http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/ Cincinnati Ballet's season opener offers crowd-pleasing, modern-leaning good time Dance is never better than when paired with live music. Starting its season, Cincinnati Ballet's 'New Works' opening-night Thursday marked the sole performance featuring live musical accompaniment from popular local artists for three of five local choreographers' works (plus one cool Italian native). ]]> Cincinnati Ballet taps local talent for its season opener Current times call for convergence: of collaborations, of community, especially local community. For the first time, Cincinnati Ballet's annual repertory showcase 'New Works' focuses on homegrown talent to provide fresh choreography and music. We're encouraged to buy local, so why not tap in-town talent? ]]> Companies adapt to economy, hold their feet to the fire Even with President Obama's "stimulus" plan and package, there's still much to be desired in terms of arts funding. But there's some good news as well: The Contemporary Dance Theater has landed a respectable sum from the NEA Arts Recovery and Recruitment grant program. Meanwhile, Cincinnati Ballet gears up for a stellar and diversified season.]]> Kellye A. Saunders and Matthew Prescott are together again Between them, they have worked with some of the most significant modern choreographers on the dance scene today and have performed in top-ranked companies. One is a former dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem and the other grew up on a ranch two miles east of Boise, Idaho.]]> Cincinnati Ballet celebrates 45 years with its audience-picked Greatest Hits From the glut of reality shows and the Peoples’ Choice Awards to blogging and Twittering, now more than ever audience members feel entitled to voice their opinions. ]]> Cincinnati Ballet presents a faithful re-creation of Twyla Tharp's 'Sinatra Suite' Following last season's 'Baker's Dozen,' Cincinnati Ballet again presents a piece choreographed by Twyla Tharp and restaged by veteran Tharp company member Shelley Washington. This time it's 'Sinatra Suite' from 1984, a series of four duets and a solo set to well-known Sinatra standards. The program also features new works from the Ballet's Associate Artistic Director Devon Carney and New York City-based choreographer Jessica Lang alongside Balanchine's 'Tarantella.']]> Eight visions with a local connection merge on stage Small Streams-2, the newest offering from Cincinnati Choreographers’ Collective this weekend at Contemporary Dance Theater’s College Hill Dance Hall, features the diverse work of eight highly regarded choreographers in two full-length evening performances.]]> Cincinnati Ballet gets grant for live music, but not all are pleased As part of a recent groundbreaking $85 million dollar grant to the arts focused on music from longtime Cincinnati arts philanthropist Louise Nippert, beginning in the latter half of 2010, the Ballet will be generously funded to the tune of about $200,000 for three productions per ballet season with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra accompaniment.]]> Former local club owner/city council candidate finds his groove in the comics industry "Nick Spencer Cincinnati" — the results of this Web search yield a litany of news and critical opinions surrounding the now 31-year-old former co-owner of alchemize bar, two-time candidate for City Council and founder of the one-off Desdemona Music Festival in 2006. Buried in that search, though, is news about Spencer's latest venture: writing comics.]]> Former local club owner/city council candidate finds his groove in the comics industry "Nick Spencer Cincinnati" — the results of this Web search yield a litany of news and critical opinions surrounding the now 31-year-old former co-owner of alchemize bar, two-time candidate for City Council and founder of the one-off Desdemona Music Festival in 2006. Buried in that search, though, is news about Spencer's latest venture: writing comics.]]> Red Panda Comics pays tribute to Ed Emberley Chances are you know who Ed Emberley is, even if you think you don’t. He’s an old guy from Massachusetts, but he’s also an illustrator and Caldecott Medal winner who’s worked on more than 50 children’s books since the 1960s. ]]> Dan Chaon discusses his latest novel, 'Await Your Reply' Dan Chaon's new novel, 'Await Your Reply,' is both an entertaining thrill ride and an incisive look at the way we live today, a world in which technology has fractured our existence and called into question the ever-mutating nature of identity. Chaon recently spoke with CityBeat about everything from his Alfred Hitchcock fixation to the questionable existence of Sarah Palin.]]> John Hartley Fox's new book looks at the history of King Records As Jon Hartley Fox made his scheduled appearance at a Books by the Banks event at the Duke Energy Center Oct. 17, the many years the Dayton native had spent writing the just-published 'King of the Queen City: The Story of King Records' had finally paid off. This book was a daunting task.]]> British author's love of reading and writing pays off R.J. Ellory is a persistent guy. It took the 44-year-old British-born author 16 years and 22 rejected manuscripts before he could get one of his novels, 2003's 'Candlemoth,' published. Six years and several successful books later, he's made his mark as one the most distinctive writers of the crime thriller genre. Ellory took time out of his busy book-tour schedule to answer a few questions for CityBeat in advance of his appearance at the Books by the Banks festival on Saturday.]]> Larry Gross writes about everyday people doing everyday things The subtitle of Larry Gross’ latest independently published book says everything you need to know about its content, which largely consists of his Living Out Loud columns for CityBeat: “Adventures, Discoveries and Conclusions Made While Exploring a Life — Namely My Own.” ]]> Learn to vote with your fork Why are questions about where we get our food, how we eat it and the consequences for ourselves and our society so salient? For author Michael Pollan, it’s because we are recognizing new and old options for how we behave and the fact that our choices make a difference.]]> Harper Perennial For the past 20 years, author Barb Johnson has been a carpenter in New Orleans. Luckily for us, the reader, she’s put down her carpenter tools and has picked up pen and paper. In More of This World or Maybe Another, the Bubble Laundromat in mid-city New Orleans serves as a backdrop for nine astonishing stories.]]> Simon & Schuster Nicholson Baker is a word nut, in a good way. In The Anthologist his narrator and perhaps alter ego, poet Paul Chowder, muses on “divulge” in the very first paragraph — “What a juicy word. Truth opening its petals. Truth smells like Chinese food and sweat” — and you’re off on a tear through Paul’s passionate beliefs about rhyme in poetry.]]> John Thorndike - Swallow Press The Last of His Mind is not a laugh a minute. But if it’s not a fun read, perhaps it’s an important one. The subtitle, “A Year in the Shadow of Alzheimer’s,” acknowledges the subject matter as that terror hiding in our closets. We, or someone close to us, will outlive our mind. The value of this book is in its engagement with the demon, bringing it to recognizable size and letting us know how one man met his father’s diminishing abilities.]]> James Hannaham - McSweeney's James Hannaham’s God Says No might be slightly more interesting if it were a work of nonfiction. The fact that it’s not — the fact that Hannaham enjoyed full creative authority in detailing his main character’s struggle with homosexuality — renders the book not merely irrelevant as social commentary but plain boring to boot.]]> Finishing Line Press Prince of Sin City is the long-awaited historically based novel by local literature professor, writer, musician and poet Gary Walton. Set largely in the gambling heyday of Newport, the book provides an engaging view into the area’s mysterious, sometimes seedy past. ]]> Jacques Attali - Arcade Publishing The good news about Jacques Attali’s latest literary work is that in painting a startling and timely picture of humanity’s downward spiral, the author does not mince words or cop to his own smarts — that’s no small feat for a world-renowned economist, one that is especially impressive considering his counterparts’ failure to deliver even the broadest short-term fiscal projections without confounding CNN viewers on a nightly basis. ]]> Patrick Dewitt The book jacket states Ablutions is Patrick deWitt’s first novel but it’s really, as the subtitle suggests, notes for a novel — notes made by a nameless fictional bartender working at a down-and-out Hollywood dive. Throughout, we’re introduced to a variety of characters who are patrons of the bar, such as Curtis — a disconsolate man with a law-enforcement fetish.]]> Mark Harris (Penguin) The most historic Academy Awards ceremony might well be the one in 1968. The Oscars that year — for the best picture of 1967 — were, in their way, as revealing about the changes sweeping America as the Chicago Democratic Convention. The nominees were two radical takes on American culture, Bonnie and Clyde and The Graduate, as well as Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, In the Heat of the Night and Doctor Dolittle.]]> Cincinnati’s King Records had another good year in 2009, even though the pioneering R&B/Soul/Country label for all practical purposes left the city — and ceased having any meaningful impact on popular music — when its founder, Syd Nathan, died in 1968.]]> A pivotal decade in photography explodes at Cincinnati Art Museum It's hard for our generation to imagine controversy over color photography. In a day and age when many art schools have shut down their traditional black-and-white darkrooms in favor of going digital, color is simply taken for granted. The Cincinnati Art Museum's 'Starburst: Color Photography in America 1970–1980,' which opens Friday, explores that groundbreaking decade, when landmark exhibitions by several artists changed the face of art photography forever.]]> Kim Flora's large-scale encaustic paintings embrace turbulence and chaos One of the last artists to benefit from Cincinnati's city-funded art grant program is Kim Flora. In 2008, she was awarded $6,000 to support the creation of the large-scale encaustic paintings that grace her exhibition 'Personal Vistas,' opening Feb. 5 at PAC Gallery in East Walnut Hills.]]> 'Without Sanctuary' is a chilling reminder of America's shameful past Convinced that no good can come of ignoring or forgetting a shameful aspect of American history (some 5,000 murderous, illegal lynchings, mostly of African-American males, from 1882 to 1968) the National Underground Railway Freedom Center has taken a traveling show that sometimes elicited anger in earlier venues and hopes to make it a means of furthering understanding rather than undermining it. 'Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America' opened last week and runs through May 31.]]> In visual art and sound, local multimedia artist defies conventional boundaries The cumulative impact of C. Spencer Yeh's loosely connected multimedia works at the CAC forces one to experience the world through his unique, sometimes alienating perspective — an approach the artist has investigated more prominently in his vast and various musical projects over the last dozen-plus years. Yeh's best-known musical entity is Burning Star Core, whose moody, cinematic soundscapes can be described as everything from avant-garde Free Jazz to experimental Noise Rock to the sound of the world caving in on itself.]]> Three artists wonder as they wander in their work The three recently-opened exhibitions at downtown’s Weston Art Gallery in the Aronoff Center for the Arts couldn’t be more different, with Rick Mallette, Alice Pixley Young and Steve Zieverink each boasting their own flair.]]> A look back at the year in alternative art spaces and exhibitions Cincinnati’s vibrant community of alternative-exhibition spaces is my first love in this area. I am boastful of the innovations I witness in these unlikely places, where I not only exhibit my own installations but also, in several cases, help organize and curate exhibitions. ]]> Manifest Gallery thinks locally, showcasing area artists Casting a wide net is Manifest Gallery’s usual mode of operation. The “neighborhood gallery for the world” on Woodburn Avenue in East Walnut Hills attracts entries and exhibits works from all over this country and beyond. However, a current exhibition called Backyard reflects a deliberate narrowing of the field.]]> Performance artist Jimmy Kuehnle and his mobile, inflatable art invade Cincinnati The cast of colorful and eccentric characters populating downtown and Over-the-Rhine will inflate by one this Friday when performance artist Jimmy Kuehnle comes to town. At first, he’ll look pretty normal. But within seconds, without warning, he’ll transform into … well, it’s hard to describe, actually.]]> New Taft exhibition showcase rarely seen works Historical societies’ “attics” — actually, they call it “storage” — are a lot like those at your great aunt Eloise’s house, only even better. You don’t know what you might find because there’s so much up there.]]> 'Without Sanctuary' is a chilling reminder of America's shameful past Convinced that no good can come of ignoring or forgetting a shameful aspect of American history (some 5,000 murderous, illegal lynchings, mostly of African-American males, from 1882 to 1968) the National Underground Railway Freedom Center has taken a traveling show that sometimes elicited anger in earlier venues and hopes to make it a means of furthering understanding rather than undermining it. 'Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America' opened last week and runs through May 31.]]> Terry Teachout writes for The Wall Street Journal. Earlier this month he wrote about "America's Favorite Plays," listing the plays most often produced in the U.S. between 2000 and 2010. Cincinnati audiences are lucky: We saw all 11 plays on Teachout's list thanks to the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati.]]> It’s the time of year when people ask me which holiday production they should see. I usually throw that back to them, asking what they’re looking for. If it’s traditional holiday entertainment, there’s nothing better than the Cincinnati Playhouse’s A Christmas Carol, a production I’ve seen annually for 18 years.]]> Steven Goldstein comes to CCM with inspired teaching philosophy The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music’s recently appointed Steven Goldstein as the Weinberger Chair of Acting for the Lyric Theatre. He has impressive stage, film and opera credits, appearing in productions staged by David Mamet, William H. Macy and renowned opera director Francesca Zambello.]]> Fellow 'SNL' alum push comedian to try stand-up again Like most current and former 'Saturday Night Live' cast members, Rob Schneider started out as a stand-up comic. Unlike many of that show's alumni, since then he hasn't spent a lot of time telling jokes in front of live audiences. It was pals Chris Rock and Adam Sandler who gave him the nudge.]]> Walter Mosley's onstage debut wrestles with good and evil In a recent essay in Newsweek, Walter Mosley stated, "Everybody is guilty of something." That truism is apparent in 'The Fall of Heaven,' the first play by the well-known crime and mystery novelist in its world premiere at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.]]> Ensemble Theater production argues art vs. religion The intensity that drives 'My Name Is Asher Lev' comes close to swamping the show in its regional premiere at Ensemble Theater of Cincinnati. The core argument — which pits unyielding, enslaving tradition against the enlivening freedom of artistic inquiry — begins to sound like posturing. And the play's vibrant energy, so promising at the outset, slides off into sound and fury.]]> Prolific writer tries his hand at playwriting with 'The Fall of Heaven' Walter Mosley hates to be pigeonholed. Perhaps that goes back to his origins: His mother was Jewish, his father African-American. His genealogy perhaps instilled in him a desire to explore different avenues, and that's what his life has been about. A computer programmer until he was 34, he's now spent two decades as a prolific and successful writer. His first play, 'The Fall of Heaven,' is receiving its world premiere at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.]]> Joneal Joplin showcases two brief classics at Cincy Shakespeare Short works by Eugene O'Neill and Samuel Beckett from the late 1950s comprise a double bill at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. What's so compelling is the fact that actor Joneal Joplin plays the lead part in both shows. ]]> Performances simmer with passion but never slip into excess The stormy plot is a fevered sex-duel with class warfare overtones between Jean, an ambitious, wily, vulgar but capable servant (Matthew Lewis Johnson), and the spoiled, self-focused daughter (Hayley Clark) of Jean's titled employer. Is it over-simplifying to locate seeds of a wayward mistress in the behavior of a willful wife?]]> Ventriloquist superstar keeps artform hip and edgy Once, while visiting 'The Late Show,' David Letterman introduced Jeff Dunham as "a man who has twice won the prestigious Ventriloquist of the Year Award," to which the crowd tittered. However, when Dunham came out with his Walter character, he killed, as usual. ]]> Kim Flora's large-scale encaustic paintings embrace turbulence and chaos One of the last artists to benefit from Cincinnati's city-funded art grant program is Kim Flora. In 2008, she was awarded $6,000 to support the creation of the large-scale encaustic paintings that grace her exhibition 'Personal Vistas,' opening Feb. 5 at PAC Gallery in East Walnut Hills.]]> Prolific writer tries his hand at playwriting with 'The Fall of Heaven' Walter Mosley hates to be pigeonholed. Perhaps that goes back to his origins: His mother was Jewish, his father African-American. His genealogy perhaps instilled in him a desire to explore different avenues, and that's what his life has been about. A computer programmer until he was 34, he's now spent two decades as a prolific and successful writer. His first play, 'The Fall of Heaven,' is receiving its world premiere at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.]]> Bounty of music events and special guests on tap The relatively mild summer is giving way to what could well be a mild fall, so maybe the only excitement we'll see this season will be the Classical music offerings. As always, Maestro Paavo Jarvi and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra offer a wide array of talent for the CSO's 115th season, including the Sept. 17 one-night-only appearance of piano superstar Lang Lang. ]]> Companies adapt to economy, hold their feet to the fire Even with President Obama's "stimulus" plan and package, there's still much to be desired in terms of arts funding. But there's some good news as well: The Contemporary Dance Theater has landed a respectable sum from the NEA Arts Recovery and Recruitment grant program. Meanwhile, Cincinnati Ballet gears up for a stellar and diversified season.]]> Despite New Stage Collective's demise, new local theater season has much to offer The landscape of Cincinnati theater has changed since a year ago. As the season starts this week, New Stage Collective is gone and the leaders of Know Theatre of Cincinnati have left, it's Playhouse in the Park's 50th anniversary, ETC has a fresh line-up and Cincinnati Shakespeare Company continues to stage excellent classic material.]]> Local lit scene stays lit up into the fall The state of Cincinnati's literary scene is as strong and diverse as ever. Things will only heat up as the weather turns chillier, with big-name authors at Joseph-Beth, the Mercantile Library's annual Neihoff Lecture and Books by the Banks.]]> CAM, CAC, Taft and local galleries offer colorful seasons Expect a jam-packed fall season with a variety of colorful shows from the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Contemporary Arts Center, Taft Museum of Art, the Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Gallery, Carl Solway Gallery, Country Club, Manifest Creative Research Gallery and the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center.]]> State of the arts: Tightening belts and adapting in order to continue thriving Staff positions have taken the biggest hit as Cincinnati's arts and cultural institutions hunker down to survive the recession. Some organizations have adapted through deliberate attrition, while other belt-tightening measures have included shorter hours and curtailed programming. "It's a painful time," says Raphaela Platow, director of the Contemporary Arts Center. The bright side (surprisingly, there is one) is that attendance is up for many organizations.]]> Harper Perennial For the past 20 years, author Barb Johnson has been a carpenter in New Orleans. Luckily for us, the reader, she’s put down her carpenter tools and has picked up pen and paper. In More of This World or Maybe Another, the Bubble Laundromat in mid-city New Orleans serves as a backdrop for nine astonishing stories.]]> A pivotal decade in photography explodes at Cincinnati Art Museum It's hard for our generation to imagine controversy over color photography. In a day and age when many art schools have shut down their traditional black-and-white darkrooms in favor of going digital, color is simply taken for granted. The Cincinnati Art Museum's 'Starburst: Color Photography in America 1970–1980,' which opens Friday, explores that groundbreaking decade, when landmark exhibitions by several artists changed the face of art photography forever.]]> Joneal Joplin showcases two brief classics at Cincy Shakespeare Short works by Eugene O'Neill and Samuel Beckett from the late 1950s comprise a double bill at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. What's so compelling is the fact that actor Joneal Joplin plays the lead part in both shows. ]]> Performances simmer with passion but never slip into excess The stormy plot is a fevered sex-duel with class warfare overtones between Jean, an ambitious, wily, vulgar but capable servant (Matthew Lewis Johnson), and the spoiled, self-focused daughter (Hayley Clark) of Jean's titled employer. Is it over-simplifying to locate seeds of a wayward mistress in the behavior of a willful wife?]]> Know Theatre's strange and silly stories don't quite add up This new "family-friendly" show for the holidays could be presented anytime, as there's nary a sprig of holly or a "Bah, humbug" in sight. Know has assembled a talented cast who work hard to bring to life a collection of strange and silly stories from Louis Sachar's books for kids about a school that's 30 stories tall due to an architectural mistake, but ultimately I found myself bored with 90 minutes of forced zaniness. ]]> Simon & Schuster Nicholson Baker is a word nut, in a good way. In The Anthologist his narrator and perhaps alter ego, poet Paul Chowder, muses on “divulge” in the very first paragraph — “What a juicy word. Truth opening its petals. Truth smells like Chinese food and sweat” — and you’re off on a tear through Paul’s passionate beliefs about rhyme in poetry.]]> Jersey Productions show has too many lumps How can a theater company take a charming musical based on a fairy tale and turn it into an evening of charmless showboating? Jersey Productions has done so with Once Upon a Mattress, based on the story of “The Princess and the Pea.”]]> Carnegie's production is missing some key parts A stolen locket. In the end, this bagatelle is all that stands between Oliver Twist’s miserable childhood and the loving home to which he should have been born. The Carnegie Arts Center’s Oliver! has a fine pedigree of its own — a first-class pit, a young star, a pro in the key role of Fagin — and nearly wins a place in our hearts. But this production has bigger problems than a misplaced bit of jewelry.]]> ETC's holiday show casts a spell on kids and adults Compared to last year's ETC holiday show, 'Alice in Wonderland,' 'Sleeping Beauty' is prettier and less zany, as the source material would suggest. Its operatic soul lies uneasily with such crowd-pleasing gimmicks as an Elvis-inspired prince and a sock-puppet dragon who likes to play hide-and-seek.]]> Broadway show brings poetry and emotion brought to painful life Let's be forthright: Despite its seemingly upbeat title, the touring Broadway musical 'Spring Awakening' deals with dark and difficult topics: teen suicide, unplanned pregnancy, physical abuse. But the dramatic tension between pain and passion is what's awakened in this powerful show. It's a new dynamic, revealing the magnificent potential of musical theater.]]> Familiar Playhouse holiday show is still smokin' Sometimes those with the least to offer bestow the greatest gifts. Ask O. Henry or Charlie Brown — or Jesus himself (born in a barn). No wonder the best performance in 'Sanders Family Christmas' comes from the one character who supposedly has no talent for music: June (Tess Hartman), the plain, non-singing daughter of the Sanders clan, who were celebrity guests on Christmas Eve 1941 at the Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church.]]> Enjoy thought-provoking visual art this holiday season There are more exhibitions, installations, shows and general art activities going on this holiday season. From Manifest's Backyard exhibit to Avant-gardist C. Spencer Yeh's Standard Definition, you'll never go hungry for a cultural experience.]]> John Thorndike - Swallow Press The Last of His Mind is not a laugh a minute. But if it’s not a fun read, perhaps it’s an important one. The subtitle, “A Year in the Shadow of Alzheimer’s,” acknowledges the subject matter as that terror hiding in our closets. We, or someone close to us, will outlive our mind. The value of this book is in its engagement with the demon, bringing it to recognizable size and letting us know how one man met his father’s diminishing abilities.]]> Finishing Line Press Prince of Sin City is the long-awaited historically based novel by local literature professor, writer, musician and poet Gary Walton. Set largely in the gambling heyday of Newport, the book provides an engaging view into the area’s mysterious, sometimes seedy past. ]]> James Hannaham - McSweeney's James Hannaham’s God Says No might be slightly more interesting if it were a work of nonfiction. The fact that it’s not — the fact that Hannaham enjoyed full creative authority in detailing his main character’s struggle with homosexuality — renders the book not merely irrelevant as social commentary but plain boring to boot.]]> Cincinnati Shakespeare presents a zany, cinematic version of the classic Director Matt Johnson has set the battle of the sexes in a "mythical Hollywood studio" of the 1930s. What often goes wrong with adaptations is that they're not fully applied, but Johnson's update works flawlessly and completely, adding layers of humor for theatergoers who might not routinely warm to a play by Shakespeare.]]> Walter Mosley's onstage debut wrestles with good and evil In a recent essay in Newsweek, Walter Mosley stated, "Everybody is guilty of something." That truism is apparent in 'The Fall of Heaven,' the first play by the well-known crime and mystery novelist in its world premiere at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.]]> Ensemble Theater production argues art vs. religion The intensity that drives 'My Name Is Asher Lev' comes close to swamping the show in its regional premiere at Ensemble Theater of Cincinnati. The core argument — which pits unyielding, enslaving tradition against the enlivening freedom of artistic inquiry — begins to sound like posturing. And the play's vibrant energy, so promising at the outset, slides off into sound and fury.]]>