Category Archives: Press Releases

June 2, 2016 · 6:51 am

SOUTH PACIFIC Comes to The Children’s Theatre of Mason Stage June 17-19

60 talented local performers bring this story to the Mason High School Auditorium for four performances 

CTM_logoThe Children’s Theatre of Mason is proud to present SOUTH PACIFIC, June 17-19 in Mason. SOUTH PACIFIC is set in an island paradise during World War II, where two parallel love stories are threatened by the dangers of prejudice and war.

The show will run for four performances – Friday, June 17 at 7:00pm; Saturday, June 18th at 2:00pm and 7:00pm; and Sunday, June 19th at 2:00pm. VIP tickets can be purchased for the Friday and Saturday evening shows for $25 each.  General admission tickets for any show are $12 each.  All tickets can be purchased online at www.ctm-kids.com through June 16th at 5pm and at the door starting one hour before each show.

James Michener, a book editor and university professor, enlisted in the U.S. Navy in October 1942. In April 1944, he was sent to the South Pacific theatre where he was assigned to write a history of the Navy in the Pacific, which allowed him to travel widely. From his travels, which took him to a village named Bali-ha’i and also led him to meet a woman named Bloody Mary, he wrote a collection of stories titled Tales of the South Pacific for which he won the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. These stories were the basis for the musical SOUTH PACIFIC, written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.  The original Broadway production premiered in 1949 and was a huge success running for 1,925 performances.  It won ten Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Score.  The original cast album was also the best selling record of the 1940s.  In 2008, SOUTH PACIFIC, enjoyed a successful musical revival, running for 996 performances and winning seven Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival.

Set during World War II on an island in the South Pacific, Nellie, a spunky nurse from Arkansas, falls in love with a mature French planter, Emile. Nellie learns that the mother of his children was an island native and, unable to turn her back on the prejudices with which she was raised, refuses Emile’s proposal of marriage. Meanwhile, the strapping Lt. Joe Cable denies himself the fulfillment of a future with an innocent Tonkinese girl with whom he’s fallen in love out of the same fears that haunt Nellie.  Both Nellie and Joe find themselves struggling to reconcile their own cultural prejudices with their feelings of love, all the while under the dark cloud of a war that is coming ever closer to their island paradise.

The Children’s Theatre of Mason is proud to welcome Veterans to SOUTH PACIFIC!  Veterans from WWII and the Korean War or Veterans over the age of 65 will be able to enter a raffle for the Tri-State Honor Flight.  Honor Flight is free for Veterans and CTM will pay for a guardian to escort the Veteran on the Honor Flight (a $450 value).  Tri-State Honor Flight must approve the Veteran and the guardian after an application has been submitted.

Fans can follow The Children’s Theatre of Mason on Facebook (Children’s Theatre of Mason, Inc. – CTM), Twitter (@CTMkids) and Instagram (CTMKIDS). 

About The Children’s Theatre of Mason
CTM produces two large-scale productions each season, from “Shrek the Musical” and “The Wizard of Oz” to “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and “Les Miserables” as well as many other popular favorites. CTM offers children from ages 7-18 from all over the Cincinnati area the opportunity to take part onstage as performers as well as off stage as crew members, make-up assistants and many other behind-the-scenes roles. To volunteer, donate or learn more, visit www.CTM-Kids.com or call 513.398.0116.

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June 2, 2016 · 6:41 am

Indian Epic Explored in Fringe Festival Play

CFF_DURYODHANA THE UNCONQUERABLE

Taylor Greatbatch and Katie Eichler. Photo by Prabir Das.

Shakespeare’s greatest plays are full of huge, powerful stories such as the intrigue of succession after a king dies (“Hamlet” and others), great love which transcends death (“Romeo and Juliet”), or love which erupts out of the passion of hate and hurt (“The Taming of the Shrew”). He also writes of beings with supernatural powers (The Tempest and others). So it is with the classic Indian epic of “Mahabarata”—love, valor, jealousy, hate, politics and war are all presented in the clash of amazing and memorable characters.

Prabir Das, Mason resident, playwright, actor, and director, has taken these 3000 year old characters and fleshed them out in his play DURYODHANA THE UNCONQUERABLE which will have its world premiere at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival June 1-11, 2016.

His 60-minute play shows Prince Duryodhana, the proud son of an abdicated king, who fought not only for his rightful realm after his king and uncle, dies, but he fights for the love of a beautiful foreign princess he abducted many years before.

Das envisions the wife, Bhanumati, as one of the initial feminists with a zeal for freedom of rights for herself as well as for all other women. Though it was not uncommon during that era to abduct women to marry, Bhanumati finds this practice unloving and demeaning. However, she kept Duryodhana captivated, as she internally struggled to find the strength to voice her true feelings.

“The passion in the story is universal” says Das, who grew up listening to these epics and reports all people from India know these stories. “I want Americans to meet these characters who are proud and powerful, and amazingly interesting, like Antony and Cleopatra, or Kate and Petrucchio.”

Das has written the script and is also one of the founders of All Shades Theatre. This non-profit is dedicated to bridging the theatrical gap between East and West. “Indian stories can be told with actors of any background, they do not have to be just the stories of India, but of all humanity,” shares Das. “All people are interested in valor and virtue, in love and honor, politics and power.”

Das has collected a team of local artists, all with a connection to Northern Kentucky University. Professor Darryl Harris is directing, and alumni Taylor Greatbatch and Katie Eichler are performing. Tyler Gabbard, NKU SOTA Publicity Manager  is scenic designer, alum Bryce Liebert is lighting designer, and current NKU student Amanda Miller is Stage Manager.

More information about the background of the play is available on the ALL SHADES THEATRE Facebook page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duryodhana.

DURYODHANA THE UNCONQUERABLE will be performed at the Art Academy, June 1 and 11 at 7:25 pm, and June 2 and 8 at 8:25 pm and June 4 at 4:00 pm. Single tickets and day passes to the Fringe Festival can be purchased at www.cincyfringe.com.

All Shades Theater ● P.O. Box 1224 Mason, OH. 45040 ● (513) 913-5153 ● info@satfcincy.org

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June 1, 2016 · 5:53 am

SHARP Dance Company to Present SEVEN WINDOWS as Part of Cincy Fringe

CFF_SEVEN WINDOWS PROMO2

Photo by Bill Hebert.

SHARP Dance Company, a Philadelphia based modern dance company
to present SEVEN WINDOWS

June 8, 10  & 11 at Gabriel’s Corner as part of the CincyFringe

Philadelphia, PA—  SHARP’s newest performance, SEVEN WINDOWS utilizes collaborations with amazing visual artists from around the world. Based on the dream of a dancer in which she is visited by her recently departed mother, SEVEN WINDOWS looks into the world of reincarnation and moving on in the afterlife. With new choreography by Diane Sharp-Nachsin and inspired by original paintings made by: Patricia Zarate (NYC), Jill Brandwein (Italy), Danielle Hallman (Philadelphia), and Julia Salinger (Massachusetts), SEVEN WINDOWS asks the questions, “How do we know it’s time to move on?”

CFF_SEVEN WINDOWS PROMO

Photo by Bill Hebert.

SHARP’s striking work investigates the gravitational support each person is able to call upon in life.  A striking balance between the time to grieve and the time to be strong, SHARP’s newest work channels through the emotions and struggles of denial and acceptance to bring about a work that is highly relatable and eerily honest.

SHARP strives to bring together a company of strong dancers to perform work with a new vision. Their mission is to translate raw human emotion utilizing contemporary movement to connect the audience through individual interpretation. With a theory of “meaning behind movement”, which is shown prominently throughout their work, SHARP believes dance should be more than a performance, it should be an experience.

SHARP Dance Company is a six-member modern dance company based out of Philadelphia, PA. SHARP performs nationally and internationally and has been seen in such festivals as the: Bedfringe (UK), Chicago Fringe, Phoenix Fringe, Seacoast Fringe, Boulder Fringe, San Diego Fringe, Cool NY, STEPS Performance Lab (NY), Fringe Wilmington and the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA). Artistic Director Diane Sharp-Nachsin was also named a BAU Fellow in Italy in June 2013 and an artist residency recipient in Paros, Greece in 2015.

For more information on SHARP Dance Company please visit us at www.sharpdance.org. To purchase tickets please visit www.cincyfringe.com. Three performances of SEVEN WINDOWS will take place June 8 at 6:15pm, June 10 at 9:00pm and June 11 at 3:45pm at Gabriel’s Corner 1425 Sycamore, Cincinnati, OH 45202 (on ground floor of Salem United Church of Christ).

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June 1, 2016 · 5:50 am

2016 Cincy Fringe Press Release-THE MUNITIONS MAN

CFF_The Munitions Man logoTHE MUNITIONS MAN
The Fringe Development Piece of the 2016 Cincinnati Fringe Festival
Produced by Paper Pete Productions

Book by Mike Sherman and Rory Sheridan
Lyrics by Mike Sherman, Rory Sheridan, and Stephen Variames
Music by Stephen Variames

A grotesque parody of a Broadway classic…with guns

Paper Pete Productions will produce THE MUNITIONS MAN as the FringeDevelopment piece as part of the 2016 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. The piece will be developed by local Fringe Festival artists, as well as some veteran Cincinnati theatre performers, over the first week and half of the festival culminating in a single performance on Wednesday, June 8th at 9:15 pm at the Art Academy Commons.

The production parodies the plot of the Meredith Wilson classic to examine the politics of American gun culture. Traveling gun salesman and proud NRA member Gerald Gill spreads fear and paranoia (through song and dance!) into the citizens of Gullible Falls, Idaho.  Standing in his way is Carrie Anne, the town librarian, who stands alone as the voice of reason in the town.  Will she get the town to listen to reason, or is the only thing that can “stop a bad guy with a gun,” a “good guy (or girl) with a gun?”

The cast includes Fringe Festival artists and local performers Rory Sheridan, Lauren Carr, Sean Mette, Shelby Becker, Randy Bailey, Lisa DeRoberts, James Creque, Patrick Phillips, Zach Robinson, and Andrew Ornelas.  The show is directed by Mike Sherman, with musical direction by Stephen Variames. Stage managed by Courtney Hickenlooper.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at cincyfringe.com, or buy calling 513-300-5669.  Run time is 60 minutes with no intermission.

Poster art courtesy of Eamon Hill.

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May 30, 2016 · 7:55 am

Queen City Queer Theatre Collective Stages THE ANXIETY PROJECT in June

QCQTC_The Anxiety Project logoThe Queen City Queer Theatre Collective will host a 10-day developmental lab for the new song cycle musical, THE ANXIETY PROJECT. The workshop will culminate in a final public performance on Monday June 13th, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. Based on real stories of those suffering with anxiety/depression, this new contemporary musical features book and lyrics by David Brush and music by Rachel Dean. Queen City Queer Theatre Collective co-founder and Artistic Director Lindsey Augusta Mercer will direct the project.

THE ANXIETY PROJECT is described as “a new song cycle that explores true stories of suffering, loss, struggle, alienation, friendship, brokenness, love, hate and everything that comes with anxiety and depression disorders. The show combats one of the last great stigmas, giving voice to the people who live it – using the actual words of those for whom this disease is a large part of their lives. At once poignant and touching, this new musical explores the effects of mental illness on our collective minds – and how ignoring it leaves ripples in our social existence.”

“The project is really a labor of love,” says Brush. “The stigma of mental illness means we are losing more and more people every year to this disease. The Anxiety Project is born from a desire Rachel and I had to give a voice to those who feel the shame and fear that often accompany both the symptoms and the treatment of anxiety/depression.”

The genesis of the show came from submitted stories to a blog series of the same name through Ryan Scott Oliver’s Crazytown. Brush and Dean wrote many of the show’s songs through the blog forum. Cincinnati will represent the show’s first live incarnation. “There’s nothing more helpful for writers than getting to work with actors and seeing new work on its feet,” says Dean. “QCQTC is an integral part of the process of developing new pieces, and we’re so grateful for their work with us and with other writers.”

The cast for the staged musical reading will include: Griff Bludworth, Kaleigh Brooke-Dillingham, Hannah Gregory, Andrew Maloney, Erin McCamley, Spenser Smith, & Robert Carlton.Stimmel.

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