|
Of course it's the time of year when most theaters are staging holiday shows (see page 33 for a collection of these productions), but you do have other options: Most notably is the Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival (CSF), which let go of Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol after three seasons, moving on to the lighthearted wit of Noel Coward and his classic 1930 comedy, PRIVATE LIVES. It's a lovely bit of erudite fluff as a formerly married couple take honeymoons with new spouses and find themselves in adjoining hotel rooms. Coward wrote the play for himself and another theater legend, Gertrude Lawrence. He was 31, just about the ages of CSF's artistic director, BRIAN ISAAC PHILLIPS, and actress CORINNE MOHLENHOFF, who play Elyot and Amanda. The fact that Phillips and Mohlenhoff are relative newlyweds themselves should add a pleasant spark to the proceedings, guest directed by Jack Young, who heads the professional actor training program at Ohio University. Two more CSF veterans, JEREMY DUBIN and ANNE SCHILLING, play the new spouses. It's a strong ensemble — Dubin and Schilling were nominated for 2005 Cincinnati Entertainment Awards when they starred as Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing last season, and Phillips and Mohlenhoff are past winners. Private Lives runs through Dec. 23. Tickets: 513-381-2273.
Another non-holiday but family friendly choice involves a drive to Dayton, but it should be worth the trek.
Of course it's the time of year when most theaters are staging holiday shows (see page 33 for a collection of these productions), but you do have other options: Most notably is the Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival (CSF), which let go of Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol after three seasons, moving on to the lighthearted wit of Noel Coward and his classic 1930 comedy, PRIVATE LIVES. It's a lovely bit of erudite fluff as a formerly married couple take honeymoons with new spouses and find themselves in adjoining hotel rooms. Coward wrote the play for himself and another theater legend, Gertrude Lawrence. He was 31, just about the ages of CSF's artistic director, BRIAN ISAAC PHILLIPS, and actress CORINNE MOHLENHOFF, who play Elyot and Amanda. The fact that Phillips and Mohlenhoff are relative newlyweds themselves should add a pleasant spark to the proceedings, guest directed by Jack Young, who heads the professional actor training program at Ohio University. Two more CSF veterans, JEREMY DUBIN and ANNE SCHILLING, play the new spouses. It's a strong ensemble — Dubin and Schilling were nominated for 2005 Cincinnati Entertainment Awards when they starred as Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing last season, and Phillips and Mohlenhoff are past winners. Private Lives runs through Dec. 23. Tickets: 513-381-2273. ...
Another non-holiday but family friendly choice involves a drive to Dayton, but it should be worth the trek. The Human Race Theatre Company is offering the region's first staging of SEUSSICAL, the musical by Lynne Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty based on the works of Dr. Seuss. The show opens Thursday at Human Race's Loft Theatre (126 N. Main St., Dayton) and there's a special family performance on Saturday (tickets are half-price). Apparently this one has hit a popular chord, because Human Race has already extended the production by five performances beyond its original closing date. It now runs through Dec. 23. Tickets: 937-228-3630. ...
Showbiz Players is an unusual community theater, undertaking material that's not the expected fare for such groups. In addition to the Siamese twin musical, Side Show, they've produced several Frank Wildhorn pieces (The Civil War, Jekyll & Hyde, Scarlet Pimpernel). Next June they'll stage URINETOWN, a satire about a future when water is such a limited resource that public toilets are a limited commodity, available only to those who can afford them. The show won three Tony Awards in 2002, and it toured (including a stop at the Aronoff Center), but it's a tough piece to market with a name like that. Producer Bunny Arszman tells me they plan to charge theatergoers 50 cents for the "privilege to pee" (that's one of the songs in the show) as a fund-raiser. Very clever. The show will be staged at Xavier University's Gallagher Student Center Theatre, June 1-11. ...
Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival founder and longtime star MARNI PENNING continues her classical career this fall with Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. She's playing Luciana in a show that she says features "music, magic (including fireballs), dancing, amazing sets and costumes, and two sets of twins." The production runs through Jan. 8. Info: www.shakespeaeredc.org. ...
Middletown's four-year-old RISING PHOENIX THEATRE COMPANY lost its artistic director, Christine Brunner, earlier this fall because she and husband Jay are expecting their first child. Stepping in as leader is HERB DUVAL, who recently moved to the area from New York. According to a recently mailed publicity card, DuVal directed and produced shows with Meat and Potatoes Company, a classical repertory theater. The card says he toured in productions of Broadway Bound, Equus and Children of a Lesser God. He's been working locally making commercials and a film. Rising Phoenix board member Don Imhoff says that DuVal intends "to increase the number of productions and add programs for young people." Rising Phoenix's next show (at the Temple Arts Center, 4 North Main St., Middletown) is The 1940s Radio Hour (Dec. 9-18), directed by Alana Ghent. Info: 513-705-4131.
