There’s rarely a weekend in Cincinnati without good theater, and I want to quickly mention a few shows worth seeing: It’s the final weekend for All the Roads Home at the Cincinnati Playhouse (CityBeat review here) as well as Bloomsday at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati (CityBeat review here). And Know Theatre is giving Kara Lee Corthron’s drama, Listen for the Light, its world premiere, starting tonight and continuing through May 13. Each one is worth checking out.
But for a change of pace, how about some performances that are a bit below the radar and more affordable — some even free! Let’s start with Cincinnati Shakespeare’s Project 38 Festival, another iteration of the company’s arts education initiative. Working in conjunction with 45 different area schools, Cincy Shakes actors and teaching artists have assisted in ways for young people to bring each of Shakespeare’s 38 plays to life in creative ways.
This celebration kicked off yesterday and continues through Sunday, altogether offering 45 hours of free events for the community at Memorial Hall (1225 Elm St.) and Over-the-Rhine’s Washington Park — especially on Sunday, which happens to be Shakespeare’s 453rd birthday! In addition to numerous student performances, there will be workshops about storytelling by artists from Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London. Info: cincyshakes.com
Not quite free but inexpensive ($10) is the season’s final Caffeinated Conversation at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati (1127 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine). These more or less monthly events have offered behind the scenes looks at various topics related to the world of theater. This weekend’s program, Saturday morning at 11 a.m., is about “The Business of Play.” Admission includes coffee, and space is limited. Call for a reservation: 513-421-3555
It’s apparently a good weekend for storytelling with another free program, VoiceScapes, on Saturday evening, 7-9 p.m., at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center (3711 Clifton Ave.). Four performance artists from across the region will spin yarns from various traditions — Appalachia, ghosts, humor and original works.
I’m a big advocate for university theater, where you’ll find great chances to see interesting shows. UC’s College-Conservatory of Music is presenting Very Dumb Kids this weekend, a world premiere by Gracie Gardner commissioned for acting students. At Northern Kentucky University you’ll find two more world premieres, both comedies, constituting this year’s Y.E.S. Festival — Mark Eisman’s Unfrozen and Tom Baum’s Human Services. Read more about these shows and why universities undertake new plays here and here from this week’s CityBeat.
And if you prefer something tried-and-true, but also highly entertaining, you might want to check out Xavier University’s staging of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, at the Gallagher Student Center Theater. Ensemble Theatre’s artistic director, Lynn Meyers, has directed the production. Before tonight’s 7:30 performance, I’ll offering a talk at 6:30 p.m. about this entertaining and thought-provoking fairytale mash-up. Tickets: 513-745-3939.
Rick Pender’s STAGE DOOR blog appears here every Friday. Find more theater reviews and feature stories here.
This article appears in Apr 19-26, 2017.
