by Rick Pender
08.19.2011
Stage Door: 'Pippin' Steps Out at Carnegie
Stephen Schwartz is well known in the world of musical theater as the composer of Wicked, the mega-hit Broadway musical that’s been running since 2003 (more than 3,200 performances to date). But he started his career a long time ago, composing the music for Godspell way back in 1971. At the age of 24, he followed Godspell with another hit, the 1972 musical Pippin (which ran for five years, nearly 2,000 performances). It’s the season opener in a three-weekend run at Covington’s Carnegie Center beginning Friday.
by Brian Baker
08.11.2011
Punk Rock Comedy Tour Comes to Northside
If you Google search “John McClellan,” you’ll find the late Democratic senator from Arkansas and the 19th century chemist. So what is comedian, Akron native and onetime Cincinnatian John McClellan — who brings his "Punk Rock" stand-up tour, the Fuck All Comedy Ball into Northside's tiny music club/bar, The Comet, this Saturday — doing to distance himself from his fellow McClellans?
“None of those guys are funny,” says the funny McClellan. “That’s why I had to get boozecoma.com, because some guy already had johnmcclellan.com, and asking people to spell my last name was a chore. They’re working on old cars or selling real estate and I’m just out there trying to bring the jokes to the people.”
by Rick Pender
08.10.2011
Showboat: All Aboard for 2012
Even as the Showboat Majestic opens another show this summer (The Art of Murder by Joe DiPietro kicks off tonight and continues through Aug. 28), it’s time to announce the ’boat’s 90th season in 2012, featuring an all-American slate of musicals and comedies to please patrons aboard America’s last showboat, a National Historic Landmark. Here’s the 2012 season:
by Rick Pender
08.05.2011
Tracy Letts' 'Superior Donuts' coming to Cincinnati
Tracy Letts' plays haven't quite caught on in Cincinnati. We're yet to see a production locally of August: Osage County, his 2008 Pulitzer Prize winner. Neither the Cincinnati Playhouse nor Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati� have picked up Superior Donuts, his 2011 Tony-nominated script that will be staged by at least eight major regional theaters across the United States during the coming season. However, a local pick-up company will present Letts' latest script at the Clifton Performance Theatre (404 Ludlow Ave.) in a brief run (Sept. 9-18).
by Jason Gargano
07.27.2011
Welcome Back, Beavis and Butt-head
Has it really been 14 years since Beavis and Butt-head (dis)graced MTV and 15 years since the duo invaded movie houses with Beavis and Butt-head Do America, which, despite being a bit of a letdown as a full-length movie, is still one of my all-time favorite moviegoing experiences due to the unprecedented enthusiasm put forth by the sold-out, opening-night crowd at — of all places — the Western Hills Showcase?
by Rick Pender
07.26.2011
A Positive Sign at Know Theatre
Know Theatre of Cincinnati has called Jackson Street in Over-the-Rhine home for several years, but it's been easy to miss them, tucked away behind the Gateway Garage on a short block between Central Parkway and 12th Street. That's being remedied right now with the construction of a marquee that should be highly visible from both north and south of the theater, especially from busy Central Parkway.
by Rick Pender
07.22.2011
Stage Door: Lyle Benjamin Is Back
Lyle Benjamin has been on and off a lot of local stages with his company Queen City Off-Broadway. He's been dormant for a few seasons, but he's back with a slightly new name — it's now called Queen City Theater — and a couple of mid-summer productions using the black box theater at the new School for Creative and Performing Arts (108 West Central Pkwy., Over-the-Rhine) as his venue. Tonight is the opening performance of The Amish Project by Jessica Dickey.
by Jason Gargano
07.21.2011
Nick Spencer: Acclaimed Graphic Novelist
Early last year we wrote about Nick Spencer's successful, somewhat surprising transition into the world of graphic novels. Now Spencer — the former Cincinnati City Council candidate, club operator and music promoter who moved to New York City in 2008 and whose grand ambitions sometimes got him into trouble — is garnering even more attention within the world of his new endeavor, recently nabbing four nominations at the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards 2011: Best Short Story, Best Continuing Series, Best New Series and Best Writer.
by Rick Pender
07.18.2011
More Plays for Your Calendar
More word about upcoming seasons from two of Cincinnati’s smaller but adventurous companies. New Edgecliff Theatre (NET) has put forth a five-show season with work by several excellent contemporary playwrights, as well as a holiday offering partnering with the True Theatre. Queen City Theatre (QCT is the current incarnation of the dormant Queen City Off Broadway) will offer productions of dramas using the black box theater at the School for Creative and Performing Arts.
by Rick Pender
07.15.2011
Stage Door: CSC's 'Bedroom Farce'
If you're seeking something silly to divert your attention from the heat and humidity, I'll refer you to Cincinnati Shakespeare Company where today they open a production of Alan Ayckbourn's Bedroom Farce. I went to a preview on Wednesday, and it's a daffy piece of comedy — four couples, three bedrooms, one crazy night and the morning after.
