King Records was one of Cincinati’s first racially integrated businesses; its presses and shipping area are shown here.
If you're a theater fan looking for something to do this weekend, you've probably realized that the Labor Day holiday is not overflowing with options. In fact, many theater companies are gathering their strength as they prepare for shows that open next week.
But there is one good choice available: a show about the King. No, it's not an Elvis piece. It's about Cincinnati's own King Records, the recording label that made history here in the 1940s and 1950s, launching the careers of many early pop stars, including James Brown. Syd Nathan, a Cincinnati native, launched his independent label in 1943, and for two decades he and his employees did it all in house — recording, mastering, printing, pressing and shipping the music that King produced. (Nathan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.)
Documenting this revolutionary enterprise — which employed blacks and whites in one of our city's first integrated businesses — is CINCINNATI KING, a kind of documentary theater piece based on interviews with people who remember the business and the music. KJ Sanchez, one of the Cincinnati Playhouse's artistic associates, has pulled this material together for a 90-minute reading that's offered one time, on Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. (Read more in Harper Lee's feature story in this week's issue of CityBeat here.)
No charge for admission, but seating is limited in the Playhouse's Shelterhouse Theater, so reservations are required: 513-421-3888. It's sure to be a full house, so call in advance.
