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
Spastic children, obnoxious parents, nutty co-workers and, oh yeah … One Life to Live…. Happy Holidays! Brutally honest, witty and even a bit crude at times, The Santaland Diaries looks at the comically darker side of Christmas through the eyes of one man’s memorable experience as a seasonal worker elf at Macy’s Christmas Winter Wonderland. This year, New Edgecliff has paired with Cincinnati’s True Theatre to present trueCHRISTMAS, featuring real people telling real stories about their own memorable holiday experiences. This storytelling event is the perfect complement to David Sedaris, the ultimate storyteller.
Purchase Tickets Online now!
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.
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!”
