Tag Archives: Cincinnati Shakespeare Company

Jennifer Joplin as Mistress Margaret Page and Abby Lee as Mistress Alice Ford in William Shakespeare’s THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR. Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.

There is something to make everyone laugh this holiday season at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company with Shakespeare’s delightful comedy “The Merry Wives of Windsor” playing Nov. 15- Dec. 7 followed by the annual holiday blockbuster comedy “Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some!)” Dec. 13- 29, 2019 

CINCINNATI, October 29, 2019 – Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is pleased to announce more details on their upcoming productions this November and December. Opening next on the mainstage from November 15^th through December 7^th will be William Shakespeare’s screwball comedy “The Merry Wives of Windsor” directed by CSC’s Producing Artistic Director, Brian Isaac Phillips.  Following closely after that will be the 14^th annual production of the beloved holiday classic, “Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some!)” on stage December 13- 29, 2019 and will, once again, be directed by Jeremy Dubin.

Originally written to make Queen Elizabeth I laugh, “The Merry Wives of Windsor” proves that women’s wits and wiles win the day! The bawdy, bombastic, and chronically cash-poor Sir John Falstaff has been raising hell in the quiet town of Windsor. When his massive bar tab outstrips his meager means, he needs to raise some cash—and quick. He hatches a plan to seduce two of Windsor’s most wealthy married women, but when they catch wind of his salacious scheme, they turn the tables on their would-be wooer, joining forces to teach him a lesson he won’t soon forget.

In honor of 100 years of the passing and ratification of the 19^th Amendment, granting women the right to vote, CSC is setting the backdrop of “The Merry Wives of Windsor” in the Women’s Suffrage era for this silly and fun comedy. The soundscape of the production, constructed by Sound Designer, Douglas J. Borntrager, will feature Suffrage hymns and marches and original music will be composed by Ensemble member, Cary Davenport. The production will also feature a Bergamask dance with choreography by Ensemble member, Darnell Pierre Benjamin. The dance originated in Bergamo, Italy and is typically associated with lightheartedness and buffoonery.

Billy Chace, Miranda McGee Maggie Lou Rader, and Justin McCombs EVERY CHRISTMAS STORY EVER TOLD (AND THEN SOME). Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.

Following “The Merry Wives of Windsor” for the 14th straight year, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is thrilled to offer a full season of holiday cheer in just a little more than 90 minutes with “Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!)” by Michael Carleton, James Fitzgerald, and John K. Alvarez. This hilarious production is a non-stop holiday romp through everyone’s favorite Christmas stories performed by just four actors.  Justin McCombs and Billy Chace, who are respectively 14^th year and 13^th year company members, return to poke fun at the holiday season, with returning special guest Miranda McGee, 10^th year company member. CSC welcomes back for the 3^rd season in this production, Resident Company Member Maggie Lou Rader!

CSC Director of Creative Education, Jeremy Dubin, returns to the director’s chair. This production is one of the most popular events in Cincinnati Shakespeare Company history breaking attendance and sales records every year. Director Jeremy Dubin remarks, “This cast has so much fun together that the show has become a very personal holiday tradition for all of us. It’s occasionally a little irreverent but always warm-spirited, and it’s the perfect panacea to all your winter woes.”

Please note that “Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some!)” is most appreciated by adults and older teens, and is not recommended for any theatergoers still young enough to believe in Santa.

All performances of “The Merry Wives of Windsor” and “Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some!)” are held at The Otto M. Budig Theater on 1195 Elm St in OTR, adjacent to Washington Park.  Tickets start at $28.  To purchase tickets or for more information, call the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company Box Office at 513.381.BARD (2273), or visit us online at www.cincyshakes.com.

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About Cincinnati Shakespeare Company:
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is a professional theatre company dedicated to bringing Shakespeare and the classics to life for audiences of all ages.  In the summer of 2017, the theater relocated to the Otto M. Budig Theater, a brand new facility in OTR. CSC’s repertoire is made up of the works of William Shakespeare, literary adaptations, and contemporary classics.  CSC performs on a Small Professional Theatre contract with Actors’ Equity Association. Cincinnati Shakespeare is a member of the Theater Communications Group and the Shakespeare Theatre Association.  Each year, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s Education and Outreach Programs reach over 50,000 young people and underserved community members each season by taking Shakespeare into schools, parks, community centers and by hosting educational matinees of mainstage productions.  In 2015, CSC was proud to become one of the first five theaters in the United States to “Complete the Canon” by producing all 38 plays by William Shakespeare. CSC is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible.  Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is proud to be Cincinnati’s stage for the classics!

About The 2019-2020 Season of the Woman:
From June of 1919 to August of 1920, these United States passed and ratified the 19^th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. In commemoration of this centennial, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company will shine the spotlight on the Women of Cincinnati Shakespeare Company in our “Season of the Woman”, both onstage and off, and join organizations across the city in an ArtsWave led initiative called “Power of Her” to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage!

This season is also funded by ArtsWave.  Cincinnati Shakespeare Company receives operating support from The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, JR./U.S. Bank Foundation, The Ohio Arts Council, and The Shubert Foundation.  The season’s marketing design sponsor is Grey Midwest. The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this program/organization with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Production dates and information on the season are available online at www.cincyshakes.com.

About POWER OF HER:
POWER OF HER is a collaboration of organizations across the Greater Cincinnati region, united to activate and amplify women’s voices in the arts. Led by ArtsWave, and inspired by the women’s suffrage movement, the initiative salutes the women who came before us, and honors female leadership and woman-centric works of all kinds.

At its core, POWER OF HER underscores creativity as a vehicle for inclusion and equality by celebrating the female voice — and the many ways it champions a more diverse and vibrant world.  Learn more at https://www.artswave.org/discover/power-of-her

Miranda McGee as Tamora and Darnell Pierre Benjamin as Aaron. Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.

It’s the Bard’s most gruesome and shocking play set in a fantastical Steampunk world, on stage October 11-November 2, 2019 

Cincinnati, October 1, 2019 – Cincinnati Shakespeare Company continues its 2019-2020 Season of the Woman at The Otto M. Budig Theater with William Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus. The production is once again directed by Jeremy Dubin, who directed our 2012 production, and features a 15 person cast with CSC returning favorites Jim Hopkins as Titus Andronicus, Miranda McGee, reprising her role as Tamora, Queen of the Goths, and Darnell Pierre Benjamin, reprising his role as Aaron the Moor.

This Halloween season, murder, mayhem, and mutilation abound, as Shakespeare’s bloodiest play descends on the CSC stage. Roman general Titus Andronicus returns victorious from 10 years of war, his archnemesis Tamora Queen of the Goths in tow and in chains. But when Rome’s rash and impetuous new Emperor decides not only to free her, but to marry her and make her his queen, she embarks upon a remorseless course of revenge. As she and Titus engage in an escalating cycle of violence and vengeance, the body count rises and Rome threatens to fall.

Director Jeremy Dubin says about Titus, “There’s something about it that sets it apart from even the bloodiest of Shakespeare’s other works. In part it is the excessiveness, the relentless, the outrageous over-the-top inventiveness of its brutality. But perhaps even more, it is the surprising and subversive black humor with which that brutality is underpinned. Something about it feels, in the most wicked and wonderful way, a little disreputable- and consequently a little dangerous. It is an outlier, a black sheep…No, it is not always elegant, arguably not always tasteful (pun slightly intended), but for all that, indeed because of that, it is no less insightful, no less heart-rending, and most of all no less truthful. It pushes past the bounds of propriety to get to something true.”

The creative team transforming The Otto M. Budig Theater stage into a whimsical and Steampunk industrial world is made up of Justen N. Locke (Scenic Designer), Douglas J. Borntrager (Sound Designer), Rainy Edwards (Costume Designer), and Gina Cerimele-Mechley (Fight Director). They are joined by Lighting Designer, Alice Trent, and Video Designer, Ryan Lewis.

Titus Andronicus runs October 11-November 2, 2019 with performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2:00 PM, as well as Saturday, November 2nd at 2:00 PM.  Preview performances are Wednesday, October 9th and Thursday, October 10th at 7:30 PM and tickets are $45.  Advance sale single ticket prices start at $28.  Day-of Student Rush tickets are $14 and may be purchased thirty minutes before a show with a valid student ID if available. This production is a part of this season’s subscription package. Visa, Discover, MasterCard, and American Express are accepted. Ticketing fees apply.  To purchase tickets or for more information, call the CSC Box Office at 513.381.BARD (2273) ext. 1, or go online at www.cincyshakes.com.

Content Advisory: This production contains scenes of violence and sexual situations.

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is located at The Otto M. Budig Theater at 1195 Elm Street in OTR, adjacent to Washington Park.  There are many parking spaces available on the street and in nearby lots and garages- for more information visit http://www.otrchamber.com/pages/WheretoPark.

CSC also offers Valet Parking for every performance! Make reservations for $20 in advance when purchasing tickets or visit www.cincyshakes.com/parking. Purchasing in advance guarantees a spot.  Valet is available right at the corner of 12th and Elm Street in front of the theater and begins approx. 1.5 hours before a performance. Cars can be picked up for up to one hour following a performance. (After one hour, you will need to arrange pick up with the valet service directly.) The valet will have your name on the list after you purchase- it’s that easy!

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About Cincinnati Shakespeare Company:
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is a professional theatre company dedicated to bringing Shakespeare and the classics to life for audiences of all ages.  In the summer of 2017, the theater relocated to the Otto M. Budig Theater, a brand new facility in OTR. CSC’s repertoire is made up of the works of William Shakespeare, literary adaptations, and contemporary classics.  CSC performs on a Small Professional Theatre contract with Actors’ Equity Association. Cincinnati Shakespeare is a member of the Theater Communications Group and the Shakespeare Theatre Association.  Each year, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s Education and Outreach Programs reach over 50,000 young people and underserved community members each season by taking Shakespeare into schools, parks, community centers and by hosting educational matinees of mainstage productions.  In 2015, CSC was proud to become one of the first five theaters in the United States to “Complete the Canon” by producing all 38 plays by William Shakespeare. CSC is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible.  Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is proud to be Cincinnati’s stage for the classics!

About The 2019-2020 Season of the Woman:
From June of 1919 to August of 1920, these United States passed and ratified the 19^th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. In commemoration of this centennial, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company will shine the spotlight on the Women of Cincinnati Shakespeare Company in our “Season of the Woman”, both onstage and off, and join organizations across the city in an ArtsWave led initiative called “Power of Her” to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage!

This season is also funded by ArtsWave.  Cincinnati Shakespeare Company receives operating support from The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, JR./U.S. Bank Foundation, The Ohio Arts Council, and The Shubert Foundation.  The season’s marketing design sponsor is Grey Midwest. The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this program/organization with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Production dates and information on the season are available online at www.cincyshakes.com.

About POWER OF HER:
POWER OF HER is a collaboration of organizations across the Greater Cincinnati region, united to activate and amplify women’s voices in the arts. Led by ArtsWave, and inspired by the women’s suffrage movement, the initiative salutes the women who came before us, and honors female leadership and woman-centric works of all kinds.

At its core, POWER OF HER underscores creativity as a vehicle for inclusion and equality by celebrating the female voice — and the many ways it champions a more diverse and vibrant world.  Learn more at https://www.artswave.org/discover/power-of-her