Beavercreek, Middletown announce season lineups
Season announcements have arrived for Beavercreek Community Theatre, Middletown Lyric Theatre and Ohio Light Opera.
Opening BCT’s 20242025 lineup will be the Dayton premiere of Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens and Terrence McNally’s off-Broadway musical “A Man of No Importance,” slated Aug. 23-Sept. 1, 2024 under the direction of Matthew Smith. The roster continues with: Nathan Sanders’ spooky drama “The Sugar Witch” (Oct. 25-Nov. 3, 2024, directed by Doug Lloyd); Charles Busch’s campy comedy “Die Mommie Die!” ( Jan. 17-26, 2025, directed by Chris Harmon); Patrick Hamilton’s classic thriller “Angel Street” (Mar. 7-16, 2025, directed by David Shough), the Dayton premiere of Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney’s off-Broadway musical “Reefer Madness” (Apr. 25-May 4, 2025, directed by Matthew Owens); and Theresa Rebeck’s contemporary comedy “The Understudy” ( June 29-29, 2025, directed by Debra Kent). For more information, visit bctheatre.org.
Middletown opens its 2024 lineup with Audrey Cefaly’s romantic dramedy “Maytag Virgin” (Mar. 8-16) followed by Michele Lowe’s drama “String of Pearls” (May 3-11), David Mamet’s comedy “Boston Marriage” ( June 21-29), Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s musical “Into the Woods” (Aug. 9-17), Tennessee Williams’ classic drama “The Glass Menagerie” (Sept. 20-28), and Larissa Fasthorse’s contemporary comedy “The Thanksgiving Play” (Nov. 8-16). For more information, visit middletownlyric.org.
Ohio Light Opera, the resident professional company of the College of Wooster, will present a 2024 slate consisting of: Frank Loesser, Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows’ musical “Guys and Dolls” ( June 8-July 28); Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse’s musical “The Sound of Music” ( June 13-July 26); Noel Gay, Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose’s musical “Me and My Girl” ( June 20-July 25); William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s comic opera “The Gondoliers” ( June 26-July 27); Franz Lehar, Alfred Willner and Robert Bodanzky’s operetta “The Count of Luxembourg” ( July 11-27); and Lionel Monckton, Howard Talbot, Arthur Wimperis, Mark Ambient, Alexander M. Thompson, and Robert Courtneidge’s Edwardian musical “The Arcadians” ( July 18-26). For more information, visit ohiolightopera.org.
Cincinnati Opera updates
Cincinnati Opera’s Opera Raps series, which returns Jan. 25–Apr. 17, 2024, will offer insights into the operas that make up the company’s 2024 Summer Festival.
According to a news release, the 2024 Opera Raps series kicks off in January with a mini-Mozart experience in anticipation of the company’s June 2024 production of his opera, “Don Giovanni”: “Hausmusik: Mozart and Friends at Home” ( Jan. 25), a recreation of a musical evening hosted at Mozart’s home, and “Mozart’s Women” ( Jan. 26), led by renowned conductor Dame Jane Glover.
In March, the series continues with two events inspired by the company’s
July 2024 world stage premiere of “Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio”: “The Beatles Phenomenon” (Mar. 6), featuring Beatles expert Om Srivastava, and “Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio: Sneak Peek with the Creative Team” (Mar. 28), offering a sneak peek at Cincinnati Opera’s new production-in-progress.
The series concludes on Apr. 17 with opera director Trevore Ross discussing “Violetta’s Chosen Family,” inspired by the heroine of Verdi’s “La Traviata,” which Cincinnati Opera will present in June 2024.
Opera Raps will take place at venues throughout Cincinnati, including Music Hall, Cincinnati Opera’s warehouse, Over-the-Rhine’s First Lutheran Church, and
the Woodward Theater. Admission is free and open to the public, though tickets are required. Tickets are available by calling 513-241-2742 or visiting cincinnatiopera.org.
In related news, Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) have announced two operas that will be workshopped through their joint program, Opera Fusion: New Works. The program provides composers and librettists the opportunity to collaborate with singers and creative personnel to refine their operas-inprogress.
“Two Corners” features music by B.E. Boykin and a libretto by Jarrod Lee. Commissioned by Finger Lakes Opera and slated for a 2024 world premiere, “Two Corners” explores the friendship of a Black woman, Florine, and a white woman, Sarah, against the backdrop of the Civil Rights movement. Told through a series of flashbacks, Florine and Sarah “reflect on their different perspectives of race, friendship and the status quo.” A public performance of excerpts will take place at 4 p.m. today at Cincinnati Music Hall’s Wilks Studio, 1241 Elm Street, Cincinnati.
“Bulrusher” features music by Nathaniel Stookey and a libretto by Stookey and Eisa Davis, based on Davis’s play of the same name, which was shortlisted for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize. The work was commissioned by West Edge Opera and received an initial OF:NW workshop in 2021. The opera is a coming-of-age story about an African American girl growing up in Northern California’s remote Anderson Valley in 1955. A public performance of excerpts will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024 at Cincinnati Music Hall’s Wilks Studio.
Admission to the public performance is free, though seating is limited and reservations are required. Reservations are available by calling 513241-2742 or visiting cincinnatiopera.org.