by Rick Pender
10.02.2011
A Bloody Good Addition to Know's Season
Broadway hit joins an edgy line-up
My Curtain Call column about Know Theatre of Cincinnati from Wednesday’s edition of CityBeat was incomplete, since Artistic Director Eric Vosmeier was still wrestling for the rights to several shows. The picture is more sharply in focus today with the big announcement that Know will present the regional premiere of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, which will wrap up the 2011-12 season between March 31 and May 12.
by Rick Pender
09.30.2011
Stage Door: A Play About (and For) Thinkers
This weekend one of the finest actors in our area, Bruce Cromer, will conclude a run in A Man for All Seasons at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. He's handling the heady, demanding role of Sir Thomas More in Robert Bolt's 1962 Tony Award winning play. Cromer makes him witty, caring, sharp and cantankerous, an admirable verbal combatant — ultimately more fearful of being unfaithful to his conscience than to his king. It's a tour-de-force performance, worthy of praise wherever it might be presented. (Read my full review here.)
by Rick Pender
09.20.2011
LCT Recognizes Theater Productions
Still a few kinks to be worked out
The League of Cincinnati Theatres still has some kinks to work out in terms of sending out timely announcements of what they’re calling awards (last year they were nominations) for current productions. Despite the fact that the Cincinnati Playhouse’s God of Carnage opened on Sept. 7 and Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s A Man for All Seasons got rolling on Sept. 9, information regarding what’s being recognized has only been distributed on Sept. 20. (Awards for Clifton Performance Theatre’s production of Superior Donuts, which opened on Sept. 9 and closed Sept. 18, were announced on Sept. 13.)
by Rick Pender
09.20.2011
Behind the Scenes
See how the magic works backstage
A lot more than actors go into making a play come to life onstage — lights, sound, scenery, props, dressers and so on. These are part of the rehearsal process, of course, but they get their final tweaks during technical rehearsals, an aspect of production that audiences seldom get to see. Sure, it might take away a bit of the magic, but in truth, it takes a special kind of magic to make these things happen — and you have a chance to do see how its done on Sunday afternoon at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park during a free “open tech rehearsal” of the upcoming Shelterhouse production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It.
by Rick Pender
09.12.2011
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Wanna Be a Playwright?
New Edgecliff offers training for aspiring writers
If your aspirations include playwriting, New Edgecliff Theatre is offering a weekend intensive playwriting workshop for anyone age 16-22 — from beginners who have never dabbled in playwriting, to professionals wanting to get back to the basics. Catie O’Keefe, a professional playwright who is NET’s playwright-in-residence, will lead the workshops.
by Danny Cross
09.11.2011
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Stern Endowment bodes well for Playhouse’s future
Supporters hope to raise $5 million to honor retiring artistic director
Ed Stern retires from the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park next spring after 20 seasons, but his presence will be felt long after that thanks to funds that are being raised to honor him. The Edward Stern Endowment for Artistic Excellence will ensure the Playhouse’s future as a place where the nation’s finest directors, actors, designers and playwrights can produce remarkable work for Cincinnati audiences.
by Rick Pender
09.07.2011
Next to Normal, Hard to Get
Rush Tickets at Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati
In this week’s issue of CityBeat you can read my feature about Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati’s first regional production of the rock musical Next to Normal, a real coup for them. Locally audiences have been responding, and the first week is nearly sold out, except for the new Saturday matinee series, a good bet if you want to get in soon. I’ve also learned that several other weekend performances throughout the run are very full and starting to have limited availability. You can still find good seats for the entire run, but I suggest you make a reservation as soon as possible. (Note: Because of ETC's production calendar, Next to Normal will NOT be extended.)
by Rick Pender
08.29.2011
'Fricative' Making Noise at Indy Fringe
If another Cincinnati theater critic actually attended the Cincinnati Fringe, she might know that Performance Gallery’s fricative was not a production from “last year’s” Fringe, as she posted recently in her blog. It was, in fact, three years ago when it won a 2008 Cincinnati Entertainment Award for Best Alternative Theatre Performance.
by Rick Pender
08.26.2011
Stage Door: Swing on Sunday at Know
The Manhattan Dolls will make a one-night tour stop at Know Theatre on Sunday evening at 7:30, performing their Swing-style revue of tunes from the 1930s and 1940s, "Sentimental Journey," in the Over-the-Rhine theatre’s Underground cabaret space. The trio of singers from New York City travel the world performing for military events, air shows, award ceremonies, parades, Jazz clubs and concert series.
by Julie Mullins
08.23.2011
A Stellar Gala of International Dance Stars
You know it’s going to be a good Gala when you get chills down your spine within the first five minutes — the first act, no less. Marshall Davis, Jr.’s “Summertime in Cincinnati” kicked off a stellar show with his knock-em-dead tap dancing to the sounds of Lonia Lyle’s lovely vocals and Christopher Lyle’s electric bass. Gershwin’s “Summertime” has seldom sounded so good.
And the thrills kept coming. Aim cincinnati — aim stands for arts innovation movement, the organization formerly known as ballet tech Cincinnati — presented its 10th annual Gala of International Dance Stars at the Aronoff Center Aug. 13.
