September starts with fireworks at the riverfront and hopefully more fireworks on area stages as the major companies open their 2014-2015 seasons.
I’ll take them in chronological order but I’ll say up front the titles that are intriguing me the most (all for different reasons) are The Great Gatsby at Cincinnati Shakespeare, Hands on a Hardbody at Ensemble, and The Riverside at Clifton Players.
There are just a handful of shows at season’s start, so watch for the stage calendar to start filling up in October. And some companies, like Know Theatre, haven’t announced plans yet so keep your eyes and ears open for surprises.
Hands on a Hardbody Sept. 2-21, Ensemble Theatre, 1127 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, 513-421-3555 and www.ensemblecincinnati.org
There’s nothing like revving up the season with a great local cast in a regional premiere musical. If you go to theater in Cincinnati, you know these names: Michael Bath,
Michael Carr, Charlie Clark, Denise Devlin, Annie Fitzpatrick, Deb Girdler, Sara Mackie, Michael Shawn Starks, Brooke Rucidlo Steele, Kate Wilford.
It’s summer in Texas and they have their hands on a shiny red truck – for 144 hours. The last one holding on wins. Of course, they do break away now and then to sing of their hopes and dreams (in a style made famous by A Chorus Line). Director D. Lynn Meyers loves shows about ordinary folks in pursuit of The American Dream, hanging in there even though the world around them is looking pretty bleak. By the way – the musical is based on a film documentary and a handful of characters are closely modeled on real contestants. You can see the first 10 minutes of the 1997 documentary here: http://handsonahardbodythemovie.com/
The Great Gatsby Sept. 5-Oct. 4, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, 719 Race St., Downtown. 513-381-2273 and www.cincyshakes.com
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jazz Age masterpiece, and Nick Carraway has moved into Long Island’s “West Egg.” In no time he’s brought into the circle of his mysterious millionaire neighbor Jay Gatsby. The adaptation by Simon Levy has earned raves:
“Finally, a great ‘Gatsby’…streamlined, fast and powerful.” “A brilliant distillation.” “Elegant adaptation,”
“…brings to life the best of Fitzgerald’s dialogue.”
“The play is new, but the material is absolutely classic,” said Cincinnati Shakespeare chief Brian Isaac Phillips, taking a brief rehearsal break. “Gatsby’s journey epitomizes The American Dream and the tragedy of it.
Jared Joplin as Gatsby and Sara Clark as Daisy
“On the surface it’s about a guy trying to get the girl that got away. But it’s about money, the lure of it and the lie of it… This novel and this fantastic adaptation show the fallacy and demand that we look in the mirror of these characters to examine our own definition of success.”
Gatsby lovers may want to get in line. If you don’t know Gatsby, check out this link and scroll to the bottom of the page for everything from a web version of the novel to a Jazz Age PowerPoint.
Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club Sept. 6-Oct. 4. Playhouse in the Park, Eden Park, 513-421-3888 and www.cincyplay.com.
If you love Sherlock Holmes 2.0 – Robert Downey, Jr. on the big screen and Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller on the slightly smaller screen – this is a more traditional approach by a playwright deservedly popular with local audiences. Jeffrey Hatcher has had something like a dozen plays on Cincinnati’s professional stages over the years.
A depressed Holmes finds himself in a plot borrowed from Robert Louis Stevenson (“Treasure Island” “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”). A group of London gentlemen want to end their lives – does Holmes want to stop them or join them?
Reviews from earlier productions are definitely mixed and this one from The Orlando Sentinel captures what seems to be a common response: “Part of the mystery though, is what the playwright’s aim was: An odd mix of broad comedy and strangely serious moments surround a caper that’s sometimes madcap, sometimes didactic.”
The Riverside Sept. 11-27, Clifton Players, Clifton Performance Center, 404 Ludlow Ave., Clifton, 513-861-7469.
Cincinnati playwright Kevin Crowley is having a very good year, with Sarge, a Cincinnati Fringe hit in June and The Monkey’s Paw earning a berth at the New York International Fringe Festival in August. (Watch for a Cincinnati run for bot in October.)
In September Crowley will debut world premiere The Riverside (sharing writing and directing credits with Carter Bratton) at his home theater, Clifton Players. Set in Cincinnati, 1989, the denizens of the Riverside bar are following the Pete Rose saga (Will he be banned from baseball permanently???) while life-changing choices are also in store for the family-owned bar. Crowley knows this territory – does the name Crowley’s in Mount Adams ring a bell?
The Riverside boasts another top-notch local cast led by Michael Shooner, Mike Dennis, Christine Dye (from “Sarge”), Buz Davis, Daniel Britt, and Mindy Heithaus.
Cincinnati Ballet New Works, Sept. 11-21. Jarson-Kaplan Theater, Aronoff Center for the Arts, 50 Walnut St., Downtown. 513-621-2787 and www.cballet.org
Now in its 10th year, this always invigorating program will feature four world premieres and one Cincinnati premiere.
Choreographers are: Jennifer Archibald, founder and artistic director of New York City’s acclaimed Arch Dance Company; Heather Britt, a six-time collaborator with Cincinnati Ballet and founder of the wildly-popular DANCEFIX; Cincinnati Ballet Artistic Director & CEO Victoria Morgan; Amy Seiwert, artistic director of Imagery, who last choreographed for New Works with 2011’s I Think of You Often; and William Whitener, former artistic director of Kansas City Ballet and Artist in Residence for part of the 2013-2014 season.
A Streetcar Named Desire Sept. 11-Oct. 5. Covedale Center for the Performing Arts, 4990 Glenway Ave. West Price Hill. 513-241-6550 and www.cincinnatilandmarkproductions.com
Tennessee Williams’ classic about Blanche DuBois, who denies reality with romantic illusions. Her nemesis is Stanley Kowalski, her sister’s husband who rips away at her self-delusions when Blanche moves into their claustrophobic New Orleans apartment.
Reefer Madness Sept. 19-28. Showbiz Players, The Carnegie, 1028 Scott Blvd., Covington. 859-957-1940 and www.showbizplayers.com
Naughty, naughty – the musical satire of the 1936 cult classic carries warnings: adult humor, religious parody, drug use, suggested violence and sexual interludes. Clean-cut kids fall prey to marijuana! They spiral downward toward perdition!
Dirty Dancing Sept. 23-Oct. 5. Broadway in Cincinnati, Aronoff Center for the Arts, 650 Walnut St., Downtown. 513-621-2787.
Subtitled ‘The Classic Story on Stage,’ it’s the Eighties hit movie with a score that of course includes its anthem “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.” It’s 1963 and 17-year old Baby Houseman is at a Catskills resort with her family. Bor-ing. Except for Jonny Castle, the dance instructor.
The Bacchae Sept. 25-Oct.5, Stauss Studio Theatre, Fine Arts Center, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights. 859-572-5464 and online box office
Euripedes’ tragedy about gods gone wild, in this case Dionysus. In his long absence from Thebes, King Pentheus has decided humanism is the better path than belief in the gods. Dionysus strongly disagrees.
The Little Dog Laughed Sept. 25-Oct. 11. New Edgecliff Theatre, Hoffner Lodge, 4120 Hamilton Ave., Northside. 888-428-7311 www.cincyticket.com
New Edgecliff – which has been doing some don’t-miss studio theater in the Aronoff’s Fifth Third Theater (like Jared Doren’s first-rate Bus Stop) is moving to a new home in Northside. Yay! Close to Ruth’s Parkside Café!
Douglas Carter Beane’s comedy is from 2006, but the topic – can modern love survive in this tabloid-driven age? — is still alive and kicking. The action revolves around a hard-driving Hollywood agent, her budding screen idol client who she wishes would stay in the closet, the cute ‘male escort’ he’s stuck on and the escort’s girlfriend (wait, what’s that about?).
I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti Sept. 27-Nov. 2. Thompson Shelterhouse, Playhouse in the Park, Eden Park. 513-421-3888 and www.cincyplay.com.
Giulia Meluci’s popular memoir becomes a tasty stage comedy, with actress Antoinette LaVecchia cooking up (seriously – she cooks) a three-course dinner while she chats about good food and bad boyfriends.
Antoinette LaVecchia in I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Lanny Nagler for TheaterWorks
You can eat onstage during the show! Antipasto, salad and spaghetti — $35 with a center section show ticket. Call the box office to check availability.
