   |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK ADDS TWO CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED Low and The Catholic Girl’s Guide to Losing Your Virginity to be presented in January (CINCINNATI) – The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park has added two critically-acclaimed, limited-run productions to its season schedule. Low, written by and featuring Rha Goddess, and The Catholic Girl's Guide to Losing Your Virginity, by Annie Hendy, will be presented January 10 to 13 and January 17 to 20, respectively, in the Playhouse’s Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre. In Low, renowned artist and social activist Rha Goddess explores the mythology, stigma, fear and confusion surrounding mental illness. A visceral, kinetic and truly live show, this multidisciplinary theatre piece is a mixture of reality, fantasy, insanity and truth. Low initially was presented as part of the 2006 Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville. The title of the show refers both to its main character, Lowquesha, and to the way depression makes her feel. The audience watches her grow from a bright, happy and creative young girl to a troubled teenager, with low self-esteem and a frightening and growing psychosis. According to The Louisville Courier-Journal, the show is “fleet and flawless”, Goddess’ “fluency is wondrous to hear” and the play is “precisely staged and performed with perfection.” Rha Goddess is a world-renowned performance/recording artist, poet and social activist. Her debut album Soulah Vibe was named “one of the year’s coolest records” by Time magazine in 1999. A legendary voice in the hip-hop community, she coined the term “flowetry,” a blend of hip-hop, spoken word and song. As a community activist, she founded The Next Wave of Women and Power and co-founded the Sista II Sista Freedom School for Young Women of Color and the World Conference Against Racism. Essence magazine named her one of the 30 Women to Watch in the new millennium. Low will be performed on Wednesday, January 10, at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, January 11 and 12, at 8 p.m. and Saturday, January 13, at 4 and 9 p.m. Tickets for all shows are just $30. Low is funded with a generous grant from The Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation. The Catholic Girl’s Guide to Losing Your Virginity recently was named audience and critics' “Pick of the Fringe” at the 2006 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. The show, written by and featuring Cincinnati native Annie Hendy, enjoyed an extended sold-out run at the Hudson Guild Theatre in Los Angeles earlier this year. Lizzy, age 24, is a good Catholic girl. But when she determines that even her priest has a better sex life than she does, Lizzy resolves to “do the deed” before her 25th birthday. She learns that while it may sound easy, it’s not. Her quest for a handsome prince — someone special for her “first time” — leads instead to a plague of toads. Then, one day, she meets Max. The Catholic Girl’s Guide to Losing Your Virginity was described as “bright and breezy” by The Cincinnati Enquirer and “very funny … entertaining and winning” by CityBeat. Playwright and actress Annie Hendy earned her B.F.A. in dramatic performance from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music . She is currently a Los Angeles-based actor, and this is her first original play. After graduating, she appeared in the critically acclaimed production of Far Away at the New York Theatre Workshop, and in Los Angeles she performed in Angry Jellow Bubbles at Hudson Guild Theatre. Some of her favorite roles include Alexa in As Bees in Honey Drown, Tess in Six Degrees of Separation and Audrey in As You Like It. She also co-wrote the screenplay Holy T's. Ms. Hendy has attended classes at the Groundlings and currently studies at The Eric Morris Workshop. The Catholic Girl’s Guide to Losing Your Virginity will be performed on Wednesday, January 17, at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, January 18 and 19, at 8 p.m. and Saturday, January 20, at 4 and 9 p.m. Tickets for all shows are just $30. Tickets for both Low and The Catholic Girl’s Guide to Losing Your Virginity will go on sale, along with single tickets to all other performances in the Playhouse’s 2006-2007 season, beginning August 18 to 20 online only at www.cincyplay.com and beginning August 21 through the Playhouse box office at (513) 421-3888. Tickets purchased between August 18 and August 25 to performances in the first week of each 2006-2007 season production are half off the regular price. (This offer does not apply to A Christmas Carol; some restrictions apply.) For tickets or more information, call the Playhouse box office at 513/421-3888 or toll-free in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana at 800/582-3208. Call 513/345-2248 for TDD accessibility. For single tickets purchased by telephone through the Playhouse box office there is a $3 convenience fee per call. Tickets also can be purchased on the Playhouse web site 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 excellenceand cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The Playhouse also receives funding from the City of Cincinnati. ### |