The Ensemble Theater Cincinnati will reopen its doors for a five-part season 2021-2022, repeating the production of Dominique Morisseau’s 2018 Obie Award-winning Pipeline. After playing a few performances with rave reviews from audiences and critics, the show was abruptly suspended the day after it opened in March 2020 in response to COVID-19. In addition to Pipeline, ETC presents the following productions that embody the spirit of social consciousness for which the organization is known: Cinderella, Queen, a double bill of I Shall Not Be Moved and Your Negro Tour Guide, and Tiny Beautiful Things. The season sponsor is the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation.
“Diverse, inclusive and fascinating. That’s how I would describe our 2021-2022 season, ”explains Producing Artistic Director D. Lynn Meyers. “It’s about triumphing over the trauma we all experience in one way or another. I’ve picked stories that really, really matter and celebrate the tenacity we all had to show in reopening. The most important thing for us was the reopening with the pipeline. The integrity of this show and the crucial necessity of this show in our society today demands itself on the stage. “
About the games
The work of acclaimed MacArthur “Genius” Grant playwright Dominique Morisseau (Detroit ’67, Skeleton Crew) returns to open the 2021-2022 season of the Ensemble Theater Cincinnati with the revival of Pipeline. Nya, a downtown public high school teacher, stands up for her students but desperately tries to give her only son, Omari, opportunities they will never have. But if an explosive incident at his prestigious private school threatens to drive him out of the field, will all your efforts be lost? A compelling, must-have portrait of parenting, education, and the experience of young black men in America, Pipeline, Sept. 22-16. October 2021, an urgent conversation comes to the fore. This is the deeply moving story of a mother’s struggle to give her son a future – without turning away from the community that made him what he is. Funded by the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation.
For the holidays, ETC is reviving one of its favorite family-friendly Christmas musicals, Cinderella, with a book by Joseph McDonough and music and lyrics by David Kisor, Jan. December 2021. What do you get when you pair a myopic bookworm heroine? , two fabulously selfish stepsisters, a diabolical diva stepmother, along with a self-empowering well-wisher? A fun twist on the classic fairy tale that shows that smart is real beauty! When the king presses his romantically challenged son to choose a bride from hundreds of “applicants”, a tour of the kingdom follows to find a missing sneaker – yes, a sneaker! – to reunite with its rightful owner. Cinderella is suitable for all ages. Funded by the Schueler Group.
Next, ETC presents the new play Queen by the award-winning playwright Madhuri Shekar, from January 26th to February 26th, 2022 the Globus. Just as these close friends publish a career-defining paper, Sanam stumbles upon a calculation error that could do catastrophic damage to their reputation, their careers and their friendship. Now Sanam is faced with an impossible choice: look the other way or stand by her principles and accept the consequences?
ETC is excited to present two One-ACT productions with the newly commissioned world premiere of I Shall Not Be Moved, followed by the return of Your Negro Tour Guide, which will be played from March 23rd to April 23rd, 2022. The captivating piece, I Shall Not Be Moved, is from Cincinnati-born and aspiring young playwright Isaiah Reaves. This one-woman show enthrallingly tells the story of Reave’s grandmother, state-recognized civil rights pioneer Betty Daniels Rosemond, and her beautiful, terrifying and groundbreaking journey through the American South as one of the first Freedom Riders in the 1960s. Audiences far and wide will experience the inner conflicts and joys of a dark-skinned black woman’s fearless struggle for justice and equality.
The one-woman stage adaptation of Your Negro Tour Guide that has been updated relies heavily on National Public Radio columns and commentary collected in Kathy Y. Wilson’s book Your Negro Tour Guide: Truths in Black & White, based on her former CityBeat column. This piece throws a harsh light on misguided notions of natural black beauty, black homophobia, intra-racial bigotry, and other cultural stereotypes, and allows us to laugh once and for all at every secret we’ve come up against and a sideways glance at ourselves throw. I’ve cast whoever she is on “The Other”.
Tiny Beautiful Things, May 18 to June 18, 2022, is based on the acclaimed book by Cheryl Strayed (author of bestselling book Wild). unpaid, anonymous position with advisory columnist named Sugar. Unsure at first, she finds a way to interweave her own life experiences to help those seeking orientation with obstacles large and small. This adorable and uplifting piece was brilliantly adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos, the Oscar-nominated writer and star of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Closing season 36 of ETC, Tiny Beautiful Things is about reaching out when you’re stuck, recovering when you’re broken, and finding the courage to ask the questions that are hardest to answer are.
Subscriptions now on sale
Subscriptions for the 2021-2022 season of the Ensemble Theater Cincinnati are available now. 4-Show Preview subscriptions are $ 145 (excluding Christmas production); Regular and FlexPass subscriptions range from $ 223 to $ 245. ETC will continue its heavily discounted student subscription options, with packages as low as $ 85 for Teen Scene subscribers and just $ 104 for student subscriptions.
Single tickets on sale August 23, 2021
All single tickets for the 2021-2022 season will go on public sale on Monday, August 23, 2021, from 10:00 a.m.
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