According to Playhouse Producing Artistic Director Edward Stern, “I’m excited and proud to announce the 49th season. It continues our tradition of providing our audiences with the best and broadest range of theatre, mixing both the classic and contemporary. It will be a wonderfully exciting season for the Cincinnati theatre community."

The Robert S. Marx Theatre Season (sponsored by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation)

The Marx Theatre season starts by bringing one of Jane Austen’s most delightful heroines to life in the comic and enchanting new musical EMMA, September 2 – October 3, 2008 (opening night: September 4).

With music, lyrics and book by Paul Gordon, Emma firmly believes herself to be a most talented matchmaker and chooses her hapless and easily influenced friend Harriet as her next endeavor. Yet despite Emma's obsession with romance, she remains clueless about her own feelings and the true desires of those around her. Her matchmaking mischief leads to countless comic complications and a little heartache but ultimately ends in true love. According to VARIETY, “The songs…cleverly woven throughout – enhance the story in wonderful ways …elegant…a charmer.” Robert Kelley directed the show’s world premiere at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto (where he is Artistic Director) and will direct at the Playhouse as well.

The season continues with John Kolvenbach’s LOVE SONG (October 21 – November 21; opening night: October 23), a quirky comedy that celebrates the rich rewards of embracing life and love. Beane exiled himself from life years ago. His well-meaning sister Joan continually attempts to help him, but he stubbornly resists. When Joan suddenly finds her brother blissfully in love, she tries to unravel the story behind his surprising happiness and a mysterious new soul-mate.

Fast-moving, funny and wonderfully compassionate, LOVE SONG is a rhapsody to the power of love in all its forms. THE DAILY TELEGRAPH in London described it as “One of the best plays of the year. Richly comic and deeply touching. Outstanding.” Playhouse Associate Artistic Director Michael Evan Haney will direct.

For the holidays, the Playhouse will celebrate the 18th anniversary of its favorite seasonal tradition with Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL presented by KeyBank (December 4 – 30 opening night: December 5). The Playhouse's production features a lovingly faithful adaptation by Howard Dallin, complete with a cast of nearly 30 actors and elaborate costumes and special effects. A CHRISTMAS CAROL is not part of any subscription package, although subscribers do receive discounts and early buying opportunities. Michael Evan Haney directs for his 16th year.

Cincinnati playwright Joseph McDonough (ONE and STONE MY HEART) takes home the Mickey Kaplan New American Play Prize for his newest work, TRAVELS OF ANGELICA, which will receive its world premiere at the Playhouse January 20 – February 20, 2009 (opening night: January 22). 1657: A writer wanted for treason barely escapes from England with his daughter and starts a new life with a new identity in Virginia. He attempts to outwit his blackmailing neighbor and escape capture in order to complete his most important work.

2008: Two graduate students come to Virginia in search of clues about this forgotten author, hoping to make an important literary discovery. As the play twists and turns between the past and present, this time-traveling tale explores history, hope, heart and the possibility of a remarkable future. Edward Stern will direct.

THE WASHINGTON TIMES says “there are moments when you may be gasping for air through the laughs” in Larry Shue’s THE FOREIGNER (March 10 – April 10, 2009; opening night: March 12). When Charlie, a desperately shy Englishman, comes to a rural lodge in Georgia, he pretends to be a foreigner from an exotic country who doesn’t know English so he won’t have to talk to the locals.  Hilarious intrigue ensues as Charlie finds himself witness to bizarre schemes and dark secrets by people who think he can’t understand a word being said. The confusion fuels nonstop merriment leading to the unlikely and uproarious climax of this side-splitting and entertaining comedy.  The show will be directed by Kenneth Albers, who also helmed the Playhouse’s 2005 production of Steve Martin’s THE UNDERPANTS.

The Marx Season concludes with DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (April 21 – May 22, 2009; opening night: April 23), a mesmerizing and theatrically intense new spin on Robert Louis Stevenson’s timeless tale of inner demons and evil unchecked by nationally renowned playwright Jeffrey Hatcher (MURDERERS, THE TURN OF THE SCREW, ELLA). Against the backdrop of Victorian London, the respected Dr. Jekyll begins acting alarmingly erratic toward his friends. At the same time, a brutal figure haunts the city’s streets committing murder and assault. Audiences are invited to indulge their dark side with this riveting and fiendishly clever thriller. Edward Stern will direct.

The Thompson Shelterhouse Season (sponsored by Heidelberg Distributing Co.)

The Thompson Shelterhouse season begins with Julia Cho’s DURANGO (September 20 – October 19, 2008; opening night: September 25). Described by LA WEEKLY as “wonderfully mysterious and surprising,” this thought-provoking play explores the journey to understanding identity while living in the shadow of the American dream. After losing his job, single father Boo-Seng Lee decides to take his two teenage sons on a road trip to Durango, Colorado. As they make their way across the Arizona desert, each passing mile unearths deeply held secrets unleashing long-held tensions between the father, a Korean immigrant, and his sons, first generation Asian-Americans.

The season continues with the return of one of the most popular productions in the Shelterhouse’s history. Off-Broadway’s longest-running, smash hit musical comedy I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE (November 1 – December 31, 2008; opening night: November 6) celebrates the triumphs and trials of the modern-day mating game. From dating and waiting to bridemaids and babies, this love-happy musical revue, with book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music by Jimmy Roberts, cleverly covers everything you’ve secretly thought about romance, marriage, lovers, husbands, wives and in-laws but were afraid to admit. Audiences will fall in love and laugh until it hurts with the most “proposal-friendly” show in town. As he did in 2000, Dennis Courtney will direct the production.

A critically acclaimed hit in New York and London, the Olivier Award-winning BLACKBIRD (February 7 – March 8, 2009; opening night: February 12) by Scottish playwright David Harrower is a cat-and-mouse tale of volatile emotion and sexual intrigue. This haunting and powerful play begins when Una shows up unexpectedly at Ray’s office to confront him about their relationship 15 years earlier. Ray must face his past and the effects of his affair with Una when she was just an adolescent and he was 40. Una pulls Ray into a gripping, surprising and utterly unforgettable encounter. BLACKBIRD is a provocative, no-holds-barred drama that both chills and thrills. THE NEW YORK TIMES calls it “intense … the most powerful drama of the season…masterly, mesmerizing…extraordinary…a miracle.” Michael Evan Haney directs.

Two people search for happiness during World War II in Arlene Hutton’s LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC (March 28 – April 26, 2009; opening night: April 2). May, a young woman who dreams of doing missionary work, and Raleigh, a soldier with ambitions of becoming a writer, meet aboard a cross-country train. He invites her to attend the popular Nibroc Festival near their Kentucky hometowns – but fate has other plans. The two struggle with their feelings for each other as they navigate the eternal mystery of courtship. This engaging and endearing, old-fashioned love story will take audiences on a sweet journey of the heart. THE FINANCIAL TIMES describes it as “beautifully written…every line is a heartbeat.”

The Shelterhouse season closes with the songs of Stephen Sondheim in MARRY ME A LITTLE (May 9 – June 14, 2009; opening night: May 14). Created and developed by Craig Lucas and Norman René, this inventive musical revue contains captivating songs that were written for some of Sondheim’s most popular musicals, but not originally used. A young man and woman are alone on a Saturday night in separate studio apartments in Manhattan. While the two never meet, the Sondheim songs are arranged to tell a bittersweet sort of story revealing dreams, recollections and feelings the two single people have about life and love. Stafford Arima will direct (ACE and ALTAR BOYZ).

Subscriptions to the 2008-2009 Playhouse season are available now in a variety of packages. Prices range from $111.50 to $304 for the five-show Robert S. Marx Season, $202 to $318 for the five Thompson Shelterhouse shows and from $312.50 to $564.50 for the full 10-show combination series package. The popular “Build Your Own” subscription package allows patrons to create their own season of four to nine shows in either theatre, with prices ranging from $164 to $490.50.

New this year, a student “Build Your Own” package allows full-time students to pick as few as four shows and as many as nine from either theatre for just $18 per show. Other discounts are available for senior citizens, young professionals and full-time educators.

The Baby Sitter Rebate Series has been made more flexible and now allows a couple purchasing two subscriptions in the Marx Theatre to attend any performance and receive $100 at the end of the season to help cover the cost of baby sitters. Free snacks, along with drink specials and live music, will now be available at Happy Hours prior to all Marx Theatre Friday performances.

Costs for most packages depend on the day of week and seat location desired. Some sections are sold out. Single tickets for all shows will go on sale to the general public August 11. To purchase subscriptions or for more information about the 2008-2009 season at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, call 513/421-3888 or toll-free throughout Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana at 800/582-3208. For Telecommunications Device for the Deaf access, call 513/345-2248. Subscription information is also available online at 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 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, The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.