New Stage Collective and Director Alan Patrick Kenny have brightened Cincinnati's winterscape with a loud, lively, mixed-media production that's a little like watching fireworks. Explosions of words, thoughts, lights, sounds and images surge into view, glitter for a moment and then fade to black, readying the stage for the next explosion. Both script and production work too hard, trying too frantically to sizzle and amaze, but they're exuberant.  

'1776' isn't your typical Broadway musical. It's a re-enactment of the Second Continental Congress in the days leading up to the severing of the formal ties between the U.S. and Great Britain. The cast is comprised of historical characters such as John Adams and Ben Franklin as well as a chorus of lesser-known people. It's not an easy show to pull off. Written primarily in short segments, private wish-fulfillment scenes take place among the major characters and some long-winded debates within the congress itself.  

All too often, August Wilson is termed a great African-American playwright. That's foolishness. Go see 'Gem of the Ocean' at Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati and tell me if you can think of a better script by any American playwright, one with more poetry, emotion or affecting characters.   

Director Ron 'OJ' Parsons knows something about playwright August Wilson. In fact, Parsons met Wilson on numerous occasions before his death in 2005. He's in town to stage Wilson's 'Gem of the Ocean' at Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati.  

The neighborhood's professional theater companies (Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, Know Theatre of Cincinnati and New Stage Collective) had a thrilling year artistically in 2008. They offered shows that spoke to issues of the day, and they brought tens of thousands of visitors to Over-the-Rhine, most of them the young professional types city leaders seem to covet. For their track record of serving Over-the-Rhine, their dedication to thought-provoking artistic work and their perseverance in face of economic difficulties and general apathy from the powers-that-be, CityBeat names Know's Jason Bruffy, New Stage's Alan Patrick Kenny of Collective and ETC's Lynn Meyers our 2008 Persons of the Year.  

Cincinnati Playwright Joseph McDonough has a new show onstage at the Playhouse, his third in six years, making him that theater's most frequently presented playwright since 2000. And with good reason: His scripts are evocative, lyrical and always engaging.  

"Misunderstanding" is a word that crops up a lot when discussing legendary comedy duo Cheech and Chong, whether it's the reason behind their original breakup, what their comedy is really about or the U.S. government's 2003 decision to send a SWAT team to arrest a then-65-year-old Tommy Chong for selling bongs over the Internet.  

The musical 'Grease' has been around for nearly four decades. It was fun and retro back in 1972, but 37 years later it's more like a cartoon, at least in the touring version currently at the Aronoff Center for the Arts.  

If you don't know the Jane Austen novel 'Pride and Prejudice,' fear not: You've heard this story befor — breakups, rebounds and opposites attracting. Meticulous greeting-card writer Austin (Fang Du) and his slovenly but good-natured brother Jeff (Daniel S. Hines) share an apartment. When Austins long-term girlfriend cuts him loose, Jeff crassly advises testing the waters.  

This show is strong, nuanced and magical — a lovely whole crafted of lively parts. Example: Sherman Fracher digs deep to illuminate the shallow egocentricity and bitchiness of fading actress Irina, how fiercely she needs to be the epicenter of everything.  

There are moments in '110 in the Shade' when genuine theatrical impact shines through the difficulties of staging a Broadway musical of only iffy merit with a cast of 16. It's presented on a set designed by Dennis Murphy that communicates the play's mood as well as its time and place: a drought-scourged, worry-scurried prairie village in the 1930s. Farmers are giving up hope of a rain that will save their crops and cattle, just as thirtysomething Lizzie Curry is close to giving up hope of ever finding a husband and having children.   

Big stories in the news — events like 9/11 and the Iraq War — have been the focus of many plays and films during the past several years. They are points of reference in Dying City, a 2007 play by Christopher Shinn that portrays the effects of such world-changing events in the context of a small but powerful personal drama. New Stage Collective is giving the play its local premiere, the first work by Shinn presented on a Cincinnati stage. His provocative script and this strong production will warm up the January theater scene.  

Cincinnati doesn’t have a theater scene that compares to that of New York or Chicago or the Twin Cities. But for a city our size, we have a ton of theater. I see 60-70 local productions annually. Are there enough serious theatergoers in Greater Cincinnati to support more?  

If you're looking for a traditional holiday entertainment, be forewarned: This performance has more in common with wild and crazy sketch comedy than it does with a performance of a full-length Christmas play. Three actors perform novel interpretations of familiar Christmas tales. Oh, and there is a drunken Santa Claus who wanders about welcoming the crowd, operating the sound system in front of the stage and occasionally commenting on the stage action, usually by topping everybody else.  

The Carnegie in Covington has spent several years in search of the best way to present musicals on the small, tight stage in its renovated Otto M. Budig Theatre. With this month’s minimally staged but aggressively choreographed production of Jesus Christ Superstar the formula now seems evident: Put the energy into the performance, keep the production simple and let the passion do the dazzling.