Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s just-announced 27th season offers another collection of works broadly defined as classics — not just plays by the Bard, but legendary storytelling from American and British playwrights and novelists.
Three shows on the company’s Over-the-Rhine stage are adaptations of great movies. And one that’s very recent imagines a future story about British royalty in a style that Shakespeare himself would appreciate. Here’s what’s in the queue.
Born Yesterday (July 17-Aug. 2, 2020) — Garson Kanin’s feisty 1946 play from Broadway’s Golden Age (also a successful 1950 film) is a romantic comedy that sends up politics and perceptions. Showgirl Billie lands in Washington, D.C. when her boyfriend, an uncouth, corrupt gangster, sets out to bribe a senator, using her as bait. She’s clever, but Harry decides she needs some polish, so he hires Paul, an honest journalist, to educate her. It turns out that Billie is an apt student. Despite being a script from 70 years ago, Born Yesterday has hilarious and timely resonance with election-year America.
Network (Sept. 4-26, 2020) — Paddy Chayefsky’s 1976 film Network was adapted to great success in 2017, proving to be a hit both in London and Broadway. Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston memorably played Howard Beale, an unhinged news anchor whose live TV breaking point outburst, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore,” turned him into a network darling when ratings soared. His cri de coeur still resonates in an age of angst and fake news. For Cincy Shakes, the role will be played by veteran actor Bruce Cromer. This production is the show’s regional premiere.
Romeo and Juliet (Oct. 9-31, 2020) — Shakespeare's timeless tale of star-crossed lovers and their feuding families has repeatedly been a popular offering from Cincy Shakes. With masked balls, street brawls and tragic young love, it’s an evergreen attraction full of exquisite poetry.
Little Women (Nov. 13-Dec. 5, 2020) — The regional premiere of Kate Hamill’s stage adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s treasured 1868 novel tells the enduring story of the March family and their daughters; romantic Meg, shy Beth, willful Amy and, of course, fiery and independent Jo. It’s an inspiring tale of young women wrestling with hardship and heartbreak, humor and humility. (The company staged a different adaptation of Little Women in 2015.)
Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some!) (Dec. 11 – 27, 2020) — A hilarious dose of off-kilter holiday frivolity returns for the 15th consecutive year.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Jan. 22-Feb. 13, 2021) — Cincy Shakes has been regularly presenting plays from August Wilson’s “Century Cycle.” This show, full of live music that made the 1920s roar, is one of his best works about African-American life through the decades of the 20th century. Set in 1927, it takes place in a ramshackle Chicago recording studio, where Ma Rainey, a celebrated Blues singer, goes head-to-head with a quartet of opinionated musicians and a tight-fisted producer.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Feb. 26-March 20, 2021) — Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel was a cinematic hit in 1975 starring Jack Nicholson as Randle P. McMurphy in an Academy Award-winning role. Dale Wasserman’s stage adaptation was actually an inspiration for the screenplay, and that’s what Cincy Shakes will put on its stage. It’s the story of a rabble-rouser who wangles his way out of prison by offering to enter an Oregon state mental hospital. He quickly butts heads with tyrannical Nurse Ratched, who rules the ward with an iron fist by using drugs and shock therapy. McMurphy’s story is a compelling portrait of the struggle against conformity and the strictures of sanity.
The Comedy of Errors (April 2-24, 2021) — Shakespeare's wildly slapstick comedy will be back with a Sin City overlay from the golden era of Las Vegas. It’s a delirious mash-up of love triangles, a jealous wife, a vindictive mistress, a deranged doctor and two pairs of identical twins separated at birth. Cincy Shakes promises a music-filled production with cool cats, rat packs, showgirls, and wise guys.
King Charles III (May 7-23, 2021) — Mike Bartlett’s recent play will be the newest “classic” offered during the 27th season, having debuted in London in 2014. It imagines a future in which Queen Elizabeth had passed away and Prince Charles, after a lifetime of waiting, finally ascends to the throne. But the regime change leads to political upheaval. It has some ripped-from-the-headlines events (including Prince Harry’s wish to become a commoner). Shakespeare would have appreciated King Charles III as a latter-day “history” play in his own style: It’s written in blank verse. The London production was a 2015 Olivier Award winner for best play; when it came to Broadway in 2016, it was recognized with five Tony Award nominations.
Subscriptions are available for the season. More information: cincyshakes.com.
