Jenni Cypher - Page 3

Wright State University Theatre continues its 44th season in the Festival Playhouse with the wildly popular musical: CRAZY FOR YOU, running from November 1nd - November 18th. This show has been adored by fans for generations with a score full of such show tunes as "Slap That Bass," "Naughty Baby," and "I Got Rhythm."  The original production opened on Broadway in 1992.  This hit musical won the Tony Award and Olivier Award in London for Best Musical, and played for a record 1,622 performances on Broadway!

For those in the know, BE MORE CHILL, recently closed an Off-Broadway run so successful that plans are already in the works for a Broadway debut in 2019. Dayton audiences have the great fortune to be able to see the show before that happens with two more shows this weekend.

If you think you have seen musicals with talented kids in them before, you have not seen anything until you see the current National Tour of SCHOOL OF ROCK playing this week at the Schuster Center as the opener of the Victoria Theatre Association 2018-19 Premier Health Broadway Series.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if your favorite board game came to life?  You can get a glimpse of it now with CLUE, THE MUSICAL at La Comedia Dinner Theatre.

I remember watching the Tony Awards in 2015 - the year THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME won several awards.  Unfamiliar with the novel by Mark Haddon, I was intrigued by the clip of the show and the premise in general. The play, by Simon Stephens, did not disappoint me.  

Mental illness is not your usual subject matter for a musical.  Although it is not a light, toe-tapping kind of musical, NEXT TO NORMAL by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey however, manages to be an entertaining and thought provoking evening of theatre.  It offers a peak into the lives of one family and their struggles and fears related to the mental illness of their matriarch and the damage left behind.

Troy Civic Theatre is opening the 2018-19 season with the Broadway rock musical. Next To Normal.  A modern look at mental illness and its effects on the individual and their family, the show was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2010, and the Tony Award for Best Original Score in 2009

Did you know that you do not have to go to Cincinnati, Columbus or Cleveland in Ohio to find first rate theatrical talent?  Dayton has a large number of amazingly talented people that live right here. You can see many of them this weekend in Dare 2 Defy's production of THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME.

Wright State University Theatre proudly presents the Area Premiere of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Wright State University Theatre opens it 39th season with the area premiere of the mystery play: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - the electrifying new drama by Stephen Stephens based on the award-winning mystery by Mark Haddons -which plays September 27th - October 7th.

The smash hit, musical comedy Be More Chill closes its sold-out Off-Broadway run on Sept. 30 and opens Sinclair Theatre's season October 5-13 in Blair Hall,building 2 of the downtown Dayton campus! Then, the off-Broadway production heads to a recently-announced BROADWAY opening in February 2019!  

BANNED FROM BASEBALL, the first play written by Patricia O'Hara, is making its world premiere at the Human Race.  Seems fitting to be so close to the original action. O'Hara is not only a writer but also a Professor of English Literature at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where she teaches a course titled, not surprisingly, Baseball in American Literature and Culture.  I really liked how she was able to tell this story and keep the audience interested, even though, at least the majority of us, knew how the story ended. The play was nuanced in a way that helped you see into the minds and hearts of the major players, Pete Rose and Bart Giamatti, the Baseball Commissioner.  Excellent casting brought this all to life.

DRIVING MISS DAISY, by Alfred Uhry,  is the Pulitzer Prize winning story of an unlikely, poignant friendship between elderly Daisy Werthan and her chauffeur, Hoke Coleburn.  

Looking for a way to beat the heat this summer with your family?  Take this opportunity to see the charming ANNIE at La Comedia Dinner Theatre.

Skip the nunnery!  Instead, get thee to the Human Race Theatre Company for their production of THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) [REVISED].  

Whether you are new to the music of Carole King or she is an old favorite, do yourself a favor and go see BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL this weekend at the Schuster Center for the Performing Arts.  

Horror!  Comedy! Science Fiction!  Musical! Melodrama! No matter which genre is your favorite, they all collide in the hysterically funny LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS currently playing at La Comedia Dinner Theatre in Springboro.  

Interested in taking a trip back to the 1980's and having some fun this weekend?  All you need to do is grab a ticket to see the Tony nominated musical THE WEDDING SINGER presented by Dare to Defy productions this weekend only at The Victoria Theatre.

While there are some big shows in town this weekend, there is one little show that should not be overlooked.  Dare to Defy's TICK, TICK... BOOM! in the Mathile Theatre at the Schuster Center is as intimate as PHANTOM is spectacle and makes for a beautiful evening of theatre.  

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is the longest running musical on Broadway.  For the rest of this week, you have the opportunity to see PHANTOM here in Dayton at the Schuster Center.

Family.  When all is said and done, all we have left is our family.   This is the central message of BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS, currently in production at The Human Race Theatre Company at the Loft Theatre in Downtown Dayton.