Fall and spring are the traditional theatre seasons in New York. Now is when promoters are rushing to get their venues on Broadway to be considered for this year's Tony Awards. It doesn't look like that will happen for Spider-man Turn Off the Dark, which has been in endless previews injuring people left and right, and now scheduled to "open" on June 24. Not since The Capeman has there been such an over-hyped, over-budget production that has eaten up a talented director. Both shows evolved from famous songwriters who didn’t realize that musical theatre is a lot tougher than it appears. Paul Simon was a control freak, who wouldn’t let any of them do their jobs, whereas Bono and the Edge have been MIA since before the rehearsals began.
Look for The Book of Mormon to steal the irreverent light from a batch of musicals based on former movies the likes of Sister Act, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and Catch Me if You Can. The list of new plays includes High, starring Kathleen Turner, which premiered last year at Cincinnati's Playhouse in the Park. That will be the second play that Ed Stern has nurtured into a Broadway production, the first being the Tony Award-winning Company in 2006.
Not to be outdone by the Big Apple, Cincinnati has its own spring theatre season and versions of Broadway and Off Broadway. From the Broadway Series to our Tony-winning professional regional theatre, Equity contract premiere theatre to our excellent college programs, here's a list or what you have to look forward to seeing:
Ensemble Theatre
End Days
Now-April 9
A divine comedy revealing what a 16-year old Elvis impersonator, a goth chick, Stephen Hawking, and Jesus all have in common.
25 the Musical
Now-April 9
A divine comedy revealing what a 16-year old Elvis impersonator, a goth chick, Stephen Hawking, and Jesus all have in common.
May 4-22
A must-see musical revue celebration of the past twenty-five years as ETC kicks off the next twenty-five years.
Know Theatre
The Dragon
April 2-May 7
An adaptation of E. Schwarz's 1943 play that is a collaboration with Madcap Puppet Theatre and incorporates marionettes.
An adaptation of E. Schwarz's 1943 play that is a collaboration with Madcap Puppet Theatre and incorporates marionettes.
The 2011
Fringe Festival
May 31-June 11
This is one of the two major performing festivals in our region, the other being the Midpoint Music Festival in September. The Fringe features many one-of-a-kind solo performers, performance artists, theatre groups, and a video/film festival.
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company
Julius Caesar
March 25-April 23
This timeless tale of power, politics, and passion features a gender-reversed cast in a contemporary setting!
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
May 6 to 29, 2011
Set in the funkadelic 1970s, this hip comedy seeks to find out if true love conquers all, ya dig?
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
Behind the Eye
April 2 - May 1
A remarkable new dramatic work that is centered around the life of Vogue model and World War II photographer Lee Miller.
Beehive
April 23 - May 21
Beehive is back with a rafter-raising musical celebration of the 1960s.
The Pavilion
May 14 - June 12
Hailed by critics as “an Our Town for our time” and by turns poetic, comic and romantic.
Aronoff Center for the Performing Arts
Shrek The Musical
April 12 - 24, 2011
In a faraway kingdom turned upside down, things get ugly when an unseemly ogre – not a handsome prince – shows up to rescue a feisty princess.
New Edgecliff Theatre
[title of show]
April 14 – 30
A hilarious love letter to musical theatre – a uniquely American art form – and to the joy of collaboration.
http://newedgecliff.com
Falcon Theatre
Flags
May 6, 7, 13, 14, 20 & 21
The play follows a typical American family that loses a son in Iraq. It explores the ways in which the media color our perception of events and can easily pull the focus of a nation away from the war and the brave soldiers who are fighting it.
http://falcontheater.net
College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati
If you’re really lucky – like so lucky you’d win a jackpot at the Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Indiana – you’d be able to see the next generation of Broadway stars graduating from CCM next weekend (April 1 – 2) in the annual Senior Musical Theatre Showcase. Tickets are free by calling 513-556-4183 starting at noon on Monday, March 28. Good luck!
http://www.uc.edu/news/NR.aspx?id=13268
Northern Kentucky University YES Festival
A biennial spring event that happens this year is the Year End Series or YES Festival of new plays at NKU. Three world premieres will run in repertory April 7 – 17. Ticket sales are brisk, but not impossible. The box office is 859-572-5464.
http://theatre.nku.edu/boxoffice/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=67&Itemid=22
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