Culture FIX: Jan. 22-28

At some point, one would think Greater Cincinnati’s cultural scene would have to take a bit of a breather, like when network television airs a week of reruns before sweeps. This week would seem like a fine candidate, too, with most days struggling to climb to freezing. One would be wrong, though. Things are as busy as ever, so grab your parka and head out.

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Friday, Jan. 24

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, “A Room in the Castle” | 7:30 p.m. Otto M. Budig Theater, 1195 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. 513-381-2273. DETAILS: Cincy Shakes concludes Project Hamlet – a look at the themes and characters of the Hamlet story through three plays – with this world premiere by Lauren Gunderson. This incarnation tells the story from the perspective of the women, Ophelia and Gertrude, amid the machinations of the Danish court. Through Feb. 9.

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Falcon Theatre, “Hangmen” | 8 p.m. 636 Monmouth St., Newport; 513-479-6783. DETAILS: It’s 1965 in this Martin McDonagh play, and Great Britain has eliminated the death penalty. Reporters want to know what Harry, England’s second-best hangman, thinks about it, but one mysterious visitor has a darker purpose. Weekends through Feb. 8.

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Manifest Galleries, four openings | 6-9 p.m. 2727 Woodburn Ave., East Walnut Hills. Opening reception. All run through Feb. 21. 

• Botanical: We’re linked to plants in many ways, the oxygen-giving yin to our oxygen-breathing yang. This is the third Manifest exhibition since 2012 to address the world of plant life. 30 works among 623 submitted made the cut.
• Mythography: Stories, legends, myths and fables. Stories help locate us, form our personal and shared identities and often operate as larger metaphors for reality. These eight works (chosen from 249 submitted) explore how visual art helps tell the tale.
• Prometheus: 11 works about fire, a symbol of human transformation and enlightenment, but also of immense destruction and our hubris. 
• Eternal Cycles: Paintings and prints by Ronna Harris and Anthony TungNing Huang

Saturday, Jan. 25

Great Parks, Woodland Mound winter hike | 10 a.m. 8250 Old Kellogg Road, Anderson Township. 513-521-7275. DETAILS: There is no bad weather, just bad clothing choices – or so Scandinavians say. You can put that to the test in the next installment of Great Parks’ winter hike series. These two-hour hikes range from about 4 to 5½ miles and include informative stops to explore the park’s natural history and unique features. Choose the standard hike or a theme: Those are Pokemon Go, bird, fast, leisurely or family hikes. Free, but registration required.

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Cincinnati World Cinema, “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat” | 4 p.m. Garfield Theatre, 719 Race St., downtown. 859-957-3456. DETAILS: If curling up with hot popcorn in a movie theater sounds cozy, here’s a thought-provoking film for you. This Sundance documentary winner investigates when jazz, colonialism and espionage collided. Find out how Louis Armstrong and Patrice Lumumba, Congo and Katanga, Dizzy Gillespie and Dwight Eisenhower all mixed in central Africa in 1960. Additional screening at 4 p.m. Sunday.

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Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, “Back in the U.S.S.R.” | 7:30 p.m. Greaves Concert Hall, 1 Louie B Nunn Drive, Northern Kentucky University. 859-431-6216. DETAILS: Monday marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the brutal Nazi siege of Leningrad in World War II. The KSO, under James Cassidy, marks the occasion with a performance of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7, much of it written in the starving and freezing city. No comment on whether the KSO ordered up the week’s cold snap to heighten the experience. (Yes, as usual, I’ll be lending my skills to the campaign.)

Sunday, Jan. 26

Holocaust & Humanity Center, Holocaust Remembrance Day | 11 a.m. Union Terminal, 1301 Western Ave., Queensgate. 513-487-3055. DETAILS: Remembrance Day is officially Monday, but a weekend day is more accessible for most. This year’s commemoration features a conversation with survivor Henry Fenichel, who survived Bergen-Belsen, but lost his father at Auschwitz. Visitors can then try the Dimensions in Testimony exhibit, which allows live interaction with digital representations of survivors and their testimony.

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Ariel Quartet: The Ariel is quartet-in-residence at UC’s College-Conservatory of Music, but the group has a three-fer on tap through Tuesday that will take members well beyond Clifton. The concerts, with one program as guest of the Linton series, offer an interesting mix of old favorites and favorites you just haven’t heard yet. No excuse not to catch one of them.

• Linton Chamber Music, Essentially French | 4 p.m. First Unitarian Church, 536 Linton St., Avondale. 513-381-6868. DETAILS: Ariel joins forces with the CSO’s Gillian Benet Sella, harp, Randolph Bowman, flute, and clarinetist Christopher Pell in a French-accented program. Music by Bologne (of “Chevalier” film fame), Debussy and Ravel, plus Mozart and Schubert.
  (Repeats 7:30 p.m. Monday at Congregation Beth Adam, 10001 Loveland-Madeira Road, Loveland.)
• Europe: From 1903 to 1945 | 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Werner Recital Hall, 290 CCM Blvd., University of Cincinnati; 513-556-4183. DETAILS: The music of the early 20th century, particularly from between the wars, is among the most compelling in western art. Hear some strong reasons why in this program of quartets by Britten, Ravel and Schulhoff. (Don’t know about Schulhoff? It’s time to fix that.)

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Bach Ensemble at St. Thomas, Bach Vespers | 5 p.m. St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 100 Miami Ave., Terrace Park. 513-831-2052. DETAILS: It’s the first vespers concert of 2025 from Carlton Monroe and BEST. In store is a choral work by Stephen Paulus, an organ concerto by Handel (featuring Christ Church’s Stephan Casurella) and, of course, Bach: the Kyrie from the G-minor Mass and the cheerfully titled cantata, “I stand with one foot in the grave,” BWV 156.

Monday, Jan. 27: 

Jazz at the Memo, Faux Frenchmen | 7 p.m. Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. 513-977-8838. DETAILS: Cincinnati’s favorite jazz (maybe 1920s jazz revival?) group headlines the next series performance. The fabulous foursome will celebrate the music of Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli and the Quintette of the Hot Club of France, then perform their own original music.

Tuesday, Jan. 28

Mercantile Library, “Four Cincinnatis” | 6 p.m. 414 Walnut St., downtown; 513-621-0717. DETAILS: The Merc has finished its massive renovation and expansion, and, like any new butterfly, it’s spreading its wings fast with a full slate of events. In this case, local history advocate-reporter-leader Dan Hurley speaks about his book, a collection of 88 essays written over the last 25 years that tackle a wide range of issues and forces shaping Greater Cincinnati.