CINCINNATI, OH – Cincinnati Music Theatre (CMT), a resident company of the Aronoff Center for the Arts, is pleased to announce its 2019-20 Season, including two full-scale musical productions in the Jarson-Kaplan Theater and three Studio Series productions in the intimate Fifth Third Bank Theater.
Season tickets go on sale Friday, May 3 and single tickets go on sale Monday, June 3 at www.CincinnatiArts.org, (513) 621-ARTS [2787], and the Aronoff Center Ticket Office.
Producing a historic five-show season, CMT is excited to offer Cincinnati high quality musicals at an affordable price. From a classic movie musical to Tony Award-winning shows to an original work created by a local Cincinnatian, CMT continues to thrill audiences with popular musical theatre and fabulous local talent, and to delight them with new works.
2019-20 MAINSTAGE SEASON
CABARET
Book by JOSEPF MASTEROFF, based on the play by JOHN VAN DRUTEN and stories by CHRISTOPHER ISHERWOOD, music by JOHN KANDER, lyrics by FRED EBB
November 8-16, 2019
Aronoff Center – Jarson-Kaplan Theater
In a Berlin nightclub, as the 1920s draw to a close, a garish Master of Ceremonies welcomes the audience and assures them they will forget all their troubles at the cabaret. With the Emcee’s bawdy songs as wry commentary, Cabaret explores the dark, heady, and tumultuous life of Berlin’s natives and expatriates as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich. Cliff, a young American writer newly arrived in Berlin, is immediately taken by English singer Sally Bowles. Meanwhile, Fräulein Schneider, proprietor of Cliff and Sally’s boarding house, tentatively begins a romance with Herr Schultz, a mild-mannered fruit seller who happens to be Jewish. These contrasting relationships are played out against the backdrop of the Nazis rise to power. The award-winning score includes such classics as “Willkommen,” “Cabaret,” “Don’t Tell Mama,” “Maybe This Time,” and the title song. Directed by Skip Fenker.
SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN
Screenplay by BETTY COMDEN and ADOLF GREEN, songs by NACIO HERB BROWN and ARTHUR FREED, based on the classic Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer film, by special arrangement with Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, Inc.
May 8-16, 2020
Aronoff Center – Jarson-Kaplan Theater
The “Greatest Movie Musical of All Time,” Singin’ in the Rain takes you on a memorable trip into Hollywood’s past. Broadway legends Betty Comden and Adolph Green adapted their award-winning screenplay for the stage. Each unforgettable scene, song, and dance is accounted for, including the splashy show-stopping title number. In silent movies, Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont are a hot item but, behind the scenes, things aren’t as they appear. The advent of “talking pictures” may bring the end of Lina’s career until a talented young actress is asked to do the singing and talking for her. Filled with comedy, romance, and a hit-parade of Hollywood standards, Singin’ in the Rain is a downpour of musical bliss! Directed by Dennis Murphy.
2019–20 STUDIO SERIES
SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM
Music and lyrics by STEPHEN SONDHEIM and music by LEONARD BERSTEIN, MARY ROGERS, RICHARD ROGERS, JULE STYNE, continuity by NED SHERRIN
Sept 6, 7 & 13, 14, 2019
Aronoff Center – Fifth Third Bank Theater
Get ready to laugh, cry, and fall in love with lyrics that are heartbreakingly true and music that captures the soaring emotions of a generation with Side by Side by Sondheim. Simple and unpretentious, this Tony Award-winning musical is a perfect introduction to the work of this contemporary master and a must for diehard fans. Featuring music from Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Anyone Can Whistle, and Pacific Overtures, not to mention classics written with musical theatre giants Leonard Bernstein, Mary Rogers, Richard Rogers, and Jule Styne, this dazzling array of some of Sondheim’s best-known songs demonstrates his masterful craft and astounding creativity. Directed by Adam Drake.
SINGABLES AND SWINGABLES: An Evening of Jazz
Created by CMT Board Member MARYPAT CARLETTI
Feb 14, 15 & 21, 22, 2020
Aronoff Center – Fifth Third Bank Theater
Your toes will tap and your fingers will snap as you enjoy song favorites made famous by Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Manhattan Transfer, The Andrews Sisters, and more of the country’s best-loved jazz singers. Let some of Cincinnati’s finest local ‘Cats and Canaries’ entertain you, as they come on like ‘gangbusters’. Directed by Marypat Carletti.
I DO! I DO! A Musical About Marriage
Books and lyrics by TOM JONES, music by HARVEY SCHMIDT, based on “The FOURPOSTER” by JAN DE HARTOG
June 5, 6, & 12, 13, 2020
Aronoff Center, Fifth Third Bank Theater
The story of a marriage is at the center of I Do! I Do! A Musical About Marriage, an intimate and nostalgic work by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones (The Fantasticks, 110 in the Shade). The show follows Michael and Agnes from their wedding day through to their retirement. We watch as they go through their wedding night jitters, raise a family, and negotiate midlife crises. We follow fifty years of their marriage to see them rediscover how much they really need each other. This touching story of two soul mates navigating the perils of life is set to a tuneful, charming score featuring the song “My Cup Runneth Over.” Directed by Tom Peters.
TICKETS & INFORMATION – Season tickets on sale Friday, May 3. Single tickets go on sale Monday, June 3.
- www.CincinnatiArts.org
- (513) 621-ARTS [2787]
- Aronoff Center Ticket Office
- Group Discount Tickets (15 or more): (513) 977-4157
*Additional ticketing fees may apply. Ticket prices and fees subject to change.
Aronoff Center Ticket Office Hours
- Monday-Friday: 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM
- Saturday: 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
- Through intermission of the last show on performance days
Cincinnati Music Theatre
One of Cincinnati’s oldest and most successful community theaters, CMT is proud of its long history of presenting popular, large scale, award-winning musicals to enthusiastic audiences from across the Greater Cincinnati area. For more information, visit www.cincinnatimusictheatre.org, LIKE us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cincinnatimusictheatre, and follow us on Instagram @cincinnatimusictheatre.
Singin’ in the Rain, Side by Side by Sondheim, and I Do! I Do! are presented by special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI, 423 West 55thStreet, New York, NY 10009. Tel.: (212) 541-4684 Fax: (212)397-4684. www.MTIShows.com
Cabaret is produced by arrangement with TAMS-WITMARK, www.tamswitmark.com.
NUNSENSE
Middletown Lyric Theatre announces its 41st Season: The Season of Love.
Loveland Stage Company has announced the 2019-2020 season which will be the community thespian group’s 40th consecutive season of quality live theater.
TWO SHORT PLAYS
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 