Love, Janis Explores the Music and Soul
of Janis Joplin

The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park has kicked off its 46th season with one of the funniest musicals ever written, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. With a book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Forum is a marvelous mixture of mischief, misunderstandings, mistaken identities and mayhem.

Did you know?:

• Forum is the first musical for which Stephen Sondheim wrote both music and lyrics. Until the show premiered, he was known primarily as a lyricist for the Broadway musicals West Side Story and Gypsy.
• Forum originally played on Broadway for more than two years and 964 performances, still the longest Broadway run for a Stephen Sondheim musical.
• Forum is based on the works of third-century Roman playwright Plautus. Braggart warrior Miles Gloriosus' line in the show, "I am a parade!" is more than 2,000 years old.
• The Playhouse's Pseudolus Bob Walton, who has performed on Broadway and across the country, has local roots. Originally from Indiana, he is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music.
  

The Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre Season opens September 22 with an electric music event, Love, Janis. Conceived, adapted and directed by Randal Myler and inspired by the book of the same name by Laura Joplin, Love, Janis explores the legacy of 1960s rock icon Janis Joplin in both music and words.

Love, Janis features nearly 20 of the songs that have kept the singer's legendary status bright, even among generations who never experienced her performances first-hand, including "Piece of My Heart," "Ball and Chain," "Down on Me," "Me and Bobby McGee" and "Mercedes-Benz." But the musical also focuses on the letters that Janis Joplin wrote home, letters that demonstrate a down-to-earth girl who missed her family, sought advice, yearned for approval, and, most of all, fought to stay authentic and true to herself despite her growing fame.

Three performers actually portray Janis Joplin in the show. Morgan Hallett is the private Janis who speaks from the letters. Two singers alternate performances of the public Janis: Katrina Chester, who portrayed the role off-Broadway, and Lauren Dragon, a Cincinnati native and School for the Creative and Performing Arts graduate.

Love, Janis is sponsored by Bartlett & Company and James & Mary Miller. The show runs through November 6.

For more information or to buy tickets, visit our web site.

Looking for a distinctly Roman way to celebrate A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum? Plan to join us for the House "Toga" Party for the final performance of the show on Friday, October 7.

A great night out for young professionals, the House Party begins with a pre-show reception from 6 to 8 p.m. with free light fare from Karlo's Bistro at the Playhouse and live music. A cash bar also is available. Then, head into the theatre for the performance. For Forum, everyone who comes to the party wearing a toga will earn a chance at winning one of several cool door prizes.

The House "Toga" Party also is featured as part of this year's 20/20 Festival, 20 days and 20 nights of enjoying the arts in Cincinnati. 20/20 Passport Cardholders and members of Enjoy the Arts/START get special discounts on tickets for the show. Call the Playhouse Box Office at (513) 421-3888 for more details.

The 2005-2006 season is sponsored by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation and Heidelberg Distributing Co.

This is a promotional message from Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.