Brian Isaac Phillips as Henry V

Main Event: History Repeats at CSF
If you like epic stories about war and relationships, Chris Reeder is pretty certain you'll love Shakespeare's HENRY V, the production he's returned to Cincinnati to direct. Reeder was a member of the original acting company of the Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival in 1994, back when it was known as the Fahrenheit Theatre Company; today he runs a theater in St. Croix, Wis.

"But if you just like a good story," he quickly adds, "one full of drama, comedy and romance, one that moves quickly and is easy to understand, then you'll love this show. You'll laugh; you'll cry -- you'll have a great time."

The final show Reeder directed locally before departing four years ago for Wisconsin was his adaptation of Shakespeare's two Henry IV plays; Brian Isaac Phillips played young Harry Hotspur, who later became Henry V. Reeder is pleased to be back to direct this production, with Phillips (now CSF's artistic director) playing the same character later in life.

Before he arrived, Reeder's 87-year-old theater in rural Wisconsin never staged works by Shakespeare, but he's presented one annually for four years, and they've been warmly received. He's adept at translating classic plays for diverse audiences. He's especially glad to return to Cincinnati to stage a play he calls Shakespeare's "best structured work" for local audiences. He remembers back to 1996 when Fahrenheit staged Henry V at the Aronoff Center's Fifth Third Bank Theater, before moving to CSF's current home at 719 Race St., Downtown.

Goodbye, Dragon Inn

"The company was young then," he laughs, "and so was I." Today his perspective on Henry V is different. "My ideas have changed a lot," Reeder says. "The present war in Iraq makes me think about this differently. This is the first war of my adult life."

Reeder points out that directors often turn Henry V into a pro-war play or an anti-war play, or interpret it cynically or optimistically. "In truth, there are horrors and glories in equal amounts," he says. "Shakespeare did not take sides; he presented both and underscored the story's universality. Everyone will find their own viewpoint onstage -- and its opposite. I hope it will cause some dialogue." 513-381-2273. (See Onstage.) -- RICK PENDER

WEDNESDAY 05
Of all the New Asian Cinema masters -- Wong Kar-wai, Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Edward Yang -- it's Taiwanese director Tsaí Ming-liang who best understands the deep sense of loneliness experienced by young adults adrift in vast urban metropolises like Taipei, his home base. The young protagonists of Tsaí's erotic melodramas long for simpler times and this yearning for nostalgia lies at the core of his latest masterpiece, the beautiful, nearly silent film poem, GOODBYE, DRAGON INN. The nostalgia in Goodbye, Dragon Inn is for classic Asian cinema like King Hu's 1966 martial arts masterpiece Dragon Inn, which is the backdrop for the film, entirely set in a near empty Taipei cinema. A brief flashback image of a large crowd hints at the theater's glory days. But the day-to-day truth about the theater is what we expect: a cluttered projection booth, a leaking roof, a cavernous movie theater and dank hallways surrounding the empty auditorium. A crippled female ticket taker limps through the cinema. Lee Kang-sheng, a regular in Tsaí's films, is the little-seen projectionist. The cinema's few ghostly customers loudly crunch watermelon seeds as they watch the film. By the time the two workers leave and lock up the theater for good, Tsaí has convinced us that Asian Cinema's golden era is over. (See Film.) -- STEVE RAMOS

THURSDAY 06
If you don't know of LOREN LONG by now, you've definitely missed your chance of saying you knew him before he was a full-fledged, internationally known illustrator. Because he is. And he lives in West Chester. The Lexington, Ky.-born artist's work has not only landed on the pages of Time, Forbes, Madonna's (or is it Esther these days?) second children's book and in the Cincinnati Art Museum, but also in his own When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer, an illustrated Walt Whitman poem released in November. Long's rich, soulful works jump off the page and into your head permanently, which is why an exhibit at the Art Academy's Chidlaw Gallery makes us all the more fortunate. Opens Thursday, with an opening reception Jan. 13. 513-562-8777. (See Art.) -- JESSICA TURNER

Loren Long

FRIDAY 07
Roll out your welcome mat, and greet the new MANIFEST CREATIVE RESEARCH GALLERY in its new home in East Walnut Hills. (See related story on page 38.) Manifest will offer exhibits in fine art and design during the next year, with special emphasis on drawing. The "Drawing Room" will promote, feature and explore the foundation of all art -- drawing -- with the inaugural exhibition Figures in Gray by Tamie Beldue. Terrestrial Domains, featuring landscape and figurative imagery pieces, is a second show featuring seven national artists. Exercise your eyes -- or just go check out the new gallery. Opening reception, 6-10 p.m. Through Feb. 11. www.manifestgallery.org. (See Art.) -- JULIE BERNZOTT

SATURDAY 08
Jerry Garcia and Pigpen might no longer be among the living, but the Grateful Dead's influence reverberates -- thanks to their huge cult following, the band's surviving members and the fact that their music still sounds good high. The entire Jam band scene (which has diversified greatly in the past five years or so) probably wouldn't exist without them. This is a good month to be a Dead fan in Cincinnati. Besides an appearance by the tribute group Dark Star Orchestra at Bogart's at the end of the month, the BarrelHouse Brewing Company is once again hosting ONE MORE SATURDAY NIGHT, a celebration of the Dead's music featuring a variety of area Jam bands each night. The series kicks off on Saturday with popular locals Spookfloaters. Future shows will feature the Skeleton Crew (Jan. 15), Fairbanks 142 (Jan. 22) and Jerry's Little Band (Jan. 29). 513-421-BEER. (See Music.) -- MIKE BREEN

Grateful Dead

SATURDAY 08
Interested in Cincinnati's dead and where they rest? Kevin Grace and Tom White got you covered. Grace, a UC archivist, and White, a staffer at UC libraries, unearth various afterlife tidbits -- some widely known, some not so -- in their recently published book, Cincinnati Cemeteries: The Queen City Underground. The duo delves into everything from the popular 19th-century practice of grave-robbing to the fact that Cincinnati is home to Ohio's oldest African-American cemetery, United America, to the array of notable people occupying our many cemeteries. (Among the most intriguing nuggets are the apparent snatching of Benjamin Harrison's father's corpse and the infamous Pearl Bryan murder.) The co-authors discuss their collaboration 2 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble in West Chester. 513-755-2258. (See Literary.) -- JASON GARGANO

SATURDAY 08
The first time Classical music caught my attention when I was a kid, it was through a magical performance of Prokofiev's PETER AND THE WOLF. The Russian fairytale, told with each character portrayed by a different musical instrument, was funny and engaging. And because there was a narrator, it was easy to follow. This weekend the Cincinnati Symphony will perform the piece in a Lollipop Family Concert at Music Hall, led by Associate Conductor John Morris Russell, narrated by WGUC-FM's Naomi Lewin. Her "Classics for Kids" series on 90.9 has a strong following, and I bet she'll keep the kids on the edge of their seats with her storytelling skills. 513-381-3300. (See Onstage.) -- RICK PENDER