FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: March 12, 2007
Contact: Christa Skiles
Public Relations Director
513-345-2242, ext. 232

CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE SPOTLIGHTS WORLD PREMIERE MUSICAL MARIEL
WITH FREE PUBLIC PERFORMANCE FOR FAMILIES

Performance March 31 at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center precedes school tour

(CINCINNATI) — The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park will kick off its final outreach touring production of this season, the world premiere musical Mariel, with a free public performance for families on March 31 at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. A musical for young audiences about cultural identity and the meaning of freedom, the play features a score by Grammy nominee John Forster and a book by award-winning storyteller David Gonzalez and is scheduled for a spring tour to middle and high schools in a multi-state region. Mariel is the first musical ever to receive the Playhouse’s Macy’s New Play Prize for Young Audiences. The show is made possible through the generosity of the Macy’s Fund of the Federated Department Stores Foundation.

On the historic Mariel boatlift from Cuba in 1980, when Fidel Castro allowed 125,000 people to leave the country, two teenagers — Iatalina, an intelligent girl, and Jorge, a boy looking for a second chance — meet as strangers and form a fast friendship as they dream of a bright future in America. Once they arrive in Florida, both must accept not only what they’ve left behind, but also find a way to form their own identities independent of others’ expectations. What they learn is that freedom can be uncomfortable and that making choices takes the courage to embrace all of the world’s complexities and contradictions. Mariel explores a little-known story in the history of immigration, dives into the riches of Cuban and Afro-Cuban culture and pulsates with the island’s vibrant musical forms, from mambo and bolero to rumba and Latin disco.

Mariel is the seventh recipient of the Macy’s New Play Prize, for which national playwrights are chosen by the Playhouse to create a new work specifically for younger Tristate audiences. It is the first musical to be awarded the honor. The show is produced by the Playhouse’s A.G. and Margaret Lafley Touring Company and complements the not-for-profit theatre’s educational mission and its commitment to nurturing new plays and new audiences. Additional support for Mariel is provided by The Corbett Foundation.

The free public performance of Mariel will take place at the Freedom Center’s Harriet Tubman Theatre on Saturday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m. This production is appropriate for theatergoers ages 11 and up. Following the performance, audience members can participate in a question and answer session with Mariel’s artists and creators. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 877/672-9965. Seating is limited.

John Forster is a four-time Grammy Award nominee. His critically acclaimed first solo album Entering Marion was released in 1994 and won a NAIRD Award. He is well known for the many award-winning albums he has written and produced for Tom Chapin, as well as multi-platinum music videos and albums written and produced for the Olsen Twins. He recently wrote the book and lyrics for a musical of Freaky Friday, with music by original author Mary Rodgers.

David Gonzalez is a 2006 Drama Desk Award nominee. He previously was commissioned by the Playhouse to write Finding North as part of the celebration of the opening of the Freedom Center. One of this country’s most talented and sought after storytellers, he has performed to more than 2,500 audiences across the globe, including appearances on Broadway and at London’s Royal National Theatre, the Smithsonian Institution, Lincoln Center Theatre and in hundreds of schools.

Mariel will tour area schools for grades seven through 12 this spring from April 2 to 27. For more information about the Playhouse's education and outreach programs, contact Education Director Bert Goldstein at 513/345-2242 or visit www.cincyplay.com.

Artists fly to and from Cincinnati on Delta Connection Comair, the Playhouse’s official airline. The Playhouse is supported, in part, by the generosity of the tens of thousands of individuals and businesses that give to the Fine Arts Fund. The Ohio Arts Council also helps fund the Playhouse with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The Playhouse also receives funding from the City of Cincinnati.

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