From Looney Tunes to Calcutta, take note of this week’s four unique film choices. Summermusik eyes its midpoint with a trip to India. Get your summer lobster fix at the Great Inland Seafood Festival. And the Playhouse opens its season with the thriller of all thrillers. Fall is in our sights, but let’s finish this summer thing out. You can do it!
Wednesday, Aug. 14
Ziegler Park Cinema, “Space Jam” | 9 p.m., 1322 Sycamore St., Pendleton. DETAILS: Can Michael Jordan save the Looney Tunes characters from the horrors of amusement park bondage? The b-ball GOAT stars in this live-action/animated comedy that met with mixed reviews upon its release in 1996, but has generally become a fan-favorite. Bring your favorite lawn chair and all the kids to find out if Moron Mountain – the declining, intergalactic amusement park – is able to score Bugs, Daffy and Porky to save it. Moron Mountain’s proprietor? Mr. Swackhammer, voiced by none other than Danny DeVito. Free.
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Summermusik: “Locomotive Breath” | 7:30 p.m., The Redmoor, 3187 Linwood Ave., Mt. Lookout Square. 513-871-6789. DETAILS: This popular summer series hits the midpoint with a unique offering at this historic Mt. Lookout theater. Get ready to rock and roll with co-curators CCO principal flutist Annie Darlin Gordon and Cincinnati guitarist Roger Klug as they take you back to the “shuffling madness” of London, “Aqualung” and “Cross-Eyed Mary”. Yes, you heard that right. Jethro Tull has entered the building. Well, not really, but a well-executed tribute, no doubt. Repeats Thursday. Limited availability!
Thursday, Aug. 15
Newport Festival Park, Great Inland Seafood Festival | 5-9 p.m., 201 Riverboat Row, Newport. DETAILS: NOW it’s summer. Get your forks on and head down to the Kentucky side of the river for this summertime treat that is everything fish. How about some full Maine lobsters, crab boil buckets or shrimp empanadas? Shark taco, anyone? Anything and everything seafood. If fish isn’t your thing, but your honey has dragged you along, there’s lots of mac and cheese, Bavarian pretzels, beer and key lime pie. Big Bamboo’s Caribbean Grill, Lotus Street Food and Mama Bear’s Mac supply just a few of the offerings. Plenty of live music is on tap. Bands include 3 Day Rule, Road Trip and Brittany’s Lipstick. Vinyl Countdown and Dat Band play out the festival on Sunday evening. Continues through Sunday.
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, “The Green Book: Guide to Freedom” | 6 p.m., 50 E. Freedom Way, downtown. 513-333-7500. DETAILS: Watch a screening of director Yoruba Richen’s 2019 film documentary that delves into the Negro Motorist Green Book with descendants of those who used it and families of those whose businesses were listed in the book. Conversation follows the film with Reverend Damon Lynch Jr., Sherry Glover Thompson and Angenita Brown and moderator Trudy Gaba. The current exhibit at the Freedom Center explores the reality of travel for African-Americans in the mid-20th century. This annual travel guide, published from 1936 to the mid-1960s, provided information about safe and welcoming hotels, places to shop, restaurants and other resources for the rising African-American middle class as they took to the roads of America. Exhibit runs through Oct. 13.
It’s Commonly Jazz, Michael Sharfe | 6-8 p.m., Seasongood Pavilion, Eden Park. DETAILS: Cincinnati bassist Michael Sharfe takes the stage this week. This busy guy will bring some friends along including special guest Marc Fields. These Cincinnati favorites will surely jazz up the sunset, tonight. It’s Commonly Jazz celebrates 40 years. Food by Beyond Guud, with beverages and pound cake available for purchase. (Pound cake? I’m there).
Friday, Aug. 16
Greenacres Arts Center, Music Under the Stars: The Chris Comer Trio | 6 p.m., 8400 Blome Rd., Indian Hill. 513-898-3256. DETAILS: Enjoy an evening at the grand and elegant former “gentleman’s farm” of Cincinnati philanthropists Louis and Louise Nippert. Pianist Chris Comer and his friends have prepared a set of “outer space songs” that feature the moon, stars and other celestial objects. Comer plays a vintage Fender Rhodes and is joined by Max Erwine on guitar, Kainen Shank on bass, and Bart Foster on drums. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.
Manifest Gallery, “Eyes”, “Annual Nude”, “Hair”, “Parallels” | 6-9 p.m., Opening reception, 2727 Woodburn Ave., Walnut Hills. 513-861-3638. DETAILS: Four exhibits open, including “16th Annual Nude”, an international competitive exhibit exploring the uncovered human form in current art. “Eyes” delves into the “essential tool allowing for the experience of visual art.” “Hair” occupies a “strange space between aliveness and being a thing.” “Parallels,” a solo exhibition by photographer Mike Wilkes, hangs in the gallery’s parallel space. Wilkes says his photographs carry no message, but rather invite the viewer to discover their own parallels in each of the pairs. Runs through Sept. 13.
Playhouse in the Park, “Dial M for Murder” | 7:30 p.m., 962 Mt. Adams Circle, Mt. Adams. 513-421-3888. DETAILS: In Jeffrey Hatcher’s new adaptation of Frederick Knott’s 1952 classic thriller, murder and malice still take center stage in a compelling update to this tale of jealousy and deception. You probably remember the 1954 film adaptation directed by Alfred Hitchcock starring Ray Milland and Grace Kelly. In his Cincinnati debut, Brandon Hearnsberger stars as Tony Wendice and Teresa Zimmermann is Margot Wendice. Directed by Tatiana Pandiani. Runs through Sept. 15.
In preparation, you can also check out the classic film at three area theaters in the coming days:
- ESQUIRE THEATRE: Monday, Aug. 19, 7:30 p.m.
- MARIEMONT THEATRE: Wednesday, Aug. 21, 7:30 p.m.
- KENWOOD THEATRE: Monday, Aug. 26, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 17
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Summermusik: “Many Colors of India” | 7:30 p.m., School for Creative and Performing Arts, 108 W. Central Pkwy, Over-the-Rhine. 513-363-8100. DETAILS: Artistic advisor and local composer Kanniks Kannikeswaran has collaborated with the CCO to showcase the rich music and culture of India, the world’s most populous country. Both Eastern and Western classical music is represented in works by Elgar, Mozart, Reena Esmail and Muthuswami Dikshitara. A tabla player, Indian dancers, and the Greater Cincinnati Indian Community Choir combine forces with the orchestra for the program’s conclusion – Kannikeswaran’s composition, “Peace.”
Memorial Hall, The Jayhawks | 8 p.m., 1225 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. 513-977-8838. DETAILS: The Jayhawks became a driving force and inspiration behind the growing Americana movement in the early 1990s and continue to produce albums with distinctive harmonies and unusual arrangements. Their latest album, “XOXO,” was released in 2020. The four core members still continue to perform with the group, Marc Perlman, Karen Grotberg, Gary Louris and Tim O’Reagan.
Washington Park, City Flea and Kids Market | 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 1230 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. DETAILS: Flea market. Support artisans and craftsmen. Great shopping. See friends. Food trucks. Beautiful view of Music Hall. Bring credit card. Wear comfortable shoes. Have fun.
Sunday, Aug. 18
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Summermusik: “Bach Meets Bollywood” | 4 p.m., Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, 11525 Snider Rd., Symmes Twp. 513-247-0900. DETAILS: The CCO’s deep dive into Indian music and culture continues with a celebration of Mumbai’s Hindi cinema, popularly known as “Bollywood.” Co-curators Kanniks Kannikeswaran and daughter/singer Vidita Kanniks explore connections between Indian ragas (frameworks for improvisation in Indian classical music) and the music of Bach and Beethoven. Movements from Bach’s Magnificat, Orchestral Suite #2 and Cantata BMV 29 and Beethoven’s String Quartet, No. 8 in E minor complement works by Indian film composers Mychael Danna, Raam Laxman and AR Rahman, ragas and other arrangements for film by Kannikeswaran and Kanniks.
Monday, Aug. 19
Woodward Theater, “We Grown Now” | 7:30 p.m., 1404 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 513-345-7981. DETAILS: In this 2023 coming-of-age drama, two young boys encounter the joys and hardships of growing up in Cabrini-Green, the large, sprawling public housing complex in Chicago’s Near North Side. As they try to escape public housing and other mundane aspects of their lives, they must navigate the tragedy in their community that tests the bonds of friendship.
Tuesday, Aug. 20
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Summermusik: “Lion” | 7:30 p.m., Esquire Theatre, 320 Ludlow Ave., Clifton. 513-281-8750. DETAILS: CCO concludes its exploration of all things India with this 2016 Australian biographical drama. Based on the non-fiction book “A Long Way Home” by Saroo Brierley, this film from director Garth Davis and screenwriter Luke Davies received six Oscar nominations at the 89th Academy Awards. CCO Music Director Eckart Preu provides commentary on the film about a young Indian boy (Brierley) separated from his birth family when he was five. He ends up in Calcutta and is adopted by an Australian family. Many years later, Saroo locates his birth family only to learn that he had mispronounced his name to authorities when trying to find his family those many years ago. His birth name, Sheru, means lion. Starring Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, David Wenham and Rooney Mara. Tickets may be purchased through the Esquire.
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