Love theatre? Browse these stories about our favorite art form and how it's made! Topics include actors, costumes,
sets and props,
playwrights, directors, music,
beyond the stage and about the Playhouse.
Actors
Gamal Chasten
Gamal is a poet, playwright and composer who appeared in the world premiere of americUS at the Playhouse.
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Barbara Chisholm
Barbara Chisholm played Annie Wilkes in Misery and Erma Bombeck in Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End.
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Yassmin Alers
Yassmin played Abuela Claudia in In the Heights, and most recently appeared as Hortencia Del Rio in Destiny of Desire.
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Debra Walton
Debra played Charlaine in Ain’t Misbehavin’, Tina Turner in Beehive and as all the characters in the one-woman show, Mr. Joy.
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Nick Cearley
Nick played Linus in and is the co-conceiver and dance captain of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. He also starred as Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors.
Annie Fitzpatrick
Annie has appeared in Alias Grace, A Prayer for Owen Meany, To Kill a Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice; Hank Williams: Lost Highway and six seasons of A Christmas Carol.
Stephanie Gomérez
Stephanie played Vanessa in our 2019 production of In the Heights. "Theatre is life and life is colorful!"
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Frank Britton
Frank played Hambone in our 2019 production of August Wilson’s Two Trains Running.
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Nick LaMedica
Nick describes the experience of creating his character, Christopher Boone, in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
ReadYou can view all Playhouse blogs featuring actors here.
Costumes
Outfitting August Wilson
Kara Harmon shares her insight as the costume designer for August Wilson’s Two Trains Running.
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Recreating the 1970s
We asked Jitney costume designer Tracy Dorman about creating the clothing for the cast of the production.
ReadYou can view all Playhouse blogs featuring costumes here.
Sets and Props
Nationally Recognized. Locally Crafted.
Since 1960, our local staff has worked together with a national network of designers, directors and performers to craft shows for the stage.
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Making Audrey II
Here's a behind-the-scenes look at what it took to bring this plant to life for the co-production between Portland Center Stage and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.
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Building the Voyage to Treasure Island
See how our craftsmen and artisans built the elements that brought this extravagant world to life on the Marx stage.
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Found Objects
Get a look at the process and experience of building the set of Be Here Now with Playhouse artisans and craftsmen.
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Bringing Mr. Joy's Shoe Shop to the Shelterhouse
Get artistic insight into the highly detailed and realistic scenery that brought the world of Mr. Joy to the Shelterhouse stage.
ReadYou can view all Playhouse blogs featuring sets and props here.
Playwrights
Karen Zacarías
Hear from Associate Artist Karen Zacarías about Destiny of Desire. She also penned The Book Club Play and the Playhouse world premiere of Native Gardens, which helped put Cincinnati on the map.
Larissa FastHorse
The Thanksgiving Play playwright provides her notes below on crafting this fresh, satirical comedy.
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August Wilson
The man who loved words is perhaps best illuminated by revisiting some of his own.
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Universes
Learn about the Universes — a multi-cultural, multi-disciplined collective of artists and poets — who devised the world premiere production of americUS, and have been devising work together for 24 years.
Latinx, Hispanic and Chicano/a Playwrights
"I wrote something that had so many parts for Latinos because I knew there was a void there," said Lin-Manuel Miranda of In the Heights. While the production was at the Playhouse, we shared a list of some of the Latinx, Hispanic and Chicano/a playwrights who have influenced American theatre and published stories that reflect their heritage and identity.
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Audrey Cefaly
The playwright of our world premiere production of The Last Wide Open talks about writing lyrics and collaborating with composer/sound designer Matthew Nielson on original music for the show.
ReadYou can view all Playhouse blogs featuring playwrights here.
Directors
Marcia Milgrom Dodge
Director Marcia Milgrom Dodge gives us a closer look at her work on Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story. You can also read about her work on The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
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Robert Barry Fleming
Director and Choreographer Robert Barry Fleming, who is also the Artistic Director at Actors Theatre of Louisville, takes us behind the scenes of the epic musical Once on This Island.
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Wendy C. Goldberg
A Playhouse Associate Artist, Wendy has directed Doubt, Durango, Leveling Up and Circle Mirror Transformation, as well as the recent production of The Lifespan of a Fact.
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KJ Sanchez
Read about the world premiere of Cincinnati King from the perspective of Director and Playwright KJ Sanchez, who has also directed Jane Eyre, Sex With Strangers, Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club, Seven Spots on the Sun and Venus in Fur at the Playhouse.
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Timothy Douglas
Director Timothy Douglas talks about the significance of revisiting August Wilson's work in Two Trains Running. He also directed Jitney, Mothers and Sons, Buzzer, Safe House, The North Pool, Clybourne Park and The Trip to Bountiful at the Playhouse.
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Eleanor Holdridge
A Q&A with the director of Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley by Lauren Gunderson. Eleanor was also at the helm of our 2016 world premiere of Lauren's play The Revolutionists.
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Lisa Portes
A Q&A with the director of The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa FastHorse. You can also read about her direction of our 2016 production
of Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar.
Portia Krieger
Portia, who directed Be Here Now, is a New York-based theatre director who mostly works on new plays and musicals.
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Blake Robison
Playhouse Artistic Director Blake Robison shares his perspective on directing Margaret Atwood’s mind-bending thriller Alias Grace.
ReadYou can view all Playhouse blogs featuring directors here.
Music
The Music of Mad River Rising
When sound designer Matthew M. Neilson found out that he had permission to access folk singer and Hadestown creator Anaïs Mitchell’s entire catalog of songs for Mad River Rising, he was thrilled and a bit star struck.
The Music and Language of In the Heights
Take a deeper dive into the acclaimed music and language of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first smash hit. “It’s enormous fun to write in two languages," says Lin of the show, which combines rap, hip-hop, musical theatre, latin music, soul and R&B.
Composer's Notes
Sound Designer/Composer Matthew M. Nielson provided his notes in the early stages of rehearsal about composing The Last Wide Open's original music and working with playwright Audrey Cefaly, who wrote the lyrics.
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The Evolution of African American Gospel Music
Marie and Rosetta tells the story of gospel singers Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight. Learn how their collaboration reflects the evolution of African American gospel music, from its roots in spirituals to the rock and roll we know today.
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Musical Stylings
Here’s a look at the genres that Little Shop of Horrors uses to create a satirical, musical treat.
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Music Director's Notes
Hear from Richard Livingston Huntley, the music director and drummer for the world premiere of Cincinnati King.
ReadYou can view all Playhouse blogs featuring music here.
Beyond the Stage
Bruce Cromer Reads A Christmas Carol
Our spirits needed a lift! May the final chapter of A Christmas Carol — as read by our long-time Scrooge, Bruce Cromer — bring you some hope and joy today.
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World Book Day
We love a great story. To celebrate World Book Day, we're sharing a list of Kindle and audiobook editions of recent Playhouse shows.
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You can play!
Discover tutorials, apps and news stories that celebrate the classical music stylings of 2 Pianos, 4 Hands!
DiscoverYou can view all Playhouse blogs featuring things to do beyond the stage here.
About the Playhouse
Clearing the Way for the New Building
Learn about the site preparation work that has begun for our new Mainstage Theatre Complex!
A Closer Look
Learn about the first phase of our building project and the historic gems we found during the remodel of our Rosenthal Shelterhouse Theatre.
Multigenerational Gems
“It’s absolutely a delight to see a grandparent, a parent and a kid all enjoying the story in their own way. Like a really good Pixar film, these stories work on all levels,” says Artistic Director Blake Robison.
Meet the Associate Artists
Nicole A. Watson and Karen Zacarías to join Wendy C. Goldberg as this season’s Associate Artists. Previous Associate Artists include Timothy Douglas, KJ Sanchez, Eric Ting and Michael Evan Haney.
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A Legacy of New Work
Learn about the new works produced by the Playhouse over the years and the individuals who have helped make many of them a reality.
Embracing New Rehearsal Techniques
Director Blake Robison brought in Movement and Intimacy Coach Casey Sams to work on the play’s most physically demanding scenes — many of which involve intimate moments between characters.
ReadYou can view all Playhouse blogs about the Playhouse here.