Under the direction of Ed Stern, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s production of Julia Cho’s play The Piano Teacher is a stark, engrossing and painful thriller. Memory is not a lane meant for strolling; memory is labyrinth. There are places that cannot be avoided and even others that cannot be faced. And stories, those we tell others and those we tell ourselves, are forces to be reckoned with.  

Under the direction of Ed Stern, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's production of Julia Cho's play 'The Piano Teacher' is a stark, engrossing and painful thriller. Memory is not a lane meant for strolling; memory is labyrinth. There are places that cannot be avoided and even others that cannot be faced. And stories, those we tell others and those we tell ourselves, are forces to be reckoned with.  

Outside, the late October evening was bracing and clear, while inside, a crowd gathered around the stage at Know Theatre, generating warmth. It was about to be Cincinnati's first experience with TRUE Theatre, a new dramatic adventure in unscripted storytelling accompanied by an accordion. The evening's theme was fear. These stories, very candidly and honestly shared, were personal, chilling … and true.  

Five storytellers, some selected, some volunteers, each take the microphone for 10 minutes, sans notes, to tell a true story from their own lives in line with this installment's theme: "beginnings."   

Although I've not encountered any other kind, 'Unnecessary Farce' by Paul Slade Smith is, well, an unnecessary farce. No one needs to see a crop of oddballs sprinting about a stage (frequently sans pants) opening one door, slamming another, lobbing double-entendres out to the house before the curtain finally extinguishes the frenzy.   

'Unnecessary Farce' by Paul Slade Smith is, well, an unnecessary farce. No one needs to see a crop of oddballs sprinting about a stage (frequently sans pants) opening one door, slamming another, lobbing double-entendres out to the house before the curtain finally extinguishes the frenzy. Thus the Covedale Center for the Performing Arts' 'Unnecessary Farce' (through Nov. 14) is the perfect chaser for 'Evita,' the theater's brooding season opener.  

Guess this genre. Five attractive college students take off to a remote cabin in the woods, dead set on a five-day sex-and-booze bender. Said cabin is abandoned, spooky and also happens to be the last known location of the 'Book of the Dead,' a breezy beach read bound with human skin and inked in human blood. It's not on Oprah's list, but it does open a gate to Hell when read aloud.  

Guess this genre: Five attractive college students take off to a remote cabin in the woods. Said cabin is abandoned, spooky and also happens to be the last known location of the 'Book of the Dead,' a breezy beach read bound with human skin and inked in human blood. A horror movie? Try musical theater. And Falcon Theater's bawdy, bloody, side-splitting, horror-spoofing 'Evil Dead: The Musical' has everything a great American musical should.