Closing...

...Night of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Jr., came upon us this past Saturday. After a lengthy load-out, fraught with health emergencies and a larger-than-life collection of set pieces and costumes, we are still in the process of putting everything away. The downstairs hallway of our offices currently has several costume racks on either side, filled with dresses, shirts, trousers, etc., that will make it into storage at some point today.

The run went well. We had wonderfully responsive audiences at our public shows on the weekends, and the school shows sold very well (or so I am told). We hope to do even better for Holiday Follies, which goes into rehearsal this evening.

The cast will include many of the same actors who were in Beauty, including myself, Bob Herzog, and Leo Northart, along with other members of TCTC staff and a plethora of children, as well. It will surely be a fantastic holiday spectacle, full of music and joy!

Opening...

...Weekend for Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Jr., was a success! As of today (a welcome day-off), we have performed six times for audiences: three on Friday, two on Saturday, and one yesterday. The Gala was also this weekend, where a fun time was had by all. From what I hear, we met or nearly met our attendance goals, so thank you to all our fans who came to see us in the last few days.

As I said to one cast member backstage on Friday, which was our opening day, "It's so nice to get laughs at jokes we've known are funny for weeks."

The audiences, indeed, have been appreciative. During the transformation of the Beast into the Prince (spoiler alert!), those who purchased a glow-in-the-dark rose are encouraged to wave them in the air to heighten the magical mood. It's a rush to glance into the crowd and see all those waving little red roses. A true rush.

So what lies in store for the show? Well, we have a day off today, as I mentioned before. Tomorrow, we resume our morning performances for school audiences, though our next public show is not until Saturday, Oct. 24. We perform twice on our final day of Beauty and the Beast, a show we will definitely miss and remember for a long time.

Please come see the show! To purchase tickets, click here.

Production Week...

...is finally here! We have rehearsed for four weeks now in the basement of the new office building, and this week we move into the Taft Theatre in downtown Cincinnati!

We are a bit farther away from the Taft than we've been in years past. While on paper this makes the transition more hectic, in reality we may actually be more prepared for the new space than in previous shows. The reason is that the new rehearsal space is closer to the dimensions of the Taft stage than the old space. So, in terms of blocking and stage position, the adjustment is smaller for us performers.

Today, however, is not about the performers. It's the performers' "dark day" this week, a day when the performers do not rehearse. However, the technicians, led by our stage manager Jenn Picone, have set aside the entire day for some intense work of their own: to load the set from the scene shop into the truck, to hang and focus lights, to move the set into the space, to transfer costumes from our rehearsal and costume rooms to the appropriate areas at the Taft,--and on and on, so that when the performers return tomorrow, everything will be set for our tech rehearsal.

Our thoughts and utmost gratitude to the technicians, designers, operators, directors and crews. We could not possibly do what we do if it were not for them doing what they do.

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The first performance of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Jr., is this Friday, October 16, at 9:30 AM. We have to more shows that day as well, at 12:oo PM and 7:30 PM.

Saturday, October 17, is the date for the GALA, which will feature certain cast members in costume, milling about, posing for photos, etc. Some children from the STAR program this summer will help to cater the event.

For more information about tickets, shows, and the GALA, please visit our website.