John Rensel News

Deadline, a comedy thriller, hits the stage for the first time in its World Premiere production at The Human Race Theatre Company. Canadian playwrights Marcia Kash and Douglas E. Hughes pen this witty and surprising homage to the murder-mystery genre made great by Agatha Christie and Peter Sellars with performances from October 27 – November 13, 2022 at the Loft Theatre.  

The Human Race Theatre Company opens the season with a play by Cleveland-based playwright George Brant – Grounded – playing September 8-25, 2022 at the Loft Theatre.  This gripping one-woman drama finds a fighter pilot caught between duty to her country and motherhood.

CCT (Columbus Children’s Theatre) will open its 60th season with the two-time Tony Award winner Disney’s Newsies (Sept. 23-Oct. 2) at the historic Southern Theatre.

At one point in our youth, we all had to write one of those “Most Memorable Person I Have Ever Met” essays.  It always described that one person who changed your life.  Now, imagine taking that story and turning it into a musical.  Well, that is exactly what Charissa Bertels did – with the help of some friends – when she created My 80-Year-Old Boyfriend- playing June 16 – July 3, 2022 in the Loft Theatre.  

The Human Race Theatre Company continues its 35th Season with a new play by Seattle playwright Katie Forgette – Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help – playing April 14 – May 1 at the Loft Theatre.

The Human Race Theatre Company continues its 35th Season with a new play by Seattle playwright Katie Forgette – Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help – playing April 14 – May 1 at the Loft Theatre.

While it often is the focus of news reports and television talk shows, raising transgender children is rarely the subject of a play.  Playwright Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder freely admitted “the stories I find the most compelling are often stories that force me to step out of my comfort zone and look at a subject through a new lens.” 

This is the last chance to vote for the 2021 BroadwayWorld Dayton Awards! The 2021 Regional Awards honor productions which had their first performance between October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021.

Time is running out to vote for for the 2021 BroadwayWorld Dayton Awards! The 2021 Regional Awards honor productions which had their first performance between October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021.

Our readers set the nominees, and now voting is open for the 2021 BroadwayWorld Dayton Awards! The 2021 Regional Awards honor productions which had their first performance between October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021.

If playwright Matthew Lombardo's searing look at actress Tallulah Bankhead in Looped was the main course, then his spicy confection about Cindy Lou Who in Who's Holiday! - playing this December at The Human Race - is the decadent dessert we have been waiting for. Called a 'raunchy riff on Dr. Seuss,' Who's Holiday! is a wildly funny and heartfelt adult-only comedy about grown-up Cindy Lou Who, as she recalls that Christmas Eve when she first met the Grinch and the twisted turn of events her life has since taken. Who's Holiday! will fill the Loft Theatre with laughter, December 2 - 19, 2021.

Human Race's Who's Holiday! dishes up a hilarious good time, not for the whole family! 

The Human Race Theatre Company continues its 35th year with Chelsea Marcantel's award-winning play Airness, the story of a young guitar player's introduction to the unique and intense world of competitive air guitar.  But even more, it's about being true to yourself, letting go of your inhibitions, accepting people for who they are and finding the Rockstar locked deep inside yourself. 

The Human Race Theatre Company continues its 35th year with a look at one of Hollywood’s most famous-and infamous--actresses, Tallulah Bankhead.

Looped, the biting comedy by Matthew Lombardo, takes a much-rumored event and imagines what might have actually happened, knowing Bankhead's outrageous personality, searing wit and ability to deliver a one-liner that takes no prisoners.  Looped will bring audiences back to LIVE theatre in the Loft, August 5 – 22, 2021.

THE REVOLUTIONISTS by Lauren Gunderson is set in the Paris of 1793 but even from the first glimpse of this production, you will notice a direct connection between that time period and our own.

The Human Race Theatre Company continues its 35th year by bringing back a show from its “Women of Influence” season, Lauren Gunderson’s comedy THE REVOLUTIONISTS.  Single tickets available https://livestream.broadwayondemand.com/human-race/

The Human Race Theatre Company will continue its 35th year by bringing back a show from its “Women of Influence” season, Lauren Gunderson's comedy The Revolutionists.  Gunderson's fresh look at four strong women trying to make a difference during the French Revolution – without losing their heads - will be filmed on the Loft stage.

The Human Race Theatre Company has announced Now and Then by Sean Grennan, filmed on location at Dayton's own Mudlick Tap House, kicking off the 35th season.

The Human Race Theatre Company, Dayton's premier professional theatre company, will begin its 34th season with the romantic comedy/drama Now and Then by Sean Grennan.  It will be available exclusively on the streaming platform Broadway On Demand starting April 28, 2021 – the 35th birthday of The Human Race.