Below are current press releases, articles, and other media items related to New Edgecliff Theatre and its latest work. If you need further information, or would like to schedule an interview, please contact Managing Director Devon Campailla at (513) 207-1239, or via e-mail at dcampailla@newedgecliff.com.
February 1st, 2012
New Edgecliff Theatre announces an exciting addition to NET’s performance line up with the regional premiere of Conor McPherson’s St. Nicholas. This chilling one-man show features NET Executive Director Michael Shooner and is directed by Brian Robertson. St. Nicholas will run in NET’s newly-created major production slot, Feb. 23-March 10. Leaving his wife and children in Dublin to pursue his obsession, things become complicated in London when he finds himself in the employ of a coven of vampires! Already a metaphorical vampire himself, his confrontation with very real ones forces him to face his own demons and earn some measure of redemption. The New York Times says, “The narrative swings through so many forms of storytelling – from self-serving lies born of drunkenness to a proper Brothers Grimm-like fable…McPherson’s ear for detail is devastating.”
St. Nicholas was written by Dublin playwright Conor McPherson. His plays include The Seafarer (premiered on Broadway in 2007), Poor Beast in the Rain, Port Authority, Dublin Carol (premiered on Broadway in 2002), The Weir (premiered on Broadway in 1999), and This Lime Tree Bower. He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play in 2006 for Shining City, which premiered on Broadway in 2006; nominated for the 2002 South Bank Show Award for Best Play for Port Authority; received the 1999 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Play, the Evening Standard Most Promising Playwright, the Critics Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright and was a finalist for the Lloyds Bank Playwright of the Year Award for The Weir; and was the joint winner of 1997 George Devine Award and the winner of the Meyer Whitworth Award for St. Nicholas.
New Edgecliff founder Michael Shooner returns to the NET stage for the first time since his CEA-nominated turn as Dysart in 2009’s Equus. Other roles at NET have included Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, Roma in Glengarry Glen Ross, Teach in American Buffalo and Cliff in The Woolgatherer. His first one-man show was also NET’s inaugural production, Eric Bogosian’s Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll, in 1998. He was seen in the Cincinnati Playhouse production of The Hostage and has also performed at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company in The Weir, Romeo & Juliet and All My Sons.
Originally from Los Angeles, Brian Robertson has spent much of his time working in film and television in the area of cinematography, as well as working as a director and stage manager in Theatre and Opera. He received his MFA in Directing from CCM. Locally, Brian has been teaching in the NKU Theatre and Dance department since 1998, as well as functioning as a guest director and instructor at CCM. He has worked for Cincinnati Opera, Sarasota Opera, Bay View Music Festival, Greenbrier Valley Theatre, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, Opera North, and Des Moines Metro Opera among others.
St. Nicholas
February 23 – March 10, 2012
Thursday through Saturday
7:30pm
at the Columbia Performance Center, 3900 Eastern Avenue
near Terry’s Turf Club, Allyn’s, Bella Luna, Tostado’s and The Precinct.
Adults $23, Seniors $18, Students $15
Or call the box office at 888.588.0137
NET is a grateful recipient of the League of Cincinnati Theatres’ Local Guest Equity Support.
January 8th, 2012
A burned-out theatre critic becomes infatuated with a young actress. Leaving his wife and children in Dublin to pursue his obsession, things become complicated in London when he finds himself in the employ of a coven of vampires! Written by Irish playwright Conor McPherson (The Weir, Shining City) and featuring New Edgecliff’s own Michael Shooner, this wicked and riveting one-man show is sure to captivate audiences. The New York Times says, “The narrative swings through so many forms of storytelling — from self-serving lies born of drunkenness to a proper Brothers Grimm-like fable…McPherson’s ear for detail is devastating.”
Don’t miss this theatrical event!
featuring Michael Shooner • directed by Brian Robertson
February 23rd-March 10th, 2012
Tickets $23 Adults / $18 Seniors / $15 Students
or order by phone: 888.588.0137
7:30pm Curtain • Columbia Performance Center • 3900 Eastern Avenue
near Bella Luna, Tostados, Allyn’s, Terry’s Turf Club and the Precinct
Intended for Mature Audiences Only
November 16th, 2011
New Edgecliff Theatre has revamped its annual antidote to the holidays, pairing David Sedaris’ The Santaland Diaries with an offering from True Theatre called trueCHRISTMAS. The Carnegie’s Joshua Steele returns to The Santaland Diaries, chronicling the real-life observations of renowned NPR commentator and memoirist Sedaris as he encounters crazed Santas, obnoxious parents and queasy children, while working his first New York job – as one of Santa’s Elves – in the very nexus of commercial Christmas and Holiday Cheer, Macy’s Santaland.
After intermission, the very dark companion piece to The Santaland Diaries (Season’s Greetings) will be replaced by the highly regarded True Theatre, bringing its own brand of storytelling to the stage, as people from all walks of life share their own real-life stories of the holidays in trueCHRISTMAS. Each weekend, three new storytellers will be featured. True Theatre has developed a loyal following in its two-year existence, presenting several evenings of storytelling in the Know Theatre’s underground, often with a theme tied to various holidays, (“True Independence”, “True Foolishness”, etc.), most recently with “True Hunger” (on the eve of our most gluttonous time of the year). NET Artistic Director Jim Stump says, “As much as we hate to see Season’s Greetings go, we just couldn’t resist the idea of pairing Sedaris’ own true story with other true holiday stories.”
New Edgecliff Executive Director and founder Michael Shooner adds, “We keep working to keep the Christmas slot fresh for returning audiences as well as new ones. With that in mind, the pairing of The Santaland Diaries and trueCHRISTMAS is an absolute no-brainer. We can’t wait to see how it plays!”
Intended for mature audiences only.
December 1st-17th, 2011
7:30pm Curtain
Columbia Performance Center
3900 Eastern Avenue
or reserve tickets by phone at 888.588.0137
for more information about True Theatre, please visit their website at truetheatre.com
July 21st, 2011
New Edgecliff Theatre will hold auditions for two of its main stage productions, Burn This and Reasons to be Pretty, on Tuesday, August 9th from 7-10pm at the Essex Studios (2511 Essex Place, Cincinnati, OH 45206). No appointment is necessary. Roles are available for men and women, ages 25-45. Auditionees are asked to prepare two contrasting monologues and to bring a headshot and resume to the audition. Invited callbacks for Burn This will be held on Thursday, August 11th.
Opportunities are also available this season for set designers, costumers, prop masters, and sound designers. All positions are stipend paid. If you are interested in any of these design positions, or would like more information, contact New Edgecliff Theatre at jobs@newedgecliff.com.
Available Roles
Burn This
Anna: ( 25-35 years old), a dancer who wishes to be a choreographer; beautiful, slender, and strong. As the play opens she is grieving for her gay roommate, Robbie, who has just died in a boating accident.
Burton: (30-40 years old), is handsome, tall, athletic; a successful screenwriter and Anna’s boyfriend. For Burton, screenwriting is not an artistic passion, but is a means of making a lot of money. He was a privileged child and he has never lost anything important before.
Larry: ( 25-35 years old) Anna’s other roommate; intelligent, an also gay; works in advertising. A confidant of Anna’s, LARRY is aware of Anna’s love for Pale long before she admits it. Larry helps break the tension of the play with some light comedy.
Pale: (35-45 years old), Robbie’s older brother who appears to collect his brother’s belongings. Pale is described as very sexy in a blue-collar kind of way. He manages a restaurant and is separated from his wife and children. He has a foul mouth and admits he knew Robbie was gay but speaks contemptuously of that lifestyle.
Reasons to be Pretty
The characters in reasons to be pretty are two working class, twenty-something couples in an outlying suburb somewhere in the United States. All are flawed, but at their core they are sympathetic.
Greg: the play’s protagonist. He works the night shift in a food packing plant with his long-time friend, Kent. Greg is intelligent and has a love of literature that he often uses as an escape. He alternates between typically jerkish male behavior and genuine vulnerability and sensitivity. He makes a journey toward understanding and ultimately takes responsibilities for his failings.
Steph: a hairdresser who finds out that her boyfriend, Greg, doesn’t think she’s pretty. This launches her on a journey of her own. Her fragile self-esteem is ruled by her perception of herself as odd-looking rather than attractive.
Kent: someone we hate to like and like to hate. He is a vulgar, arrogant, overgrown child whose main preoccupations are sex and sports. He has bullied Greg to remain locked in an immature macho friendship. He is a boorish, hyper-masculine brute who is charming enough to get whatever he wants.
Carly: Kent’s wife and Steph’s best friend. She works at the plant as a uniformed security guard. Beautiful but gruff, she is a put-upon character with a toughened exterior and desperate vulnerability. She possesses the shaky confidence of a born beauty who is scared that all she has to offer is her looks.
All NET productions are held at the Columbia Performance Center, located at 3900 Eastern Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45226. The "Big Pink Church" is a half mile east of Delta Avenue. To learn more about the Columbia Performance Center and the Columbia-Tusculum area, visit our page here.
Parking is available on the street in the blocks surrounding the facility (please pay attention to posted signs). This means you can park on Eastern Avenue, Stites Avenue, or even Tennyson Avenue and still be within a few short steps of the front door! Please note, our patrons are NOT permitted to park in the Irish Heritage Center lot across the street.
Burn This
Sept. 29-Oct. 15, 2011 |
Sweet Suspense:Poe-sessed
October 29, 2011 | 
The Santaland Diaries & trueCHRISTMAS
December 1-17, 2011 |
St. Nicholas
Feb. 23-March 10, 2012 |
reasons to be pretty
April 12-28, 2012 |
Purchase Tickets by Phone: 888.588.0137
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