(CINCINNATI) – The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park kicks off the New Year with laughter as friendly neighbors become feuding enemies in the world premiere production of NATIVE GARDENS, which will run Jan. 23 through Feb. 21 in the Robert S. Marx Theatre. This comedy of good intentions and bad manners is the latest offering from playwright Karen Zacarías, well-known to Playhouse audiences as the author of The Book Club Play, a smash hit in the Shelterhouse (and at theatres across the country) in 2013.
When high-powered D.C. attorney Pablo and his pregnant, doctoral candidate wife Tania move into a fixer-upper in a neighborhood of stately Victorian homes, next-door neighbors Virginia and Frank welcome their improvement plans for the neglected property. However, the initial goodwill possessed by both couples evaporates quickly when those improvements reveal larger philosophical differences. Environmentalist Tania dreams of creating a native garden, one in which all of the plants are local to their region. But her neighbor, Frank, feels a sting of judgment toward his formal English garden with its high-maintenance, foreign plants. NATIVE GARDENS, which will be directed by Playhouse Artistic Director Blake Robison, uses comedy to dig into deeper issues of taste, class, privilege and entitlement with hilarious results.
“Humor creates a comfortable distance for the audience,” explains Robison. “It allows them to laugh at the characters, and even themselves, without seeming quite as threatening as in a drama. I think the distance literally allows us to look at ourselves through a telescope. Some of these difficult issues become a little easier to discuss when it’s with characters who are not exactly us, living in a place that’s not exactly where we live. “The fact that these characters act in comic and outrageous ways shines a light on the issues but allows us to view them from the safety of our own experiences,” Robison continues. “By creating a relationship between us and the characters on stage, we find that the truth is somewhere in the middle.” Zacarías’ world premiere — one of five of her plays debuting this season throughout the country — was commissioned through the Playhouse’s Jerome Fey Endowment as part of its ongoing commitment to the development and production of new plays.
It was party small talk that inspired the idea for NATIVE GARDENS. “My friends were talking about this unbearable protracted battle they were having with their neighbors,” Zacarías says. “It was both a dispute about land and about taste … and I thought how this small fight has many of the ingredients for every bigger battle happening in the world today.”
The cast of NATIVE GARDENS features Tony Award-winning Broadway veteran Karen Ziemba as Virginia Capanini Butley. In addition to the Tony, Ziemba received Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for her portrayal of The Wife in Contact. Additional cast members include John Lescault as Frank Butley, Gabriel Ruiz as Pablo Del Valle and Sabina Zuniga Varela as Tania Del Valle. The cast also includes landscape technicians Xavier Blanco, Miguel Casanova, Darlene Estela and Michael Urriquia.
In addition to Robison, the creative team features Joseph P. Tilford (set designer), Bill Black (costume designer), Mary Louise Geiger (lighting designer) and Joe Payne (sound designer). Brooke Redler is the stage manager, and Jenifer Morrow and Andrea L. Shell are the second stage managers. NATIVE GARDENS is sponsored by Johnson Investment Counsel and Clark, Schaefer, Hackett & Co. David and Jenny Powell are the artist sponsors, and Linda and Gary Greenberg are the honorary producers.
Ticket prices for NATIVE GARDENS start at $35. Prices are subject to change, and patrons are encouraged to buy early for the best seats at the best prices. The show is appropriate for adult and teenage audiences.
Continuing this season is the popular Sunday College Night, with tickets to all 7 p.m. Sunday performances (not including A Christmas Carol) priced at just $10 with a valid student ID. Student tickets are just $15 on the day of the show for all other performances. Discounted ticket prices for teens and students are available in advance for all performances for $30. The Playhouse’s new culinary series continues with wine tastings with tapas before every Thursday evening performance of NATIVE GARDENS. The tastings, $22 per person, will kick off at 6 p.m. with wine selections from Heidelberg Distributing Co. and food provided by Vonderhaar’s Catering. For reservations call the Box Office at 513-421-3888. Previews for NATIVE GARDENS are at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23; 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26; and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 27. The official opening night is Thursday, Jan. 28, at 7:30 p.m. Performances take place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays, and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sundays.
Free Meet the Artists programs that allow audiences to interact with the cast and others associated with NATIVE GARDENS will be held after the following performances: 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3; 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14; and 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18.
NATIVE GARDENS will be audio described for those with visual impairments at 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, and signed for persons with hearing impairments at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14. The Playhouse is fully accessible. Audio enhancement receivers, large print programs and complete wheelchair access are available. Tickets to NATIVE GARDENS 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 http://www.cincyplay.com. Call 513-345-2248 for Telecommunications Device for the Deaf accessibility. The 2015-16 Robert S. Marx Theatre season is presented by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation, and Macy’s is the Robert S. Marx Theatre season design sponsor. The season sponsor of new work is The Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation.
The Playhouse is supported by the generosity of the community contributors to the ArtsWave 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.
NATIVE GARDENS
CINCINNATI) – The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park will hold auditions on 
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 