Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati Closes The 2022-2023 Season With The Regional Premiere Dramedy MAYTAG VIRGIN, May 27 – June 18

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati (ETC) closes its 2022-2023 Season with the regional premiere dramedy Maytag Virgin by Audrey Cefaly. Two new neighbors put their hearts (and laundry) on the line in this poignant dramedy that tells a witty, romantic, and honest story of connection. May 27-June 18, 2023. Directed by Bridget Leak. Premiere Sponsors are John Goering; Mark Haggard and Daniel Brown.

Good fences make good neighbors, right? But what about clotheslines? When the unflappable Jack Key moves in next door to the endearingly neurotic Lizzy Nash, sparks fly. Over time, neighborly nagging softens, and a deeper connection emerges between the two high school teachers. As the leaves turn yellow and the months march on, kept secrets shake loose, and the pair finds themselves facing the same question: How do you know when you're ready to live, and love, again?

"Maytag Virgin reminds us that the world is full of possibilities," says Producing Artistic Director D. Lynn Meyers. "It's the perfect dramedy. You're going to laugh out loud, and you're going to be touched by the story that is far more than boy meets girl. It's about how love really never leaves, even when the people who love each other do. It's absolutely charming."

About the Cast

Ryan Wesley Gilreath (Jack Key) last performed at Ensemble Theatre in Queen, and some of his other credits there include Ripcord, Tribes, Other Desert Cities, Next Fall, 33 Variations, and Mary's Wedding. His TV and film credits include The Bikeriders with Austin Butler; Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile on Netflix; Forrest Mars in
The Food That Built America; Jack Miller in TURN: Washington's Spies; Oppenheimer in American Genius; Doc Robinson in Gold Fever; and the pilot of Guilty on Fox. His theatre credits include A Christmas Carol, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; Ears on a Beatle, Human Race Theatre; and Burning Desire, Seven Angels, and Deathtrap, Florida Repertory Theatre.

Maggie Lou Rader (Elizabeth "Lizzy" Nash) makes her Ensemble Theatre debut with this production. Originally from Oklahoma, she attended William Jewell College, Oxford University, and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. She has performed regionally and internationally with Human Race Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Know Theatre, Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park, The Kitchen Theatre, Birmingham Old Rep, and Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Some of her favorite credits include Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, June in Alabaster, The Pilot in Grounded, and Marie Antoinette in The Revolutionists.

Bridget Leak (Director) returns to Ensemble Theatre, having previously directed Queen. Her previous Cincinnati directing credits include Actually with Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Playhouse's Off the Hill Series, and the current production of RUH-Roh! at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. Her previous honors include People's Liberty Grant recipient, Cincinnati Art Ambassador Fellowship, Lincoln Center Directors Lab alum, Artist in Residence at Robert Wilson's The Watermill Center, Directing Fellow at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and an SDCF Observer (Cleveland Play House and Round House Theatre). Bridget has an MFA in directing from The Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University.

Production team: Brian c. Mehring (Resident Scenic & Lighting Designer), Brooke Arthur (Costume Designer), Matt Callahan (Sound Designer), Shannon Rae Lutz (Properties Curator & Design Assistant), and Jack Murphy (Technical Director). Production Stage Manager is Margot Whitney. Assistant Stage Manager is Lexi Muller.

Performances Tuesday-Thursday at 7:30 pm; Friday & Saturday at 8:00 pm; Saturday & Sunday at 2:00 pm. Performances vary. A complete calendar of performances is available at www.ensemblecincinnati.org.

Tickets start at $35 for adults and student tickets are $28. Half-Price Rush Tickets: All remaining tickets for the current day's performance(s) are available two hours prior to each show time for half-price (discount only applies to adult tickets) when purchasing by phone or in person. $15 Student Rush Tickets: Students may purchase up to two $15 student rush tickets two hours prior to show time with valid student I.D. Available in person only.

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