years to take his revenge on the man who took him from his wife and young daughter. Todd’s need for vengeance becomes indiscriminately murderous—and profitable—when he partners with the unscrupulous Mrs. Lovett and opens his new barber practice above her failing meat pie shop. With his busy straight razors and her new secret ingredient, their fame grows until Todd comes face to face with the judge. Can he avenge his family before their dastardly deeds are uncovered?

The Human Race Theatre Company’s production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – A Musical Thriller is directed by Human Race Resident Artist Scott Stoney, who also directed Master Class; Crowns and Caroline, or Change in the Loft Theatre. Resident Artist Sean Michael Flowers (HRTC’s Avenue Q and The Full Monty: The Broadway Musical) is the production’s music director and conducts its eight-member band. Tracey Bonner, a recent Kentucky Arts Council Al Smith Artistic Fellow, is the choreographer.

The preview performance of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – A Musical Thriller is Thursday, September 8. Opening night is Friday, September 9. This production contains adult situations and stage violence and may not be suitable for all audiences.

The Human Race Theatre mounted a very popular production of Sweeney Todd in 1996 at the Victoria Theatre, and company President & Artistic Director Kevin Moore has been long planning a return to Fleet Street, this time on the thrust stage of the 212-seat Loft Theatre. “Sweeney is a big show, typically staged in large, proscenium theatre spaces. And in that kind of setting, the audience is safe in their seats out in the house while these terrifying—and sometimes comic—acts are happening at a distance on the stage.” But Moore believes the audience misses much of the point in that environment. “This is a story about revenge, and revenge is personal and is usually not fully appreciated unless it’s witnessed up close. That’s why we’re so excited to tell Sweeney’s tale in the Loft. That distance between action and audience is gone. The revenge is intimate for everyone. Our actors will be performing some pretty dastardly deeds right in front of the audience, and in several scenes, around and even behind them.”

Knowing that this story of murder and meat pies is only as good as its story teller, Moore selected a director with a long and personal history with Sweeney Todd. Scott Stoney was already a die-hard Sondheim fan in 1979 when he bought the cast album of a recently-opened Broadway production about a vengeful barber and immoral pie shop owner, and memorized every note, lyric and nuance. Stoney recalls his first time seeing the show that same year, “I took a trip to New York City with my best friend, Marsha Hanna. We sat in the 8th row of the orchestra with mouths open for the duration—one of those life-changing moments for both of us. I knew I was meant to perform that role.” In 1983, he got his chance when Wright State University put the musical on their theatre season and offered him a guest professional contract to star as Sweeney. “I remember coming in to the first rehearsal with all the music learned. Thanks to that album, I had already sung the score hundreds of times with Broadway’s original Sweeney, Len Cariou!” Lightning struck twice thirteen years later when Marsha Hanna, then Artistic Director of The Human Race, tapped Stoney to pick up the straight razors again for the 1996 production at the Victoria Theatre. Twenty years have since passed, and while Stoney admits it’s bittersweet to hand those razors over to another actor, he’s delighted to be able to lead this new telling for a theatre company he’s called home for three decades.

CAST AND DESIGN TEAM
The Human Race’s 2016 production features the talents of 17 gifted musical theatre actors from the Miami Valley area and across the country. Leading the cast in the title role of “Sweeney Todd” is Human Race Resident Artist Jamie Cordes (HRTC’s The Full Monty, Mame and Next to Normal). Wooster, Ohio, native Rebecca Watson (By Jeeves on Broadway) returns to the Buckeye State to play “Mrs. Lovett.” Cincinnatian Zack Steele (HRTC’s Mame and It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play) is back for his second Loft Theatre musical as the young sailor, “Anthony Hope.” University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music alumnus DJ Plunkett is “Tobias Ragg.” David McDonald (Side Show, Memphis and Doctor Zhivago on Broadway) plays the cruel “Judge Turpin.” Kimberly Hessler makes her first appearance with The Human Race as the judge’s ward, “Johanna.” Actor/director/writer Aaron Vega (HRTC’s Other Desert Cities, Lend Me a Tenor and Was) is “The Beadle.” Los Angeles-based actor/musician Craig McEldowney is “Adolfo Pirelli.” Christine Zavakos (HRTC’s Fiddler on the Roof) plays the “Beggar Woman.”

Other cast members in the ensemble include: Resident Artist Scott Hunt (HRTC’s The Glass Menagerie and Big River, Rent and Les Misérables on Broadway) as “Jonas Fogg;” Carlisle, Ohio, native David Shough as the “Bird Seller;” Nathan Robert Pecchia as the “Passerby;” Gina Handy (HRTC’s The Full Monty, Parallel Lives at Magnolia Theatre Company); Drew Helton (HRTC’s Fiddler on the Roof and workshop of The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes); Cassi Mikat (HRTC’s Master Class and It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play); Sherri L. Sutter (HRTC’s Mame and workshop of Molly Sweeney); and Kandis Wean (HRTC’s workshops of The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes and Love Makes the World Go Round).

Cordes, Hunt and Sutter all appeared in The Human Race’s 1996 production of Sweeney Todd at the Victoria Theatre. Cordes played the young sailor “Anthony Hope.” Sutter was “Johanna,” his love interest. Hunt portrayed Mrs. Lovett’s assistant, “Tobias.”

The current production’s cast contains a number of connections with Wright State University’s Department of Theatre, Dance and Motion Pictures. Cordes and Sutter are instructors there. Helton, Mikat, Steele and Vega are alumni (as are production stage manager Kristin A. Sutter and assistant stage manager Preston D. McCarthy), and Pecchia is a current student.

Scenic designer Dan Gray (Taking Shakespeare; Caroline, or Change) takes on the challenge of setting this large show into the intimate Loft Theatre. Costume designer Janet G. Powell (One Slight Hitch; The Full Monty) clothes each of the actors in mid 18th century English attire. Resident Artists John Rensel (lighting designer) and Jay Brunner (sound designer) round out the design team.

Biographies on the cast and creative team can be found on The Human Race Theatre Company’s website.

The Human Race Theatre Company’s production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – A Musical Thriller is sponsored by the Schiewetz Foundation, Dr. Robert L. Brandt, Jr., M.D, Gosiger, Matthew J. Scarr, CPA LLC and Larry S. Glickler—Glickler Funeral Home.

Performance and special event information
Tickets for the preview performance of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – A Musical Thriller on September 8 start at $35 for adults, $32 for seniors and $17.50 for students. For all performances September 9  – October 2, single ticket prices start at $40 for adults, $37 for seniors and $20 for students. Prices vary depending on the day of the week and seating location. Group discounts are available for parties of 10 or more. The Human Race is offering a pair of discount ticket opportunities. A limited number of $12 and $25 side-area seats are available in advance for all performances. The Sunday, September 11 7:00 p.m. performance is “Sawbuck Sunday,” when any available seat can be purchased in person for just $10 at the Loft Theatre box office two hours prior to the show. Discounts are subject to availability and some restrictions apply.

All performances are at the Metropolitan Art Center’s Loft Theatre, located at 126 North Main Street in downtown Dayton, Ohio. Show times for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – A Musical Thriller are 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Performances on Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings begin at 7:00 p.m., and at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday matinees.

Tickets and performance information on Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – A Musical Thriller are available at http://www.humanracetheatre.org or by calling Ticket Center Stage at (937) 228-3630, and at the Schuster Center box office.

# # #

Now celebrating its 30th anniversary, The Human Race Theatre Company was founded in 1986 and moved into the Metropolitan Arts Center in 1991, taking up residence at the 212-seat Loft Theatre. In addition to the Eichelberger Loft Season, The Human Race produces new works development and special event programming. Under the direction of President and Artistic Director Kevin Moore, the company also maintains education and outreach programs for children, teens and adults, as well as artist residencies in area schools, an In-School Tour, and a summer youth program. Human Race organizational support is provided by Culture Works, the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District, the Shubert Foundation, the Erma R. Catterton Trust Fund, the Jesse & Caryl Philips Foundation, the Virginia W. Kettering Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council, which helped fund this organization with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The 2016-2017 Sustainability Sponsors are the ELM Foundation, Anne F. Johnson, Steve and Lou Mason, and Morris Home Furnishings. The 2016-2017 Loft season sponsor is the Jack W. and Sally D. Eichelberger Foundation of the Dayton Foundation, with additional support from Premier Health.

 

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Press Releases

Tagged as

August 19, 2016 · 7:03 am

ETC Opens 2016-2017 Season with the Regional Premiere of THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA MCBRIDE

ETC_The Legend of George McBride logoThe King is Dead, Long Live the Queen!

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati Opens 2016-2017 Season with the Regional Premiere of THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA MCBRIDE

(Cincinnati, OH) Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati opens its 2016-2017 with a show-stopping, regional premiere of The Legend of Georgia McBride, an edgy and feel-good comedy by award-winning playwright Matthew Lopez. A young Elvis impersonator just scraping by learns life can be a real “drag” when he discovers an unlikely path to prosperity in this music-filled comedy about finding your voice. With a handbag full of catty humor, sequins, and stilettos (of course!), The Legend of Georgia McBride promises to deliver a whole new level of sass and spirit. Playing September 6-25, 2016. Directed by D. Lynn Meyers.

He’s young, he’s broke, his landlord’s knocking at the door, and he’s just found out his wife is going to have a baby. To make matters even more desperate, Casey is fired from his gig as an Elvis impersonator in a run-down, small-town Florida bar. When the bar owner brings in a B-level drag show to replace his act, Casey learns that necessity is the mother of reinvention and that he has a whole lot to learn about show business–and himself.

“The Legend of Georgia McBride is a story that demanded to be told,” explains Producing Artistic Director D. Lynn Meyers. “Matthew Lopez has a remarkable ability to craft a very personal story around a universal topic and he has taken on the idea of gender identity with warmth and humor.” Meyers goes on to share her excitement for Ray “Raven” Payne joining the production team as the Wig/Makeup Designer and Dragologist for this production. “Raven has a national reputation for drag work,” Meyers says. “It’s extraordinary to have him on staff for the show to do wigs and makeup, but also to be our ‘dragologist’. It’s going to be a joy to watch this story unfold.”

About the Cast
Bruce Cromer (Tracy/Bobby) returns to Ensemble Theatre for his tenth production. Previous roles include The Poet in An Iliad, The Librarian in Underneath the Lintel, Dan in Next to Normal, and C.S. Lewis in Freud’s Last Session. He has been an Actors’ Equity Association member since 1981, performing in over 160 professional stage productions at:  Cincinnati Playhouse, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, the Human Race Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory, etc. A busy voice-over artist for local television, Mr. Cromer has also performed one-man shows with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. He is a Certified Teacher of Stage Combat with the Society of American Fight Directors and has been a Professor of Acting in the BFA Professional Actor Training Program at Wright State University since 1987.

Michael G. Bath (Eddie) returns to ETC’s stage having recently appeared in ETC’s production of Cinderella. Other ETC credits include Sleeping Beauty, The Other Place, Hands on a Hardbody, Around the World in 80 Days, Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, Next Fall, Cinderella, Becky’s New Car and My Name is Asher Lev. Other regional credits include Superior Donuts with The Clifton Players and Angels in America at Know Theatre. Mr. Bath has also performed with Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati Children’s Theatre, the Performance Gallery, Showboat Majestic, and Stage First Cincinnati. 

Darnell Pierre Benjamin (Roxy/Jason) has recently been seen at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati in Detroit ’67 and Cinderella. Mr. Benjamin is beginning his seventh season as a resident actor with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company where a few favorite shows include Henry VI, Titus Andronicus, and To Kill a Mockingbird. Other favorite credits include Graphic with Pones, Inc, Angels in America with Know Theatre of Cincinnati, Othello with Human Race Theatre Company, and A Raisin in the Sun with Hope Summer Repertory Theatre. When not performing, he can be found at schools all over Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky teaching for Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and Pones, Inc.

Michael Gerard Carr (Casey) is a Cincinnati native. Favorite roles include Hands on a Hardbody (Greg Wilhote) and Good People (Stevie), both at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati.

Margaret Ivey (Jo) returns to Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, having last been seen as Kate in Good People. She has performed in the Off-Broadway productions of Measure for Measure and Dominique Morisseau’s Mend with Epic Theatre Ensemble. Ms. Ivey’s regional credits include pen/man/ship and The Wedding Gift (Contemporary American Theatre Festival), Richard III, All My Sons, Stargirl (People’s Light), As You Like It (Georgia Shakespeare), Les Misérables (Aurora Theatre), A Christmas Carol (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park), Rent and Almost, Maine (Papermill Theatre), and A Christmas Carol (Alliance Theatre). She is a proud graduate of the University of Southern California, the British American Drama Academy in Oxford, England, the American Theatre Wing’s SpringboardNYC Program and the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park Acting Internship Program. Based in New York, Margaret is a teaching artist with Epic Theatre Ensemble, and she leads high school summer abroad programs with the Experiment in International Living.

Production team includes Brian c. Mehring (Resident Scenic & Lighting Designer), Jack Murphy (Technical Director), Matthew Hollstegge (Production Manager & Master Electrician), Shannon Rae Lutz (Properties Master & Design Assistant), Matt Callahan (Sound Designer), Patti James (Choreographer), Brian Horton (Costume Designer), and Raven (Wigs & Makeup Designer, Dragologist). Production Stage Manager is Brandon T. Holmes. Assistant Stage Manager is Elizabeth Freyman.

Performance Information
Performances run Tuesday through Sunday. Tuesday-Thursday, 7:30 pm; Friday and Saturday, 8:00 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 2:00 pm; and Sunday, 7:00 pm. A complete calendar of performances is available online at www.ensemblecincinnati.org.

Ticket Prices
Ticket prices range from $28 to $44 for adults; student tickets are $25; and children are $18. For the 2016-2017 season, ETC continues its popular $15 student and half-price rush tickets for all performances, which are available two hours prior to show time and may be purchased by phone or in person at the box office.

Available Discounts
Military, Educator, ArtsWave FunCard, AAA, and Enjoy the Arts discounts available; tickets and seating are subject to availability.

###

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati is supported, in part, by the generosity of community contributions to the ArtsWave Campaign.

The Ohio Arts Council helps fund Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati also receives funding from the Shubert Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

2016-2017 Season Presenting Sponsor is the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation. Additional support provided by Garfield Suites Hotel, the Shubert Foundation, and PNC. 

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati is a professional theatre dedicated to producing world and regional premieres of works that often explore compelling social issues. We fulfill our mission through our stage productions and educational outreach programs that enlighten, enliven, enrich and inspire our audiences.

Leave a comment

Filed under Press Releases

Tagged as

August 19, 2016 · 6:51 am

Clifton Players Opens Season with Ground-Breaking Metadrama

THE ROAD THROUGH  DAMASCUS to Open 2016 – 2017 Season at Clifton Performance Theatre

CPT_The Road Through Damascus logoCINCINNATI OHIO–AUGUST 18, 2016— On September 15, 2016, a new play, written by local playwright, Robert Macke, will open the 2016 – 2017 season at Clifton Performance Theatre.

Director Nate Netzley says about, THE ROAD THROUGH  DAMASCUS: “It’s is a play about how strange and absurd life can be. A philosophical play, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously. THE ROAD THROUGH  DAMASCUS knows it’s a play about small town life that comes from a long line of plays about small town life. Robby knows structure and he has such a unique voice that he can turn something seemingly simple and homespun into a unique piece of drama.”

“I am extremely fortunate to have found a director and collaborator like Nate Netzley. We have worked together since my first workshop of The Road through Damascus back in 2014. We produced it a student studio on Northern Kentucky University’s campus, where we’ve received incredible feedback. Since then we’ve worked together in several Serials at the Know Theatre and with the past Cincinnati Fringe Festival with my play, Golconda. Nate discovers something new in my writing seemingly every day; even some things I didn’t even know about the script. I look forward to see what he finds this time around.” said Robert Macke, the playwright of THE ROAD THROUGH  DAMASCUS.

“I am thrilled to have such a talented cast and crew for this show,” continued Netzley. “There are a lot of NKU alumni involved in this show but that’s also because a lot of good people have come out of NKU’s program, especially in the last five or six years and that shows the strength of local talent as well some of the amazing professors that lead that program. Emily, Andy, Matt, and Kyle are all people I have gotten to work with at least once during my time at NKU and I am so lucky to call them my peers. I’ve known Carter for probably eight years at this point and he’s the whole reason I got involved with CPT. He’s one of the hardest working people I know in Cincinnati theatre and just in general. I was overjoyed getting Miranda to work on this show. The role of Bessie requires a lot of an actor and there’s this requirement to flip on a dime and Miranda is so versatile, anyone who has seen her work can attest. I could go on for days about how much I love this cast.”

Tickets are $25. Seniors are $20, and students with ID are $15. They are available online on the Clifton Performance Theatre’s new website at: www.cliftonperformancetheatre.com via www.cincyticket.com

Featuring: Miranda McGee, Carter Bratton, Emily Fry, Matthew Krieg, Andy Simpson, Kyle Taylor

Synopsis: Imagine a town, not unlike your own. Except it’s smaller. Smaller than that. Imagine our stage. Yeah, about that size! It’s like your town in that there are people going about their everyday lives. Worrying about keeping their jobs and their health. Wondering if they will ever find the person they are looking for and asking the big questions. Questions like, “Is there more to life than this?” “What happens when we die?” “What is solipsism?” “Why does my mailman refuse to deliver the correct mail?” In the small town of Damascus, people have problems just like you. They worry about where to get coffee. They can’t decide who to elect. They try not to make eye contact with their Mayor when he sobs inconsolably outside of Town Hall. Yes, problems just like yours are explored and exposed in the professional premiere of Robert Macke’s THE ROAD THROUGH  DAMASCUS.

###

About the Clifton Players:
The Clifton Players, founded in 2007, are a collective of actors committed to presenting the best local talent performing the funniest, most challenging and irreverent material they can find. The Clifton Players is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

About the Clifton Performance Theatre:
The Clifton Performance Theatre opened its doors in 2009, as the home for the Clifton Players, and other theatre groups. The theatre also hosts youth camps, workshops, classes, as well as rentals for parties, and for like-minded group performances.

Leave a comment

Filed under Press Releases

Tagged as

August 19, 2016 · 6:49 am

Troy Civic Theatre to present ALMOST, MAINE by Jon Cariani

TROY_Almost Maine logoTroy, Ohio, August 18, 2016:  Troy Civic Theatre is excited to announce their upcoming production, ALMOST, MAINE, a romantic comedy by playwright Jon Cariani.

It is a cold, clear, moonlit night during winter in the mythical unorganized area that is almost a town and is therefore known as Almost, Maine.  Saturn is at its brightest above Hedgehog Mountain, the Northern Lights are visible, and shooting stars light the sky as the residents (and some visitors) of this remote town find themselves experiencing all aspects of love.  They fall in and out of love, propose marriage, face divorce, confront the one that got away, meet the one that might be, mend broken hearts, and share first kisses.  As they explore the most human of emotions, they remind us what is most important – love for one another.

ALMOST, MAINE features Niccole SueAnn Wallace, Jennifer Kaufman, Sydney Edington, Beth Shrake, Tina Hayes, Jenny McClain, Steve Dietrich, Doug Lowe, and TCT newcomer Braden Stafford.  Director Derek Dunavent is also assisted by stage manager Peg Dietrich.

ALMOST, MAINE is being presented with permission by Dramatists Play Services.  Performances run September 16-18, and 23-24 at the Barn in the Park in Troy, at 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 pm on Sundays. Tickets are available by calling the theatre box office at 937-339-7700.  Season tickets will also be available, and include admission to Almost, Maine, Two By Two, Rumors, and Things My Mother Taught Me.

Troy Civic Theatre is a non-profit community theatre located about 20 minutes north of Dayton.  The theatre celebrated its 50th Anniversary Season during the 2015-16 theatrical season, and received several Dayton community and West Ohio regional awards for productions during that season.  For more information please contact the theatre at 937-339-7700.

Leave a comment

Filed under Press Releases

Tagged as