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.
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.
July 17th, 2011
Infatuations, fixations and passions are the focus of company’s 14th season
Everyone has obsessions, and New Edgecliff Theatre’s 2011-2012 season seeks to examine the changes brought about by those obsessions – both in a person’s life and the lives of those around them. The five-show season includes the late Lanford Wilson’s Burn This and the regional premieres of St. Nicholas by Conor McPherson, and Reasons to be Pretty by Neal LaBute. The annual Sweet Suspense event returns for Halloween, and NET breathes new life into its annual holiday offering, pairing The Santaland Diaries with new work from True Theatre.
The season opens in October with Lanford Wilson’s Burn This. It is a powerful, electric work by the playwright many regard as the finest American playwright of the late twentieth century. A contemporary romantic drama, Burn This explores love and relationships in the aftermath of death. Timothy Waldrip directs.
October also sees the return of New Edgecliff Theatre’s ever-popular Sweet Suspense radio drama event. This year, we treat audiences to two tales by the great Edgar Allen Poe, in an evening we’re calling Poe-sessed. Playwright-in-residence Catie O’Keefe, fresh off rave reviews for her Fringe show Darker, crafts adaptations of Poe’s The Oval Portrait and The Masque of the Red Death. Complete with live sound effects and the atmosphere of an old-time radio theatre, New Edgecliff will bring to life these dark, gritty and wonderfully gruesome tales. Your favorite area restaurants again provide delectable desserts to treat your taste buds, and Sweet Suspense regular Bob Allen returns to direct.
Of course, everyone’s favorite elf arrives in December for our annual production of The Santaland Diaries. Josh Steele returns for his second year as the cynical Crumpet. We are also excited to announce an exciting change to our holiday offering. Says Artistic Director Jim Stump, “This year, we retire Seasons Greetings in favor of matching David Sedaris’ true holiday story with several other true holiday stories told by real people.” New Edgecliff Theatre has partnered with True Theatre to create trueCHRISTMAS. Helmed by David Levy and Jeff Groh, this company has quickly established itself as a unique Cincinnati favorite. Featuring a different combination of stories each night, this pairing is an event audiences won’t want to miss.
In February, Executive Director Michael Shooner takes to the New Edgecliff stage in Conor McPherson’s St. Nicholas. But this is no holiday show! Acclaimed Irish playwright McPherson (The Wier, The Good Thief) crafts a tale of a burned-out theatre critic obsessed with a young actress. Leaving his wife and children in Dublin to follow her to London, things become complicated when he finds himself in the employ of a coven of vampires! This wicked and riveting tale is sure to captivate audiences.
The season concludes in April with Reasons to be Pretty by Neal LaBute. This darkly romantic drama follows two couples as they navigate the conflicting loyalties of love and friendship. The production takes a hard look at beauty – and the multi-billion-dollar obsession we have with it. Time Magazine calls the play “tight, tense and emotionally true, and it portrays characters who actually seem part of the world that the rest of us live in.” Dennison University professor Mark Seamon directs.
About the season, Artistic Director Jim Stump says, “Last season, we saw characters determining their destinies (or at least trying to). This season, I wanted to present characters whose preoccupation with elements of their lives brings about discoveries, revelations and even the bizarre.”
The company returns to the Columbia Performance Center, located at 3900 Eastern Avenue in Columbia-Tusculum. Tickets can be purchased online at newedgecliff.com, or reserved by calling the box office at 888.588.0137.
Burn This
Playwright: Lanford Wilson
Director: Timothy Waldrip
Featuring: TBA
Preview: September 28th, 2011
Run: September 29th-October 15th, 2011
Days & Times: Thursday-Saturday, 7:30pm
Sweet Suspense: Poe-sessed
Playwright: original stories by Edgar Allen Poe, adapted for the stage by Catie O’Keefe
Director: Bob Allen
Featuring: Mike Martini
Preview: none
Run: ONE NIGHT ONLY!
Days & Times: October 29th, 2011, 7:30pm
The Santaland Diaries & trueCHRISTMAS
Playwright: The Santaland Diaries: David Sedaris (original story), Joe Montello (stage adaptation)
Director: Jim Stump
Featuring: Josh Steele
Preview: November 30th, 2011
Run: December 1st-17th, 2012
Days & Times: Thursday-Saturday, 7:30pm
St. Nicholas
Playwright: Conor McPherson
Director: TBA
Featuring: Michael Shooner
Preview: February 22nd, 2012
Run: February 23rd-March 10th, 2012
Days & Times: Thursday-Saturday, 7:30pm
Reasons to be Pretty
Playwright: Neal LaBute
Director: Mark Seamon
Featuring: TBA
Preview: April 11th, 2012
Run: April 12th-28th, 2012
Days & Times: Thursday-Saturday, 7:30pm
All performances held at:
The Columbia Performance Center
3900 Eastern Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45226
Ticket Prices:
Sweet Suspense
Adults: $35.00
13 and Under: $20.00
Admission includes dessert buffet
All other productions:
Adults: $23.00
Seniors: $18.00
Students: $15.00
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. Please note: NET has a different mailing address from our performance location. You can find that information 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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