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Calling the KNOW THEATRE TRIBE Cincinnati's "home for contemporary entertainment and alternative arts," artistic director JASON BRUFFY has announced the multicultural company's eighth season, with six shows under the rubric "No Turning Back." Most will be produced at Know's longtime venue, Gabriel's Corner, an Over-the-Rhine church basement at 1425 Sycamore. The season opens with Tick, Tick ...
Boom! (Oct. 13-Nov. 12), a musical by the late Jonathan Larson, best known for his hit musical, Rent. This one is a semi-autobiographical piece about a young composer deciding on the course of his life as he approaches his 30th birthday. Know's holiday show, The Eight: Reindeer Monologues (Dec. 4-20) will return at Arnold's Bar & Grill, Downtown. Early in 2006, Know offers the regional premiere of Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Jan. 12-Feb. 4). Bruffy thinks this script, by the author of Jesus Hopped the "A" Train (presented by CSF several seasons back), is "by far Guirgis' strongest script to date." Last fall Know had a winner with a one-man script by Conor McPherson, The Good Thief, performed by Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival founder NICK ROSE.
(It's a nominee for a 2005 Cincinnati Entertainment Award; for more nominees, go to
 David Sorcher
Know Theatre Tribe's Jason Bruffy and Jay Kalagayan
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Calling the KNOW THEATRE TRIBE Cincinnati's "home for contemporary entertainment and alternative arts," artistic director JASON BRUFFY has announced the multicultural company's eighth season, with six shows under the rubric "No Turning Back." Most will be produced at Know's longtime venue, Gabriel's Corner, an Over-the-Rhine church basement at 1425 Sycamore. The season opens with Tick, Tick ...
Boom! (Oct. 13-Nov. 12), a musical by the late Jonathan Larson, best known for his hit musical, Rent. This one is a semi-autobiographical piece about a young composer deciding on the course of his life as he approaches his 30th birthday. Know's holiday show, The Eight: Reindeer Monologues (Dec. 4-20) will return at Arnold's Bar & Grill, Downtown. Early in 2006, Know offers the regional premiere of Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Jan. 12-Feb. 4). Bruffy thinks this script, by the author of Jesus Hopped the "A" Train (presented by CSF several seasons back), is "by far Guirgis' strongest script to date." Last fall Know had a winner with a one-man script by Conor McPherson, The Good Thief, performed by Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival founder NICK ROSE.
(It's a nominee for a 2005 Cincinnati Entertainment Award; for more nominees, go to citybeat.com/ cea.) They'll return to the scene of the crime, Mount Adams Bar & Grill, for another piece by McPherson, Port Authority (Feb. 12-28, 2006), bringing back Rose and adding another CSF favorite, CHRIS GUTHRIE. The group's spring show will be a powerful work by Pulitzer Prize winner, Suzan-Lori Parks, In the Blood (April 27-May 20, 2006), about the struggle for life on the streets. The season concludes with a summer production, Jonathan Tolin's The Last Sunday in June (July 27-Aug. 19, 2006), about being gay in America. It's a regional premiere, as is each of Know's 2005-2006 non-holiday productions. The group will continue its "pay-what-you-can" preview weeks. Info: 513-300-5669 or knowtheatre.com ...
Another "semi-professional" group, FALCON THEATRE has decided to step cleanly into that category. The group began in 1989 as a community theater, and in recent years it's taken on whichever label serves it best. Now they've affiliated exclusively with the League of Cincinnati Theatres and announced an ambitious 2005-2006 season at Newport's Monmouth Theatre. That's where Falcon has performed since being ousted from the Westwood Town Hall by a renovation project two years ago. Artistic Director TED WEIL says the old strip club (now owned by The Costume Gallery next door) works well for their shows, and Falcon might become a "managing tenant" someday. They chose five scripts requiring "big acting," Weil says, several of which are politically charged. The big news is that Falcon will be the first Cincinnati theater to mount Tony Kushner's monumental 1992 Pulitzer Prize winner, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches (Oct. 7-22), as its opening mainstage production. (The show's only local staging has been at CCM, in 1998-99. Auditions, by the way, are Monday and Tuesday. Info: 513-481-9042.) They'll also produce The Mystery of Irma Vep (Feb. 10-25, 2006) and Little Shop of Horrors (May 5-20). And they're presenting two "Fourth Wall" shows with shorter runs: Keely & Du (Jan. 20-28, 2006), Jane Martin's abortion drama from 1993, and Dinner With Friends (March 31-April 8, 2006), for which Donald Margulies won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for drama. Info: www.falcontheater.net ...
If you're interested in seeing the Cincinnati Playhouse's show about Janis Joplin and saving $10 on your ticket, check out preview performances of LOVE, JANIS on Sept. 22-25. They're on sale now for $28.50 (limit four tickets per person). The show opens Sept. 29. Call: 513-421-3888. ...
Broadway's had some weak seasons recently, but you gotta wonder why guys with theater investments would trade that for a baseball team — especially the Cincinnati Reds. RIC STEINER, a Cincinnatian who's produced shows like The Secret Garden, the recent revival of Little Shop of Horrors and many more, is contemplating a bid with some others. The group includes ROCCO LANDESMAN, who last year bought Broadway's Jujamcyn Theaters for $30 million. Landesman is raising some scratch by offering to sell a 50 percent stake in his company for a cool $50 million; they operate five Broadway houses, including the St. James, home of The Producers, and the Walter Kerr home of Tony winner Doubt. That's a pretty good return in a year. Are the Reds worth it? Hey, Rocco, how about investing in a few Cincinnati theaters?
