August 3rd, 2012
By Rick Pender |
Arts |
Posted In: Theater
 - photo jeanna vella.nar.jpg "to do - hound of baskervilles @ cincy shakes - magnifying glass (l-r, brent vimtrup, jeremy dubin & nick rose) - photo jeanna vella - Caption: - Credit: Photo: Jeanna Vella")
Photo: Jeanna Vella
Stage Door: Cincy Shakes to the Rescue
Photo: Jeanna VellaLight entertainment is what most of us are looking for
onstage during August, and Cincinnati Shakespeare Company has just the
answer: The Hound of the Baskervilles. The amusing script
takes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's class Sherlock Holmes tale and turns it
into a silly romp around the moor. CSC's cast of three veteran
performers — Nick Rose, Jeremy Dubin and Brent Vimtrup — have just the
right attitude to keep it amusing from start to finish without becoming
tiresome. That's also due to the work of director Michael Evan Haney.
He's the longtime associate artistic director at the Cincinnati
Playhouse in the Park, and he's done fine work on other stages locally,
but this is his debut with Cincy Shakes. It's a fine partnership,
building on his experience with a similar show — a funny romp through
Around the World in 80 Days that entertained Playhouse/Shelterhouse
audiences several years back and then moved on to New York City where it
had a successful run at the Irish Repertory Theatre. Hound is like
drinking fine English tea from a dribble cup. Review here.
Tickets: 513-381-2273, x1.
While other theaters are largely dormant, the folks at Cincy Shakes are
very busy in August. In addition to the aforementioned production at
their Race Street theater, they also launch their Shakespeare in the
Park series this weekend with a performance of
The Tempest at Seasongood Pavilion in Eden Park. It gets its first outing on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. Go to cincyshakes.com for more dates and locations. These are free performances, so they're definitely worth checking out.
And in case you need a reminder that we have a great theater scene
locally, here's a tidbit. The Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis just
announced its 2012-2013 season; this is a fine theater company, rather
like Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati in its presentation of new works. But
they're touting their September production of
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson as the "Midwest Premiere," and they've given a similar designation to their January-February staging of next to normal.
Um, I'm sorry to burst their bubble, but those shows have already been
onstage here in Cincinnati (and I believe we're in the Midwest). Both
were produced last season. In fact, ETC offered next to normal
last September (not long after the Tony and Pulitzer prize winner closed
in New York) and already presented a sold-out revival in June. Know
Theatre gave us the hard-rockin' version of our seventh president in a
heavily sold run last spring. So the Indy theater's claims are more than
a bit overblown. But we'll let them believe their own hype, and aren't
we smug that we didn't have to leave town to see those shows. That being
said, the Phoenix is offering Seminar, a snarky drama by Cincinnati native Theresa Rebeck (her play Dead Accounts had its world premiere at the Cincinnati Playhouse back in January) this fall (Oct. 25-Nov. 25) and Nicky Silver's dark comedy The Lyons next spring (Feb. 28-March 31). Both could be worth the drive. www.phoenixtheatre.org.
 - photo jeanna vella.widea.jpg&description=Stage+Door%3A+Cincy+Shakes+to+the+Rescue "Pin It")
