For the past several years, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati has celebrated the annual Tony Awards with a party that included the live telecast from the celebration of Broadway theater in New York City. This year ETC is cranking up the party 24 hours early.
For their Saturday evening event, they’ve multiplied the title times three — to mark the name of the awards that celebrate the best of Broadway theater, to remind attendees that the word suggests “elegance and high quality” and in honor of the woman for whom the awards are named, Antoinette Perry (the actress and director who co-founded the American Theatre Wing, which has handed out awards annually since 1947 for the best work onstage in New York City’s theater district).
The big nominee this year is Billy Elliott, a musical based on the film about the son of an impoverished British coal miner. Its 15 nominations should keep Billy on his toes for some time.
Here in Cincinnati, ETC has overcome its own fight against fear and scorn as the theater that survived Over-the-Rhine’s darker days. Now it’s celebrating the comeback of the neighborhood by closing off Vine Street in front of the theater from 7 p.m.-midnight with a big tent where you can enjoy dinner “by-the-bite,” an open bar and a live auction — and the announcement of ETC’s shows planed for the 2009-2010 theater season. The bottom line is a fundraiser for ETC’s ambitious and much-needed plan to expand its facility. Ticket price includes valet parking. $125.
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This article appears in May 27 – Jun 2, 2009.
