Cincinnati Playhouse to Present CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION, 5/9-6/7

Annie Baker's charmingly comic off-Broadway hit CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION wraps up the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's 2014-15 season May 9 through June 7 in the Playhouse's Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre. When a random group of small-town strangers come together for a six-week community center acting class, real-life drama results. While Baker's quirky characters are definitely not Broadway bound, they are transformed in surprising and unexpected ways over the course of the class.

"I believe the characters in CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION are all people we as humans can relate to - they all share this intense experience together that allows them to make progress in their personal lives and they do so with an incredible sense of humor and grace," says director Wendy C. Goldberg, who previously directed Leveling Up, Doubt and Durango at the Playhouse. "I believe everyone can identify with the loss, love and personal growth in the play whether they have been in a class like this or not."

CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION received its world premiere off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in 2009. It was awarded the 2010 Obie Award for Best New American Play, which was shared with Baker's play The Aliens. Also nominated for a Drama Desk Award, CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION was named one of the top 10 plays of 2009 by The New York Times, Time Out New York and The New Yorker. Baker's most recent play, The Flick, won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2014.

"As a person who has experienced these sorts of acting classes, the idea of gathering a group of talented actors, all of whom have had even more experience with this sort of class than me, is really exciting," Goldberg adds. "This is a gifted group of people, actors from all regions of the country I have worked with on other productions."

The CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION cast features Charlotte Booker as Marty, Sam Gregory (Arms and the Man) as Schultz, Mattie Hawkinson as Theresa, Ronete Levenson as Lauren and Andrew May as James. The creative team, in addition to Goldberg, includes set designer Kevin Depinet, costume designer Gordon DeVinney, lighting designer Josh Epstein and sound designer/composer Joshua Horvath. Andrea L. Shell is the stage manager.

CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION is sponsored by Bartlett & Co.

Ticket prices for CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION start at $30. Prices are subject to change, and patrons are encouraged to buy early for the best seats at the best prices. The show is appropriate for adult and older teenage audiences.

New for the 2014-15 season is Sunday College Night, with tickets to all 7 p.m. Sunday performances priced at just $10 with a valid student ID. Student tickets are just $15 on the day of the show for all other performances. In advance, student tickets are $30.

Previews for CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION are at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 9; 7 p.m. Sunday, May 10; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 12; and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 13. The official opening night is Thursday, May 14, at 8 p.m.

Performances take place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays, and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sundays.

Free Meet the Artists programs that allow audiences to interact with the cast and others associated with the production will be held after the following performances: 2 p.m. Sunday, May 17; 2 p.m. Sunday, May 24; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 27; and 8 p.m. Thursday, June 4.

The Playhouse is fully accessible. Audio enhancement receivers, large print programs and complete wheelchair access are available.

Tickets to CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION are on sale now. For more information, call the Playhouse Box Office at 513-421-3888 (toll-free in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana at 800-582-3208) or visit www.cincyplay.com. Call 513-345-2248 for Telecommunications Device for the Deaf accessibility.

The 2014-15 Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre Series is presented by the Heidelberg Distributing Company, and Humana is the Thompson Shelterhouse season design sponsor. The season sponsor of new work is The Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation.