Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park Presents Julia Cho's The Piano Teacher 3/13

The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park will continue its Thompson Shelterhouse season with Julia Cho's THE PIANO TEACHER. This unique and powerful play begins public previews on February 12 and continues through March 13.

The sweet, cookie-loving Mrs. K is the perfect picture of a caring grandmotherly piano teacher. When she decides to look up some of her old students, Mrs. K unleashes a dark secret she can't quite understand. This cunning play artfully blends past and present to explore the mystery and unpredictability of memory and the human heart.

Cincinnati Playhouse produced Durango in 2008 on the Shelterhouse stage. Several of Julia Cho's other plays have received productions at major theatres around the country. The Architecture of Loss was presented by New York Theater Workshop in 2004. In 2005, BFE was co-produced by the Long Wharf Theatre and Playwrights Horizons. The following year, The Winchester House and Durango played at the Long Wharf and New York's Public Theater. In March, Ms. Cho received the 2010 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the most prestigious award given annually to women playwrights, for The Language Archive. The play received its world premiere at the South Coast Repertory and was commissioned and presented by New York's Roundabout Theatre Company.

The cast for THE PIANO TEACHER includes Cincinnati favorite actress Dale Hodges in a tour-de-force role as Mrs. K, Joy C. Hooper (Doubt and The Fall of Heaven) as Mary Fields/Student 1/Parent A/Student C and Johnson Chong as Michael/Student 2/Parent B/Student D.

Producing Artistic Director Edward Stern will direct the production. According to Stern, "I can't say too much about THE PIANO TEACHER because I think the fun of it is experiencing this unique and powerful play. The audience will be moved by it, touched by it and very much surprised by it."

Other members of the production team include Joseph P. Tilford (Set Designer), Gordon DeVinney (Costume Designer), Thomas C. Hase (Lighting Designer) and Fitz Patton (Sound Designer). The Stage Manager is Joseph Millett.

Prices for THE PIANO TEACHER range from $25-$67, depending on day and seat location. New this year, $25 preview performances have been added for the Shelterhouse Theatre (side B) at 8 p.m. on Saturday, February 12; 7 p.m. Sunday, February 13; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 15; and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 16. In addition, $30 tickets on weekdays and $35 on weekends are also available in side B. The official opening night is Thursday, February 17 at 8 p.m.

Performances take place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 4 and 8 p.m. on Saturdays and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sundays.

Tickets to THE PIANO TEACHER are on sale now. For more information, call The Playhouse box office at 513/421-3888 (toll-free in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana at 800/582-3208) or visit www.cincyplay.com. Call 513/345-2248 for TDD accessibility.

The Playhouse is fully accessible. Audio enhancement receivers, large print programs and complete wheelchair access are available.

The Playhouse is supported, in part, by the generosity of the tens of thousands of individuals and businesses that give to ArtsWave.

The Ohio Arts Council helps fund The Playhouse with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.

The Playhouse also receives funding from the Shubert Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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