Category Archives: Season Announcements

August 27, 2013 · 11:39 am

Clifton Players Plan Big Grand Season

Little Theater Plans Big Grand Season
Top Playwright Picks Clifton Players for Second Production

In just two seasons, the Clifton Performance Theater has racked up more than a dozen League of Cincinnati Theater nominations. This intimate storefront theater featuring the Clifton Players and Untethered Theater has another stellar season in the works for 2013-2014.

This fall the season will open October 11 with Samuel Hunter’s THE WHALE. This is the second time the Idaho playwright has tapped the talent in Clifton to present one of his works. THE WHALE is both a humorous and heartbreaking look at how we cope with loss, family and religion, a trifecta of taboos! The play stars Cincinnati theater favorite, Reggie Willis as the main character, Charlie, a morbidly obese college writing tutor who is trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Playwright Hunter first connected with CPT just last year for his play A Bright New Boise and says his works fit right in at the CPT “The theater I work in, the theater I love, is not a theater that requires millions of dollars. And I think the future of the American theater is all about these smaller companies. That’s why I write plays that fit nicely into smaller houses.” Willis, a professional actor since 1979, is especially excited to be performing in this play with the Clifton Players, “Having the chance to work with some of the best actors living in Cincinnati I couldn’t ask for anything better. These actors have many acting credits that were achieved outside of the local area as well in film, television, and theatre. There is this vast working knowledge of all aspects of performing…. I love working with The Clifton Players and being a part of that team keeps me excited and anticipating what will come next.”

Next up for the CPT, the wickedly delightful and heart wrenching play, IRISH CURSE. The play will open just in time for the green season on February 28. What “The Irish Curse” is – and how it manifests itself – is the raw centerpiece of this wicked, rollicking and very funny new play. From its blistering language to its brutally honest look at sex and body image, “The Irish Curse” is a revealing portrait of how men, and society, define masculinity. In doing so, it dares to pose the fundamental question that has been on the minds of men since the beginning of time: “Do I measure up to the next guy?”

Size matters to this small group of Irish-American men who meet every Wednesday night, in a Catholic church basement, at a self-help group for men with small penises. This allegedly Irish trait is the focus of their weekly whining as they feel this “shortcoming” has ruined their lives.

One evening, when a twenty-something blue-collar guy joins the group, he challenges everything the other men thought about “the Irish curse” …tackling their obsession with body image and unmasking the comical and truthful questions of identity, masculinity, sex, relationships, and social status that define their lives.

The CPT season closes out in May with THE RIVERSIDE. THE RIVERSIDE is the story of a small family-owned bar in crisis, set in 1989, the story of the bar parallels the saga of Pete Rose’s expulsion from baseball that summer. The play is the work of Cincinnati writer, actor and director, Kevin Crowley.

This season the Clifton Players will join creative minds with the Untethered Theater to offer a season pass. Untethered Theater also calls the CPT home. The two companies are collaborating to offer the BYOB ticket strip that will have a ticket to each Clifton Players show and each Untethered Theater for 100 dollars. In addition to the season ticket, there will be one free ticket which you can use to bring a friend, BYOB (Bring Your Own Buddy)!

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August 27, 2013 · 11:24 am

Untethered Theater Takes Off For New 2013-14 Season

A desire for strong actor centered plays with challenging characters has resulted in one of Cincinnati’s youngest and boldest new theaters companies!

The Untethered Theater, critically acclaimed by the League of Cincinnati Theaters audience favorite for Red Light Winter is kicking off its third season in November with THE HOUSE OF YES by Wendy Macleod. THE HOUSE OF YES is a dark comedy that pries into the lives of the dysfunctional Pascal family. Time seems to have come to a screeching halt for this family with the Kennedy assassination. The story picks up as a Thanksgiving hurricane swirls outside. Jackie Pascal believes she is Jackie O! When her brother and former lover arrives with his new fiancé, mayhem and murder ensue. The show runs November 15, 16, 22, 23, 30 and December 2 and 6 at 8pm, November 17 at 3pm, and is directed by Leah Strasser.

Next up for the season in 2014 is REVELATION by Samuel Brett Williams. Who knew the End of Days could be so much fun? Kevin Crowley directs this comedy that follows Brandon and Rebecca, a match made in the Rapture. When people suddenly begin to disappear, Brandon’s Southern Baptist roots and Rapture preparedness leave him armed with a Bible, bottled water, canned food, and a mouthpiece (for the gnashing of teeth). Brandon finds his “save my soul” mate in Rebecca is a pre med atheist. Who joins him on a journey from New York City to Arkadelphia, Arkansas in hopes of finding the New Jerusalem. Playwright Samuel Brett Williams explores faith, love, and the American landscape in a pitch black comedy about the End Days.

REVELATION runs January 24, 25, 30, 31 and February 1, 3, 6, 7, 8 at 8pm, January 26 at 7pm and Feb 2 at 3pm.

The Untethered Theater calls the Clifton Performance Theater home, but a flood there forced the cancellation of the summer production. Untethered Theater Company is committed to bringing exciting, challenging – and often little-seen – plays to a Cincinnati audience in intimate, non-traditional spaces. This season the Clifton Players will join creative minds with the Untethered Theater to offer a season pass. Untethered Theater also calls the CPT home. The two companies are collaborating to offer the BYOB ticket strip that will have a ticket to each Clifton Players show and each Untethered Theater for 100 dollars. In addition to the season ticket, there will be one free ticket which you can use to bring a friend, BYOB (Bring Your Own Buddy)!

www.untetheredtheaterco.com/

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August 26, 2013 · 7:55 pm

CCM Announces 2013-2014 Studio Series

UC’S COLLEGE-CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC ANNOUNCES
2013-14 STUDIO SERIES OF OPERA, MUSICAL THEATRE, DRAMA AND DANCE

CCM’s Division of Theatre Arts, Production and Arts Administration presents a series of eight Studio productions this season, including collaborations with the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center and Cincinnati Opera.

CINCINNATI, OH—The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is pleased to announce details for its 2013-14 Studio Series of opera, musical theatre, drama and dance productions.

This season’s Studio Series includes eight exciting productions showcasing CCM’s rising stars. The series opens in October with the newly re-imagined musical adaptation of Stephen King’s CARRIE and concludes in April with the irreverent Shakespearean/zombie mash-up LIVING DEAD IN DENMARK.

This season’s series includes a revival of the Tony Award-winning comedy classic BOEING BOEING produced in collaboration with the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center and a public reading of the new American opera FELLOW TRAVELERS, produced in collaboration with Cincinnati Opera as part of the Opera Fusion program.

Always innovative, CCM’s 2013-14 Studio Series also includes the annual TRANSMIGRATION Festival of student-created new dramatic works and annual student choreographer’s dance showcase. Emmanuel Chabrier’s effervescent opéra bouffe L’étoile and the Tony Award-winning musical THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE round out this year’s Studio Series.

Tickets and Parking Information
With free admission and limited seating for all CCM-hosted performances, the Studio Series remains one of the hottest tickets in town. All Studio Series performances held at CCM are free and open to the general public, but reservations are required. Reservations can be made the week of each show by visiting the CCM Box Office in UC’s Corbett Center for the Performing Arts or by calling 513-556-4183.

Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates. For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.

Please see the individual listings below for BOEING BOEING and FELLOW TRAVERRS ticketing details.

Additional Information
Titles and dates subject to change. For more information regarding CCM events, contact the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183 or visit ccm.uc.edu.

CCM 2013-14 STUDIO SERIES
Opera, Musical Theatre, Drama, Dance

Carrie
Music by Michael Gore
Lyrics by Dean Pitchford
Book by Lawrence D. Cohen
Aubrey Berg, director
Steve Goers, musical director
Vince DeGeorge, choreographer

Carrie White is a misfit. At school, she is an outcast who is bullied by the popular crowd and virtually invisible to everyone else. At home, she is at the mercy of her loving but cruelly overprotective mother. But Carrie has just discovered she has a special power and, if pushed too far, she is not afraid to use it. Based on Stephen King’s bestselling novel, the musical version of Carrie has not been seen since its legendary 1988 Broadway production. Now, the show’s original authors have crafted a newly reworked and fully re-imagined vision of this gripping tale. Recommended for mature audiences.

Performance Times:

8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10
8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11
2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12
8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Oct. 7. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.
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Boeing Boeing
Presented by CCM Drama and the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center
Written by Marc Camoletti
Translated by Beverley Cross and Francis Evans
Brant Russell, director

Bernard is engaged to Gloria. And to Gabriella. And to Gretchen. Three beautiful flight attendants kept secret from each other only by Bernard’s precise timetables of flights in and out of Paris. Winner of the 2008 Tony Award for “Best Revival of a Play,” Boeing Boeing is a high-flying physical comedy classic featuring the exciting emerging talent of CCM Drama in the debut of new faculty director Brant Russell!

Performance times:

7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9
3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10
7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16
3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17
7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23
3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24

Location: The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center, 1028 Scott Blvd., Covington, KY
Admission: $17 – $24; tickets may be purchased through the Carnegie Box Office at 859-957-1940 or online at www.thecarnegie.com.

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Opera Fusion: New Work Lab Presents:
Fellow Travelers
A collaboration between CCM Opera and Cincinnati Opera
Co-Artistic Directors Robin Guarino and Marcus Küchle
Composed by Gregory Spears
Libretto by Greg Pierce
Mark Gibson, conductor
Kevin Newbury, director
Junghyun Cho/Carol Walker, pianists

Funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, CCM Opera and Cincinnati Opera present a rare behind-the-scenes look at the creation of an original work. Based on the searing historical novel of the same name by Thomas Mallon, Fellow Travelers takes place in Washington during the McCarthy era and focuses on what has become known as the “Lavender Scare,” an internal investigation into what was termed “sexual subversion” within the US government.

Public reading:

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26

Location and Admission: TBA. Please contact the Cincinnati Opera Box Office at 513-241-2742 for more information.

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L’étoile
Composed by Emmanuel Chabrier
Libretto by Eugene Leterrier and Albert Vanloo
Stefano Sarzani, conductor
Robin Guarino, director

Set in a mystical fairy-tale kingdom, this wickedly witty three-act opera will charm and delight as lovelorn hopes and misunderstandings inevitably lead to a happy ending. L’étoile will be sung in French with English supertitles.

Performance Dates:

8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14
8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15
2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Feb. 10. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

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TRANSMIGRATION 2014: A Festival of Student-Created New Works
Richard Hess, director

TRANSMIGRATION, so named for “the movement from one place to another” or “the transition from one state of being to another,” is a festival of new works created by the acting students in CCM Drama. Six teams of actors craft and perform five original 30-minute shows. Performed simultaneously in different locations throughout CCM Village, TRANSMIGRATION will allow the audience to sample four different new works of their choosing in one spectacular evening. “Thanks to the drama program at UC’s College-Conservatory of Music,” observed CityBeat’s Rick Pender, “theater fans were offered a jolt of onstage vitality.”

Performance Dates:

7 p.m. Thursday, March 6
7 p.m. Friday, March 7
7 p.m. Saturday, March 8

Location: Various locations in the CCM Village
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, March 3. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

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Dance Student Choreographers Showcase
Deirdre Carberry, director

Come experience the next generation of emerging choreographers as CCM dance majors take the stage with exciting and diverse new works. Celebrate the 50th anniversary of CCM Dance with this all-new program, showcasing a variety of styles, from classical to contemporary.

Performance Dates:

8 p.m. Thursday, March 6
8 p.m. Friday, March 7
2 p.m. Saturday, March 8
8 p.m. Saturday, March 8

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater

Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, March 3. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

_____

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Music and lyrics by William Finn
Book by Rachel Sheinkin and Jay Reiss
Vince DeGeorge, director

Six young people in the throes of puberty, overseen by grownups who have barely managed to escape childhood themselves, learn that winning isn’t everything and that losing doesn’t necessarily make you a loser. A hilarious overachievers’ angst against the spelling championship of a lifetime, this Tony Award-winning musical is the unlikeliest of hits about the unlikeliest of heroes: a quirky, yet charming, cast of outsiders for whom a spelling bee is the one place where they can stand out and fit in at the same time.

Performance Times:

8 p.m. Thursday, April 3
8 p.m. Friday, April 4
2 p.m. Saturday, April 5
8 p.m. Saturday, April 5

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, March 31. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

_____

Living Dead in Denmark
Written by Qui Nguyen
k. Jenny Jones, director

Set five years after the tragic events that ended Shakespeare’s Hamlet, a resurrected Ophelia, Juliet and Lady MacBeth must save Denmark from an overwhelming zombie horde. Time Out New York hailed Living Dead in Denmark as, “A perfect storm of horror and geek obsessions.” Due to adult language and some violent content, this production is recommended for mature audiences.

Performance Dates:

7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 17
7:30 p.m. Friday, April 18
2 p.m. Saturday, April 19
7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 19

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, April 14. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

CCM Season Presenting Sponsor & Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

CCM Dance Department Supporter: The Corbett Endowment at CCM

CCM Opera Department Sponsor: Mr. and Mrs. Edward S. Rosenthal

CCM Drama Studio Series Sponsor: Neil Artman and Margaret Straub

Opera Fusion: New Works is sponsored by a generous grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

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June 17, 2013 · 12:15 pm

NET Announces 16th Season: Best Laid Plans

New Edgecliff Theatre announced today their lineup for the 2013-14 Season, themed “The Best Laid Plans.”

Artistic Director Jim stump says, “It’s a story as old as time. We plan out our days, our weeks and even our lives, but no matter how carefully and meticulously, something always seems to get in the way. Sometimes only a minor adjustment is needed to circumvent the obstacle. Other times, a whole new course must be laid. The plays in our 16th season all deal with plans that are disrupted and the ways these disruptions are handled.”

A journey is literally waylaid as a bus is stranded at a diner in a snowstorm in William Inge’s Bus Stop. Each of the passengers, as well as the inhabitants of the diner, is certain of the path his or her life is taking. But this one evening’s chance encounter with each other will change their lives forever.

In Gina Hoben’s The 12 Dates of Christmas, a young woman’s world is turned upside down when she sees her fiancé kissing another woman on national television. She now sets out to navigate the world of dating with several course changes along the way. When she finally resolves to give up, even that plan can’t last.

Other People’s Money by Jerry Sterner examines what is perhaps the biggest game changer in contemporary American life–Wall Street. As a smarmy Wall Street takeover artist targets a small but long-established family company, he finds that plans to change other people’s lives come with changes of their own.

Tickets on sale beginning August 5th.
Adults $25.25, Seniors $20.25, and Students $17.25
Special pricing for Sweet Suspense, $35 includes dessert buffet

Season Schedule

Bus Stop
by William Inge
Directed by Jared Doren
September 18-28, 2013
at the Fifth Third Bank Theatre, Aronoff Center

In the middle of a howling snowstorm, a bus out of Kansas City pulls up at a cheerful roadside diner. All roads are blocked, and four or five weary travelers are going to have to hole up until morning.

Cherie, a nightclub chanteuse in a sparkling gown and a seedy fur-trimmed jacket, is the passenger with most to worry about. She’s been pursued, made love to and finally kidnapped by a twenty-one-year-old cowboy with a ranch of his own and the romantic methods of an unusually headstrong bull. This belligerent cowhand is right behind her, ready to sling her over his shoulder and carry her, alive and kicking, all the way to Montana. Even as she’s ducking out from under his clumsy but confident embraces, and screeching at him fiercely to shut him up, she pauses to furrow her forehead and muse, “Somehow deep inside of me I got a funny feeling I’m gonna end up in Montana …” As a counterpoint to the main romance, the proprietor of the cafe and the bus driver at last find time to develop a friendship of their own; a middle-age scholar comes to terms with himself; and a young girl who works in the cafe also gets her first taste of romance.

The 12 Dates of Christmas
by Ginna Hoben
Remounted by Jim Stump
December 11-21, 2013
at a venue to be announced

After seeing her fiancé kiss another woman at the televised Thanksgiving Day Parade, Mary’s life falls apart – just in time for the holidays. Over the next year, she stumbles back into the dating world, where “romance” ranges from weird and creepy to absurd and comical. It seems nothing can help Mary’s growing cynicism, until the charm and innocence of a five-year-old boy unexpectedly brings a new outlook on life and love. This heartwarming one-woman play offers a hilarious and modern alternative to the old standards of the holiday season. Featuring the return of Annie Kalahurka in her LCT-nominated performance.

Other People’s Money
by Jerry Sterner
Directed by Greg Proccacino
April 16-26, 2014
at the Fifth Third Bank Theatre, Aronoff Center
Winner! Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Play

Wall Street takeover artist Lawrence Garfinkle’s computer is going tilt over the undervalued stock of New England Wire & Cable. If the stockholders back his takeover, they will make a bundle but what will happen to the 1200 employees and the community when he liquidates the assets? Opposing the rapacious financier are the genial man who has run the company since the year one and his chief operations officer. They bring in a young lawyer who specializes in fending off takeovers. Should she use green mail? Find a white knight? Employ a shark repellent? This compelling drama explores whether corporate raiders are creatures from the Black Lagoon of capitalism or realists.

Sweet Suspense Radio Drama Fundraiser: Frankenstein
adapted by Catie O’Keefe/Directed by Bob Allen
Saturday, October 19, 2013
venue to be announced

The horror classic is brought to life in the theatre of the mind with New Edgecliff Theatre’s radio theatre performance of “Frankenstein”, adapted from the book by Mary Shelley. As our actors, along with live sound effects, retell the story of reanimating the dead, the story takes on a new dimension, with each audience member conjuring up their own unique vision of the monster.