New York performer/actor/composer — and CCM grad — Todd Almond was featured in a pop-up concert at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati on Wednesday evening with folksinger-songwriter Michelle Shocked. He’s in town for a production of his new play, The Earth Is Flat, onstage this weekend at his alma mater. (See story here.)
It was great to hear them together for an array of tunes from their upcoming collaboration, Kind Hearted Woman. But the big news, announced by Almond from the stage, is that he’ll return next June to star in ETC’s new production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a show he headlined in 2001 and 2003 that was an immense hit for the Over-the-Rhine theater.
Almond and Shocked added “Midnight Radio,” one of Hedwig’s impassioned anthems, to their 45-minute set.
ETC’s artistic director, Lynn Meyers, told me in an email, “He just simply inspired ETC’s future with his Hedwig performance. He is fearless, he is beautiful. He creates a world with his presence that we want to be in.”
The show’s opening on June 5, 2018 will be the 17th anniversary of the day in 2001 that Meyers’ theater opened Hedwig, mere weeks after civil unrest rocked the neighborhood. “Then it saved ETC. I truly mean that,” Meyers wrote. “If not for doing something so daring and extraordinary that people had to come to OTR to see it, I wonder if we would be open today. But you do Hedwig and you do it well — and you have Todd Almond at the center of it, this rare combination of talent, consciousness, unwavering passion — (then) you change ETC and OTR forever for the better.” The production will be onstage through July 1.
Didn’t get enough thrills on Halloween? There are still several scare-inducing productions onstage if you need another dose of fear. How about The Drowning Girls? It’s a show presented by Clifton Players at Liberty Exhibition Hall (3938 Spring Grove Ave., Northside). The women of the title are all dead, drowned in bathtubs. But now they’re rising against their womanizing, murderous husband to relive the events preceding their demise. The script by Beth Graham, Charlie Tomlinson and Daniela Vlaskalic is full of rich images and lyrical language, and three actresses portray a myriad of characters. (Through Nov. 11.) Tickets: cliftonperformancetheatre.com … More choices: Cincinnati Shakespeare’s Dracula continues through Saturday. Know Theatre’s double-bill of 13 Dreams of Dead “Eugene” and The Zombie Odyssey (it’s actually a quadruple-bill, since Zombie is a trilogy of monologues) also continues through Saturday, two separately ticketed performances each evening as well as a 3 p.m. Saturday matinee. See my review here. Details at knowtheatre.com… And if it’s monster-inspired laughs, you can still enjoy the very funny Mel Brooks musical Young Frankenstein at the Covedale Center. Tickets: CincinnatiLandmarkProductions.com
Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical was a big holiday hit in 2014 for the Cincinnati Playhouse. This weekend on Saturday the Carnegie in Covington opens its own production of the show about the singer from Maysville, Kentucky, who rose to Hollywood stardom. Two actors portray Rosie and numerous other characters in her five-decade career. Many of her signature songs are woven into the storytelling about her successes and personal struggles. The Carnegie’s theatre director Maggie Perrino says, “We’re premiering a new version of the script [by composers, lyricists and playwrights Janet Yates Vogt and Mark Friedman], so it’s doubly exciting to bring her life to the stage in a fresh, new way.” (Through Nov. 19) Tickets: thecarnegie.com
The Cincinnati Playhouse’s compelling production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time continues on its mainstage. The story of an awkward 15-year-old boy trying to solve the murder of a neighbor’s dog turns into a journey of self-revelation. It’s a fascinating glimpse into the mind of someone on the autism spectrum, a perspective most of us have never experienced. Nick LaMedica memorably portrays Christopher Boone. (Through Nov. 11.) … This weekend the Playhouse also begins previews of its next Shelterhouse Production, An Evening with Groucho. Tickets: cincyplay.com
Finishing its run at Ensemble Theatre this weekend is the regional premiere of Steven Dietz’s This Random World. It’s about coincidences and unintended consequences as a woman and her two adult children fret and just barely miss one another in a bittersweet story that migrates from dirty diners to a beautiful Japanese temple — and maybe a haunted funeral home. I suggest you arrive early enough to check out ETC’s beautifully renovated and expanded theater space on Vine Street in Over-the-Rhine. (Through Saturday.) Maybe you’ll want to purchase tickets for Hedwig while you’re there? Tickets: ensemblecincinnati.org
Rick Pender’s STAGE DOOR blog appears here every Friday. Find more theater reviews and feature stories here.
This article appears in Nov 1-8, 2017.
