Measure for Measure at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company opens its production of the infrequently staged Measure for Measure tonight. Director Brian Isaac Phillips says, “We have discovered a lot of satire and wit as we explore the biting social criticism in this play. The behavior of these characters … is like a dark comic mirror, held up to nature. Shakespeare has written a play that begs us to examine modern day decadence and hypocrisy.” Phillips has set the production in the corrupt and hypocritical Prohibition Era, to "give modern audiences a context for the actions and the characters' deeply held opinions." It's onstage through May 26. Tickets: 513-381-2273 x.1.
The Marvelous Wonderettes are back at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati with another sequel to the 2010 show that set box-office records. This time the theme is "Caps and Gowns" — which means graduation (in 1958) and a wedding (in 1968). The quartet of girl singers are lively and sometimes harmonious, although each one has her quirks and pet peeves. The spread of a decade allows a range through two distinct periods of Rock & Roll, one innocent, the other a bit more knowing. ETC has reunited three of the four actresses who've played these parts before, and the fourth slot – filled by Leslie Goddard — is a petite stick of dynamite in cats' eye glasses. The show opened on Wednesday, and it will surely be a hot ticket again — ETC has already extended it by two weeks beyond its original closing date. Tickets: 513-421-3555.
I went to see Sister Act, based on the Whoopi Goldberg film from 1992 about nuns and disco, with low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised: This is a solid production of a very silly show, with some genuine talent in the leading roles, and plenty of energy in the ensemble. The music (by composer Alan Menken, who also wrote Little Shop of Horrors, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Newsies and many more) is entertaining, the production looks great — lots of glitter and sequins — and some moments of touching emotion (cliched, but moving nonetheless). Don't expect anything profound and you'll have a good time. It's onstage at the Aronoff Center. Tickets: 800-982-2782.
If you're in a darker mood, check out Double Indemnity at the Cincinnati Playhouse. It's a stage version of a noir classic, a pair of lovers plot to murder her husband and score a big insurance take (boyfriend is an insurance salesman). But things don't quite work out as planned. Very stylish imagery and actors who get the hard-boiled tough-guy style of story-telling from the 1940s. Paul Shortt's cleverly designed set moves the action quickly from scene to scene using two turntables, so it's almost like a movie with "wipes" from once setting to the next. Tickets: 513-421-3888.
