To follow a season where the new stage itself was the star premiere, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park‘s next season is putting the premieres on stage.
The region’s largest professional theater company has announced its schedule for the 2024-25 season, a lineup that includes a world premiere, three regional premieres, a Pulitzer Prize winner and a new film adaptation.
The world premiere, “Rutka,” is an indie-rock musical based on “Rutka’s Notebook: A Voice from the Holocaust” – the adaptation of Rutka Laskier’s 1943 diary from the Jewish Ghetto in Bedzin, Poland. Like the diary of Anne Frank, who was born on the same day as Rutka and also perished at the hands of the Nazis, it’s a story of hope, resilience and resistance. Rutka shared common teen concerns – friendships, gossip, a new haircut and first love – but her life’s story would be cut short at the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp.
Rutka’s diary was not published until 2006 and translated into English in 2007. The musical setting features music and lyrics of Jocelyn Mackenzie and Jeremy Lloyd-Styles with a book by Neena Beber. Wendy C. Goldberg will direct. “Rutka” runs Oct. 13 to Nov. 10 in the Rouse Theatre.
While “Rutka” is on its way to Broadway, the season’s three regional premieres are already Broadway or Off-Broadway hits.
In “Primary Trust,” Kenneth, a shy, 38-year-old Black man, sells books by day and drinks mai tais with his best friend Bert by night. When he is suddenly laid off, the walls of his life start to crumble until he finds kindness and friendship in unlikely places. This achingly beautiful Off-Broadway hit by Eboni Booth runs Feb. 1-23, 2025, in the Rouse Theatre.
The Rosenthal Shelterhouse Theatre hosts the other two area premieres, “English,” by Sanaz Toossi, and “Birthday Candles,” by Noah Haidle.
“English” won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for drama. In a story both touching and telling, it introduces four Iranian adults who gather to learn English. As they navigate the mechanics of the language through humor, word games and cultural touchstones like Shakira and Coca-Cola, questions about identity seep into their minds and hearts. It runs March 1-30.
“Birthday Candles” tenderly explores motherhood, family, love, loss and finding one’s place in the universe. Audiences join Ernestine as she bakes a cake and celebrates with her family on her birthday. The delicious ritual unfolds onstage through glimpses of her life across 90 birthdays. The production, directed by Playouse associate artistic director Joanie Schultz, runs April 19 to May 18, 2025.
The season kicks off Aug. 17 with a new adaptation of “Dial M for Murder,” the classic 1954 Alfred Hitchcock film. In this co-production with the Alley Theatre in Houston, Frederick Knott’s screenplay was adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher. This iconic thriller’s plot includes suspicion, deception and, of course, murder in midcentury London. The fast-paced stage treatment runs through Sept. 15.
In this season full of new, two comedy favorites return for 2024-25:
Having sold out every previous Playhouse outing, Chicago’s Second City returns to the Shelterhouse Oct. 24 to Dec. 22. The legendary comedy troupe’s 65th Anniversary Tour features some of the best sketch comedy and songs from the comedy vaults, updated for the modern era.
“The Book Club Play” by Karen Zacarias returns to Mount Adams after a successful 2013 run. In this comedy about books and the people who love them, long-standing relationships take a hilarious turn when a book club accepts a provocative new member. Blake Robison, the Playhouse’s producing artistic director, will stage the March 22 to April 20, 2025, run in the Rouse Theatre.
Opening the Shelterhouse season is “Mr. Parent,” by Melinda Lopez with Maurice Emmanuel Parent. In this deeply felt – and hilarious – solo performance, a writer-performer tells real-life, personal stories about being a struggling actor-turned-urban public school teacher. Maurice Parent takes the stage to share stories of crushingly inequitable systems, the brilliance of every kid and how we might all find the space to be ourselves.
If you sense something still missing, never fear: The holiday stalwart “A Christmas Carol” got a major overhaul last year to take advantage of the capabilities of the Playhouse’s new home. The Dickens tale, adapted by Robison, settles in at the Rouse mainstage for more than a month, from Nov. 22-Dec. 29.
Season ticket packages range from $105 to $625.50; a student season ticket package is available for $15 per production. (Subscribers get first shot at “Christmas Carol” seats.) Current subscribers must renew by April 12 to guarantee seat preferences.
Visit cincyplay.com or call 513-421-3888 or 800-582-3208. (513-345-2248 for TDD access)
Playhouse 2024-25 season at a glance
Rouse Theatre
• Aug. 17-Sept. 15: “Dial M for Murder”
• Oct. 13-Nov. 10: “Rutka: A New Musical”
• Nov. 22-Dec. 29: “A Christmas Carol”
• Feb. 1-23: “Primary Trust”
• March 22-April 20: “The Book Club Play”
Rosenthal Shelterhouse Theatre
• Sept. 7-Oct. 6: “Mr. Parent”
• Oct. 24-Dec. 22: “The Best of the Second City”
• March 1-30: “English”
• April 19-May 18: “Birthday Candles”
Discover more from Movers & Makers
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.