By Liz Eichler and LCT Reviewers
Before we share our excitement about the upcoming theatre season, LCT (The League of Cincinnati Theatres) reviewers are taking a moment to look back at some of the highlights of the 2024-’25 season. Our reviewers answered: What was the single best moment in Cincinnati professional or academic theatre? Was there a show or a special moment indelibly stamped on your heart? Something that changed your thinking and increased your understanding and empathy for others? Or music which you found yourself singing or humming the next week?
Here’s just a few responses:
Technical Wonders
The Cincinnati Shakespeare Company set, lighting and projection team clearly had a blast with The Tempest, filling the stage with all the flotsam and jetsam that made the island feel alive, connecting it to the action of the play. And those adorable QKidz! These youthful dancers and their costumes really added to the sense of fantasy. We hope this partnership continues.
While we are singing CSC’s praises, in both this summer’s Free Shakespeare in the Park productions and last year’s, CSC has framed its outdoor shows with beautifully painted traveling prosceniums—an artistic touch that truly elevates the experience. For audiences young and old, especially those discovering theatre for the first time, it’s a magical welcome into the world of live performance.
Some of the most whimsical design work is evident at TCT, since the shows are often whimsical themselves. And of course, ETC’s Alice in Wonderland never disappoints.
We expect Aronoff ‘s touring shows to dazzle technically, and they did! Les Miserable, Come From Away and &Juliet were just a few Alan Jozwiak celebrated. Life of Pi’s puppetry, projections and lead (Taha Mandviwala) was also amazing.
Performers who Transform Themselves
“Caitlin McWethy and Beasley are two performers whose transformation on stage had me totally blown over,” says Liz Eichler. “McWethy performed in Zina Camblin’s The Guest (Clifton) and I had to check the program to verify it was really her!” Hidden behind a long wig, fake belly, and an accent, it was the pure talent and commitment to a role that McWethy is known for. Same thing with Beasley in Jaja’s African Hair Braiding (Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati). “They are another chameleon, with the strength to play Hamlet for CSC’s ‘24 Summer Shakespeare, and to deliver multiple unique customers in Jaja’s,” continued Eichler. “And Burgess! So happy she got to look like a queen in Jaja’s!” So many Cincinnati and Dayton based performers with amazing range. Kat Reynolds highlighted Aiden Dalton as another amazing transformation, as he “played expertly” the role of Justin in Mr. Parker (Falcon).
New (to Us) Faces
Our theatres have so many wonderfully talented performers! Whether it is through local, NYC auditions or training programs, it’s always exciting to see new talent burst onto the scene. Jordyn Jones delivered a powerful Celie in The Color Purple (Carnegie). Anna Ashburn popped as the memorable best friend in ALT’s Bridge City workshop. The entire cast of Hair wowed at CCM. So much young talent at Covedale lit up the stage in Something Rotten and more. Afshin Razi shared about the amazingly talented Josh Galloway as Danny in Burgertown but also identified NKU student Chloe Hedrick as “the standout performer, able to fill every scene with a magnetic presence.” CCM Acting partnered with the Carnegie
Memorable…Animals?
When local television news personality Bob Herzog is in a show, he doesn’t disappoint. As the title character in The Cat In The Hat (TCT) he continues to be a delight on stage and on our television screens. Herzog also shared that twinkle in his eye on the Taft stage as Nick in Santa Claus the Musical.
The Carnegie and CCM partnered to present a delightful and colorful Seussical the Musical. Falcon’s The Shark is Broken was the story of an unreliable animatronic shark and the actors who had to kill time waiting for repairs. A riveting show based on delays during the making of the movie Jaws. It was also a timely production due to the film’s 50th anniversary.
Alan Jozwiak also gives a shout out to the cast and crew of When Pigs Fly at NKU, saying it was “so, so good.”
New Musicals and Plays
Of course, the season wasn’t just about spectacle and whimsy — it also brought an impressive slate of new works to local stages. Audiences in the Cincinnati area had the opportunity to see many premieres or recent shows. From the team at the Playhouse in the Park who brought us the indie rock musical Rutka, to the original avant garde musical In The Green from UC’s College Conservatory of Music (CCM).
Cincinnati Shakespeare (CSC) brought us Alice Scovell’s Kindred Spirits, Lauren M. Gunderson’s A Room in the Castle, and Lindsey Augusta Mercer’s Mrs. Dalloway–all beautifully designed by Samantha Reno.
Our city is rich with creative minds and spaces to explore new works. American Legacy Theatre continues its mission to develop new musical works. It presented HIGHER in March and workshops of Bridge City in both Fall and Spring, which focused on stories close to Cincinnati’s heart. Know’s new holiday show Die Hard is a Christmas Movie premiered, becoming a new holiday staple.
Other (but not all) premieres included multiple shows from Falcon, including Mr. Parker and During/After to Know Theatre produced Blerds, about nerdy black teens. Also ETC’s Match Game, winner of Jackie Demaline’s PLAY/write Collegiate Competition.
New Perspectives
Some shows encourage us to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. All Female Julius Caesar (Magnolia Theatre) provided a new perspective, adapted by Caitlin McWethy. Sarah Ruhl’s Late, A Cowboy Song (Ghostlight) was a show about learning to ride a horse, and learning a lot more about yourself. A Distinct Society (Human Race Theatre) was an eye opening true story of a library which straddles the US Canada border and the people who meet there.This funny and moving new play highlighted the many things (family, food, art, love, and politics) that either divide or connect us.
New Takes on Old Stories
This was also the year for students to discover some 1960s and 1970s classics including Jesus Christ Superstar (Xavier and NKU), Once Upon a Mattress (The Story Collective), Pippin (Xavier) and a critically acclaimed paired down version of Camelot (Human Race Theatre). Everybody (Miami) reimagined an even older story–the medieval morality play Everyman.
CCM Acting partnered with the Carnegie in Witch, an adaptation of the 400+ year old story The Witch of Edmonton. Reviewer Shelby Coleman said this “collaboration between CCM and The Carnegie is some of the best theatre this city has seen.”
And PUFFS (Mount St. Joseph’s) allowed students to hilariously live out some of their personal history with the books about the famous boy wizard.
Moments Living Rent Free in Your Brain
Broadway in Cincinnati’s A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical certainly uncovered long forgotten songs. Who else discovered the lyrics were buried deep in our brains and could sing along? Reviewer Alan Jozwiak shared that after seeing &Juliet, he listens regularly to the soundtrack. In the words of Romeo from the song “It’s My Life,” that musical is “super dope!”
So much strong design, again. The images of scenery from CCM, TCT, CSC, The Carnegie and Cincinnati Opera, all remind us that it’s not just the performers on stage that are masters of their craft. We also had the privilege to review Cincinnati Opera’s Fiddler on the Roof, which had memorable scenery and lighting. The grand stage allowed a different approach from many smaller venues, but truly even more design to be celebrated.
A Community Coming Together
Reviewer Chase Johnson says “While the Cincinnati Fringe Festival (produced by Know Theatre) brings out the weird in all of us and produces some truly off the wall theater I would argue even more important than that is the sense of community and artistic collaboration.” We also celebrate the Cincinnati Lab Theatre taking yet another show to Edinburgh Fringe, the biggest Fringe in the world.
Conclusion
Clearly, Cincinnati is rich in professional and academic theatre–and many spaces in between. We have both world class union houses, semi-professional and training programs as performers, directors, designers, writers and supporters are learning what it takes to navigate the variety of producing and presenting houses here in the Greater Cincinnati and Dayton areas. So many performers in regional, touring and Broadway theatres have some connection to our area.
Our reviewers are humbled by your efforts. In the 2024-25 season, over 100 shows were presented by our member theatres—plus 40 or so more at the Cincinnati Fringe and CLT’s New Works Festival. That’s thousands of artists, technicians and audience members brightening the pulse of our theatre community.
Now more than ever, support your local theatres: subscribe, sign up for emails, and bring a friend. Cincinnati is a truly remarkable, vibrant (and safe) theatre city.
Stay Connected with LCT
- Read full reviews of the plays in the LCT review archives.
- Connect with out member companies HERE.
- Follow LCT on INSTA: @LoveCincyTheatre
- FB: LeagueOfCincinnatiTheatreslct
- Did we miss something? Email lizeichler5@gmail.com
Liz Eichler is a member of the American Theatre Critics and Journalists Association. She has been building and developing theatre audiences, and designing costumes for over 30 years. Her background includes marketing for Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, the University of Delaware’s Professional Theatre Training Program, and costuming for the University of South Carolina Upstate, The Warehouse Theatre in Greenville, SC, and the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. With an MBA from Wright State and a Masters in Theatre Education from Rutgers’ Mason Gross School for the Arts, she taught at the University of Dayton, Sinclair, University of SC, Greenville Tech, Limestone College, the Arts Institutes of Ohio-Cincinnati, and more. Contact Liz at lizeichler5@gmail.com
