By: Zenab Saeed ~Staff Writer~
The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park will provide entertainment to the city with its free Play Reading Series beginning on Mar. 7. The series, which will take place on Monday evenings from Mar. 7 to Apr. 4, will feature readings of works by playwrights Lauren Gunderson, Terrence McNally and Theresa Rebeck.
The current season of the Playhouse’s production series also features productions written by all three of the featured playwrights.
The series will premiere on Mar. 7 with a reading of the play “Ada and the Engine,” written by award-winning playwright Gunderson, whose play “The Revolutionists” is currently in production until Mar. 6 at the Playhouse.
“Ada and the Engine,” which premiered at Central Works in Berkeley a few months ago, provides an artistic perspective into the historical story of Victorian computer visionaries Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage.
The Reading Series will also feature McNally’s Tony Award-winning play “A Perfect Ganesh.” This 1993 off-Broadway production, which was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 1994, centers on the story of two Connecticut women who travel to India after the deaths of their sons.
Rebeck’s Pulitzer Prize nominated “Omnium Gatherum” will close the series. Rebeck, who is originally from Cincinnati, debuted this play revolving around a dinner party in 2003 at the Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival.
“This series broadens the reach of our regular season. It gives our audience the opportunity to experience other works by this spring’s trio of Shelterhouse playwrights. We hope that subscribers and others will join us to learn more about their interests, their careers and the scope of their artistry,” Playhouse Artistic Director Blake Robison said in a news release issued by Playhouse in the Park.
The readings in this new series, which are supported by The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, The Louise Taft Semple Foundation and the Wohlgemuth Herschede Foundation, are free and will take place on selected Mondays at 7 p.m. in the Marx Rehearsal Hall.
Since space is limited and the Playhouse expects the events to be popular in terms of attendance, advance reservations should be made by calling the Playhouse Box Office.
A complete schedule of the performances can be found on Playhouse in the Park’s website, http://www.cincyplay.com/.