Category Archives: Press Releases

March 7, 2014 · 12:39 pm

Ride the Relationshipo Rollercoast with I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE

Dare to Defy Productions announces its debut production

D2D_logoDare to Defy Productions, a burgeoning theater production company based in Centerville, Ohio, takes on the peaks and pitfalls in one of the longest running off-Broadway hits, I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE (book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro, music by Jimmy Roberts). This award-winning musical comedy about love in the suburbs, 0ften described as “Seinfeld set to music,” is a hilarious look at love and relationships that is as touching and insightful as it is humorous.

This love-happy musical revue features actors Jackie Darnell, Zach King, Bobby Mitchum and Mackensie Vonderbrink, who combined play over forty roles that scale the dizzying spectrum of male/female relationships. This celebration of the mating game cleverly explores everything in the relationship process that you have ever secretly thought about, but were afraid to admit. From dating and waiting to bridesmaids and babies, it takes on the truths and myths behind that contemporary conundrum known as “the relationship.”

Act I explores the journey from dating and waiting for love and marriage, while Act II reveals the agonies and triumphs of in-laws and newborns, trips in the family car and pick-up techniques of the geriatric set. This rollicking revue pays tribute to those who have loved and lost, to those who have fallen on their face at the portal of romance, to those who have dared to ask, “Say, what are you doing Saturday night?”

I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE will be performed at the Mathile Theatre, located in the Schuster Center, on March 21 at 8:00 P.M. and March 22 at 2:00 P.M. and 8:00 P.M. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.ticketcenterstage.com. (Note: features adult language and situations)

I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE is presented with permission from The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization.

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March 6, 2014 · 6:01 pm

CAA Announces 2014 Overture Award Winners

$34,500 Awarded in Arts Scholarships

CAA_Overture Awards logoCINCINNATI, OH – The Cincinnati Arts Association is pleased to announce the winners of its Overture Awards Scholarship Competition, held on Saturday, March 1, 2014 at the Aronoff Center’s Jarson-Kaplan Theater. The competition annually awards $3,500 scholarships to six area students for education and training, with 18 runners-up each winning $750 scholarships.

Students are nominated by their schools and/or private studios to compete in one of six disciplines: Creative Writing, Dance, Instrumental Music, Theater, Visual Art or Vocal Music. The scholarship program is the largest of its kind in the United States and was developed to recognize, encourage, and reward excellence in the arts among Tri-state students in grades 9-12. There are three levels of competition: Regional, Semi-Final and Final.

2014 OVERTURE AWARDS SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

CREATIVE WRITING: Zoe Cheng – Walnut Hills High School, grade 11

HOMETOWN: Hyde Park, OH – Zoe has collected awards from national institutions like the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards and YoungArts. She owes her current passion to her supportive family and a childhood filled with books. She plans to pursue a screenwriting career, and wishes that her writing always be a reflection of the truth.

DANCE: Lauren Slouffman – Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, grade 10

HOMETOWN: Anderson Township, OH – Lauren has studied dance at Just Off Broadway since the age of three. She has received numerous awards for her dance achievements including being named as an Overture Awards semi-finalist in 2013. She aspires to dance on Broadway and continue to share her love of performing with audiences of all ages.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC: Joseph Vaz – Practice to Prosper Piano Studio / Sycamore High School, grade 11

HOMETOWN: Blue Ash, OH – Joseph has played the piano for eight years and plans to pursue it in college. He has played at Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall and has opened for Sean Chen, Crystal Award Winner at the Van Cliburn Competition. Recently, he won the New Horizons Piano Competition and DePauw University’s Piano Competition.

THEATER: Melissa Campbell – McCready Voice Studio / Wyoming High School, grade 10

HOMETOWN: Wyoming, OH – Melissa has loved singing since she performed “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” for Santa Claus at the age of four. She was introduced to musical theater when she was nine, and has been training and performing ever since. She hopes to major in musical theater in college and make it her profession.

VISUAL ART: Paige Schlosser – Kings High School, grade 12

HOMETOWN: Maineville, OH – Paige’s love of drawing and painting started at an early age, but through a growing digital art program at her school she’s been introduced to digital design, photography, and film. She has loved experimenting with many art forms. Her scope of interest goes all the way from her series in digital collage to taking classes such as woodworking at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. Paige says she finds a lot of inspiration in Cincinnati’s local artists. “Cincinnati is developing into more of an arts district. Just from being around and meeting other local artists, I’ve been challenged to develop my art further outside the scope of the small community I’ve grown up in.” She plans on studying documentary film at Columbia College in Chicago starting this fall.

VOCAL MUSIC: James Rootring – Karl Resnik Studio / Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, grade 10

HOMETOWN: Hyde Park, OH – James became interested in vocal performance after attending a CCM Prep musical theater summer camp in 2009. Today, he performs in the Young Artists Professional Program at the Musical Arts Center, his church band, and Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy’s theater, choir, and band. He would like to thank the teaching team at the Musical Arts Center for their expert vocal coaching and encouragement.

 

The Overture Awards Regional Competitions were held on January 11 at the Aronoff Center for the Arts, Immanuel United Methodist Church (Lakeside Park, KY), Saint Ursula Academy, University of Cincinnati – Blue Ash College, and Xavier University. The top 20 percent of competitors in each discipline advanced to the Semi-Finals, which were held at the Aronoff Center on January 17 & 18.

Now in its 18th year, The Overture Awards was launched in 1996 by the Cinergy Foundation (now Duke Energy) and Leadership Cincinnati (a program of the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce). The Overture Awards is funded and administered by the Cincinnati Arts Association, which operates and manages the Aronoff Center and Music Hall. The Overture Awards also relies on hundreds of volunteers from the community who help raise funds, adjudicate and manage the competitions, and nurture the program.

Overture Awards Program Sponsors: Carey Digital; Citi; The Eleanora C.U. Alms Trust, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee; Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc.

Scholarship Sponsors: Arthur Murray – Cincinnati; Doreen Beatrice; Douglas Beal; Bonita Brockert; Cincinnati Ballroom; Dare to Dance; The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation; Jozsef Parragh; Step N Out Studio; Stock Yards Bank & Trust; Summerfair Cincinnati; Western & Southern Financial; The William O. Purdy, Jr. Foundation.

Competition Sponsors: Buddy Roger’s Music, Immanuel United Methodist Church (Lakeside Park, KY), St. Ursula Academy, University of Cincinnati – Blue Ash College, Xavier University.

THE 2014 OVERTURE AWARDS FINALISTS
Winners listed in bold.

CREATIVE WRITING

  • Zoe Cheng – Walnut Hills High School, grade 11
  • Katie Hibner – William Mason High School, grade 11
  • Bridget Nicholas – Scott High School, grade 12
  • Rachel Zinck – Mt. Notre Dame High School, grade 11

DANCE

  • Claire Barrington – Northern Cincinnati Youth Ballet (NCYB Dance) / Ohio Virtual Academy, grade 11
  • Ally Garcia – Campbell County High School, grade 12
  • Megan Kernan – Just Off Broadway / Turpin High School, grade 11
  • Lauren Slouffman – Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, grade 10

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

  • Emma Burge – Sycamore High School, grade 10
  • Caroline Gao – Leung Studio / Sycamore High School, grade 10
  • Isabella Geis – Walnut Hills High School, grade 10
  • Joseph Vaz – Practice to Prosper Piano Studio / Sycamore High School, grade 11

THEATER

  • Melissa Campbell – McCready Voice Studio / Wyoming High School, grade 10
  • Eli Davis – Cincinnati Actor’s Studio / School for Creative and Performing Arts, grade 12
  • Keegan Doyle – St. Xavier High School, grade 12
  • Kalie Kaimann – Seton High School, grade 11

VISUAL ART

  • Ruby Brooke – School for Creative and Performing Arts, grade 12
  • Kathryn Holaday – Lakota West High School, grade 12
  • Kyle Perrigo – Lakota East High School, grade 12
  • Paige Schlosser – Kings High School, grade 12

VOCAL MUSIC

  • Mackenzie Jacquemin – Wyoming High School, grade 11
  • James Rootring – Karl Resnik Studio / Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, grade 10
  • Elizabeth Rosenberg – Karl Resnik Studio / Sycamore High School, grade 12
  • Natalie Sheppard – Dixie Heights High School, grade 12

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March 6, 2014 · 5:11 pm

PIP Adds Play Reading in Collaboration with Cincinnati Opera

CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE ADDS PLAY READING IN COLLABORATION WITH CINCINNATI OPERA’S CINCINNATI REMEMBERS WORLD WAR I SERIES

CO_WWI-Series-Internal1(CINCINNATI) – The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park will present a reading of Stephen MacDonald’s drama about the real-life friendship of two World War I soldier poets, NOT ABOUT HEROES, at 7 p.m. Monday, March 24. The reading is being offered in collaboration with the Cincinnati Remembers World War I series, the Cincinnati Opera’s citywide series of events in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the onset of World War I.

Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen met in 1917 at the Craiglockhart War Hospital for Nervous Disorders near Edinburgh, Scotland. Sassoon, the elder of the two men, had already established a reputation as a decorated war hero and antiwar writer when they met; the shell-shocked Owen was inspired by their comradeship to write about the rage and anquish of war. The story is told by Sassoon in flashbacks drawn from the men’s real letters and diaries —Sassoon survived the war, and Owen did not. The play’s title comes from Owen’s preface to his volume of collected poems, which was published posthumously.

English playwright, actor and director Stephen MacDonald, who died in 2009, is best known for NOT ABOUT HEROES, which premiered in 1982 at the Edinburgh Festival and won a Fringe First award. It debuted in the United States at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in 1985 and then transferred to the Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York.

The reading will take place at 7 p.m. in the Playhouse’s Marx Rehearsal Hall. It is free, but space is limited and advance reservations are required. To make a reservation, contact the Playhouse Box Office at 513-421-3888 (toll-free in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana at 800-582-3208). Call 513-345-2248 for Telecommunications Device for the Deaf accessibility. – more –

The 2013-14 season is presented by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation and Heidelberg Distributing Company. The season sponsor of new work is the Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation.

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

The Playhouse is supported, in part, by the generosity of the tens of thousands of individuals and businesses that give to ArtsWave. 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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March 5, 2014 · 7:41 pm

UNDER THE STREETLAMP and GENTLEMEN’S RULE | Sat., June 21 | Aronoff Center

UNDER THE STREET LAMP AND GENTLEMAN’S RULE
PBS-TV SPECIALS PREMIERE IN MARCH 

TOUR STOPS AT THE ARONOFF CENTER ON SAT., JUNE 21

Reserved Seat Tickets: $65, $44.50, $34.50, $24.50
Tickets go on sale Friday, April 4 at 10am

Tickets will be available at www.livenation.com, CincinnatiArts.org, charge by phone (513) 621-ARTS [2787], Aronoff Center Ticket Office

CAACincinnati, OH (March 5, 2014) – With their unique style and modern “Rat Pack” persona, UNDER THE STREETLAMP brings the American Radio Songbook to a whole new level in their second television special for PBS. With the mantra “Retro never sounded so now,” these four extremely talented and charismatic former cast members of the Tony® Award-winning Broadway musical “Jersey Boys” provide an electrifying concert produced at the renowned Chicagoland’s Star Plaza Theater. “UNDER THE STREETLAMP: Let The Good Times Roll” is part of special programming that premiered on PBS stations March 1st with repeat programming on the following dates: Saturday, March 8 @ 7:00pm; Sunday, March 9 @ 5:00pm; and Wednesday, March 12 @ 8:00pm. For more information, visit http://www.cetconnect.org.

To celebrate the premiere of the special, UNDER THE STREETLAMP and GENTLEMAN’S RULE will launch a 50-city U.S. concert tour making a stop Saturday, June 21 at the Aronoff Center. It concludes June 28 in Lancaster, PA at the American Theatre. More shows will be added in the coming weeks. Fans should check the group’s websites for updated show and ticket info.

Backed by an outstanding ten-piece band, singers Michael Ingersoll, Shonn Wiley, Michael Cunio, and Christopher Kale Jones bring these classic hits back to the millions of fans who fell in love with this music in the first place. The show includes classic hits of the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s with the perfect balance of tender ballads and uptempo classics, all done with the same signature harmonies and slick dance moves that have made them irresistible. The title of this program – “Let The Good Times Roll” – says it all. And of course, no STREETLAMP show would be complete without a musical tribute to “Jersey Boy” Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

The next generation of a cappella entertainment, GENTLEMAN’S RULE, takes this unique style of music to a whole new level in their first television special for PBS. From the creator of Straight No Chaser and the producer and manager of UNDER THE STREETLAMP, GENTLEMAN’S RULE exudes youth, energy, and incredible harmonies in a concert performance that brought down the house at Chicagoland’s prestigious Star Plaza Theatre.

GENTLEMAN’S RULE blends their youthful style and outstanding vocals with timeless classics and contemporary hits. Their diverse music selections include songs by the legendary Manhattans, Bill Withers, the Rolling Stones, Rascal Flatts, and the Spencer Davis Band, just to name a few. Whether the music is classic ‘60s, ‘70s, or contemporary hits, GENTLEMAN’S RULE applies their unique harmonies to create a “wow” factor unlike any other a cappella group.

The eight versatile and individually talented vocalists in GENTLEMAN’S RULE are Will Lockhart, Brent Mann, Luke Mechlin, Holland Nightenhelser, Jasper Smith, Jesse Townes, Andrew Morstein, and TJ Breen. Based out of Chicago, the group is signed to Arena Child Records and released their first album, ACT ACCORDINGLY, in 2012. The release coincided with a two-week run at Chicago’s acclaimed Royal George Theater, followed by a national tour supporting UNDER THE STREETLAMP. Both the album and live performances have been met with high praise from audiences and critics alike. “They are phenomenal,” said Dan Richards from superstation WGN-TV in Chicago. Showbiz Chicago hails GENTLEMAN’S RULE for “incredibly precise and lush harmonies” and Theatremania urges “Don’t miss this amazing singing sensation.”

http://www.underthestreetlamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/understreetlamp
http://www.twitter.com/UnderStreetLamp
http://www.pinterest.com/streetlamp
http://www.youtube.com/understreetlamp
http://www.gentlemansrule.com
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http://www.twitter.com/gentlemansrule
http://www.youtube.com/user/GentlemansRule

UNDER THE STREETLAMP PBS preview

GENTLEMAN’S RULE PBS preview

About Live Nation Entertainment:
Live Nation Entertainment is the world’s leading live entertainment and ecommerce company, comprised of four market leaders: Ticketmaster.com, Live Nation Concerts, Artist Nation and Live Nation Network. Ticketmaster.com is the global event ticketing leader and one of the world’s top five ecommerce sites, with a database of over 119 million fans who visit our sites. Live Nation Concerts produces over 22,000 shows annually for more than 2,300 artists globally. Artist Nation is the world’s top artist management company, representing over 200 artists. These businesses power Live Nation Network, the leading provider of entertainment marketing solutions, enabling nearly 800 advertisers to tap into the 250 million consumers Live Nation delivers annually through its live event and digital platforms. For additional information, visit www.livenation.com/investors.

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March 4, 2014 · 6:01 pm

PIP Unveils Vibrant, Varied Play Lineup for the 2014-2015 Season

PIP_logo(CINCINNATI) – Artistic Director Blake Robison announced the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s 2014-15 season today. The Playhouse’s 55th season — which is Robison’s third as artistic director — boasts a homegrown world premiere, two Tony Award-winning plays, recent New York hits and musical tributes to Johnny Cash and Tri-State native Rosemary Clooney.

The 2014-15 season includes:

  • A world premiere by up-and-coming playwright and Cincinnati native Keith Josef Adkins, SAFE HOUSE, inspired by his Kentucky ancestors.
  • The latest Tony Award-winning best play, Christopher Durang’s smash hit VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE.
  • PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, the magical, family-friendly Peter Pan prequel that hooked five Tony Awards.
  • Inspiring tributes to two musical legends: RING OF FIRE: THE MUSIC OF JOHNNY CASH, directed by and featuring Broadway’s Jason Edwards; and TENDERLY: THE ROSEMARY CLOONEY MUSICAL, which traces America’s favorite girl singer from her Cincinnati childhood and Hollywood stardom to triumphant comeback.
  • Jeffrey Hatcher’s electrifying new whodunit featuring the world’s favorite detective, SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE ADVENTURE OF THE SUICIDE CLUB.
  • The charmingly comic off-Broadway hit CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION, winner of the Obie Award for best new American play.
  • The second U.S. production of a new, offbeat love story, CHAPATTI, and a tasty new comedy of misadventures in love, I LOVED, I LOST, I MADE SPAGHETTI, adapted from Giulia Melucci’s hilarious memoir.
  • A compelling, darkly funny new play by Tracey Scott Wilson, BUZZER.

“The new season features the variety of world class plays and musicals that is the Playhouse’s hallmark,” says Robison. “I’m thrilled that we can feature recent Broadway hits as well as new works by an exciting slate of contemporary playwrights. We want to be at the forefront of the city’s cultural conversation, and this season puts us there.

“I’m especially excited that the season celebrates our city’s heritage with a world premiere by Cincinnati-born Keith Josef Adkins and a new production of TENDERLY: THE ROSEMARY CLOONEY MUSICAL. These are Cincinnati stories, and they belong at the Playhouse.”

The Robert S. Marx Theatre Season
Presented by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation
Season Sponsor of New Work: The Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation
Marx Season Design Sponsor: Macy’s

The Marx Theatre season opens with Jeffrey Hatcher’s electrifying new whodunit, SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE ADVENTURE OF THE SUICIDE CLUB (Sept. 6 – Oct. 4, 2014; opening night: Sept. 11), based on characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and “The Suicide Club” by Robert Louis Stevenson. Sherlock Holmes has never shied away from danger, but as members of London’s Suicide Club play a harrowing game of Russian roulette, the brilliant sleuth’s life hangs in the balance — and it’s not clear whether he wants to be saved. The Arizona Daily Star called the show “a thrilling comic mystery … complete with a wow-I-didn’t see-that-coming ending.” Playhouse Associate Artist KJ Sanchez will direct this intricately woven thriller. SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE ADVENTURE OF THE SUICIDE CLUB is sponsored by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation.

The world premiere of Keith Joseph Adkins’ SAFE HOUSE (Oct. 18 – Nov. 15, 2014; opening night: Oct. 23) is the compelling second production of the Marx Theatre season. The Pedigrews are free people of color, a unique position in antebellum Kentucky. While one brother strives to open a business and support his family, the other risks it all to help slaves escape, a pursuit that tests their freedom, loyalty and dreams for the future. SAFE HOUSE, one family’s fascinating story within the history of our region’s role in the Underground Railroad, will be directed by Playhouse Associate Artist Timothy Douglas and is sponsored by Tony Alper.

Cincinnati’s beloved holiday tradition, Charles Dickens’ A CHRISTMAS CAROL, presented by U.S. Bank, returns for its 24th season (Nov. 26 – Dec. 28; opening night Nov. 28). Cincinnati favorite Bruce Cromer will once again play the curmudgeonly Ebenezer Scrooge in the Playhouse production, which will be directed by Associate Artist Michael Evan Haney for his 22nd year. The lovingly faithful adaptation by Howard Dallin features a cast of nearly 30 actors, elaborate period costumes and thrilling special effects. A CHRISTMAS CAROL is not part of any subscription package, although subscribers do receive discounts and early buying opportunities.

RING OF FIRE: THE MUSIC OF JOHNNY CASH (Jan. 17 – Feb. 15, 2015; opening night: Jan. 22) will feature and be directed by Jason Edwards, who starred in the show on Broadway. The rousing portrait of home and family, love and loss, redemption and faith will include nearly three dozen of Cash’s classic songs, including “I Walk the Line,” “Jackson” and “Folsom Prison Blues.” RING OF FIRE: THE MUSIC OF JOHNNY CASH, created by Richard Maltby Jr. and conceived by William Meade, was adapted from the Broadway production by Richard Maltby Jr. and Jason Edwards.

Tony Award-winning smash hit PETER AND THE STARCATCHER (March 7 – April 4, 2015; opening night: March 12) by Rick Elice from the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, follows starcatcher-in-training Molly and an orphan boy on the adventure of a lifetime. A daring sea mission, not-so-swashbuckling pirates and singing mermaids combine in this imaginative Peter Pan prequel. New York Magazine said, “Spectacle, wit and joy spill out of it like treasure.” Playhouse Artistic Director Blake Robison will direct.

The Marx Theatre season finale is Christopher Durang’s VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE (April 25 – May 23, 2015; opening night: April 30), winner of the 2013 Tony Award for best play. Hailed as “hugely entertaining” (USA Today) and “deliriously funny” (The New York Times), the show features siblings Vanya and Sonia, who live uneventfully in the farmhouse of their youth until their movie star sister Masha shows up unannounced with her 20-something boy toy Spike, sparking a madcap weekend of rivalry and raucousness. Playhouse Associate Artist Michael Evan Haney will direct.

The Thompson Shelterhouse Season
Presented by Heidelberg Distributing Company
Season Sponsor of New Work: The Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation
Shelterhouse Season Design Sponsor: Humana

The Thompson Shelterhouse season opens with the delectable I LOVED, I LOST, I MADE SPAGHETTI (Sept. 27 – Oct. 26, 2014; opening night: Oct. 2), adapted by Jacques Lamarre from Giulia Melucci’s popular foodie memoir. For Giulia, a new date is the perfect opportunity to show off her Italian home cooking. While preparing a three-course dinner from scratch, she recounts stories of good food and bad boyfriends. This mouth-watering new comedy, sponsored by Digi and Mike Schueler, will be directed by Rob Ruggiero (High, Last Train to Nibroc, Ella).

America’s favorite girl singer comes home in TENDERLY: THE ROSEMARY CLOONEY MUSICAL (Nov. 15 – Dec. 28, 2014; opening night: Nov. 20). Directed by Blake Robison, this exhilarating and inspiring musical biography by Janet Yates Vogt and Mark Friedman offers a remarkably personal and poignant picture of the woman whose unparalleled talent and unbridled personality made her a legend. Through it all — from her Cincinnati childhood and rise to Hollywood stardom to her battles with depression and triumphant comeback — she topped the charts for nearly five decades with signature songs.

Two senior citizens bond over their shared affection for animals in CHAPATTI (Feb. 7 – March 8, 2015; opening night: Feb. 12), a warm and offbeat Irish love story by Christian O’Reilly. Betty spends most of her time alone, when she’s not acting as a caregiver to her friend or her 19 cats. Dan, still grieving for the love of his life, finds his most faithful friend is his dog, Chapatti. When Betty and Dan cross paths unexpectedly, they rediscover the joy that comes with human companionship. CHAPATTI will be directed by Playhouse Associate Artist KJ Sanchez.

When Jackson, a young black lawyer, moves back to the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood of his youth in BUZZER (March 21 – April 19, 2015; opening night: March 26), he struggles with the opposition between what he used to be and what he’s become, and with the racial and sexual tensions simmering inside and outside the apartment he shares with his girlfriend and troubled best friend, both of whom are white. Playhouse Associate Artist Timothy Douglas will direct this compelling, darkly funny new play by Tracey Scott Wilson.

The charmingly comic off-Broadway hit, CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION (May 9 – June 7, 2015; opening night: May 14) will wrap up the Shelterhouse season. Annie Baker’s play explores unanticipated revelations among five people enrolled in a community center acting class. Secrets are disclosed, relationships begin and end and real-life drama supplements the make-believe in this Obie Award-winning play. CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION will be directed by Wendy C. Goldberg (Leveling Up, Durango, Doubt).

Subscriptions to the 2014-15 Playhouse season are available now in a variety of packages. Prices range from $150 for the popular preview performances to $388 for the five-show Robert S. Marx Season or the five Thompson Shelterhouse shows and $300 to $696 for the full 10-show combination series package.

The popular Build Your Own subscription allows patrons to create their own season of four to nine shows in either theatre. Once again this season, all price levels will be available in the lower level of the Marx Theatre. The Playhouse offers two-, three-, six- and nine-month payment options for subscribers. Some restrictions apply.

A student Build Your Own package allows full-time students to pick as few as four shows and as many as 10 from either theatre for as little as $15 per show. The Baby Sitter Rebate Series allows a couple purchasing two full subscriptions in the Marx Theatre to attend any performance and receive $100 at the end of the season to help cover the cost of baby sitters.

The Playhouse is supported, in part, by the generosity of the tens of thousands of individuals and businesses that give to ArtsWave.

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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