Theaterical productions on tap
Eager to offer live theater again after a long hiatus, local theater companies and presenters aim to keep it fresh by focusing on musicals, plays, Broadway and off-broadway hits and new or newer works that haven’t been seen before in central Ohio.
Among them will be the first Columbus visit of “Hadestown,” the 2019 Tony winner for best musical, which marks the opening of the delayed Broadway in Columbus touring season; and the central Ohio premieres of the Broadway musicals “Head Over Heels” (at CATCO) and “Sister Act” (at Short North Stage.) Meanwhile, other theater companies are preparing world premieres of a new holiday musical, a solo play about the American poet Hart Crane and a comedy about Ohioan and American president Warren G. Harding.
Here are selective season highlights, in chronological order:
‘A Crane Takes Flight’
When: 7:30 p.m. Sept. 8-9, 8 p.m. Sept. 10-11
Where: Ohio History Connection, Interstate 71 and East 17th Avenue
What: Evolution Theatre Company will present actor Dayton Edward Willison in the world premiere of Columbus playwright Mark Schwamberger’s one-person play based on the works, writings and letters of Hart Crane (1899-1932), one of the most influential American poets of his generation.
Admission: $25, ot $20 for senior citizens, $15 for students
Information: 614-233-1124, www.evolutiontheatre.org
‘Mr. Burns: A Post-electric Play’
When: Oct. 28 to Nov. 14
Where: Riffe Center’s Studio Theatres, 77 S. High St.
What: CATCO will present the central Ohio premiere of Anne Washburn’s offbroadway dark comedy, with music by Michael Friedman, about a group of survivors retelling “The Simpsons” episode “Cape Feare” shortly after a global apocalypse and about how the story changes seven years and 75 years later. Admission: tickets, to be announced, will go on sale this fall.
Information: 614-469-0939, www.catco.org
‘The Thanksgiving Play’
When: Nov. 4-21
Where: 3723 S High St.
What: Red Herring Theater Company presents the area premiere of Larissa Fasthorse’s satirical comedy about four politically correct adults who collaborate to tell the traditional story of one of America’s most cherished holidays in a non-offensive way.
Admission: $30 in advance, or “pay what you will” at the door
Information: 614-723-9116, www.redherringtheater.org
‘Hadestown’
When: Nov. 16-21
Where: Ohio Theatre, 39 E. State St. What: The 2019 Tony winner for best musical, which launches Broadway in Columbus’s delayed 2021-2022 season, offers a poetic, romantic and class-conscious interpretation of Greek mythology about doomed lovers Orpheus and Eurydice and about Persephone and Hades, ruler of the underworld.
Admission: single tickets, to be announced, go on sale Sept. 16. Information: CBUSARTS Ticket Center, 614-469-0939, www.cbusarts.com
‘The Pajama Game’
When: Nov. 18-21
Where: Cowan Hall’s Fritsche Theatre, 30 S. Grove St., Westerville
What: Otterbein University’s Theatre & Dance and Music departments will present the Tony-winning 1954 Broadway musical comedy, known for its Bob Fosse choreography of “Steam Heat” and “Hernando’s Hideaway,” about a romance among co-workers amid labor troubles at a pajama factory.
Admission: $30
Information: 614-823-1109, www.otterbein.edu/drama
‘Not So Silent Night’
When: Nov. 28 to Dec. 19
Where: 503 S. Front St.
What: Shadowbox Live will present its new company-created holiday musical, with Christmas-themed and rock songs, about a DJ taking requests and dedications on Christmas Eve.
Admission: $80 to $90, for tables of two; or $160 to $180 for tables of four Information: 614-416-7625, www.shadowboxlive.org
‘Sister Act’
When: Dec. 2 to Jan. 2
Where: Garden Theater, 1187 N. High St. What: Short North Stage will present the central Ohio premiere of the Broadway musical comedy, with a score by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater, based on Whoopi Goldberg’s hit 1992 film about an African American nightclub singer (played by Amber Knicole, of local band Mojoflo) who joins convent nuns to hide from murderous criminals. Admission: $40 to $55, or $15 for students
Information: 614-725-4042, www.shortnorthstage.org
21st Theatre Roulette
When: Dec. 2-18
Where: 227 N. 3rd St.
What: Madlab Theatre’s short-play festival, postponed from its annual rotating May run because of the pandemic, will return for the holidays with three alternating bills of new comedies and dramas from writers across the country. Admission: $18, or $15 for students and senior citizens, $13 for members Information: 614-221-5418,
Before you go
As of press time, here are the policies for area performing-arts troupes and theater venues. Except where noted, most central Ohio arts groups have a current policy, subject to change, of recommending masks for theatergoers, providing hand sanitiers in lobbies and bathrooms; and enhancing social separation with reduced seating capacity.
Those concerned about their health and safety, especially those not yet vaccinated, are encouraged to contact each arts venue directly before attending an event to confirm current policies, which may change.
• Shadowbox Live: Masks are recommended but not required; seating is reduced for social separation.
• Evolution Theatre Company: Masks and proof of vaccination required.
• CATCO: Check the website for updates, catco.org.
• Columbus Funny Bone: Masks are required for those who are not vaccinated; masks are recommended but not required for the vaccinated. (P.S.
www.madlab.net
‘Yesterday Tomorrow’
When: Feb. 4-5
Where: Mershon Auditorium, 1871 N. High St.
What: The Wexner Center for the Arts will present Annie Dorsen’s musical-theater journey, rescheduled from its 2020 dates, about three vocalists sight-reading an algorithmically generated score that takes different paths to connect the Beatles’ song “Yesterday” to “Tomorrow” from the Broadway musical “Annie.”
Admission: $24, or $21 for members, $13 for students
Information: 614-292-3535, wexarts.org
‘Come From Away’
When: Feb. 8-13
Where: Ohio Theatre, 39 E. State St. What: Broadway in Columbus and CAPA will present the national tour of the oneact musical, which weaves true stories from some of the American airline passengers stranded, on the day of the 2001 terrorist attacks, in Gander, Newfoundland, where they were welcomed, housed and fed by hundreds of Canadians with extraordinary hospitality.
Admission: Single tickets, to be announced, will go on sale Nov. 4. Information: CBUSARTS Ticket Center (614-469-0939, www.cbusarts.com
‘The Duchess’
When: Feb. 10-19
Where: Abbey Theater of Dublin, 5600 Post Road, Dublin
What: Abbey Theater presents the world premiere – by former Ohio Supreme Court justice Herb Brown (whose political-history plays have been staged at CATCO) – of
They do not check vaccination status.)
• Madlab Theatre: Masks required, regardless of vaccination status.
• CAPA venues (Ohio Theatre, Riffe Center): Masks required beginning Sept. 1
• Otterbein University (including theater and dance department): Masks are required; seating is reduced for social separation.
• Short North Stage: Masks are required at performances of “Noises Off” (Sept. 2-19) and “Young Frankenstein” (Oct. 7 through Nov. 7); proof of vaccination, or a negative test for COVID-19, is required to attend starting with “Young Frankenstein.”
• Red Herring Theater Company: Masks are required; theater is encouraging social separation.
• Wexner Center for the Arts: Masks are required; social separation is encouraged.
• Abbey Theater of Dublin: Masks recommended but not required; and seating is reduced for social separation.
a 1910-1923-era comedy about the political career and romantic affairs of scandalplagued Ohioan Warren G. Harding, who became president in 1921 and died under strange circumstances in 1923. Admission: $15
Information: 614-410-4550, dublinohiousa.gov/abbey-theater
‘The Mood Room’
When: Feb. 17-19
Where: Wexner Performance Space, 1871 N. High St.
What: The Wexner Center for the Arts will present Big Dance Theater’s production, set loosely in 1970s-’80s Los Angeles, exploring the early seeds of the wellness movement, modern social divisions, changing concepts of the self and five woman who have divested from politics. Admission: $24, or $21 for members, $13 for students
Information: 614-292-3535, wexarts.org
‘Head Over Heels’
When: March 17 to April 3
Where: Riffe Center’s Studio One, 77 S. High St.
What: CATCO will present the central Ohio premiere of the recent Broadway musical comedy, with a jukebox score from the song catalog of The Go-gos (“We Got the Beat,” “Mad About You,” “Our Lips are Sealed” and the title song) and loosely based on “The Arcadia,” Sir Philip Sidney’s 16th-century prose-romance play about a royal family’s unexpected love affairs.
Admission: tickets, to be announced, will go on sale this fall.
Information: 614-469-0939, www.catco. org