Category Archives: Press Releases

August 19, 2013 · 5:26 pm

Cincinnati Playhouse Opens 2013-2014 Seasons with FLY, Sept. 7-Oct. 5

PIP_Fly(CINCINNATI) –The inspiring story of World War II’s heroic Tuskegee Airmen is brought to vivid life in FLY by Trey Ellis and Ricardo Khan. The play opens the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s Robert S. Marx Theatre season from Sept. 7 through Oct. 5.

The Tuskegee Airmen were ordinary men who soared in extraordinary times, against seemingly insurmountable odds. FLY provides a fast-paced, visual and visceral immersion into the hopes, fears and triumphs of America’s first black military pilots.

The play inventively combines live action and video projections with the emotionally-charged expressions of a tap dancer. Called the Tap Griot, the role is a choreographed illumination of feelings that the Tuskegee pilots were forced to suppress. The role will be portrayed by dancer, entertainer and musician Omar Edwards, a past winner of Star Search whose credits include the Broadway production of Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk and the international tour of Black and Blue. He creates all of his own tap choreography for the show.

“FLY brings to life an important and, to some, a lesser-known story in American history,” Playhouse Artistic Director Blake Robison said. “As Americans, we remain inspired by the bravery and courage of our armed forces. Confronting challenges, overcoming the odds, standing up for what’s right — that’s what our country is all about. I hope that Cincinnati families will take this opportunity to share and learn together. FLY makes the greatest generation come to life for all generations.”

FLY originally was commissioned by Lincoln Center Education as a student show. The expanded version was workshopped at the Vineyard Theater, had its world premiere in October 2009 at New Jersey’s Crossroads Theatre Company and was subsequently produced at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. The show is recommended for audiences ages 10 and older.

In addition to Edwards, the cast for FLY features Greg Brostrom as Capt. O’Hurley, Eddie R. Brown III as W.W., Will Cobbs as Oscar, Cary Donaldson as Bomber Pilot Reynolds/Instructor/Col. Snopes, David Pegram as Chet Simpkins, Timothy Sekk as Bomber Co-Pilot Shaw/Staff Sargeant/Barman and Terrell Donnell Sledge as J. Allen. All are appearing at the Playhouse for the first time.

Ricardo Khan, the co-playwright for FLY, also will direct the production. Hope Clarke is the choreographer. The design team includes Beowulf Boritt (set designer), Toni-Leslie James (costume designer), Rui Rita and Jake DeGroot (co-lighting designers), John Gromada (sound designer/composer) and Clint Allen (projection designer). Jenifer Morrow is the production stage manager and Denise Marie Cardarelli and Andrea L. Shell are the second stage managers.

The production is sponsored by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation. The design sponsor is Huntington Bank, artist sponsor is The Morse and Betty Johnson Charitable Foundation and additional support is provided by The Louise Taft Semple Foundation.

Prices for FLY range from $30 to $75, depending on seat location. Prices are subject to change, and patrons are encouraged to buy early for the best seats at the best prices. Child, teen and student tickets are $25 each. Previews are at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7; 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10; and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11. The official opening night is Thursday, Sept. 12, at 8 p.m.

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

Special performances include free Meet the Artists programs that allow audiences to interact with cast members and others associated with the production after the show. Meet the Artists performances are at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18; 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29; and 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3. The production will be audio described for those with visual impairments at 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, and signed for persons with hearing impairments at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29. The Playhouse is fully accessible. Audio enhancement receivers, large print programs and complete wheelchair access are available.

Tickets to FLY 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.

Through a special collaboration with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, patrons who bring their FLY tickets to the museum can receive $2 off the price of admission. Museum hours and additional information can be found at freedomcenter.org.

The 2013-14 Marx Theatre Series is sponsored by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation, and the Robert S. Marx season design sponsor is Macy’s. The season sponsor of new work is The Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation.

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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August 19, 2013 · 10:24 am

Harry Connick, Jr. | Sat., Oct. 19, 2013 | Aronoff Center

HARRY CONNICK JR.
Saturday, October 19, 2013 at 8 PM
Aronoff Center – Procter & Gamble Hall 

ON SALE NOW
Reserved Seats: $79.50, $59.50, $39.50*
Tickets available at (513) 621-ARTS [2787], CincinnatiArts.ORG, Aronoff Center Ticket Office
Text LNAPP to 404040 to download the Live Nation app
*all prices do not include applicable service fees 

CAA_Every Man Should KnowCincinnati, OH – Harry Connick, Jr. has built a reputation for musical and emotional honesty. Never one to rest on his ever-growing list of laurels, Connick exposes his feelings as never before on Every Man Should Know. The new CD, released on Columbia Records on June 11, contains twelve original songs for which Connick wrote music, lyrics and arrangements. 

“No rules, no limits,” is how the multi-talented artist describes the songs in his liner notes for the new collection. “I don’t recall ever reaching quite as deeply – or confidently – into my inhibition pool.” 

When asked about the transformation, Connick explains that “I used to be more comfortable writing in a fantasy-style concept, using ideas that intrigued me but didn’t necessarily come from personal experience. It’s one thing to assume the role of a storyteller – it’s quite another when the story is your own. I felt ready to explore some of my personal experiences in some of the songs this time around.” 

The title track is indicative of how anecdote and imagination yield inspired results. “I was building a workbench with a carpenter friend,” Connick explains, “and my lack of any knowledge about carpentry left me feeling so inadequate. It led me to think about other things that every man should know, like how to change a tire. Then I began thinking about what everybody should know how to do, and that’s to love.” 

“`Come See About Me’ is a song about a guy who’s heartbroken that was inspired by a line Kim Burrell sang on `All These People’ [a song about the abandoned Katrina victims from Connick’s 2007 CD Oh, My NOLA]. It was tough for me to sing, because the thought of watching the one you love move on is so painful. Just the idea of it hurts, and it took me a few tries just to figure out how to sing it.” 

More immediately personal feelings underscore “The Greatest Love Story,” a song for Connick’s wife Jill that includes both “inside” allusions (“Jill’s from Texas, which is why the pedal steel guitar is in there”) and a direct reference to Connick’s late mother Anita. “Before, I would never talk about my mother, much less write about her,” he admits. “It took years and years, and this might be my first specific lyric reference to her in a song. Her life and her death were so significant to me, and over time they’ve gained layers. I actually cried the first time I sang the lyrics in the studio.” 

Connick is quick to credit his collaborators, including guest soloists Branford Marsalis (whose soprano sax enriches “Let Me Stay”) and Wynton Marsalis (extending the reflective mood of “Being Alone” with his trumpet) and longtime Band regulars Jerry Weldon on tenor sax and old friend Jonathan DuBose, Jr. on guitar on “I Love Her.” He gives special credit to guitarist Brian Sutton and the Nashville musicians assembled for several tracks. “Those Nashville guys are deep,” Connick marvels. “Before they play a note, they ask, `What are we playing about?’ And they like to play with you when you sing rather than laying down tracks before you sing, because they want to understand the sentiment of each song. They really helped me capture ‘Love My Life Away,’ a song about a guy dying from a disease who is facing the plodding nature of his life.” 

A common feature of every track, from the jazz feel of “One Fine Thing” to the country feel of “Time to Go,” is the perfect fit of each Connick arrangement. “You have to know what’s right for each tune,” he explains, “I’ve learned to trust my instincts. I usually start with the lyrics, which suggest a melody, which suggests a groove – at which point the arrangement becomes fairly clear.” 

The cornucopia of music contained on Every Man Should Know reflects only some of the songs that Connick has created in the past two years. More of his recent output can be heard on Smokey Mary, a limited-release album that appeared in February to mark the 20th anniversary of the Krewe of Orpheus, a Mardi Gras parade that Connick helped co-found. “It was my idea to have a Mardi Gras Krewe that represented all races and genders, and every corner of New Orleans,” he says. “Our captain, my high school drama teacher, Sonny Borey, suggested that I write a song called `Smokey Mary Choo-Choo Train,’ in honor of a coal-engine train that ran from the Faubourg Marigny to the levee a century ago. All of the songs on that recording have the same spirit, and soon I had an entire party record.” 

One track, the jubilant “S’pposed to Be,” is included on both discs. “That’s the one real New Orleans track on the new album,” he acknowledges, “but what [guest vocalist] Kim Burrell and [trumpeter] Leroy Jones did with it just has to be heard. I gave them a very simple melody with simple chord changes, and what Kim sings and Leroy plays are just works of art.” 

In addition to the wealth of original music on his new discs, Connick will release “Love Wins.” The song is dedicated to Ana Grace Marquez-Greene, one of the children killed in the Newtown, Connecticut tragedy and the daughter of former Connick Big Band tenor saxophonist Jimmy Greene. Connick sang at Ana Grace’s funeral, and was inspired by a speaker at the service who emphasized that love trumps even the greatest tragedy. All proceeds from sale of “Love Wins” will go to the Ana Grace Fund www.anagracefund.com. 

The range of these songs is vast, touching upon love and loss, celebration and sorrow, tragedy and hope. With Every Man Should Know, Harry Connick, Jr. triumphs once again, with a depth of feeling that signals another milestone for one of the music world’s most multi-faceted artists. 

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, Front Line Management Group and Live Nation Network. Ticketmaster.com is the global event ticketing leader and one of the world’s top five ecommerce sites, with almost 27 million monthly unique visitors. Live Nation Concerts produces over 22,000 shows annually for more than 2,300 artists globally. Front Line is the world’s top artist management company, representing over 250 artists. These businesses power Live Nation Network, the leading provider of entertainment marketing solutions, enabling nearly 800 advertisers to tap into the 200 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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August 16, 2013 · 10:39 am

The Carnegie’s CHICAGO Earns 5 Star LCT Rating

Leslie Goddard as Roxie Hart & Kimber Sprawl as Velma Kelly.

Leslie Goddard as Roxie Hart & Kimber Sprawl as Velma Kelly.

Panelists for the League of Cincinnati Theatres (LCT) have recognized The Carnegie Theatre’s production of CHICAGO with a 5 Star Rating.

The sexy, salacious jazz age sizzles in 1920s Chicago, where small-time showgirl Roxy Hart becomes the toast of the town after murdering her lover in cold blood. But fame is fleeting for the hot jazz slayer of the moment, and Roxy and smooth-stepping lawyer Billy Flynn manipulate everyone around them in a high-stakes tap dance into the headlines and away from the hangman’s noose.

Panelists were lavish in their praise of the “high energy, sizzling” Chicago: “The Carnegie, with this show, has elevated its game…their best production to date.” “A high-level audience pleaser…a fantastic production, and by far one of the best musicals I’ve seen in a while.” Panelists were unanimous in their acclaim for directors Ed Cohen and Dee Ann Bryll: “All of the aspects of this production came together because of the direction and vision of Dee Anne Bryll and Ed Cohen. They gave a Chicago that was original and enjoyable…This show succeeds because they were able to envision a production with a clear point of view and transmit that vision to the creative and performing team…Their staging was brilliant, clever, and effective.”

The entire ensemble was commended for their talented singing and dancing, and the three leads were each singled out: Leslie Goddard (Roxie Hart), Kimber Elayne Sprawl (Velma Kelly), and Dan Doerger (Billy Flynn). “Leslie Goddard completely won me over. Her performance was nuanced and she kept giving me new layers as the show progressed… She was nearly flawless; her movement choices, vocals, dancing, and acting were all spot-on.” Sprawl’s singing and dancing were “excellent…demonstrating the proper attitude” while Dan Doerger was “perfectly cast as Billy Flynn… his sleazy smile, bright teeth, acting and vocal range lit this show up!”

From a technical standpoint, panelists praised David Baum’s “creative, amusing” choreography: “he certainly brought a lot of energy and sexual tension to the stage… tight, unique, stylistically accurate, and exciting to watch.” Damon Stevens’ musical direction, as well as the orchestra, was described as “top notch. Intonation, style, and tempo were all spot on. Throughout the entire show I was impressed by the quality of the musicians and the balance they maintained with each other and the singers as well.” Dean Walz’s costumes were highlighted as “just the right amount of sex appeal while also creating individuality for each character…he highlighted the best body part of each actor and designed their costumes accordingly.” Finally, one panelist gave special kudos to producer and Carnegie artistic director Joshua Steele: “not only the best emcee in town, but the full house reflects his passion for theater.”

Chicago continues through August 25thh. Tickets can be purchased at www.thecarnegie.com.

League of Cincinnati Theatre panelists evaluate productions on a 5 star scale and recommend shows at either a 4 star or 5 star level. Nominations for LCT awards will be determined and announced at the end of the season and winners awarded at the annual LCT gala in the spring.

The League of Cincinnati Theatres was founded in 1999 to strengthen, nurture and promote Cincinnati’s theatre community. LCT provides its member companies and individual members with education, resources and services to enhance the quality and exposure of the theatre community in Cincinnati and increase community awareness, attendance and involvement. More information about the League can be found at www.leagueofcincytheatres.com.

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August 14, 2013 · 5:12 pm

Politics, Lies and Regret Collide in the Regional Premiere of OTHER DESERT CITIES

POLITICS, LIES AND REGRET COLLIDE IN THE REGIONAL PREMIERE OF
OTHER DESERT CITIES, SEPTEMBER 4-22, 2013

ETC_Other Desert Cities(Cincinnati, OH) Right-wing parents and left-leaning offspring take center stage in the regional premiere of Jon Robin Baitz’s political potboiler, Other Desert Cities—the Pulitzer Prize finalist and Tony Award-nominated “best new play on Broadway” (New York Times), that USA Today calls “funny, maddening, and moving”. Full of surprisingly touching moments, Jon Robin Baitz (creator of ABC’s Brothers & Sisters) brings dysfunctional family drama to new heights in this witty and deeply enjoyable work, which plays September 4-22, 2013. Directed by D. Lynn Meyers; Premiere Sponsor is the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation.

It’s Christmas Eve, 2004, at the Palm Springs mansion of Lyman and Polly Wyeth—a notably conservative California couple. Home for the holidays are their son Trip, a laid-back Hollywood producer; daughter Brooke, a liberal writer with a history of depression; and Polly’s sister Silda, a liberal former screenwriter recently released from rehab. But the warm desert air turns chilly when Brooke announces the impending publication of her juicy tell-air memoir, which threatens to revive the most painful chapter of the family’s history. As Brooke confesses her true motivations behind the book, she learns the real history is more shocking than she ever knew, leading to an ending that has left audiences stunned and talking everywhere the play has been performed. OTHER DESERT CITIES is a riveting portrait of a prominent family and their very public fall from grace.

“I am captivated by the amount of interaction that has to happen in the course of one day with a family that has never been immersed in that kind of relationship,” explains Producing Artistic Director D. Lynn Meyers. “Jon Robin Baitz has created such an intriguing dichotomy between love and need, between the shelter that a family can provide as well as the devastating alienation it can inflict. These themes are beautifully explored in OTHER DESERT CITIES and I am thrilled to bring it to our stage.”

OTHER DESERT CITIES won the Outer Critics Circle Award, and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. Its 2011 Broadway debut earned unanimous critical praise: a “boldly conventional yet altogether gripping work” (Newsday); “a full-bodied, emotionally alive play,” (The Hollywood Reporter); “nothing short of dazzling” (New York Magazine); “great from start to finish” (Associated Press); and as having “the appeal of a Broadway hit from another age” (The New York Times). Jon Robin Baitz’s plays include The Film Society, The Substance of Fire, The End of the Day, Three Hotels, A Fair Country (Pulitzer Prize finalist 1996), Mizlansky/Zilinsky, Ten Unknowns and The Paris Letter, as well as a version of Hedda Gabler that appeared on Broadway in 2001. He is the creator of Brothers & Sisters, a television series that ran for five seasons on ABC until 2011. Other television work includes PBS’s version of Three Hotels, for which he won the Humanitas Prize, and episodes of The West Wing and Alias. He is the author of two screenplays: the film script for The Substance of Fire (1996) and People I Know (2002). Baitz is a founding member of Naked Angels Theater Company, and on the faculties of the MFA programs at The New School for Drama and Stony Brook Southampton.

ABOUT THE CAST
Sara Mackie (Brooke Wyeth) is a graduate of Wright State University and a member of Actors’ Equity Association. She has performed with the Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati in The Marvelous Wonderettes and Winter Wonderettes, Rabbit Hole, Mauritius, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, and Alice in Wonderland, among other holiday favorites. Human Race Theatre Company credits include The Trimble Wars, Twelfth Night and Red Blooded All-American Man. She also was seen onstage at the Carnegie Theatre recently in Camelot in Concert, Pump Boys and Dinettes, and the premiere staged reading of The Sandman. In addition to small roles in commercials, short films and web skits, she has toured children’s theatres across the country.

Dennis Parlato (Lyman Wyeth) returns to Ensemble Theatre, having most recently appeared in Ghost-Writer. Mr. Parlato’s other Ensemble Theatre credits include Becky’s New Car, Mauritius, The Seafarer, Fiction, The Guys, A Question of Mercy, and Glimmer, Glimmer, and Shine. Mr. Parlato played El Gallo in The Fantasticks in NYC. On Broadway, he’s played Lawrence Jameson in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Mr. Robinson in The Graduate, John the Baptist in Salome, and Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music. Off-Broadway and regional credits include the title roles in Cyrano de Bergerac, Barrymore, The Master Builder, Prospero in The Tempest, Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, and Oliver in David Hare’s The Vertical Hour. Mr. Parlato’s film credits include Johnny Suede, Delirious, Dillinger’s Dead, Bury the Evidence, Rick, First Born, Starting Out in the Evening, and Bride Wars.

Amy Warner (Polly Wyeth) returns to ETC, having last performed in End Days. Her other ETC credits include Collected Stories, 33 Variations. Fiction, The Guys, The Women of Lockerbie, and Permanent Collection. Other regional credits include Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, for which she won a CEA award for Best Actress. Off-Broadway credits include: Wild Oats, Danton’s Death, Big and Little, and The Underpants. TV credits include appearances on Ally McBeal, Boston Public, The Guardian, The Practice, and E.R.

Dale Hodges (Silda Grauman) returns to Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, having last appeared in the regional premieres of Mrs. Mannerly, 33 Variations and Grey Gardens. Her other ETC credits include: String of Pearls, Bed Among the Lentils, The Cripple of Inishmaan, Vigil, Side Man, The Skriker, Going to St. Ives, Death of a Salesman, The Illusion, Seascape, A School for Scandal, Everything in the Garden, Buckminster Fuller, In & Out of the Universe, and Eleemosynary. Ms. Hodges’ Playhouse in the Park credits include: The Piano Teacher, The Crucible, King Lear, Ten Little Indians, Wit, The Importance of Being Earnest, Our Country’s Good, How the Other Half Loves, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Equus, and twenty seasons of A Christmas Carol. She has also performed in Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s productions of The Grapes of Wrath, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, The Merchant of Venice, and Coriolanus, and on the stage of Cincinnati Music Hall, as a narrator with the Symphony, and as the Duchess of Krakenthorpe in La Fille du Régiment with the Cincinnati Opera.

Ryan Wesley Gilreath (Trip Wyeth) also returns to Ensemble Theatre, having last appeared in Next Fall. As Cincinnati native, he trained at the University of Central Florida’s Conservatory program. His television credits include NBC’s Deception, Fox’s pilot Guilty in which he had a scene opposite Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Team Umizoomi on Nick, Jr. Mr. Gilreath has also worked with Emmy-nominated Stephen David Entertainment on their next miniseries which is set to air on Discovery this October.

Production team includes Brian c. Mehring (Resident Scenic & Lighting Designer), Aaron Clements (Technical Operations Director), Matthew Hollstegge (Production Coordinator & Master Electrician), Shannon Rae Lutz (Properties Master & Design Assistant), Matt Callahan (Sound Designer), and Reba Senske (Costume Designer). Production Stage Manager is Brandon T. Holmes.

Ticket Prices

  • Tickets are $39 for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday performances.
  • Tickets are $43 for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday performances. 

Half-price rush tickets and $15 student rush tickets are available starting two hours prior to show time.

Tickets and seating subject to availability.

Subscriptions
Subscriptions to the 2013-2014 Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati season are available in a variety of packages. Prices start at $162 for seniors; adult subscriptions range from $174 to $192 depending upon day. The popular FlexPass is $202, which includes six flexible tickets to use for any show and in any combination. Opening night subscriptions are $192 and include light refreshments from Ensemble Theatre’s opening night partner(s).

Other Single Ticket Discounts
Military/Educator, Public Radio Perks Card, ArtsWave FunCard, AAA, Senior and Enjoy the Arts discounts available; tickets and seating are subject to availability. ETC accepts all major credit cards and Downtown Cincinnati gift cards. A full list of available discounts and performance calendar is available at http://www.ensemblecincinnati.org.

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.

2013-2014 Season Presenting Sponsor is the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation. Additional support provided by Garfield Suites Hotel, The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, the Shubert Foundation, and National Endowment for the Arts.

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.

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August 14, 2013 · 3:28 pm

Free Reading of New Play CINCINNATI KING at PIP on Aug. 31

PLAYHOUSE TO HOST FREE READING OF NEW PLAY
ABOUT CINCINNATI’S KING RECORDS 

PIP_Cincinnati King

Click image to enlarge.

(CINCINNATI) – The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park will host a free reading of a new play about Cincinnati music pioneer Syd Nathan and King Records. CINCINNATI KING, a “theatrical album” of stories about the history of Cincinnati music, racial equality and the legendary rhythm and blues label, will be presented in the Playhouse’s Thompson Shelterhouse on Saturday, Aug. 31, at 7:00 p.m.

Playhouse Artistic Director Blake Robison commissioned KJ Sanchez, one of the theatre’s new associate artists, to create the play. Sanchez is the founder and CEO of American Records, a company devoted to making theatre that chronicles our time. The CINCINNATI KING project was designed to collect and share stories that preserve a unique part of Cincinnati’s history, foster understanding and ignite dialogue.

What began as an investigation specifically into the history of King Records quickly took on broader meaning thanks to Nathan’s unique contributions to the music industry and to Cincinnati at large. Nathan founded King Records in 1943 as a country label. Among those who made “hillbilly music” for him were The Delmore Brothers, Cowboy Copas and Moon Mullican. King’s sister labels, Queen and Federal, became immensely successful for fulfilling the needs of a different audience and supporting the growing popularity of African-American rhythm and blues artists. Iconic singer James Brown started his career at King Records.

King Records became one of the most successful independent labels of the 1940s and 1950s. Nathan revolutionized the industry by keeping the entire production process in house, recording, mastering, printing, pressing and shipping all of the albums King produced. At the same time, he employed both blacks and whites, who worked side by side, inside and outside of the studio. King Records was one of the first integrated industries in Cincinnati.

Working with a group of Playhouse board and staff members, drama students from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and community volunteers, Sanchez compiled the play from transcripts of interviews with nearly 50 people from across the Tristate. Additional material was drawn from recordings Nathan himself made, as well as newspaper clippings and books written about King Records.

“What surprised me was how large Syd’s — and King’s — impact was,” Sanchez says. “In a very short time span, basically 25 years, Syd went from nothing to the sixth largest record company in the country, with offices all across the world and hundreds (maybe even thousands) of artists and millions of records sold.

“Then only a few years after Syd’s death, what we knew of as King Records was no more,” Sanchez says. “The name still exists, but now it’s a catalogue. For Syd to have done all that in such a short time — wow, what a life!”

The CINCINNATI KING reading is free and open to the public. However, space is limited, and reservations are required. Two free tickets are permitted per person. To make a reservation, contact the Playhouse Box Office Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 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.

The 2013-14 season is presented by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation and Heidelberg Distributing Co. 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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