Gotta-see-it highlights from a huge week for Cincinnati arts
This past week, four of the area’s largest performing arts groups announced their schedules for the 2024-2025 season.
For those of us who love the arts, it was a glut of exciting news – a little like dealing with a table overflowing with your favorite desserts. It was hard to know where to start.
One thing that was certain, though, was that if we ever needed confirmation of Cincinnati’s reputation as an arts-rich city, this week’s overabundance of optimistic arts news provided it.
It’s not a completely rosy scene, mind you. Like nearly every arts organization in the nation, these four are still combatting the post-pandemic impact on audiences.
But for all the uncertainty, they are plunging ahead in the most inspiring ways:
When the Playhouse in the Park opened its new mainstage theater 10 months ago, producing artistic director Blake Robison promised that the new building, Moe & Jack’s Place – The Rouse Theatre, would become a magnet for pre-Broadway tryouts. And sure enough, there is one on the theater’s new schedule. “Rutka: A New Musical” opens Oct. 13.
Can’t get enough “Hamlet”? Well, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is doing three productions revolving around Shakespeare’s play next season. First comes the original – on tour for free this summer – followed later by two shows inspired by it, one about the women of “Hamlet,” the other a modern-day, Pulitzer Prize-winning version.
It was a shock to see Louis Langrée’s name missing from the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s season listings. But there is much else to celebrate in the season, everything from a Florence Price Symphony and a CSO debut by Chopin Competition winner Bruce Liu to an extraordinary assortment of guest conductors.
On the heels of its triumphant performances of “Don Quixote,” the Cincinnati Ballet announces the return of another powerful 19th-century classic – “Giselle.” It’s been more than a decade since the company last performed it. And arguably, the company has more women capable of excelling in the role than ever before.
Here's a look at the full season announcements
If you still need some guidance on what you'll want to get tickets for next season, here are a few of the shows that I can’t wait to see.
The shows you won't want to miss
At the Playhouse
I already mentioned the pre-Broadway engagement of “Rutka” above. Similar to the more familiar “Anne Frank,” it is based on the diary of a Jewish girl living under Nazi control. What fascinates me about this story, though, is that it employs an indie-rock score. I can’t wait to see how that sensibility plays into the already difficult lives of the teens who populate this show.
Others that are high on my list? “Primary Trust,” directed by Timothy Douglas, “Mr. Parent” and Sanaz Toossi’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “English” – all of them are tales of people living in the shadows of a frantic and often-ruthless world around them.
At the CSO and Pops
I am a sucker for John Morris Russell’s “American Originals” project. Every year, he illuminates some different aspect of American music for us. And next year, he and the Pops Orchestra will be exploring the rich musical heritage of the Harlem Renaissance.
What else? There’s always so much to choose from in a CSO/Pops season. But the January recital by violinist Hilary Hahn is near the top for me. She’s remarkable. So is the prospect of hearing Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 – the Titan. What a wonderfully optimistic way to kick off the season. Count me in for principal horn player Elizabeth Freimuth joining guest conductor Jun Märkl to play Richard Strauss’ Horn Concerto No. 1. As a long-ago high school French horn player, it was a work I longed to play – and never did.
Oh, and perhaps we’ll also have a chance to meet a new music director by the time the season opens in September.
At Cincinnati Shakespeare Co.
Any time there’s a Lauren Gunderson play on the stage, you can count on me being there. She’s a witty and incredibly smart writer and knows how to deftly mix those things together masterfully. Back in 2020, Cincy Shakes commissioned her to write “A Room in the Castle,” telling the story of “Hamlet” from the point of view of Gertrude and Ophelia, Hamlet’s mother and girlfriend, respectively. Finally, we will get to see the world premiere on the stage.
Also tempting is another world premiere: "Mrs. Dalloway: A New Musical,” a musical adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s novel with script, music and lyrics by Lindsey Augusta Mercer.
At Cincinnati Ballet
We’ve seen choreographer Septime Webre’s production of “The Wizard of Oz” before. But it is a visually audacious production and it will be a major treat to have it back on the stage again. It is the newer works, however, that often provide the best showcase for the company’s dancers. And today’s Cincinnati Ballet is jam-packed with dancers who are not just great technicians, but also wildly interesting to watch.
So you can count me in on the programs that bookend the season: the Kaplan New Works Series in September and the “Director’s Vision: No Boundaries” programs in May. I’m especially eager to revisit David Morse’s “Our Story,” an incredibly moving work being performed in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: The highlights of a huge week for Cincinnati arts organizations
