“If something is worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” proclaims one of the spunky gals in the current iteration of The Marvelous Wonderettes at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati this month. ETC apparently agrees, since this is the fourth consecutive year it has staged one of Roger Bean’s retro shows featuring music from the ’50s and ’60s.  

It might surprise you to learn that Shakespeare’s tale of hypocrisy and extreme morality is considered a comedy. Left in charge of Vienna, the puritanical Angelo condemns Claudio to be executed for   

Director Brian Isaac Phillips has set his production in the U.S. in the 1920s. It’s a good match to Jacobean London and we are given visual insight into the characters — from puritanical tyrants in three-piece business suits to loose men in fur coats and lowlife women as flappers.  

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company opens its production of the infrequently staged Measure for Measure tonight. Director Brian Isaac Phillips says, “We have discovered a lot of satire and wit as we explore the biting social criticism in this play. The behavior of these characters … is like a dark comic mirror, held up to nature. Shakespeare has written a play that begs us to ex...  

Tough guys. Dames. Desperation. Shadows. Cynical narration. Sexual motivation. The Cincinnati Playhouse’s production of Double Indemnity has all the requisite elements of film noir.   

Sister Act is full of stereotypes and predictable humor, but its all done with energy and polish, which makes it worth seeing.   

You probably remember Whoopi Goldberg's popular film Sister Act from 1992, an unlikely story about an aspiring singer who witnesses a murder and needs to be hidden until the trial — in a convent. Of course, the contrast between Goldberg and the staid nuns, especially the Mother Superior (played by Maggie Smith). It became a musical in 2009 in London, in 2011 on Broadway and now a touring ...  

The regional premiere of The Marvelous Wonderettes in 2010 was the best-selling show in the 27-year history of Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati. The Doo-Wop gals, Cindy Lou, Missy, Betty Jean and Suzy  

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati today announced four of its six shows for the 2013-2014 season, which opens on Sept. 4. Producing Artistic Director D. Lynn Meyers says, "We are planning a truly original, fresh and exhilarating season of dynamic regional premieres, and I am absolutely thrilled to showcase some of the hottest titles and newest voices this coming year." I'll add my vote of confidenc...  

You still have several weeks to see Cock (aka "The Cockfight Play" for journalism wimps) at Know Theatre. (It's onstage through May 11.) It's an oh-so-contemporary piece of theater about a gay man — or rather a man — who thought himself to be gay until he breaks up with his boyfriend and takes up with a woman. (CityBeat review here.) The play involves the tense dance of indecision he becomes part of as his lovers fight over him. It's about 90-minutes of fiercely acted theatrics, staged in a setting that looks like the arena where cockfighting happens. Definitely for mature audiences who appreciate shows that don't pull punches. Tickets: 513-3