Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park Announces 2017-2018 Season

Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park announced today an exciting season of extravagant stage adaptations, powerhouse productions and world premieres, beginning with an adaptation of the Oscar-winning film SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE opening Sept. 2.

"We're planning a blockbuster line-up this year in the Marx Theatre," says Blake Robison, artistic director. "We're producing two hits from London's West End, two Tony Award-winning shows and a beloved adventure story. In the Thompson Shelterhouse, we will showcase world premieres and hilarious comedies. This season is chock full of great stories that will appeal to all generations."

In addition to SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, the Marx Theatre season features the favorite adventure story TREASURE ISLAND; the exclusive regional premiere of the Tony Award-winning adaptation of the bestselling novel, THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME; the acclaimed musical featuring legends Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley in the Tony-Award winning MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET; and the roof-raising gospel music of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight in the regional premiere of MARIE AND ROSETTA.

In the Shelterhouse Theatre, audiences will enjoy two compelling world premiere plays by up-and-coming female playwrights, BE HERE NOW and SOONER/LATER, a poignant and daring production about the ties that bind us all, featuring one actress who brings to life nine different characters in MR. JOY by Dayton-native Daniel Beaty; and zany musical comedies with the hilarious, two-man whodunit MURDER FOR TWO and Frank Ferrante's acclaimed turn as Groucho Marx in AN EVENING WITH GROUCHO.

Along with the new season, The Playhouse announced that its returning Associate Artists Timothy Douglas and KJ Sanchez will be in residence during the 2017-18 season in new creative roles. Associate Artist Timothy Douglas will return in the Fall to direct one of The Playhouse's outreach touring productions, The Last Firefly by Naomi Iizuka, a fable about a boy who believes he is the son of Thunder. Performed by members of the Bruce E. Coyle Acting Intern company, this production will tour to area schools during the week and to regional community centers on the weekend as part of the Off the Hill program. Productions of Pinocchio by Toby Hulse and Rapunzel by Mike Kenny round out The Playhouse's 2017-18 outreach touring season.

KJ Sanchez returns as a playwright to her community-based play CINCINNATI KING. The Playhouse will hold an extended workshop to take the script to the next level and prepare it for a potential fully-staged production. Robison commissioned Sanchez to create the play in 2013. It celebrates the legacy of Cincinnati's own King Records and was compiled from transcripts of interviews with nearly 50 people across greater Cincinnati, as well as newspaper clippings and books written about King Records. The project was last seen as a staged concert reading in Cincinnati's Washington Park in 2015.

In addition, newly appointed Associate Artist Wendy Goldberg will direct the world premiere of SOONER/LATER. Previously for The Playhouse, Goldberg directed Circle Mirror Transformation in 2015 and the world premiere of Deborah Zoe Laufer's Leveling Up in 2013, as well as productions of Doubt and Durango in 2008.

"We are excited to bring more creativity and artistry to our community by engaging the talents of our Associate Artists in different ways this coming season," Robison says. "And I'm thrilled to welcome Wendy to The Playhouse family in this new capacity."

For the 2017-18 season, Playhouse performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, at 8 p.m. Fridays, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays.

Subscriptions to the 2017-18 Playhouse season are available now in a variety of packages. Prices range from $157.50 to $396.00 for the five-show Robert S. Marx Season or the five Thompson Shelterhouse shows and $280 to $704 for the full 10-show combination series.

The popular Build-Your-Own subscription allows patrons to create their own season of four to nine shows. Once again this season, all price options are available in the lower level of the Marx Theatre. The Playhouse offers two-, three-, six- and nine-month payment plans for subscribers. Some restrictions apply.

A student Build-Your-Own package allows full-time students to pick as few as four shows and as many as all 10 for just $15 per show. The Babysitter Rebate Series allows a couple purchasing two subscriptions in the Marx Theatre to attend any performance and receive up to $100 at the end of the season to help cover the cost of babysitters for children under the age of 12.

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