Tag Archives: Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati

May 8, 2018 · 2:31 pm

HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH Runs June 5-30

ETC_Hedwig and the Angry Inch logoHEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH
Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati
June 5-30
Over-the-Rhine

Featuring Todd Almond as Hedwig

Take a walk on the wild side with the return of this groundbreaking musical odyssey, hailed as “the Best Rock Musical Ever” by Rolling Stone and “the most exciting rock score written for the theatre since, oh, ever,” by Time Magazine. Brilliantly innovative, heartbreaking, and wickedly funny, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is the landmark American musical that is “shamelessly enjoyable and furiously funny” (NY Times) about a gender-crossed glam rocker who immigrates to America, determined to become a superstar. This genre-bending musical sensation, with a pulsing score and electrifying performances, tells the story of one of the most unique characters to ever hit the stage. It’s a rocking ride, funny, touching and ultimately inspiring to anyone who has felt life gave them an inch when they deserved a mile. Content advisory: This show may be inappropriate for children 12 and under. HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH contains strong language and adult themes and is recommended for mature audiences.

  • In preview, Tue, June 5 at 7pm
  • Wed-Thu, June 6-7 at 7:30pm (Wed performance is SOLD OUT)
  • Fri, June 8 at 8pm
  • Sat, June 9 at 2pm & 8pm
  • Sun, June 10 at 2pm & 7pm
  • Tue-Thu, June 12-14 at 7:30pm
  • Fri, June 15 at 8pm
  • Sat, June 16 at 2pm & 8pm
  • Sun, June 17 at 2pm & 7pm
  • Tue-Thu, June 19-21 at 7:30pm
  • Fri, June 22 at 8pm
  • Sat, June 23 at 2pm & 8pm
  • Sun, June 24 at 2pm & 7pm
  • Tue-Thu, June 26-28 at 7:30pm
  • Fri, June 29 at 8pm
  • Sat, June 30 at 2pm & 8pm

Official page |

 

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April 5, 2018 · 4:04 pm

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati Presents the Regional Premiere Musical HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW, April 24 – May 19, 2018

ETC_Eye on the Sparrow logo

(Cincinnati, OH) Blues and Broadway take the stage as Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati presents the regional premiere of Larry Parr’s His Eye is on the Sparrow, the powerful, heartbreaking, and uplifting account of the iconic Ethel Waters, who overcame a spirit-breaking childhood and racial injustice to become a legendary jazz and blues singer, Broadway pioneer, and Oscar-nominated actress. This one-woman musical biography recounts the life behind this leading lady and features some of Waters’s most famous musical numbers. Playing April 24-May 19, 2018. Directed by D. Lynn Meyers. Production Sponsor is John Goering.

Born in 1896 into abject poverty, Ethel Waters became a Vaudeville success and a recording sensation while crossing racial barriers to emerge as a Broadway and Hollywood star. However, a reputation for being difficult and her own distrust of those who might employ her or love her—largely a response to the unspeakable horrors of Jim Crow America—caused her to lose everything and become a recluse, until she found new strength from a most unlikely source.

“His Eye is on the Sparrow is one of those titles that captivated me,” explains Producing Artistic Director D. Lynn Meyers. “This play not only showcases the remarkable music of Ethel Waters, but is also a great story about the transformative power we have inside ourselves to change. It seemed like a perfect fit.” 

About the Cast
Torie Wiggins (Ethel Waters) holds a BFA in Dramatic Performance from University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music and has been performing and teaching professionally for more than 15 years. She co-adapted and performed a one-woman show, Your Negro Tour Guide, at various venues in Cincinnati and across the country. She appeared in All My Children, as well as numerous voice-overs for national TV and radio commercials for H&M, Home Depot, and Burger King, among others. Some of her film credits include A Christmas Melody, The Old Man and the Gun, The Public, and Extremely Wicked, Evil and Vile. Her regional credits include Black Pearl Sings!, The Mountaintop, and Cinderella, Ensemble Theatre; Collapse, Afghan Women Writer’s Project, and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Know Theatre; Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, Diogenes Theatre Co. and Miami University; To Kill a Mockingbird, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and Playhouse in the Park; and Mame and Crowns, Human Race Theatre.

Scot Woolley (Music Director/Pianist) has appeared at ETC in 33 Variations, Grey Gardens, and Souvenir (also at Vienna’s English Theatre). He created Broadway arrangements for State Fair, and Off-Broadway vocal arrangements for Tapestry, the Music of Carole King. Other ETC credits include 25 The Musical, Cinderella, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, Mack and Mabel, and Nite Club Confidential. He also composed the theme for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade float in 2004. Playhouse credits include conducting for Rocky Horror, Candide, Carnival, as well as performing in the world premiere of Ace. National tours include Crazy for You, Tommy, and The Will Rogers Follies. Mr. Woolley’s orchestral arrangements have been heard in Atlanta, Portland, Indianapolis, Hong Kong, and regularly with the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra.

Production team includes D. Lynn Meyers (Producing Artistic Director), Brian c. Mehring (Set & Lighting Designer), Jack Murphy (Technical Director), Matthew Hollstegge (Production Manager & Master Electrician), Shannon Rae Lutz (Properties Master & Design Assistant), Jeremy Lee (Sound Designer), Scot Woolley (Musical Director), and Mary Murphy (Costume Designer). Production Stage Manager is Brandon T. Holmes. Assistant Stage Manager is Elizabeth Freyman. 

Performance Information
Performances run Tuesday through Sunday. Tuesday-Thursday, 7:30 pm; Friday and Saturday, 8:00 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 2:00 pm; and Sunday, 7:00 pm. A complete calendar of performances is available online at www.ensemblecincinnati.org. 

Ticket Prices
Ticket prices start at $35 for adults; student tickets are $28; and children are $24. Half-Price Rush Tickets: All remaining tickets for the current day’s performance(s) are available two hours prior to each show time for half-price (discount does not apply to children’s tickets) when purchasing by phone or in person. $15 Student Rush Tickets: Students may purchase up to two $15 student rush tickets two hours prior to show time with valid student I.D. Available in person only. 

Available Discounts
Military, Educator, AAA, ArtsWave Artspass, and ArtsWave CincYPerks discounts available; tickets and seating are subject to availability.

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Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati is supported, in part, by the generosity of community contributions to the ArtsWave Campaign.

The Ohio Arts Council helps fund Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati also receives funding from the Shubert Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

2017-2018 Season Presenting Sponsor is the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation. Additional support provided PNC. 

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati is a professional theatre dedicated to producing world and regional premieres of works that often explore compelling social issues. We fulfill our mission through our stage productions and educational outreach programs that enlighten, enliven, enrich and inspire our audiences.

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March 30, 2018 · 11:08 am

CBC: Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati Explores ‘What’s Next’ with 2018-2019 Season

A version of this article was originally published March 30, 2018

CBC_logo
By Rob Bucher

ETC_D Lynn Meyers

D. Lynn Meyers, Artistic Director.

Each year, Artistic Director D. Lynn Meyers asks her season subscribers to take a leap of faith and renew their subscriptions prior to the season announcement. The reason: Meyers’ dogged pursuit of regional and world premieres that can delay the announcement until the 11th hour. She jokes, “The ink isn’t even dry on some of these contracts. They are confirmed, but the paperwork is in the mail.” She must be doing something right as 80% of this season’s record high 2,655 subscribers have already renewed their subscriptions prior to this announcement.

“I only go after plays if I care deeply about the value,” confides Meyers. When possible, she uses ETC’s long history with so many writers to approach the playwrights themselves. “Being able to go directly to a writer and tell them how much you loved the script is always my first line if I can.” ETC also enjoys good relationships with theatrical publishing and licensing houses Dramatists Play Service and Samuel French, Inc. “They know us, they know our work, and they know the number of seats we’re selling.”

Each year Meyers chooses a unifying theme for the season. For 2018-2019, Meyers wanted scripts that “talk about people being placed in difficult moments in their lives and how they determine ‘what’s next,’ coming off an accomplishment or a disappointment.” This is exactly the position ETC finds itself in today, “because we’re not talking about building the building anymore. We did that. It’s pretty cool…but where do we go?”

Meyers is referring to the October 2017 completion of the $6M expansion and renovation of ETC’s Vine Street home. The theatre proper boasts new and larger seats, additional hand rails, and a new elevator which also allows access to seating from the top of the audience. Patrons can now enjoy an expanded, spacious lobby; a new bar and lounge area; and additional restrooms. Other changes include larger administrative offices and the addition of a spacious rehearsal hall.

The 33rd season opens with “Fly By Night,” a darkly comic rock-fable musical. This ode to young love is set during the Northeast blackout of 1965. A gypsy prophecy propels a melancholy sandwich-maker and two bewitching sisters through a star-crossed journey of love and connection. Winner of the 2011 Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award and nominated for four Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Musical, performances of “Night” run Sept. 1-29.

ETC_Alice in Wonderland2

Deb G. Girdler as The Queen of Hearts in ETC’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND.

For their annual holiday, family-friendly musical, “Alice in Wonderland” returns Nov. 29-Dec. 30. From the local creative team of Joseph McDonough and David Kisor, join Alice and her bubbly friends for an unforgettable tea party. This production features an updated score from Kisor and exuberant, colorful costumes.

In “Ripcord,” a sunny room on an upper floor of the Bristol Place Senior Living Facility becomes the battleground in a dangerous game of one-upmanship between two tenacious golden girls. When cantankerous Abby is forced to share her quarters with happy-go-lucky Marilyn, she has no choice but to get rid of the infuriatingly chipper woman by any means necessary. This wickedly funny and deliciously inappropriate comedy by Pulitzer prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire runs Jan. 19-Feb. 16.

March brings the regional premiere of the wildly inventive American comedy “A Doll’s House, Part 2” to Cincinnati. Nominated for eight Tony awards, including Best Play, this unauthorized sequel to Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 groundbreaking classic takes place 15 years after iconic heroine Nora famously slammed the door on her marriage, leaving her husband and children behind. In “Part 2,” Nora returns a changed woman with an incredibly awkward favor to ask of the family she abandoned.

ETC_Detroit67 03web

Bryant Bentley as Lank & Burgess Byrd as Bunny. (background) Leslie Goddard as Caroline in DETROIT ’67. Photo by Mikki Schaffner.

Meyers describes “Skeleton Crew” as “one of the best plays I’ve read in ten years.” Penned by acclaimed, rising star playwright Dominique Morisseau, the funny, tough and tender American drama follows a tight knit group of employees facing the realities of big business bureaucracy in one of Detroit’s last-standing auto plants during the 2008 Great Recession. Morisseau’s “Detroit ’67” was part of ETC’s 2014-2015 season. “Skeleton Crew” runs April 13-May 11.

The season concludes with the regional premiere of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize finalist, “The Wolves.” The widely-acclaimed firecracker of a debut by writer Sarah DeLappe takes the stage from June 1-29. With their undefeated winter season on the line, this pack of elite teenage female athletes are battling their way to the national indoor soccer championships. As the final game of the season approaches, will pressures on—or off—the field prevent the team from reaching their goal? Meyers calls the work “very real, brutally honest, and fiercely contemporary.”

As a bonus to the season, ETC is offering a two week limited run of “St. Nicholas” by Conor McPherson. A jaded theatre critic spins a tale beginning with obsession and ending with a descent into a macabre world of vampires. Is it all a drunken lie? A tantalizing fairy tale? Or is it his own version of a higher truth? This one-man show welcomes back audience favorite Bruce Cromer. “We didn’t get to have [Bruce] on our stage this year due to scheduling conflicts and I didn’t want another year to go by without him.” A perfect fit for Halloween, the show runs Oct. 12-28.

Subscriptions for the 2018-2019 season are now on sale. Individual tickets go on sale to the general public on Monday, July 30th at 10 a.m. For more information visit www.ensemblecincinnati.org or call the Box Office at 513.421.3555.

2018-2019 Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati Season

  • “Fly by Night,” Sept. 1-29
  • “St. Nicholas,” Oct. 12-28*
  • “Alice in Wonderland,” Nov. 29-Dec. 30
  • “Ripcord,” Jan. 19-Feb. 16
  • “A Doll’s House, Part 2,” March 2-30
  • “Skeleton Crew,” April 13-May 11
  • “The Wolves,” June 1-29

*Season Extra

 

 

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March 22, 2018 · 2:51 pm

HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW Runs April 24-May 19

ETC_Eye on the Sparrow logoHIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW
Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati
April 24-May 19
[Over-the-Rhine]

Born in 1896 into abject poverty, Ethel Waters overcame a spirit-breaking childhood and racial injustice to become a Vaudeville success, legendary jazz and blues singer, Broadway pioneer, and Oscar-nominated actress. However, a reputation for being difficult and her own distrust of those who might employ her or love her—largely a response to the unspeakable horrors of Jim Crow America—caused her to lose everything and become a recluse, until she found new strength from a most unlikely source. Content advisory: This production contains mature content and language and may not be suitable for younger audiences. 

  • In preview Tue at 7pm
  • Wed-Thu, April 25-26 at 7:30pm
  • Fri, April 27 at 8pm
  • Sat, April 28 at 2pm & 8pm
  • Sun, April 29 at 2pm & 7pm
  • Tue-Thu, May 1-3 at 7:30pm
  • Fri, May 4 at 8pm
  • Sat, May 5 at 2pm & 8pm
  • Sun, May 6 at 2pm & 7pm
  • Tue-Thu, May 8-10 at 7:30pm
  • Fri, May 11 at 8pm
  • Sat, May 12 at 2pm & 8pm
  • Sun, May 13 at 2pm & 7pm
  • Tue-Thu, May 15-17 at 7:30pm
  • Fri, May 18 at 8pm
  • Sat, May 19 at 2pm & 8pm

Official page |

 

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February 27, 2018 · 2:44 pm

CBC Preview: OTHELLO and RED VELVET, a Pairing Three Years in the Making

A version of this article was originally published online Feb. 27, 2018

CBC_logo
By Rob Bucher

During the month of March, Cincinnati audiences will be offered the unique opportunity to see both William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Othello” set in modern times and the contemporary script of “Red Velvet” set in 1800s London. Performances will take place blocks apart at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, respectively.

Shares ETC Artistic Director D. Lynn Meyers: “I wanted to do Red Velvet for the last couple years. When the Shakespeare Company talked about doing Othello, I waited so that we could present it in the same year that they moved to our neighborhood.”

CSC_Othello 4_preview

Nicholas Rose as Iago & William Oliver Watkins as Othello. Photo by Mikki Schaffner.

In “Othello,” the titular character, played by guest artist William Oliver Watkins, is a Moorish General of the Venetian army who elopes with Desdemona (Courtney Lucien), the daughter of a wealthy senator. His unfaithful ensign Iago (Nicholas Rose), bitterly jealous of his superior’s success, sets out to ruin Desdemona’s reputation and drive Othello to wild fits of jealousy.

Returning guest director Christopher V. Edwards (“A Raisin in the Sun” 2017) describes the setting of this production as “A Venice that is technologically and digitally capable, where war is the norm and not the exception. It is a nation with the responsibility of a superpower, where political and economic interests often outweigh ethical or moral concerns.”

CSC_Othello 3_preview

William Oliver Watkins as Othello & Courtney Lucien as Desdemona. Photo by Mikki Schaffner.

The race of the title role is often seen as Shakespeare’s way of isolating the character, culturally as well as visually. During the 19th century, the role was frequently performed as an Arab Moor. Othello was first played by an African American actor in 1833 – and it is his story that is explored in “Red Velvet.”

Actor Ira Aldridge has enjoyed great success in the capitals of Europe. When Edmund Kean, regarded as the greatest actor of his generation, collapses while playing Othello, it is Aldridge who steps into the role and into the history books of the English stage. As the public riots in the streets over the abolition of slavery, how will audiences react to the revolution taking place in the theatre?

D. Lynn Meyers adds, “It’s a bold thing for a theater dedicated to new works to be presenting something that goes back 100 years, but we can’t move forward if we don’t confront our past.”

“Red Velvet” is directed by Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s Artistic Director, Brian Isaac Phillips. In a way, Phillips’ return to ETC is a bit of a homecoming. It was a director internship with the company that originally brought Phillips to Cincinnati for 1998-99 season.

ETC_Red Velvet promo1

Ken Early as Ira Aldridge. Photo by Mikki Schaffner.

The cast is comprised of faces familiar to both Cincy Shakes and Ensemble audiences, with CSC Resident Ensemble Member Jeremy Dubin making his ETC debut. Leading the ensemble is Ken Early in the role of Ira Aldridge.

Adds Meyers: “Ken got his Equity card because of Ensemble. When I look at this [local] cast for Red Velvet and I look at the fact that [our last production] The Humans just broke all box office records and all but one actor was a local [performer]; this is a great thing…to celebrate the talent that is here and to have the opportunity on these stages for people to stay and work here.”

It is easy to argue that the true winners of this collaboration are the theater audiences.

“Othello” presented by Cincinnati Shakespeare Company runs March 2-24 with performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., as well as Saturday March 24 at 2 p.m.. Preview performances are February 28 and March 1 at 7:30 p.m. More information is available at www.cincyshakes.com.

“Red Velvet” presented by Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati. Performances run March 6-31. Tuesday-Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.; and Sunday at 7 p.m. More information is available online at www.ensemblecincinnati.org.

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