I was thoroughly charmed by the touring production of Waitress that’s onstage at the Aronoff Center through Jan. 21. (CityBeat review here.) It’s about Jenna, a beleaguered woman who escapes from her depressing life by baking fanciful pies. (She whips them up onstage, and if that whets your appetite for Dutch apple or cherry pie, servings are for sale in the performing arts center’s lobby during intermission.) It’s a grown-up, PG-13 story about getting the necessary confidence to do the right thing, but Jenna’s circuitous path includes some humorous, bad decisions. The touring cast is top-notch, especially Desi Oakley as Jenna. She and others do a great job with songs by Pop star Sara Bareilles, and there’s a wildly funny character named Ogie (Jeremy Morse), whose irrepressibly wacky romantic pursuit of another waitress stops the show. Tickets here.
Did you know that Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati has its own performance venue in its year-old home on Red Bank Road? Their big productions still happen downtown at the Taft Theatre, but they now can produce smaller offerings in the Ralph and Patricia Corbett Showtime Stage. That’s happening today with a staging of Martin’s Dream, created, directed and performed by Deondra Kamau Means. The solo show explores the real man behind the iconic image, someone whose passion, faith, education — and a sense of humor — made him influential. It’s the story of Martin Luther King Jr.’s childhood in the Deep South to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for his “I Have a Dream” speech. Performances Friday only, 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Information: tctcincinnati.com. Tickets here.
A new monthly event, Puzzle Crawl, might appeal to theater fans. It’s an evening “for nerds who like to drink and drunks who like to think.” If you’ve enjoyed a pub crawl or an escape room, you should check out this month’s event on Sunday evening. Once registered, you show up at a rendezvous point at 6:30 p.m., then travel to three more bars for a drink (you buy your own) and a puzzle to solve. It’s a three-hour experience. The winning team gets a prize package. (Need teammates? Organizers will hook you up with other crawlers.) Sunday’s event happens just ahead of the Shakespeare Theatre Association’s annual conference (Jan. 17-20), hosted by Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. No prior knowledge of Shakespeare’s plays is required, but the crawl’s puzzles will definitely be inspired by the Bard of Avon. Winners will receive a prize package fit for a King — or perhaps a Prince of Denmark. Register: puzzlecrawl.com.
Rick Pender’s STAGE DOOR blog appears here every Friday. Find more theater reviews and feature stories here.
