PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S NOTES FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS, WE’VE BEEN working hard to bring your Playhouse into a new era of theatre. How do we build performance spaces that inspire the industry’s most talented artists? That enable us to wow our audiences? How can we support the incredible artistry of our local peers? The 2022-23 season marks the culmination of years-long planning and development. We’re elated (and eager!) to open the all-new Moe and Jack’s Place – The Rouse Theatre in March 2023. This once-in-a-generation project comes to an incredible finish because of the generosity of the entire Playhouse community. The facility allows us to reach new heights with enhanced technology and to serve our patrons with expanded accessibility and comfort. As a space for artistic creation, we’ll open our doors to local artists and organizations to cultivate relationships and explore new, impactful ideas. Simply put, it represents the future of American theatre — right here in Cincinnati. Until that exciting moment, the Playhouse will bring the first three shows of the 2022-23 season into the community! We’re performing Agatha Christie’s long-awaited, masterpiece mystery Murder on the Orient Express, as told by Ken Ludwig, at the Aronoff Center’s Jarson-Kaplan Theater. The iconic Mexican painter Frida Kahlo comes to life in Frida…A Self Portrait, written and performed by Vanessa Severo, at The Carnegie Theatre in Covington, Kentucky. And in an exclusive engagement of a new production, The Lion, by Benjamin Scheuer, tells an intimate musical tale at the Warsaw Federal Incline Theater in Price Hill. We’ll celebrate the grand opening of the Rouse Theatre with a new production of the Broadway sensation, A Chorus Line, and set the stage for another groundbreaking chapter of the American Century Cycle in August Wilson’s Seven Guitars. Then, we’re giving new life to one of the greatest Westerns of all time, Shane, a world premiere written by the acclaimed Karen Zacarías and co-commissioned with the renowned Guthrie Theater. Likewise, the Rosenthal Shelterhouse Theatre season continues its legacy of exciting new works. Lloyd Suh’s The Chinese Lady paints a darkly poetic yet whimsical portrait of the first Chinese woman to step foot on U.S. soil. And the world premiere of Nathan Alan Davis’ Origin Story weaves an endearing comedy about life’s biggest questions and the surprising ways we find the answers. What a remarkable moment this is for the Playhouse! It’s a privilege to share it with you, and we can’t wait to step into this new era of theatre. Together.
Blake Robison Producing Artistic Director 6 | 2021–2022
