We’re still in a bit of a low summer ebb for theater here in Cincinnati. (If you’re willing to feast elsewhere, you should read my CityBeat feature about the Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada.) But there are choices available for shows to see this weekend.
How about the local debut of Adam Szymkowicz’s Marian: The True Story of Robin Hood at Know Theatre? Opening tonight (it runs through Aug. 18), it's a gender-bending story of Maid Marian, positioned as the actual Robin Hood. It’s an unexpected take on a classic tale featuring Maggie Lou Rader as the leader of the Merry Men — who aren’t what they seem at first glance. Advance publicity says, “Modern concerns and romantic entanglements clash on the battlefield and on the ramparts of Nottingham Castle in this new play about selfishness and selflessness and love deferred… and the fight. Always the fight.” Tickets: 513-300-5669.
The women are also in charge as Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s touring summer shows at local parks continues with free performances of Merry Wives of Windsor (read more in my Stage Door blog here) 7 p.m. tonight at Mount Healthy City Park, and on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Madeira’s McDonald Commons Park. On Sunday, they’ll travel down I-71 to Louisville for a special presentation with Kentucky Shakespeare Company in Central Park in Louisville.
And be grateful to high school kids for two productions of beloved musicals by teens from all over Greater Cincinnati, coming together to “put on a show.” Cincinnati Young People’s Theatre has launched its 36th-annual summer presentation, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, onstage at the Covedale Center for the Performing Arts. It’s being presented through August 6. Tickets: 513-241-6550.
At Highlands High School’s Performing Arts Center in Fort Thomas, the Commonwealth Artists Summer Theatre will wrap up its production of Les Misérables School Edition this weekend with performances through a Sunday 2 p.m. matinee. Tickets: castnky.com.
Rick Pender’s STAGE DOOR blog appears here every Friday. Find more theater reviews and feature stories here.
