With the Labor Day pause looming, most theaters are readying shows for early September, so there’s not a lot onstage. But the students at Xavier University are already hard at work on a production of Trey Tatum’s Slut Shaming. If that title sounds familiar, it’s because it’s been onstage previously, a production during the 2014 Cincy Fringe, when it was the “Artists’ Pick” that year. Billed as a “time-travel rape adventure,” it’s the story of Lauren Lucas who views her attack, the trial, the aftermath and her life-at-large simultaneously — with a view of the woman she’ll become and the undamaged girl she once was. Two years ago, CityBeat Fringe reviewer Ed Cohen wrote, “Slut Shaming reminds us of the power of forcing labels on people to whom absolute labels only rarely apply and of how the truth of a person — of their history and their character — can almost never be found in absolutes.” Theater director Stephen Skiles sees this show as an important catalyst for on-campus discussions about sexual conduct, so lots of students will be attending. He has engaged playwright Tatum and director Bridget Leak, who staged the Fringe production, to work with his students. (Read more about XU’s theater program in this week’s issue of CityBeat.) The public is invited to call for available tickets at the Gallagher Student Center Theater for performances through Sunday. Box office: 513-745-3576.
The frivolous but entertaining Rock & Roll show with tunes from the ’80s, Rock of Ages, finishes its run at the Carnegie in Covington on Sunday. It won’t change your life, but it will make you smile. Tickets: 859-957-1940.
The Incline Theater in East Price Hill continues performing the classic Kander and Ebb musical, Chicago, with a spunky pair of leading ladies — Hannah Gregory as Roxie Hart and Alex Caldwell as Velma Kelly. Tickets are scarce for the remainder of the run (through Sept. 4), but if you can get on a waiting list, you won’t be disappointed. 513-241-6550.
Rick Pender’s STAGE DOOR blog appears here every Friday. Find more theater reviews and feature stories here.
