Autumn is upon us. The stunning colors and the crisp air invite us to get out and enjoy the season leading up to a gorgeous Hunter’s moon at the end of the month. Outdoor fun is winding down, but there are a lot of warm and cozy things to do inside this week. The CSO has fired back up and there are some interesting movies on tap. And, there’s sauerkraut. Enjoy plentiful theater and jazz as the Queen City falls headlong into, well, Fall.
Wednesday, Oct. 11
Caffe Vivace, Brian Charette, Brad Myers & Jordan Young Organ Trio | 7 & 9 p.m. 975 E. McMillan, Walnut Hills. 513-601-9897. DETAILS: Swinging, funky, joyous and soulful describes the music of this classic Hammond organ trio sound. Some serious energy is waiting to get you over hump day and into the end of the week. Brian Charette and Jordan Young are in from New York and Cincinnati-based Brad Myers completes the group. The Getz and Trane tables are gone, but there are still plenty up for grabs. Don’t miss this great musical chemistry.
Thursday, Oct. 12
ARTFLIX, “The Thief Collector” | 7 p.m. The Barn, 6980 Cambridge Ave., Mariemont. 513-272-3700. DETAILS: The 10th season of ARTFLIX opens with director Allison Otto’s documentary about Dutch artist Willem de Kooning’s stolen painting, “Woman-Ochre.” In 1985, one of the most valuable paintings of the 20th century was cut from its frame at the University of Arizona Museum of Art. Thirty-two years later, the painting was found hanging in a New Mexico home. It has since been restored and in 2022 was returned to the university. Dave Laug leads a lively discussion about the film. BYOB.
Cincinnati Landmark Productions, “Freaky Friday” | 7:30 p.m. Covedale Center for the Performing Arts, 4990 Glenway Ave., Covedale. 513-241-6550. DETAILS: When an overworked mother and her teenage daughter magically swap bodies, they have just one day to put things right! “Freaky Friday” is a heartfelt, comedic, and unexpectedly emotional update on a hilarious, modern American classic. Sarah D. Cohen and Savannah Boyd play mother and daughter in this musical based on the 1972 novel of the same name by Mary Rodgers. Runs through Nov. 5.
Friday, Oct. 13
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Bernstein, Price & Copland | 11 a.m. Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. 513-381-3300. DETAILS: Wait! Is that you, Mr. Sulu? George Takei has come a long way since his days on the Starship Enterprise. This weekend he narrates Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait” in a concert of music by American composers. According to Copland, “I hoped to suggest something of the mysterious sense of fatality that surrounds Lincoln’s personality. The challenge was to compose something simple, yet interesting enough to fit Lincoln.” CSO Music Director Louis Langree also conducts works by Leonard Bernstein and Florence Price. Repeats on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Winstead Chamber Series, “Reflections of America” | 7:30 p.m. Wilks Studio, Music Hall, 1241 Elm St. Over-the-Rhine. 513-381-3300. DETAILS: Antonin Dvořák’s lyrical and exuberant “String “American” Quartet opens the inaugural season of the Winstead Chamber Music Series alongside Libby Larsen’s energetic “Corker” for clarinet and percussion, and John Harbison’s complex and fearless Quintet for Winds. Johannes Brahms’ robust and sentimental String Quartet No. 1 closes the program. The series is endowed by and named after longtime CSO principal bassoonist, William “Bill” Winstead.
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, “Wrecking Ball” | 7:30 p.m. 1195 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. 513-381-2273. DETAILS: A team of screenwriters get together to adapt a beloved, yet controversial, classic play for a new television series, but production halts when a shocking truth is revealed. The “Wrecking Ball” demolishes the pristine façade of Hollywood, and this cast of characters must find a way to rebuild in this caustic contemporary comedy. Through Oct. 28.
Saturday, Oct. 14
Taft Museum of Art, “Sporting Fashion: Outdoor Girls 1800-1960” | 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 316 Pike St., downtown. 513-241-0343. DETAILS: “Sporting Fashion” reveals how clothing was designed to accommodate a variety of activities ranging from horseback riding to golfing to motorcycling. The stylish attire women wore helped break down the barriers that had isolated them from the male-dominated sporting world. Garments for swimming and tanning illustrate how designers and manufacturers responded to the increasing acceptance of exposed skin at beaches and pools. Yours Truly kind of likes those pants. The bowling ball, not so much. Through Jan. 14.
Waynesville Area Chamber of Commerce, Ohio Sauerkraut Festival | 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Main Street, Waynesville. 513-897-8855. DETAILS: You either love it or you hate it. Either way, there’s something for everyone. The Ohio Sauerkraut Festival serves seven tons of sauerkraut and attracts approximately 350,000 visitors each year to browse among the over 450 craft booths and sample the offerings from more than 30 different food booths. Enjoy historic Waynesville as you sample your favorite dishes of this not-necessarily-German delicacy. Through Sunday.
Cincinnati Art Museum, ChamberPalooza | Noon-4 p.m. 953 Eden Park Dr., Eden Park. 513-721-2787. DETAILS: This year’s ChamberPalooza features two world premieres: “Powerful Impressions” for flute and piano, by Jeanine Yeager (commissioned by the Chamber Music Network), and performed by Sonya Szabo Reynolds, piano, and Gretchen Germann, flute. The other work is “Sometimes It Happens So,” a song cycle for baritone and piano with music by Kile Smith based on poems by Jane Flanders, performed by Sonya Szabo Reynolds, piano, and Ben Flanders, baritone. Bring your kids and explore the “Instrumental Petting Zoo” featuring stringed instruments, woodwinds and brass. Free.
Queen City Cabaret, “Perfectly MARVELOUS” | 7:30 p.m. The Carnegie, 1028 Scott St., Covington. 859-491-2030. DETAILS: Join Queen City Cabaret and The Carnegie as women in comedy are celebrated with a night of music from the soundtrack of the hit show, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” The evening includes hits by Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee, Duke Ellington, and more! The show will also feature performances by improv and sketch comedy duo, The Sketchy Dames. Sit back, relax, and get ready to laugh out loud.
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, “Clyde’s” | 7:30 p.m. 962 Mt. Adams Circle, Mt. Adams. 513-421-3888. DETAILS: Every sandwich has a story at Clyde’s, a truck-stop operated by a group of people recently released from prison. Under the no-nonsense authority of Clyde — an ex-con herself whose searing remarks can really leave a burn — the small kitchen crew finds redemption and purpose through the art of sandwich-making. Preview performances thought Oct. 18. Official opening night Oct. 19.
Sunday, Oct. 15
(photo by Anne Fishbein)
Cincinnati Arts Association, An Afternoon with David Sedaris | 3 p.m. Aronoff Center for the Arts, 650 Walnut St., downtown. 513-621-2787. DETAILS: Sedaris, author of bestsellers “Calypso,” “Naked,” “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” “Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim,” and a regular National Public Radio contributor, will be live on stage following the release of his newest book “Happy Go Lucky.” As always, he will be offering a selection of all-new readings and recollections, as well as a Q&A session and book signing.
Hyde Park Community UMC, Organ Concert Series | 2 p.m. 1345 Grace Ave., Hyde Park. 513-871-1345. DETAILS: Wesley Hall is a dynamic organist with an active performance schedule as both a solo artist and collaborator. He is minister of music at First Baptist Church in Worcester, Mass. Hall will present a fun and interactive concert to engage all ages (including families and children) in new ways to experience the “King of Instruments.” His nearly 200,000 followers on TikTok are proof that he can make the pipe organ interesting to a large and varied audience. Free.
Linton Chamber Music Series, “Art of the Piano Quartet” | 4 p.m. First Unitarian Church, 536 Linton St., Avondale. 513-381-6868. DETAILS: There’s nothing like a Brahms piano quartet. Nothing like it. This ensemble, the Expressivo! Quartet, is sure to do Brahms, Mendelssohn and Schumann justice in the season opener devoted to the string trio+1. Robinson and Laredo continue their artistic direction of the series, begun 40 years ago by the late Dick Waller, longtime principal clarinetist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
Monday, Oct. 16
Woodward Cinema, “What Doesn’t Float” | 7:30 p.m. 1404 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 513-345-7981. DETAILS: Seven stories. One city. A group of characters fill out this darkly comedic anthology of New Yorkers at their wits end. When the dailiness of urban life is suspended by unforeseen conflict, each character must make a decision. While the outcomes vary, a unified sense of the city emerges: New York becomes a mirror to the ego reflecting our true character, while the rest sinks to the bottom. Sounds like an interesting take on New York. Directed by Luca Balser. From a screenplay by Shauna Fitzgerald.
Tuesday, Oct. 17
Cincinnati World Cinema, Best of Cindependent | 7 p.m. 719 Race St., downtown. 859-957-3456. DETAILS: The Best of the Cindependent Film Festival continues with the best in comedy. Produced in Cincinnati, “Booked” is a feature-length comedy about two high school theatre geeks who are snubbed for the leads in their senior musical. To retaliate against their dismissive and invalidating classmates and teacher, they audition for top college BFA musical theatre programs to prove to everyone they have what it takes. Written, directed, and starring University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music grads Cassie Maurer, Chesney Mitchell and Eli Owens. Discussion of the film and festival by Cindependent Board Member Jack Crumley.