…BLINK AND YOU’LL MISS

MACBETH

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company

The Story: A story of temptation, ambition and seduction. At the start of the play, Macbeth is a good and heroic leader who has just won a great battle. Nevertheless, he fails to notice the triple enemy fighting for his heart and mind–the mysterious Weird Sisters, his wife, and his own desire for power and success. Macbeth begins his bloody rise to power, including the murder of the Scottish king, Duncan, and the guilt-ridden pathology of evil deeds generating still more evil deeds. Eventually, his friends and allies become aware of the evil breaking into his soul and fight to stop him.
The Dates: Sept. 12, 2012
Tickets and More Information: Cincinnati Shakespeare Company | BTC page |

…OPENING THIS WEEK

CLOSER THAN EVER

Middletown Lyric Theatre

The Story: As with their earlier revue, each song in CLOSER THAN EVER is a story: an intimate, insightful tale about couples and unrequited love. Included are several songs that were cut from the acclaimed BABY. Love, security, happiness-and holding onto them in a world that pulls you in a hundred directions at once. Maltby and Shire bring their celebrated craft and contemporary sensibility to songs about aging, mid-life crisis, second marriages, and role reversals.
The Dates: Sept. 13-22, 2012
Tickets and More Information: Middletown Lyric Theatre | BTC page |

Helen Raymond as Marion, Owen Gunderman as Winthrop & Dan Doerger as Harold Hill. Photo by Holly Yurchison.

THE MUSIC MAN

Showboat Majestic

The Story: THE MUSIC MAN follows fast-talking traveling salesman Harold Hill as he cons the people of River City, Iowa into buying instruments and uniforms for a boys’ band he vows to organize – this despite the fact he doesn’t know a trombone from a treble clef. His plans to skip town with the cash are foiled when he falls for Marian the librarian, who transforms him into a respectable citizen by curtain’s fall.
The Dates: Sept. 12-30, 2012
Tickets and More Information: Showboat Majestic | BTC page |

…CONTINUING THIS WEEK

Torie Pate as Mae, Katie Hamilton-Meier as Maggie & Clifford Nunley as Brick. Photo by Holly Yurchison.

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF

Covedale Center for the Performing Arts

The Story: In a plantation house, a family celebrates the sixty-fifth birthday of its patriarch, Big Daddy. But the mood is tense, despite the festivities, as long-simmering evils poison the party. Greed, sins of the past and desperate clawing hopes for the future spar with one another as the knowledge that Big Daddy is dying slowly makes the rounds.
The Dates: Sept. 6-30, 2012
Tickets and More Information: Covedale Center for the Performing Arts | BTC page |

THE FOX ON THE FAIRWAY

Mariemont Players

The Story: Bingham, president of the Quail Valley Country Club, discovers that the golfer he thought would play for his club has switched sides, and the huge bet he had foolishly wagered will likely to be lost. You’ll never look at golf the same way again as this fast-moving farce twists and turns from one laugh surprise to another.
The Dates: Sept. 7-23, 2012
Tickets and More Information: Mariemont Players | BTC page |

Annie Fitzpatrick as Margie, Margaret Ivey as Kate & Chris Clavelli as Mike. Photo by Ryan Kurtz.

GOOD PEOPLE

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati

The Story: In this humor laced drama, Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole) explores the struggles, shifting loyalties and unshakeable hopes that come with having next to nothing in America. Margie Walsh can’t catch a break. Laid off from her job at the dollar store, Margie is faced with the reality that South Boston is providing her the same level of opportunity it always has: none. Wry, rough around the edges and ready to make a change, she goes to seek out the one who got away—both from “Southie” and from her. Instead, she finds herself in the ‘burbs and out of her element, facing the question: is opportunity granted or earned? Good People takes an affectionate look at the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ through the eyes of characters who won’t be ignored.
The Dates: Sept. 5-23, 2012
Tickets and More Information: Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati | BTC page |

Adam Van Wagoner as D’Artagnan and Shad Ramsey as Rochefort. Photo by Sandy Underwood.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS

Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park

The Story: Young Frenchman D’Artagnan and his plucky sister Sabine aspire to join the famed Musketeers. But they get more than they bargained for when they stumble into the center of a bitter rivalry between King Louis and the evil Cardinal Richelieu. The stakes have never been higher for our favorite swashbucklers in this action-packed update of one of the greatest adventure stories of all time.
The Dates: Sept. 1-29, 2012
Tickets and More Information: Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park | BTC page |

Alyssa Mehnert as Jean Louise Finch (Scout), Bruce Cromer as Atticus Finch, Noah Lentini as Jeremy Finch (Jem) & Torie Wiggins as Calpurnia. Photo by Jeanna Vella.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company

The Story: In 1932 Alabama, Atticus Finch challenges the conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence, and hypocrisy. This story is a powerful portrait of a south poisoned by prejudice and the one man with the courage to fight against an injustice, but like the novel from which it comes, is filled with warmth and humor.
The Dates: Sept. 7-30. 2012
Tickets and More Information: Cincinnati Shakespeare Company | BTC page |

…CLOSING THIS WEEK

AN INSPECTOR CALLS

Lebanon Theatre Company

The Story: This three-act drama takes place on a single night in 1912 focusing on the prosperous middle-class Birling family, who live in a comfortable home in Brumley, “an industrial city in the north Midlands.” A man calling himself Inspector Goole arrives and questions the family about the suicide of a young working-class woman Eva Smith (also known as Daisy Renton). He interrogates each family member and reveals that each has been responsible for the young woman’s exploitation, abandonment and social ruin, effectively leading to her death.
The Dates: Sept. 7-16, 2012
Tickets and More Information: Lebanon Theatre Company | BTC page |

A SHORT STAY AT THE WHISPERING PINES

Xenia Area Community Theatre

The Story: Part comedy, part mystery, part confusion and all fun. The story centers around Whispering Pines, a boarding house run by two sisters. When a new face rolls into town, we meet the two sisters, one of whom believes herself to be a reincarnated American Indian, and a host of their boarders as they try to convince the newcomer to lengthen his stay.
The Dates: Sept. 7-16, 2012
Tickets and More Information: Xenia Area Community Theatre | BTC page |