I wanted to start today’s note about theater opportunities for this weekend by bringing your attention to my CityBeat column here, a tribute to my late friend Tom McElfresh, who passed away in February. Tom was a Cincinnati theater critic in the 1970s and ’80s who I brought on board as my back-up at CityBeat in 1998. For a dozen years, his enthusiasm for theater — as well as his sometimes blunt observations — kept CityBeat readers informed about shows on local stages. If he were still writing, he’d be encouraging you to go see a show.
I was at UC’s College-Conservatory of Music last event for the opening of a short but spectacular run of the Peter Pan, the legendary Golden Age musical from 1954. This is an eye-popping production of the show with familiar tunes such as “I’ve Gotta Crow,” “I’m Flying” and “I Won’t Grow Up,” backed up by an orchestra of nearly 30 players. That’s about double the number that you’ll find in the pit at touring Broadway shows; and these players are decked out as pirates! Even more spectacular are Dean Mogle and Rebecca Senske’s funny, over-the-top costumes for Captain Hook (played with delicious deviltry by Nathaniel Irvin) and his crew, Tiger Lily (Samantha Pollino, an athletic dancer) and her storybook Indians and Peter (alternating between Clara Cox and Hannah Zazzaro) and his Lost Boys. Mark Halpin’s big circus-inspired set is fun to watch, and guest director and choreographer Joe Locarro’s staging is inventive and wonderfully danced by the big cast, especially “Ugg-a-Wugg,” with nearly 20 closely synchronized performers. Oh, there’s flying, too. It’s a shame this one doesn’t have a longer run, but that’s what happens at CCM, where productions come and go quickly. The final performance is a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday. Get there to see this one — and take a kid with you. Tickets: 513-556-4183.
The March sisters whose story is told in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women remain popular after more than 150 years. You can find a spirited adaptation (CityBeat review here) of the novel onstage at Cincinnati Shakespeare through March 21, featuring the company’s excellent actresses, especially Maggie Lou Rader as fiercely independent Jo, who aspires to be a writer. Tickets: 513-381-6673, x1. A musical adaptation of the story about the sensitive, imaginative girls who grow into strong, diverse women during and after the Civil War is happening at Footlighters, the community theater that performs at the Stained Glass Theater in Newport. It too is running through March 21. Tickets: 859-652-3849.
Still worth seeing are Chapatti (CityBeat review here), the heartwarming story of two lonely senior citizens who love their pets but need more human companionship, at the Cincinnati Playhouse through Sunday (tickets: 513-421-3888) and Clifton Players portrait of the contentious and dysfunctional Weston family in the Pulitzer Prize-winning sprawling three-act drama August: Osage County (CityBeat review here), surprisingly well staged in the intimate Clifton Performance Theatre, which has just 40 or so seats for each performance (tickets: 513-861-7469) through March 13.
If you missed Theory of Mind, the Cincinnati Playhouse’s February touring production for young audiences about a kid on the autism spectrum, you can catch it for free at Music Hall on Sunday at 2 p.m. The charming show is about a socially awkward kid trying to find his way in the world of dating; it’s not only endearing, it’s quite funny. The performance is part of the Artswave Sampler Weekend, sponsored by Macy’s to draw attention to the annual fundraising campaign on behalf of the arts.
Once upon a time dinner theaters were a big thing.That’s not so much the case in 2015, but La Comedia continues to thrive in Springboro, 40 miles north of Cincinnati. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, it’s one of the largest theaters in America where you can enjoy a buffet meal before a show — and it’s the only one still operating in Ohio. It just opened a two-month run of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s legendary musical South Pacific. This organization knows the formula for combining dining and theatergoing — and you can’t beat the sweet potato soufflé! Tickets: 800-677-9505.
I want to close with a shout-out to Gina Cerimele-Mechley, winner of the 2015 recognition for outstanding arts educators from the annual Overture Awards. She’s been part of the local theater scene for years, and if you watch this video nomination from her students at Cincinnati Music Academy, you’ll see why she’s made a difference. Here’s a remark she made: “My strength as a teacher is constantly being a student. I learn the strengths of each individual student and try to hone those skills into something marketable. When a student has completed working with me I want them to be able to stand on their own two feet and make their own choices.”
Rick Pender’s STAGE DOOR blog appears here every Friday. Find more theater reviews and feature stories here.
This article appears in Mar 4-10, 2015.
