Monday Matinee 11/11/13

First of all, I want to personally thank all of those who have served our country and sacrificed so much to defend our country by serving in the military.  Happy Veterans Day.

I saw “Oklahoma!” at Wright State yesterday.  As I’ve come to expect, the production was really well done and I thought the dancing was astounding. Andrew Quiett brought a darkness to the character of Jud Fry that is often lacking when this show is produced; I only wish the audience understood that Jud is not a comedic character in anyway.  But its a difficult show to produce because of the stark contrast in tone from one second to the next. It’s much harder to pull off than one might think.

Tickets go on sale today for WSU’s next production, Andrew Lippa’s “Wild Party.” This show is intense and for mature audiences only and I’m very intrigued to see it.  I’ve been a fan of Paige Dobkins, who plays Queenie, for many years and the rest of the cast list (available here if you are on FaceBook) is working hard this week as they prepare to open on Friday.

Also opening this weekend is Untethered Theater Company’s debut show this season, “The House of Yes.”  If you’ve not seen a show in this intimate space, you need to.  And this one features a great cast including Mindy Heithaus and Christine Dye who were both recently featured in New Edgecliff Theater’s acclaimed production of “Bus Stop.”  Joshua Steele, the producing director of The Carnegie is also playing with this group and the cast is rounded out by Untethered regulars Carter Bratton and Mary Kate Moran.  Tickets are available here. I’m going on Friday.

Speaking of The Carnegie (who is home to my favorite box office manager, Brenda) “Boeing, Boeing” continues this week.  This joint production between CCM and The Carnegie features a recommendation from the League of Cincinnati Theater for Shaun Sutton’s acting work.  Tickets are available here.  Other shows getting rave reviews that remain open this week are “Bull” at the KNOW Theatre and “Fiddler on the Roof” at the Human Race Theater in Dayton.  Also, this Saturday is your last chance to catch “Cabaret” at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

Saturday morning I’m getting up early to go see Ball State’s production of “42nd Street.”  I love a good road trip and I love great tap dancing so I’m hopeful to come back next week with a positive report about the weekend!

What are you doing this week to support local theater?