COVID may be subsiding, but winter has decided to stick around at least one more week. Need to find something to brighten your spirit or at least distract you? Hark, read on! We may have some ideas for you…
Last chance…
Cincinnati Ballet, “Cinderella” | Music Hall. 513-621-5219. DETAILS: Five chances left – Thursday to Sunday afternoon – to catch this magical production with its glorious music and fairy tale ending.
Wednesday, Feb. 23
Cincinnati Arts Association, “Menopause The Musical” | Jarson-Kaplan Theater, Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. 513-621-2787. DETAILS: Just a few days left to grab your girlfriends and get downtown for this theatrical send-up of “the change.” Give your guys the night off. Through Sunday.
Thursday, Feb. 24
Harriet Beecher Stowe House, “Who Controls the Narrative? Newspapers and Cincinnati’s Anti-Black Riots of 1829, 1836 and 1841” | 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 2950 Gilbert Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45206. 513-751-0651. DETAILS: This new exhibit examines the role Cincinnati newspapers played in encouraging anti-Black violence within the city during the 19th century – Cincinnati’s printing revolution, how papers are said to have encouraged and supported white mobs, and how papers reported on the violence. Objects relating to the printing industry will be on view, courtesy of the Cincinnati Print & Type Museum. Runs through May.
Weston Art Gallery, “Summerfair Select” | 5:30-8:30 p.m. Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. 513-977-4165. DETAILS: Rescheduled because of weather from late January, this reception gives you the chance to meet twelve Cincinnati-area artists who received Summerfair Aid to Individual Artists Awards from 2016-18 – one of the most coveted and enduring arts grants in the region. The exhibit continues through April 3.
cincinnatiarts.org/weston-art-gallery
Friday, Feb. 25
PHOTO CAPTIONS:
(left) David C. Driskell “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” 1972, acrylic on canvas, Tougaloo College Art Collections, Tougaloo, Mississippi; Purchased by Tougaloo College with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, 1973.084, © Estate of David C. Driskell, Photograph by Mark Geil
(right) Louis Draper “Billy,” before 1974, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Endowment, 2015.272, © Louis H. Draper Preservation Trust, Nell D. Winston,trustee
Cincinnati Art Museum, “Icons of Nature and History” and “Working Together” | 953 Eden Park Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45202. 513-721-2787. DETAILS: Two exhibits open Friday at the CAM that share common themes, although the artists worked in different media – David Driskell in painting and printmaking; the those of the Kamoinge Workshop in photography. Exhibits continue until May 15.
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, “Hamlet” | 1195 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. 513-381-2273. DETAILS: Leave it to Cincy Shakes to bring a gender-bender twist to one of The Bard’s iconic roles – manifested by that mighty sprite Sara Clark. “To be, or not to be” most interesting…? Methinks the former. Show runs until March 26.
Cincinnati World Cinema, Oscar-Nominated Shorts | 6:30 p.m. Garfield Theatre, 719 Race St., Cincinnati 45202. 859-957-3456. DETAILS: Here’s your chance to sample the best in short-form cinema before the awards happen, and you have three weekends to see them all – through March 13. Documentaries are on Friday evenings. Animated shorts are on Saturdays and Sundays at 3:30 p.m. Live-action shorts are on Saturday and Sunday evenings at 6:30 p.m. Plenty of time to grab a bite in between or after.
NFTxCincinnati, “UNFIT: ”Immersive NFT Gallery” | 6-10 p.m. Sample Space, 140 Marian Spencer Way, Cincinnati, OH 45202. DETAILS: Feeling clueless because you don’t understand the concept of NFT’s (non-fungible tokens, unique bits of digital art) … or the attraction? Or simply curious what the fuss is all about? Take advantage of the rare opportunity to learn more. Friday evening is a party so you can informally check things out, and the gallery is also open Saturday, noon-5 p.m. for viewing. For those with a higher level of curiosity, talks and panel discussions take place Friday afternoon, noon-4 p.m. Who says Cincinnati is behind the times.
Saturday, Feb. 26
AlivenArts, “Building a Choral Community” | 3:30 p.m. The House of Joy Christian Ministries, 3220 Central Pkwy, Cincinnati, OH 45225. DETAILS: Singer-composer Ysaÿe Maria Barnwell will be honored by eight choirs, six conductors and 250 voices (count ’em!) from Southwest Ohio performing her compositions. Barnwell is a composer, arranger, author, actress and former member of the African American female a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey In The Rock. Concert is free, but must be reserved at www.eventbrite.com, search: Barnwell.
Kennedy Heights Arts Center, “Voices of Freedom” | 6-8 p.m. 6546 Montgomery Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45213. 513-631-4278. DETAILS: Juneteenth Cincinnati presents an exhibition of commissioned new works by 10 artists and 10 poets exploring “the promise and reality of ‘freedom’ as experienced by those whose lives and destinies were touched by emancipation.” Curated by Michael Coppage (visual art) and MoPoetry Phillips (poetry), the exhibit runs untiln March 26 in the Lindner Gallery.
Sunday, Feb. 27
Studio San Giuseppe Art Gallery, “Grains of Sand” | Mount St. Joseph University, 5701 Delhi Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45233. DETAILS: As a photographer, Mount St. Joe professor Alan deCourcy is interested in “paying attention, in moving from the general to the particular, from the large to the small…” In this interdisciplinary exhibition, his photography is accompanied by famous quotes and music. Continues through April 1.
Monday, Feb. 28
Joseph-Beth Booksellers, “Answering the Call of the Wild: The Remarkable Life of Cathryn Hosea Hilker” | 7 p.m. 2692 Madison Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45208. 513-396-8960. DETAILS: In honor of Hilker’s 90th birthday, this biography weaves the threads of a journey that led an ordinary farm girl from Mason, Ohio, to the extraordinary wilds of Africa and back to the Cincinnati Zoo as a champion for cheetahs. Multi-talented author Kathy Merchant is also a travel, wine, and food writer and the former CEO of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation.
Mayerson JCC, Jewish & Israeli Film Festival | Virtual, on-demand. 513-761-7500. DETAILS: In “Foregiveness”, Nissan and Shaul are two bumbling thieves whose failed attempt to rob a bank lands Shaul in jail. Released from prison just before the Jewish New Year, Shaul tries to regain the trust of his wife and daughter but his plans go awry when Nissan, now a Hasidic Jew, re-enters his life seeking forgiveness. When the two reformed criminals find themselves in need of money, their adventures begin anew. 48-hour viewing window begins at 7:30 p.m. Virtual festival continues through March 5.
Tuesday, March 1
Cincinnati Symphony, Daniil Trifonov in recital | 7:30 p.m. Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. 513-381-3300. DETAILS: Rescheduled from November due to COVID, it’s hard to not wax rhapsodic about the pianist many consider to be possibly the very best in the world right now. How often do you get the chance to experience the very best, right? And Music Hall recitals are rare. (I’ll never forget Pavarotti in late January 1978.) The program sits smack in the pianist’s romantic sweet spot, with sonatas by Szymanowski and Brahms sandwiched around suites by Debussy and Prokofiev. Go hear this.
Mardi Gras for Homeless Children | 6:30-10 p.m. Northern Kentucky Convention Center. DETAILS: This year’s emcees are Tiffany Porter & JonJon Curl of Kiss 107. Scott Sloan of 700 WLW and Shelia Gray of Local12 will hold court over this over-the-top annual fundaiser, with former Bengal Giovani Bernard as grand marshall. Entertainment is by Tickled Pink and the Beechwood HS Marching Band. Proceeeds benefit Welcome House, Bethany House and the Brighton Center. Tickets: $80, VIP: $100.