Cincinnati Playhouse Presents THE LION Beginning This Month

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."