CINCINNATI THEATER REVIEWS

For its final performances at 719 Race St., Cincinnati Shakespeare Company chose William Shakespeare's The Tempest, one of the last plays the playwright penned alone in 1610-11,  Considered one of Shakespeare's greatest works.  Leading the cast is founding company member Nicholas Rose as magician ...

For its final performances at 719 Race St., Cincinnati Shakespeare Company chose William Shakespeare's THE TEMPEST, one of the last plays the playwright penned alone in 1610-11. Leading the cast is founding company member Nicholas Rose as magician Prospero who has landed on an island with his youn...

Kara Lee Corthron, playwright, novelist, and winner of multiple awards, has written a play that is teeming with too many ideas, but is also brimming with a ton of potential....

BLOOMSDAY, by Steven Dietz, enjoying a regional premiere through April 23rd at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, centers around a missed love connection between a 20-year-old American tourist, Robbie, and a 20-year-old Irish tour guide, Caithleen....

ALL THE ROADS HOME, making its world premiere at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, captures perfectly that intangible (yet excruciatingly real) moment when you realize your dream has completely passed you by....

Full of bombast, flashing lights, music, and spectacle, The Illusionists provides eye-popping feats performed by seven different magicians....

Refreshing and cleverly staged by K.J. Sanchez, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's production of Jane Eyre, adapted by Polly Teale runs through April 8th....

Go back in time to see a Greek version of the minotaur in the labryinth joined by Icacurus and a chorus of fates in the play Heavier Than ... by Stephen Yockey at the Know Theatre....

Second-wave feminism has been rising for a decade, and Roe vs. Wade is about to be decided. In When We Were Young and Unafraid, stage and television writer Sarah Treem introduces us to four women from different generations and backgrounds, and sets out to make the audience decide: Who is the feminis...

A booming voice narrates a seemingly ridiculous fable to a lively pantomime. Blinding smiles of eager missionaries vigorously ring doorbells and sing 'Hello.' Sharp choreography and multiple vocal parts layer in an energetic and infectious opening number. It takes just ten minutes of the THE BOOK OF...

Disney's NEWSIES is a high-energy powerhouse of dancing, gymnastics, and rafter-raising singing. If you have ever enjoyed a Disney film in which a ragtag group of underdogs overpower 'the establishment,' then you'll know exactly what to expect from this storyline -- but that doesn't mean you won't b...

IF/THEN begins well enough with a compelling musical number. The song 'What If?' weaves a tapestry of tight harmonies and interesting staging. It immediately establishes the premise: a woman paralyzed by the song's title question proceeds to live out two possible life paths for the audience. Think '...

If/Then, just by the way it is written, will always be about if the woman playing Elizabeth/Liz/Beth is on or not.  While the show was on Broadway Elizabeth was played by Idina Menzel so obviously people will always want to compare.  I for one, am not going to do that because Jackie Burns was too ...

BWW Review: PRELUDE TO A KISS at Falcon Theatre a 'sweet serenade'...

There isn't much to say about Kinky Boots that hasn't already been said about it.  Kinky Boots is a great musical.  It has to be one of the best musicals to come through Cincinnati in some time.  It's a fun, toe-tapping, emotional roller coaster and every second is enjoyable.  It can be assumed ...

Pippin brings the audience into a traveling circus who are performing a tale of Pippen a prince of a land who is struggling with finding himself. Pippen believes he is extraordinary and wants an extraordinary life but find out that an ordinary life may actually be the thing he has been looking for. ...

I was shocked and then realized I was behind the eight ball when hearing that Cincinnati's Playhouse in the Park would open its season with a musical interpretation of The Secret Garden. Shocked because I somehow missed that my beloved girlhood book and movie had been turned into a musical. Albeit t...

Not just a ballet but also an adventure into a mystical world full of wonder, no pun intended. Cincinnati's Ballet Company took on a behemoth of a story bringing alive the magical world of Wonderland as we followed Alice through her dream. As phenomenal as the dancers were, the true accolades go to ...

Brand new and completely unique to Cincinnati was the decision to have the ballet open in the Kitchen. I found the scene to be inventive and whimsical and the focus on the food made the intrusion of the mice more practical during Clara's dream. I loved that the big blue cake made during the opening ...

Playhouse in the Park brings the 'Girl Singer' home this holiday season with Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical. The show takes the audience on a journey from 'Rosie's' childhood to fame, to mental breakdown, to her comeback career; all through therapy sessions during which we are regaled with s...

The Cincinnati Shakespeare production of A Comedy of Errors was a delightful show. I find that Cincy Shakes really excels at comedies and they had all their strong comedic actors in this one and their presence was very much felt. A Comedy of Errors is about 2 sets of twins that were separated and ...

I'm normally not a fan of an one person shows because what I love about theater is the interaction between multiple actors and the emotions that can come from that. However, I Love, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti has made me rethink my previous thought. This was an engaging, fun and interesting one pers...

Dirty Dancing is now playing at the Aronoff and if I had to simply sum up my thoughts on the production I would say this: This show has a major identity crisis going on....

Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park started their new season off with Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club. The Playhouse started this new season exactly like last season ended, pretty great. Sherlock is a great way to start a season; not only was is thoroughly enjoyable but the cast...

Phantom is consistent and apparently is a show that parents or grandparents want to experience with their children. My second question was am I going to enjoy the show after having already seen it once on stage and the movie (which has to be the most literal stage to screen translation ever) multip...