Tag Archives: Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park

March 19, 2014 · 5:56 pm

PIP’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE Recognized by LCT

The cast of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Photo by Sandy Underwood.

The cast of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Photo by Sandy Underwood.

Panelists for the League of Cincinnati Theatres (LCT) have recognized John Feltch for his supporting role in Playhouse’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, an adaptation of Jane Austen’s beloved classic.

Panelists enjoyed Feltch’s portrayal of the Mr. Bennett and praised it as “fresh and interesting.”

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE continues through April 5th. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.cincyplay.com.

League of Cincinnati Theatre panelists evaluate productions on a 5 star scale and recommend shows at either a 4 star or 5 star level. Nominations for LCT awards will be determined and announced at the end of the season and winners awarded at the annual LCT gala in the spring.

The League of Cincinnati Theatres was founded in 1999 to strengthen, nurture and promote Cincinnati’s theatre community. LCT provides its member companies and individual members with education, resources and services to enhance the quality and exposure of the theatre community in Cincinnati and increase community awareness, attendance and involvement. More information about the League can be found at www.leagueofcincytheatres.com.

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March 6, 2014 · 5:11 pm

PIP Adds Play Reading in Collaboration with Cincinnati Opera

CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE ADDS PLAY READING IN COLLABORATION WITH CINCINNATI OPERA’S CINCINNATI REMEMBERS WORLD WAR I SERIES

CO_WWI-Series-Internal1(CINCINNATI) – The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park will present a reading of Stephen MacDonald’s drama about the real-life friendship of two World War I soldier poets, NOT ABOUT HEROES, at 7 p.m. Monday, March 24. The reading is being offered in collaboration with the Cincinnati Remembers World War I series, the Cincinnati Opera’s citywide series of events in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the onset of World War I.

Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen met in 1917 at the Craiglockhart War Hospital for Nervous Disorders near Edinburgh, Scotland. Sassoon, the elder of the two men, had already established a reputation as a decorated war hero and antiwar writer when they met; the shell-shocked Owen was inspired by their comradeship to write about the rage and anquish of war. The story is told by Sassoon in flashbacks drawn from the men’s real letters and diaries —Sassoon survived the war, and Owen did not. The play’s title comes from Owen’s preface to his volume of collected poems, which was published posthumously.

English playwright, actor and director Stephen MacDonald, who died in 2009, is best known for NOT ABOUT HEROES, which premiered in 1982 at the Edinburgh Festival and won a Fringe First award. It debuted in the United States at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in 1985 and then transferred to the Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York.

The reading will take place at 7 p.m. in the Playhouse’s Marx Rehearsal Hall. It is free, but space is limited and advance reservations are required. To make a reservation, contact the Playhouse Box Office at 513-421-3888 (toll-free in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana at 800-582-3208). Call 513-345-2248 for Telecommunications Device for the Deaf accessibility. – more –

The 2013-14 season is presented by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation and Heidelberg Distributing Company. The season sponsor of new work is the Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation.

The Playhouse is fully accessible. Audio enhancement receivers, large print programs and complete wheelchair access are available.

The Playhouse is supported, in part, by the generosity of the tens of thousands of individuals and businesses that give to ArtsWave. 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 and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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March 4, 2014 · 6:01 pm

PIP Unveils Vibrant, Varied Play Lineup for the 2014-2015 Season

PIP_logo(CINCINNATI) – Artistic Director Blake Robison announced the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s 2014-15 season today. The Playhouse’s 55th season — which is Robison’s third as artistic director — boasts a homegrown world premiere, two Tony Award-winning plays, recent New York hits and musical tributes to Johnny Cash and Tri-State native Rosemary Clooney.

The 2014-15 season includes:

  • A world premiere by up-and-coming playwright and Cincinnati native Keith Josef Adkins, SAFE HOUSE, inspired by his Kentucky ancestors.
  • The latest Tony Award-winning best play, Christopher Durang’s smash hit VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE.
  • PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, the magical, family-friendly Peter Pan prequel that hooked five Tony Awards.
  • Inspiring tributes to two musical legends: RING OF FIRE: THE MUSIC OF JOHNNY CASH, directed by and featuring Broadway’s Jason Edwards; and TENDERLY: THE ROSEMARY CLOONEY MUSICAL, which traces America’s favorite girl singer from her Cincinnati childhood and Hollywood stardom to triumphant comeback.
  • Jeffrey Hatcher’s electrifying new whodunit featuring the world’s favorite detective, SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE ADVENTURE OF THE SUICIDE CLUB.
  • The charmingly comic off-Broadway hit CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION, winner of the Obie Award for best new American play.
  • The second U.S. production of a new, offbeat love story, CHAPATTI, and a tasty new comedy of misadventures in love, I LOVED, I LOST, I MADE SPAGHETTI, adapted from Giulia Melucci’s hilarious memoir.
  • A compelling, darkly funny new play by Tracey Scott Wilson, BUZZER.

“The new season features the variety of world class plays and musicals that is the Playhouse’s hallmark,” says Robison. “I’m thrilled that we can feature recent Broadway hits as well as new works by an exciting slate of contemporary playwrights. We want to be at the forefront of the city’s cultural conversation, and this season puts us there.

“I’m especially excited that the season celebrates our city’s heritage with a world premiere by Cincinnati-born Keith Josef Adkins and a new production of TENDERLY: THE ROSEMARY CLOONEY MUSICAL. These are Cincinnati stories, and they belong at the Playhouse.”

The Robert S. Marx Theatre Season
Presented by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation
Season Sponsor of New Work: The Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation
Marx Season Design Sponsor: Macy’s

The Marx Theatre season opens with Jeffrey Hatcher’s electrifying new whodunit, SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE ADVENTURE OF THE SUICIDE CLUB (Sept. 6 – Oct. 4, 2014; opening night: Sept. 11), based on characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and “The Suicide Club” by Robert Louis Stevenson. Sherlock Holmes has never shied away from danger, but as members of London’s Suicide Club play a harrowing game of Russian roulette, the brilliant sleuth’s life hangs in the balance — and it’s not clear whether he wants to be saved. The Arizona Daily Star called the show “a thrilling comic mystery … complete with a wow-I-didn’t see-that-coming ending.” Playhouse Associate Artist KJ Sanchez will direct this intricately woven thriller. SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE ADVENTURE OF THE SUICIDE CLUB is sponsored by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation.

The world premiere of Keith Joseph Adkins’ SAFE HOUSE (Oct. 18 – Nov. 15, 2014; opening night: Oct. 23) is the compelling second production of the Marx Theatre season. The Pedigrews are free people of color, a unique position in antebellum Kentucky. While one brother strives to open a business and support his family, the other risks it all to help slaves escape, a pursuit that tests their freedom, loyalty and dreams for the future. SAFE HOUSE, one family’s fascinating story within the history of our region’s role in the Underground Railroad, will be directed by Playhouse Associate Artist Timothy Douglas and is sponsored by Tony Alper.

Cincinnati’s beloved holiday tradition, Charles Dickens’ A CHRISTMAS CAROL, presented by U.S. Bank, returns for its 24th season (Nov. 26 – Dec. 28; opening night Nov. 28). Cincinnati favorite Bruce Cromer will once again play the curmudgeonly Ebenezer Scrooge in the Playhouse production, which will be directed by Associate Artist Michael Evan Haney for his 22nd year. The lovingly faithful adaptation by Howard Dallin features a cast of nearly 30 actors, elaborate period costumes and thrilling special effects. A CHRISTMAS CAROL is not part of any subscription package, although subscribers do receive discounts and early buying opportunities.

RING OF FIRE: THE MUSIC OF JOHNNY CASH (Jan. 17 – Feb. 15, 2015; opening night: Jan. 22) will feature and be directed by Jason Edwards, who starred in the show on Broadway. The rousing portrait of home and family, love and loss, redemption and faith will include nearly three dozen of Cash’s classic songs, including “I Walk the Line,” “Jackson” and “Folsom Prison Blues.” RING OF FIRE: THE MUSIC OF JOHNNY CASH, created by Richard Maltby Jr. and conceived by William Meade, was adapted from the Broadway production by Richard Maltby Jr. and Jason Edwards.

Tony Award-winning smash hit PETER AND THE STARCATCHER (March 7 – April 4, 2015; opening night: March 12) by Rick Elice from the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, follows starcatcher-in-training Molly and an orphan boy on the adventure of a lifetime. A daring sea mission, not-so-swashbuckling pirates and singing mermaids combine in this imaginative Peter Pan prequel. New York Magazine said, “Spectacle, wit and joy spill out of it like treasure.” Playhouse Artistic Director Blake Robison will direct.

The Marx Theatre season finale is Christopher Durang’s VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE (April 25 – May 23, 2015; opening night: April 30), winner of the 2013 Tony Award for best play. Hailed as “hugely entertaining” (USA Today) and “deliriously funny” (The New York Times), the show features siblings Vanya and Sonia, who live uneventfully in the farmhouse of their youth until their movie star sister Masha shows up unannounced with her 20-something boy toy Spike, sparking a madcap weekend of rivalry and raucousness. Playhouse Associate Artist Michael Evan Haney will direct.

The Thompson Shelterhouse Season
Presented by Heidelberg Distributing Company
Season Sponsor of New Work: The Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation
Shelterhouse Season Design Sponsor: Humana

The Thompson Shelterhouse season opens with the delectable I LOVED, I LOST, I MADE SPAGHETTI (Sept. 27 – Oct. 26, 2014; opening night: Oct. 2), adapted by Jacques Lamarre from Giulia Melucci’s popular foodie memoir. For Giulia, a new date is the perfect opportunity to show off her Italian home cooking. While preparing a three-course dinner from scratch, she recounts stories of good food and bad boyfriends. This mouth-watering new comedy, sponsored by Digi and Mike Schueler, will be directed by Rob Ruggiero (High, Last Train to Nibroc, Ella).

America’s favorite girl singer comes home in TENDERLY: THE ROSEMARY CLOONEY MUSICAL (Nov. 15 – Dec. 28, 2014; opening night: Nov. 20). Directed by Blake Robison, this exhilarating and inspiring musical biography by Janet Yates Vogt and Mark Friedman offers a remarkably personal and poignant picture of the woman whose unparalleled talent and unbridled personality made her a legend. Through it all — from her Cincinnati childhood and rise to Hollywood stardom to her battles with depression and triumphant comeback — she topped the charts for nearly five decades with signature songs.

Two senior citizens bond over their shared affection for animals in CHAPATTI (Feb. 7 – March 8, 2015; opening night: Feb. 12), a warm and offbeat Irish love story by Christian O’Reilly. Betty spends most of her time alone, when she’s not acting as a caregiver to her friend or her 19 cats. Dan, still grieving for the love of his life, finds his most faithful friend is his dog, Chapatti. When Betty and Dan cross paths unexpectedly, they rediscover the joy that comes with human companionship. CHAPATTI will be directed by Playhouse Associate Artist KJ Sanchez.

When Jackson, a young black lawyer, moves back to the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood of his youth in BUZZER (March 21 – April 19, 2015; opening night: March 26), he struggles with the opposition between what he used to be and what he’s become, and with the racial and sexual tensions simmering inside and outside the apartment he shares with his girlfriend and troubled best friend, both of whom are white. Playhouse Associate Artist Timothy Douglas will direct this compelling, darkly funny new play by Tracey Scott Wilson.

The charmingly comic off-Broadway hit, CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION (May 9 – June 7, 2015; opening night: May 14) will wrap up the Shelterhouse season. Annie Baker’s play explores unanticipated revelations among five people enrolled in a community center acting class. Secrets are disclosed, relationships begin and end and real-life drama supplements the make-believe in this Obie Award-winning play. CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION will be directed by Wendy C. Goldberg (Leveling Up, Durango, Doubt).

Subscriptions to the 2014-15 Playhouse season are available now in a variety of packages. Prices range from $150 for the popular preview performances to $388 for the five-show Robert S. Marx Season or the five Thompson Shelterhouse shows and $300 to $696 for the full 10-show combination series package.

The popular Build Your Own subscription allows patrons to create their own season of four to nine shows in either theatre. Once again this season, all price levels will be available in the lower level of the Marx Theatre. The Playhouse offers two-, three-, six- and nine-month payment options for subscribers. Some restrictions apply.

A student Build Your Own package allows full-time students to pick as few as four shows and as many as 10 from either theatre for as little as $15 per show. The Baby Sitter Rebate Series allows a couple purchasing two full subscriptions in the Marx Theatre to attend any performance and receive $100 at the end of the season to help cover the cost of baby sitters.

The Playhouse is supported, in part, by the generosity of the tens of thousands of individuals and businesses that give to ArtsWave.

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 and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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February 26, 2014 · 5:58 pm

A DELICATE SHIP World Premiere at PIP March 22-April 20

A DELICATE SHIP RECEIVES ITS WORLD PREMIERE AT CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK, MARCH 22 – APRIL 20

PIP_A Delicate Ship(CINCINNATI) – The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park launches the third world premiere of its 2013-14 season, Anna Ziegler’s humorous and heartbreaking memory play, A DELICATE SHIP, March 22 through April 20 in the Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre.

On Christmas Eve, Sarah and Sam are wrapped up in their still-new love when a knock on the door shatters their relationship fog. The arrival of Nate, Sarah’s friend and former neighbor from childhood, embodies the third point of a complicated love triangle. The emotional tides then turn in unexpected ways that permanently change the lives of all three of them.

“It’s an adult play for thoughtful and adventurous audiences,” says Playhouse Artistic Director Blake Robison. “Many of our patrons look to the Shelterhouse for just this sort of serious work. Anna is one of a group of young, female playwrights who are taking the American theatre by storm. She brings her own delicate and unique perspective to character, story and relationships on stage.”

Anna Ziegler’s A DELICATE SHIP is the ninth mainstage world premiere by a female playwright that the Playhouse has produced in the 21st century.

“It’s important to support women artists — to tell their stories and to hear their voices on stage,” says Robison. “Historically, theatre has championed plays by male writers. I’m very proud that the Playhouse has produced works by many of today’s most exciting female playwrights, from Anna to Deborah Zoe Laufer, Carson Kreitzer, Melanie Marnich, Theresa Rebeck and others.”

Ziegler’s plays include Photograph 51, Dov and Ali, Another Way Home, The Minotaur, BFF, Novel, Evening All Afternoon and Life Science. Photograph 51, which explored real-life physicist Rosalind Franklin’s contributions to the discovery of the DNA double helix, won the 2008 STAGE International Competition for the best script about science and technology. Ziegler also has been honored with the Edgerton New American Play Award, for Another Way Home, and the Douglas T. Ward Playwriting Prize, which was awarded by New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, from which she earned an MFA.

“One of the things that drew me to A DELICATE SHIP is the way Anna plays with time,” says Playhouse Associate Artist Michael Evan Haney, who is directing the play. “One of the themes she explores is how the past, present and future are all happening within us at the same time. The play is realistic with surreal overtones.”

“I find this form really freeing,” Ziegler says of the memory play structure of A DELICATE SHIP. “It allows me to tell a story that’s happening in real time without being limited by what dialogue and information would be naturally spoken and revealed during the specific window of the story. I can reach back into the past, or steal from the future, to give the present day more dimension and meaning. It’s a bit more like a novel in that sense, which, in turn, is more similar to the way we actually live — we never truly exist, frozen, in a particular time; every experience harkens back to something else, or makes us hope for, or fear, something in the future.”

Making their Playhouse debuts in A DELICATE SHIP are Janie Brookshire as Sarah and Karl Miller as Nate. Ben Diskant, who portrays Sam, was seen as Frank Jr. in the Playhouse’s 2012 production of Merrily We Roll Along. The creative team includes Narelle Sissons as the set designer, Gordon DeVinney as the costume designer, Kirk Bookman as the lighting designer and Fabian Obispo as the sound designer/composer. Becky Merold is the stage manager.

A DELICATE SHIP is sponsored by Bartlett & Co. The artist sponsor is Gallagher SKS, and additional support is provided by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust. The production honors the support of Leon Meyer. Prices range from $30 to $80, depending on performance date and seat location. Prices are subject to change, and patrons are encouraged to buy early for the best seats at the best prices. Teen and student tickets are $25 each. Previews are at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 22; 7 p.m. Sunday, March 23; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 25; and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 26. The official opening night is Thursday, March 27, at 8 p.m.

Performances take place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays, and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sundays.

Special performances include free Meet the Artists programs that allow audiences to interact with cast members and others associated with the production after the show. Meet the Artists performances are at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 30; 2 p.m. Sunday, April 6; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 9; and 8 p.m. Thursday, April 17. The Playhouse is fully accessible. Audio enhancement receivers, large print programs and complete wheelchair access are available.

Tickets to A DELICATE SHIP 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 www.cincyplay.com. Call 513-345-2248 for Telecommunications Device for the Deaf accessibility.

The 2013-14 Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre Series is presented by the Heidelberg Distributing Company, and Humana is the Thompson Shelterhouse season design sponsor. The season sponsor of new work is The Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation.

The Playhouse is supported, in part, by the generosity of the tens of thousands of individuals and businesses that give to ArtsWave.

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 and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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February 24, 2014 · 1:58 pm

A DELICATE SHIP Runs March 22-April 20

PIP_A Delicate ShipA DELICATE SHIP
Presented by Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
March 22-April 20
Eden Park

Directed by Michael Evan Haney

Cast: Janie Brookshire as Sarah, Ben Diskant as Sam & Karl Miller as Nate

A haunting love triangle triggers an unexpected chain of events in this poetic world premiere play. In the early stages of a new relationship, Sarah and Sam are lovers happily discovering each other. Sarah and Nate know everything about each other, best of friends since childhood and maybe something more. But when Nate shows up unannounced on Sarah’s doorstep, she’s left questioning what and who she wants in this humorous and heartbreaking look at love, memory and the decisions that alter the course of our lives. Advisory: A Delicate Ship is appropriate for adult and older teenage audiences. There is adult language and mature content. Please contact the Box Office if you have questions or require additional information.

  • In preview Sat, March 22 at 8pm & Sun, March 23 at 7pm. $30 seats available.
  • In preview Tue-Wed, March 25-26 at 7:30pm. $30 seats available.
  • Thu-Fri, March 27-28 at 8pm
  • Sat, March 29 at 4pm & 8pm
  • Sun, March 30 at 2pm & 7pm
  • Tue-Wed, April 1-2 at 7:30pm
  • Thu-Fri, April 3-4 at 8pm
  • Sat, April 5 at 4pm & 8pm
  • Sun, April 6 at 2pm & 7pm
  • Tue-Wed, April 8-9 at 7:30pm
  • Thu-Fri, April 10-11 at 8pm
  • Sat, April 12 at 4pm & 8pm
  • Sun, April 13 at 2pm & 7pm
  • Tue, April 15 at 7:30pm
  • Wed, April 16 at 1pm & 7:30pm
  • Thu-Fri, April 17-18 at 8pm
  • Sat, April 19 at 4pm & 8pm
  • Sun, April 20 at 2pm

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