Nick Rose and Mranda McGee in "The 39 Steps" at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company
Summer is flying by, or so it seems. This is the final weekend for you to see Cincinnati Shakespeare's production of The 39 Steps (CityBeat review here), a satiric adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1935 film of espionage and intrigue. Making it all the more amusing is the fact that the story is performed by four actors, two of whom play most of the citizens of London and beyond, using a lot of quick changes and quick thinking. It's a very entertaining evening of tomfoolery, featuring four of Cincy Shakes' most talented comedic actors. Your last chances to see the show are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. 513-381-2273.
Another entertaining production is Lauren Gunderson's very new play,
Toil and Trouble (
CityBeat review
here), at Know Theatre. It's a comedy about contemporary slackers trying to make a quick buck that's got a very Shakespearean ring to it —
Macbeth, to be precise. The humor presses a bit too hard at moments, but if you go to have a good time, you'll definitely find one. Instead of warriors and kings vying for the throne, this one focuses on 30-year-olds trying to strike it rich without working too hard — but the echoes of the Elizabethan tragedy can't be missed. There's a steady stream of sports talk, too, making comparisons between baseball and life. It's a strange brew, but plenty of laughs. Through
Aug. 24. Tickets:
513-300-5669.
Musicals are always popular, but for some reason they seem especially attractive fare in the summer months. So we can say thanks to the Carnegie in Covington for serving up a tasty one, Kander and Ebb's
Chicago, an all-time Broadway favorite. This production — the sexy, salacious tale of murderous women in Chicago in the 1920s — features choreography by Broadway veteran and Cincinnati native David Baum in his local professional debut. Word has it that he's put together some of the most inventive choreography seen on local stages in a long time. The production opens
on Saturday evening (
7:30 p.m.) and repeats
on Sunday (
3 p.m.). It continues for two more weekends, through
Aug. 25.
859-957-1940.
Also onstage this weekend (and running through Aug. 25) is Woody Allen's hit Broadway comedy, Don't Drink the Water. Amusingly, it's on board the Showboat Majestic (where you definitely don't want to drink the water) — but it's a humorous tale of tourists caught in an American embassy behind the Iron Curtain. Lightweight entertainment, but a lot of fun. 513-241-6550.
