Category Archives: Press Releases

Big Hair, Big Heart and Even Bigger Dreams!

CINCINNATI, OH – Cincinnati Music Theatre (CMT) proudly welcomes YOU to the 60’s! Join us November 4 – 12, 2011 at the Aronoff Center’s Jarson-Kaplan Theater for our larger-than-life production of HAIRSPRAY: The Broadway Musical.

Join Tracy Turnblad as she dances on The Corny Collins Show, becomes an overnight celebrity, integrates Baltimore television AND falls in love….all without putting a dent in her ever-growing ‘do!

Mollie Fingerman stars as Tracy Turnblad, a high-spirited and irrepressible teen girl who loves to dance. She is joined onstage by Bill Geraghty as Edna, Tracy’s hefty, loving mother and laundress with deferred dreams; Jeff Richardson as Wilbur, Tracy’s mischievous but always reliable dad; Nate Moster as Corny Collins, the smooth-talking host of Baltimore’s TV teen dance show; Luka Ashley Carter as Link Larkin, the show’s male teen dreamboat; Megan Ainsley Callahan as Amber von Tussle, the show’s resident princess; Deb Schubert as Velma von Tussle, the rich, bossy, bigoted TV station manager and Amber’s mother; Katie Daniel as Penny Pingleton, Tracy’s ditzy but devoted friend; Julie Pergrem as Prudy Pingleton, Penny’s incredibly uptight and small minded mother; Burgess Byrd as Motormouth Maybelle, the big, brassy all-embracing black radio DJ; Montez Jenkins as Seaweed, a sexy, street smart, but easy going teenager with unique dance moves, and Camille Williams as Little Inez, Motormouth’s cute but impatient daughter.

Rounding out the company are Marcie Brooks, Doug Bruening, Marypat Carletti, Peter Merten, Natasha Boeckmann, Stephanie Carson, Lindsey Franxman, Luke Freeman, Gardy Gilbert, Matt Hall, Jeff Holmes, Jeffery Jermaine Jackson, Brandi Langford-Sherrill, Anna McCafferty, Stephen McIntosh, Tamara Miles, Aliyah V. Motley, Emma Kaelyn Parks, Jon C. Ramsey, Jason Santel, Bailey Schneider, Samantha Toberman, and Jerrica White as the colorful denizens of Baltimore.

Tickets are on sale now at http://www.CincinnatiArts.ORG, (513) 621-ARTS [2787], and the Aronoff Center Ticket Office.

HAIRSPRAY: The Broadway Musical features a Tony Award-winning book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, and a Tony Award-winning score, with music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman.

Cincinnati Music Theatre is proud to present the first Cincinnati community theatre production of HAIRSPRAY: The Broadway Musical. It is being produced by Kathy Beiting and directed by Skip Fenker, who previously collaborated on CMT’s award-winning local premieres of Curtains and The Drowsy Chaperone. This production features choreography by Brian Anderson, award-winning choreographer of CMT’s 42nd Street and musical direction by Kendra Struthers, award-winner for CMT’s Gypsy and Curtains.

For more information about Cincinnati Music Theater, visit http://www.cincinnatimusictheatre.org or follow us on Twitter @cinmusictheatre.

HAIRSPRAY: The Broadway Musical’s Performance Schedule

  • Friday, Nov 4 – 8:00 pm
  • Saturday, Nov 5 – 8:00 pm
  • Sunday, Nov 6 – 2:30 pm
  • Wednesday, Nov 9 – 7:30 pm
  • Thursday, Nov 10 – 7:30 pm
  • Friday, Nov 11 – 8:00 pm
  • Saturday, Nov 12 – 8:00 pm

TICKET INFORMATION – on sale now

  • www.CincinnatiArts.ORG
  • (513) 621-ARTS [2787]
  • Aronoff Center Ticket Office
  • Group sales (15 or more): (513) 977-4157

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The Overture Awards announces Summerfair Cincinnati Visual Arts Scholarship

(CINCINNATI, OH) – The Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) is pleased to announce that Summerfair Cincinnati has expanded its partnership with CAA to sponsor the entire visual art discipline of The Overture Awards. The scholarships associated with the visual art category of the competition will now be known as The Overture Awards Summerfair Cincinnati Visual Arts Scholarships.

The Overture Awards is the largest scholarship competition for high school students in the country. Last year more 500 students from a thirteen county region of the Tri-state competed for $24,000 in scholarships in six artistic disciplines – Vocal Music, Instrumental Music, Dance, Drama, Creative Writing and Visual Art. The Oveture Awards have achieved such a strong reputation with college admission officers that success in the competition is considered a noteworthy accomplishment.

“We are truly excited about Summerfair Cincinnati’s sponsorship of the visual arts scholarships,” said Steve Finn, CAA Director of Education and Community Relations. “Summerfair has been very supportive of our Overture Awards programs, and we look forward to exploring other ways we can work together to expand arts education opportunities in the Tri-state.”

Summerfair Cincinnati presents its primary fundraiser – the annual Summerfair Fine Art and Craft Fair – at Coney Island, is committed to supporting the development of young and emerging artists from our region, and sponsors an annual Emerging Artists exhibition featuring selected works by five area University schools of art Juniors and Seniors. In addition, Summerfair Cincinnati has been actively involved in supporting the regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Competition, which recognizes outstanding art work at the high school level.

“The Overture Awards was a natural expansion of our support for the arts in this area,” said Sharon Strubbe, Executive Director of Summerfair Cincinnati. “It is an outstanding program and fits with our goal of developing and encouraging the next generation of artists. We are delighted to be working with the Cincinnati Arts Association to continue the success of this program.”

The 2012 Overture Awards competition will occur in January. The registration deadline is November 15. Interested students should contact their school guidance counselor or Overture Program Coordinator, Carolyn Phillips, at (513) 977-4163.

For more information about The Overture awards, visit www.cincinnatiarts.org/overture_competition.

For more information about Summerfair Cincinnati, visit www.summerfair.org.

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Pones Inc. and Performance Gallery Premiere Original Movement-Theatre Collaboration

CINCINNATI, OH – Pones Inc. Laboratory of Movement collaborates with Performance Gallery on a brand new movement-theatre piece titled, THROUGH THE EYES OF A CROW written by Sarah Mansfield. THROUGH THE EYES OF A CROW muses on the influence of memory in the creation of ourselves and received project support provided by a grant from ArtsWave. An early draft of the script inspired a successful collaboration between the two groups during the 2011 Cincy Fringe Festival on THE BODY SPEAKS, and the companies are excited to pursue another unique way to bring original and innovative work to Cincinnati with this joint production. Mixing the theatre-based backgrounds of Performance Gallery and the movement-based work of Pones Inc., performers from both companies will round out the cast of seven. Each of the six performances will occur in a different non-traditional space allowing the production to be available to patrons in a variety of neighborhoods. All shows are a suggested $12 donation at the door, expanding accessibility to a wider audience.

Regina Pugh of Performance Gallery who is performing in the piece says, “Creating theatre in this collaborative way is a special treat for actors. It is terrifying and exhilarating and I have found the subject matter of false memory to be especially interesting. I’m curious to learn how this piece will ‘land’ with our audiences, what questions they will have and what conversations might ensue about the elusive quality of memory.”

THROUGH THE EYES OF A CROW explores the subject of false memory and its corrosive effects on relationships. The value and fragility of memory are explored when two sisters confront each other, and their pasts, in order to discover their own versions of the truth. Fusing sound, text and movement, the experimental show promises to put each audience members’ own memory to the test. All performances of THROUGH THE EYES OF A CROW start at 7:30 P.M. and are under two hours allowing patrons to enjoy an ‘after party‘ with cast members each evening. Show dates and venues are as follows:

  • Friday, October 28th – Northside Tavern, 4163 Hamilton Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45223
  • Saturday, October 29th – Leapin Lizard Gallery, 726 Main Street, Covington, KY 41011
  • Friday, November 4th – Essex Studios, 2511 Essex Ave., Walnut Hills, OH 45206
  • Saturday, November 5th – Below Zero Lounge, 1122 Walnut Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
  • Friday, November 11th -The Mockbee, 2260 Central Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45214
  • Saturday, November 12th – TBA

Inspiration for the show was taken from research of real case studies on false memory. In typical Pones Inc. fashion, the cast paired performance with outreach and participated in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s on October 1st where they helped raise over $338,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association. Pones Inc. and Performance Gallery are working collaboratively to create the performance from the ground up with Ian Gullet of Diet Audio, who is composing and playing live music at each performance. Gullet’s added layer to the show utilizes spoken word recordings, instruments and electronic sound.

Kim Popa of Pones Inc. states, “The poetic quality of the script inspired me to think about the complicated connections between memory and movement. Our bodies ‘remember,’ hence the term muscle memory, and it is intriguing to think about how we retain our life experiences in our physical selves. The mind and body are not separate entities and through this piece we hope to tell the story of false memories in an abstracted, new way. I aspire to create a piece where audiences leave feeling that they have just had an experience, versus simply seeing a show. I hope that patrons question their own memory of the production details and ponder how susceptible we all are to memory distortion.”

About Pones Inc.
Pones Inc. Laboratory of Movement is a non-profit performance art group dedicated to creating original work that blends various disciplines and focuses on community, site-specific performance and educational outreach. The company explores theatre for social change through its combination of dance and theatre in its signature style of pedestrian-influenced movement. Founded in 2008 by Kim Popa and Lindsey Jones, Pones Inc. continually collaborates with a diverse range of artists and groups and performs in multiple locations. For more details visit www.ponesinc.com.

About Performance Gallery
Performance Gallery is a collaborative performance environment existing to produce and promote challenging works of theatre which seldom find a home on mainstream stages. Founded in 2002, they produce a varying amount of works per year in a variety of spaces ranging in discipline from new plays generated from within the company, director experiments, existing but seldom produced scripts interpreted with an experimental vision, works in progress, or “stuff we’ve just been dying to do”.

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Cincinnati Shakespeare Announces GLBT Night for MACBETH

Second Annual GLBT Night to be celebrated November 4, 2011

Sara Clark as Lady Macbeth & Nick Rose as Macbeth. Photo by Jeanna Vella.

CINCINNATI, September 28, 2011 – Cincinnati Shakespeare Company will hold its second annual GLBT Night on Friday November 4, 2011. The evening begins with a pre-show reception at 6:00PM in CSC’s lobby, with refreshments provided by Roxy’s Restaurant & Lounge. Followed by a 7:30 pm performance of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”. The celebration culminates in a post show party at Below Zero Lounge.

“GLBT Night began as a special event during Season 17 in conjunction with ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’,” said Managing Director, Lettie Van Hemert. “It was so well received that we knew we had to do it again soon. It’s a great way for us to reinforce our mission of bringing the classics to life for all audiences.”

Admission for GLBT Night is $50 per person. This includes one ticket to the show and admission to both the pre-show and post-show receptions.

Sponsorships are also available. The Host/Hostess Package is $150 and includes two tickets to the performance, admission to both receptions, acknowledgement in the GLBT night program, and a group photo with the cast of “Macbeth”. Performance Sponsorship is available for $500 and includes four tickets to the show and admission to both receptions, a photo with the cast of “Macbeth”, a poster of the show signed by the cast, a ¼ page ad in the program, and two tickets to opening night of the next show in the season, “Love’s Labour’s Lost.”

Single tickets for the show are also available. These tickets do not include admission to the pre- or post-show receptions.

Performance individual Ticket Price (Performance Only)
$32 Adult
$28 Senior
$26 Student

Packages and tickets for GLBT Night are available online at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company website, http://www.cincyshakes.com, or tickets may be purchased by calling the CSC box office at (513) 381-2273 ext. 1.

For additional information on GLBT Night contact Della Riley by phone 513.381.2273 x. 1 or visit http://www.cincyshakes.com.

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The Drama Workshop’s Vintage Clothing and Costume Sale on Saturday

The Drama Workshop will hold a VINTAGE CLOTHING and COSTUME Sale,
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2011.

WHEN: 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM — PLEASE NO EARLYBIRDS.

WHERE: TDW storage facility at About Space (Northside), 4015 Cherry Street, Cincinnati, OH, 45233. (Go to the parking lot behind, then up the steps to the dock, then down to the basement).

The Drama Workshop is paring down its vast vintage clothing and costume collection in advance of our move out of the storage facility and into our new theater space. We will have shoes, hats, women’s and men’s vintage clothing, and accessories for sale at rock bottom prices. Looking for vintage clothing for Halloween??? Look here first!

For questions, please contact Gretchen Gantner at (513) 470-5516 or email
GRoose1876@aol.com .

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