Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is offering a double dose of entertainment this weekend. First and foremost is The 39 Steps at CSC's mainstage (CityBeat review here). If that title sounds familiar, it's because it was a classic espionage novel a century ago, made into a classic film by Alfred Hitchcock 80 years ago, now turned into a very funny riff on its predecessors as a play using only four actors to fill all the roles. CSC has ramped up the humor by using four of its best comedic actors — Nick Rose, Miranda McGee, Justin McComb and Billy Chace — who play the principals, plus much of the population of London, especially McComb and Chace who will make you dizzy as they shift from one part to another, sometimes within seconds. It's actually a faithful retelling of the story, but it's amped up to a high level of hilarity by the onstage shenanigans. It adds up to great summertime humor. It's being performed through Aug. 11. Tickets:
513-381-2273, x1.
One show isn't enough for CSC: This weekend they also launch their annual free Shakespeare in the Park tour with a performance of Romeo & Juliet at Boone Woods Park in Burlington at 7 p.m. on Saturday. (If you live north of the river, you'll get your chance next Wednesday evening at Eden Park's Seasongood Pavilion or at Burnet Woods in Clifton on Thursday.) As noted, these are free presentations, presented in classic Elizabethan style and use six actors from the company's resident ensemble. These are the same productions that CSC tours to schools and community centers, so they're great for the entire family. A week from now they'll start performing A Midsummer Night's Dream at some locations. For a full schedule, go here.
Shakespeare is behind the story of Toil and Trouble, the current offering at Know Theatre. It's a new play (this is just the second time its been produced; its world premiere was in California last fall) that offers a contemporary riff on Macbeth (CityBeat review here). Instead of kings and warriors, however, its characters are a pair of thirtysomething slackers and Beth, a wildly ambitious sportscaster who has more testosterone than either of the guys. There's a lot of wacky moments in this play, replaces Macbeth's witches with fortune cookies and the kingdom of Scotland with an almost unpopulated island off the coast of Chile. You can pick up on the laughs through Aug. 24. Tickets:
513-300-5669.
At the Covedale Center for the Performing Arts, the annual production by Cincinnati Young People's Theatre is Grease, a tried-and-true musical about kids in the ’50s at Rydell High. Sixty years haven't dimmed the musicality of the show, and the youthful performers will bring this one to life if you're in the mood for a classic. It wraps up with a matinee on Sunday. Tickets:
513-241-6550.
While the Cincinnati Symphony's LumenoCity isn't exactly theater, the performances in Washington Park on Saturday and Sunday evening — with a dazzling light show on the facade of Music Hall — will definitely be theatrical. It's the debut for Louis Langree as the CSO's new music director, and the program will feature performers from Cincinnati Ballet and Cincinnati Opera. But the big deal is the colorful illumination that will let you see historic Music Hall in a light you've never imagined. It's free, starting at 8:30 p.m. both nights; big crowds are expected, so come early. Don't you wish the streetcar were already here so you could ride it to Over-the-Rhine?
