Season

NET has lined up a terrific season for 2011-2012. Read on to see the latest, or click on the links below to learn about each production.

Sweet Suspense: Poe-sessed ONE NIGHT ONLY! October 29th

October 10th, 2011

Sweet Suspense: Poe-sessed Sweet Suspense is back! The NET tradition returns for its fifth incarnation for one night only on October 29th.

Edgar Allen Poe has long held the gruesome imaginations of many with his takes on horror and death. What better time of year to enjoy them than Halloween? This year, New Edgecliff ’s Playwright-in-Residence Catie O’Keefe (Darker, Extraction, and The Space Between My Head and My Body) adapts two of Poe’s haunting tales for the ever-loved Sweet Suspense Radio Drama: The Oval Portrait and The Masque of the Red Death. Both tales–dark, gritty and wonderfully gruesome–show us true obsession in its many forms. New Edgecliff Theatre brings these stories to life, complete with live sound effects and the atmosphere of an old-time radio theatre. The audience will also enjoy a sampling of delectable desserts from area restaurants, making this suspenseful evening truly “sweet”!

Featuring Live Sound Effects by WMKV’s Mike Martini
directed by Bob Allen

October 29th, 2011
7:30pm Curtain
Columbia Performance Center
3900 Eastern Avenue

Tickets $35 Adults / $20 Kids 13 and Under
admission includes dessert buffet at intermission
all proceeds benefit New Edgecliff Theatre’s Operational Fund

or order by phone: 888.588.0137

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BURN THIS runs September 29th-October 15th

September 29th, 2011

New Edgecliff opens season with Lanford Wilson’s Burn This

Rarely produced, powerful work leads off season

New Edgecliff Theatre once again opens its season with a late 20^th century classic – a powerful, electrifying work by the playwright widely regarded as one of the finest American playwrights of the late 20th Century. While perhaps best known for his earlier plays The Hot L Baltimore, Fifth of July and Talley’s Folly, Burn This is a viscerally dramatic play, and its Broadway premiere most certainly helped to propel the careers of John Malkovich and Joan Allen.

The place is a Manhattan loft shared by Anna, a lithe young dancer-choreographer, and her two gay roommates – her collaborator, Robby, who has just been killed in a freak boating accident, and Larry, a world-weary, caustically funny young advertising executive. As the play begins Anna is recovering from Robby’s funeral, comforted by her wealthy, well-meaning boyfriend, Burton, a sci-fi screenwriter whose persistent proposals of marriage Anna finds herself unable to accept. Then suddenly, Robby’s older brother Pale bursts on the scene. He has come to collect his brother’s belongings. Menacing, profane, dangerous and yet oddly sensitive, Pale is both terrifying and fascinating and, in the end, stays on to transform the action of the play and the lives of those in it.

Artistic Director Jim Stump says, “I had been considering Burn This for a later season, but with Lanford Wilson’s untimely death this past March, I felt it would serve as an appropriate memorial to this passionate voice of the theatre.”

Tim Waldrip directs. The cast features Nathan Neorr as Pale (following noteworthy turns at NET in Fool for Love and Night of the Iguana) and Gina Cerimele-Mechley as Anna, with strong support from Jason Burgess (Larry) and John Wilmes (Burton). Design team includes Melissa Bennett, sets; Glen Goodwin, lights; Jim Stump, costumes; Kevin Semancik, sound; and Nicole Garrisi, props.

For anyone interested, Director Tim Waldrip has a goosebump-raising story of the serendipitous route that led him to this production, beginning many years ago when he was at first disappointed, then blown away by Malkovich’s replacement, Eric Roberts.

Intended for PG audiences only.

Burn This
Sept.29 – Oct. 15, Thur-Sat at 7:30pm.
Columbia Performance Center, 3900 Eastern Avenue.
Near Terry’s Turf Club, Allyn’s, Bella Luna, Tostado’s and The Precinct.
Tickets: $23 adults, $18 seniors, and $15 students.

Purchase/reserve tickets: www.newedgecliff.com or call box office, 888.588.0137.

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New Edgecliff Theatre to Hold Season Auditions, also Seeks Designers for 2011-2012 Season

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 9^th 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 11^th.

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.

Tags: auditions, cincinnati, ohio
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New Edgecliff Theatre Announces 2011-2012 Season: “Obsessed”

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

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