Category Archives: Press Releases

Mason Players Presents Final Show of 50th Year

MCP_Gender Bender 5Don’t miss the final show of Mason Community Players’ 50th year … the unique and amazing Gender Bender 5.0!

This Gender Bender Revue will showcase songs from past GB performances and from musicals that MCP has produced during its 50 year history. Experience performances of songs from The Music Man and Oklahoma! to Rent and Hamilton. Of course every song will be performed with that special gender twist that has made Gender Bender special.

With a cast of 30 awesomely talented performers led by Producer/Director Peyton Hahn and Musical Director Jon Scheiding, the show promises entertainment plus!

Performances are:

  • Friday, October 27 at 8:00 PM
  • Saturday, October 28 at 8:00 PM
  • Sunday, October 29th at 2:00 PM
  • Friday, November 3rd at 8:00 PM, and
  • Saturday, November 4th at 8:00 PM

Just five opportunities to see this show! It’s a once in a lifetime chance!

Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for Seniors/Students.

Here is the link to purchase yours:
www.masonplayers.org/j30/index.php?view=article&id=20&catid=2

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Cincinnati Storytelling Festival Runs Oct. 19-21

CSF_2023Bringing nationally-acclaimed storytelling talent to the Queen City AGAIN!

(CINCINNATI, OHIO)  Paul Strickland has been a Cincinnati Fringe festival favorite for years, and has traveled with his beloved Trailer Park Trilogy and other storytelling shows to fringe theatre festivals all over North America. He’s also a nationally acclaimed storyteller, and has taken his stories to festivals like the National Storytelling Festival, Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, Paris Storytelling Festival and many more. He was recently honored to be the Featured Teller at the Kentucky Storytelling Conference.  And, just like in the wildly successful inaugural Cincinnati Storytelling Festival of February 2020, Paul is helping bring some nationally-acclaimed storytelling talent home to Cincinnati in October 2023. 

Our third annual festival will take place at Westside Brewing (Thursday October 19) and Madcap Education Center (October 20-21)

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS

As a self-proclaimed Teller-Without-a-Niche, Megan Hicks dives heart-first into every story she tells – fairy tale, personal story, American history, parody, ghost & horror, humor – and magically, her listeners are happy to follow.

She performs throughout the United States, and she recently completed a month-long tour of China, adding a fourth continent – Asia – to her international storytelling credits.

Her awards include a Parents’ Choice® Silver for the CD, “What Was Civil About That War…” which was also a 2005 Finalist for an Audies® award in the category of Best Original Work. She received the Parents’ Guide to Children’s Media Award and Storytelling World Honor for “Groundhogs Meet Grimm,” a collection of her original parodies that was also tapped for Honors by NAPPA. Her collection of fairy tales – “No Tricks. Just Magic” – received a Storytelling World Award, as did her recording “Like You’re Really There: Megan Hicks Live at Jonesborough.”

Megan is a sought-after workshop presenter and seminar leader, with credits ranging from storytelling festivals and conferences across the U.S., bi-lingual schools in Latin America and China, libraries in Australia and New Zealand, juvenile detention centers, and the FBI Academy. meganhicks.com

Antonio Rocha, originally from Brazil, began his career in the performing arts in 1985. In 1988 he received a Partners of the Americas grant to come to the USA to perform and deepen his mime skills with Mime Master Tony Montanaro. Since then he has earned a Summa Cum Laude Theater BA from USM (University of Southern Maine) and studied with Master Marcel Marceau. Mr. Rocha’s unique fusion of mime and spoken word has been performed from Singapore to South Africa and many places in between including 20 countries on 6 continents and 44 US states. Some of the venues include The Singapore Festival of the Arts, Wolf Trap, The National Storytelling Festival, The Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian Institution, The National Geographic, The Tales of Graz in Austria, Dunya Festival in Holland as well as many other Storytelling Festivals and educational institutions around The USA.

Antonio has three very entertaining and educational award winning DVDs, a picture book and a few awards including the coveted Circle of Excellence Award by the National Storytelling Network. www.storyinmotion.com 

Paul Strickland has been a Cincinnati Favorite since moving here in October of 2014. Most of Paul’s stories were told to him by his Ain’t True and his Uncle False, who live in Big-Fib Cul-de-sac, a small trailer park just off the coast of Factual in the mythical American south. His hilarious and heart-felt tall tales have won “Best of Fest” over fifteen times at Fringe Festivals in the U.S. and Canada. Strickland has performed at theaters, festivals, comedy clubs, and more, including two prisons, where he was not an inmate at the time. Selections from his show Levels of Difficulty can be heard on XM Sirius radio.  www.AintTrue.com

Please see www.cincystoryfest.com for up-to-date schedule, tickets, and information about donations!

Venue:

  • Thursday Night Westside Brewing 3044 Harrison Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45211
  • Friday & Saturday Madcap Education Center 3064 Harrison Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45211

Full Schedule on Website 

Rating: 13+

Tickets: $15, weekend and day passes available at www.cincystoryfest.com

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2023-24 Off the Hill Touring Series Begins with World Premiere Adaptation of Childhood Classic THE VELVETEEN RABBIT This Fall

PIP_The Velveteen Rabbit

Tony Arrasmith/Arrasmith & Associates.

CINCINNATI (Oct. 2, 2023) – The Playhouse’s Off the Hill touring series begins its 2023-2024 touring season with a world premiere adaptation of the childhood classic, THE VELVETEEN RABBIT, now through early November. It will travel to various community centers in the greater Cincinnati region through early November. The production will also travel to schools this September-November.

The new adaptation by Trey Tatum features a young boy going through the everyday ups and downs of playing with his big sister when he discovers his favorite toy – a velveteen rabbit – to be a source of courage and love. Based on Margery Williams’ classic book, it’s a story about resilience, the power of love and the strength found in playing pretend.

Tatum explains that the play is, “about how we tell stories, who we allow to tell stories, and what happens when we’re allowed to set our own narrative. There are kids who will see this show who feel like their voice doesn’t matter at home, or isn’t as valued as their siblings…So if a kid sees this play and the takeaway is: ‘hey, I also feel like my voice isn’t heard, you’re not alone, it’s ok, it won’t always feel this way…’ I think that’s pretty rad.”

THE VELVETEEN RABBIT is directed by Ariana Moses and performed by Tai Rosenblatt (Little) and Renee Shimsky (Big). The story is recommended for children ages 5 and up. In-person touring performances run through early November at community centers around Greater Cincinnati including Kennedy Heights Arts Center, the Carnegie Center of Columbia Tusculum, Artsville, the Evendale Cultural Arts Center and others.

Seasonal support of Cincinnati Playhouse’s Education and Outreach comes from The Robert and Adele Schiff Family Foundation, the L&L Nippert Charitable Foundation and The Charles H. Dater 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.

Dates for each production and additional details on each production visit https://cincyplay.com/productions/the-velveteen-rabbit.

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HOME BREW THEATRE 7 Selections Announced by The Drama Workshop

TDW_Home Brew 7HOME BREW THEATRE, The Drama Workshop’s weekend-long celebration of short plays by local playwrights has completed the selection process for this season’s event.

HOME BREW THEATRE will be staged at The Glenmore Playhouse, the home of The Drama Workshop, on January 19-21, 2024. Each performance will be followed by a “Meet the Artists” reception featuring beer from a local brewery. This is the seventh instalment of the festival which began in 2016.

The production features ten short plays, selected from 53 submissions. The final selection was made by the directors themselves. HOME BREW THEATRE 7’s final selections are as follows:

The Fence
By Robb Willoughby
Directed by Jeff Nieman

Hope Springs a Turtle
By Bill Brohaugh and Lisa Holt
Directed by Suzanne Stymiest

I’m Friggin’ Retired
By Eric Thomas
Directed by Jessie Faye

Just Listen
By Teri Foltz
Directed by Nick Dunker

Occupations
by Keith Vanden Eynden
Directed by Diane Senffner

Pet Therapy
By Christie Bishop
Directed by Dane Rogers and Sarah Hoback

The Royal Treatment
By Alan Jozwiak
Directed by Adam Drake

The Rules
By Jessie Faye
Directed by K.B. Scheiding

Squirrels in a Knothole
By Peter D. Stavros
Directed by Allie Webber

Stabbed in the Backwards
By Fred Tacon
Directed by Micheal Kiser

Ten very different plays from ten authors means there will be something for every taste, including silly comedies, compelling dramas and heartfelt romantic plays.

Tickets to ‘Home Brew Theatre’ are $20. Show dates and times are January 19th and 20th at 8pm, and January 21st at 2pm. Tickets can be ordered through The Drama Workshop’s ticket line at 513-598-8303, or ordered online via the TDW website www.thedramaworkshop.org

Auditions are scheduled for October 8th and 10th at The Drama Workshop. Find more information and sign up at https://thedramaworkshop.org/news/2090/auditions-announced-for-beckys-new-car-and-home-brew-theatre-7-at-the-drama-workshop

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PERFECTLY MARVELOUS: Music and Comedy with a Midcentury Flair

QCC_Perfectly MarvelousThe Carnegie and Queen City Cabaret presents PERFECTLY MARVELOUS: Music from THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL

COVINGTON, Ky. (SEPTEMBER 14, 2023) – The Carnegie is thrilled to announce PERFECTLY MARVELOUS: Music from THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL, an evening of song and comedy from Queen City Cabaret and Two Sketchy Dames. The performance will run for one night only on October 14th at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at TheCarnegie.com or by calling the Box Office at 859-957-1940.

Immerse yourself in an evening of midcentury melodies from the soundtrack of the hit show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. The Amazon Original chronicles a lonely New York City housewife’s meteoric rise to fame in the cut-throat 1950’s stand-up comedy industry.

Local musical duo, Queen City Cabaret, will swing their way through the 50s and 60s with hits by Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee, Duke Ellington, and more accompanied by a band of Greater Cincinnati’s top musical talent. Plus, enjoy performances by Cincy’s favorite vintage comedy team, Two Sketchy Dames featuring Alison Rampa and Eileen Earnest. The pair is known for their midcentury flair and signature combination of sketch comedy and improv. Sit back, relax, and get ready to laugh out loud.

Queen City Cabaret was founded by professional musicians Sarah Folsom and Matthew Umphreys in 2018. From intimate cabarets to large-scale concerts: QCC celebrates the beloved songs of the 20th century. With their signature twist of whimsy, Folsom and Umphreys revive classics from the Great American Songbook that still resonate with today’s audiences.

Plus, Tomi Newman and Monique Churchill from The Carnegie’s hit production of KINKY BOOTS will be featured as Guest Vocalists in PERFECTLY MARVELOUS. Newman starred as leading man and down on his luck shoemaker, Charlie Price.  Monique Churchill will also return to The Carnegie stage after an acclaimed performance as Charlie’s love interest, Lauren, and her showstopping rendition of “The History of Wrong Guys.”

QCC is a resident company at The Carnegie Theatre in Covington, KY, and their performances have been featured by numerous organizations across the region, including The Cincinnati Opera, The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Memorial Hall, The Washington Opera House, The Fitton Center for Creative Arts, as well as on TV and radio with CET, TVHamilton, WVXU and WGUC. In 2021, they released their first album, “Count Your Blessings: A Tribute to Rosemary Clooney.”

Two Sketchy Dames features comedy duo Alison Rampa and Eileen Earnest. The Cincinnati based troupe began in 2016 and has performed at the Detroit Improv Festival, Improv Festival of Cincinnati, Gatlinburg Improv Fest, and headlined the Damn Good Improv Festival in Louisville. In 2019, along with accompanist Mike Flohr, they developed “Comedy and Cocktails” a cocktail infused floor show combining music, improv and sketch comedy. During the 2020 season, the comedy team recorded “At Home with the Dames,” a variety show with weekly guest improvisers. Their format is self-described as La MOD. As in, Ladies Making Outstanding Decisions.

Queen City Cabaret will return to The Carnegie on May 4th with LIGHTS, CAMERA, CABARET! 100 Years of MGM. Celebrate the centennial of legendary film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer with a parade of songs from Hollywood’s golden age. Get swept away on a magical journey into the movies! Learn more at TheCarnegie.com.

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About The Carnegie
The Carnegie is Northern Kentucky’s largest multidisciplinary arts venue providing theatre events, educational programs and art exhibitions to the Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati community. The Carnegie facility is home to The Carnegie Galleries, the Otto M. Budig Theatre, and the Eva G. Farris Education Center. More information about The Carnegie is available at www.thecarnegie.com or by calling (859) 491-2030.

The Carnegie is supported by the generosity of tens of thousands of contributors to the ArtsWave Community Campaign. The Carnegie receives ongoing operating support from the Kentucky Arts Council, City of Covington, Kenton County Fiscal Courts, Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation, the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, and Cincinnati International Wine Festival.

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