Cincinnati Playhouse Presents THE LION Beginning This Month
Performances run November 12-December 4.
THE LION, an acoustic storytelling event, comes from the London stage for an exclusive engagement with Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park beginning Nov. 12. The genre-redefining musical will run through Dec. 4 at Warsaw Federal Incline Theater in Price Hill. Opening night is Nov. 17.
Written and originally performed by Benjamin Scheuer, THE LION is a story of love, loss and ultimately, hope that premiered off-Broadway in 2014 and then toured the U.S. and the U.K. for over 500 performances. This revival, directly from London, features Max Alexander- Taylor as Benjamin, the show's musician-storyteller. The new production was hailed by WhatsOnStage as "an incredibly life-affirming theatrical experience." Musical Theater Review called the revival "a rare and beautiful gem."
"Unusually for a musical, this piece has a real intimacy and directness with an audience, and we've directed the show to be far more live and spontaneous than is often possible to be with a large ensemble or orchestra...THE LION is an exciting example that musicals can be small, subtle, sincere and stripped right back to just a person in a room telling a brilliant story," said Alex Stenhouse, who also co-directs the Playhouse engagement with Sean Daniels.
The turbulent story in the musical begins with a boy named Benjamin, whose father loved music and writing folk songs. An unexpected event sends shock waves throughout the family, splintering Benjamin's relationship with them into adulthood. When he experiences a brush with his own mortality, the audience sees Benjamin summon the courage to weather the storm.
"...to be bringing our production to Cincinnati this year is so surreal and a truly special experience," Stenhouse continued. "We're so proud of it, and we can't wait for you all to see what we've been cooking up across the pond."
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