JAJA'S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING & More Set for Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati 2024-25 Season

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati has revealed its 2024-2025 season, which includes a hilarious buddy comedy, an intimate and keep-you-guessing drama, two regional premieres that will be the first productions following hit Broadway runs, and the return of a beloved, whimsical musical!

“Our 39th season is all about what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes, from garbage collectors to hairstylists,” says Producing Artistic Director D. Lynn Meyers. “It’s about what we carry within us that nobody sees from the outside. No one would recognize us if we were turned inside out to show our love, our pain, and our emotion. There’s a lot of underlying humor in these plays, and that’s deliberate. It’s the idea of being in tough situations but still finding joy, strength, and inspiration to go forward.”

About the Plays

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati opens its 39th year with the regional premiere comedy The Garbologists by Lindsay Joelle, September 14 – October 2, 2024. Two essential workers from different worlds discover there’s more that binds them than taking out the trash in this off-beat buddy comedy. Danny and Marlowe are polar opposites: he’s a gruff NYC sanitation worker hiding a heart of gold, and she’s a determined Ivy-League-educated “newbie” assigned to his route. Amidst their shifts spent bickering, they each have some wisdom to share, but will the other listen? When thrown together to pick up what the world has discarded, they learn that some things are easier to toss than others.

Then, join the ever-curious Alice and her bubbly friends for an unforgettable tea party this holiday season in Alice in Wonderland, December 4 – 29, 2024. Based on the beloved, imaginative tale by Lewis Carroll, this modern retelling is the toe-tapping story of a lost girl, a cool cat, a wild hare, and the original “dancing queen.” Written by creative team Joseph McDonough and David Kisor and featuring an updated score and exuberant colorful costumes, this beloved holiday musical will delight audiences of all ages. 

Next ETC will present I Need That from February 8 – March 2, 2025, by Cincinnati native and award-winning playwright Theresa Rebeck, who will also direct this regional premiere comedy. Meet Sam, an obsessive pack rat bordering on hoarder lost in his own possessions. Faced with the threat of eviction unless he cleans up his property, he can’t seem to let go of anything, despite pleas from his daughter and his friend of thirty years. In his attempt to hold onto his things and thus hold onto his past and himself, Sam is forced to reckon with what’s trash, what’s treasure, and whether we can ever know the difference between the two. This hilarious, heartfelt, and human play about life’s messes makes its first regional premiere following its successful Broadway run.                                                                                                                                                   

Next, ETC presents the gripping regional premiere drama The Sound Inside by Adam Rapp, April 5 – 27, 2025. Bella Baird is a brilliant writer and Ivy League professor who prizes her solitude. But when she faces a challenge she cannot tackle alone, she allies herself with a talented and enigmatic student, Christopher. As their lives and the stories they tell about themselves become intertwined in unpredictable ways, Bella asks an unthinkable favor of Christopher—but is it undoable? Deeply moving and brimming with suspense, Adam Rapp’s thrilling play explores the power we hold over each other and questions the limits of what we can ask of others.

ETC’s 2024-2025 season closes with the regional premiere dramedy Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, taking the stage May 31 – June 22, 2025. Welcome to Jaja’s bustling hair braiding shop in Harlem where every day, a lively and eclectic group of West African immigrant hair braiders are creating masterpieces on the heads of neighborhood women. During one sweltering summer day, love will blossom, dreams will flourish, and secrets will be revealed. The uncertainty of these immigrant women’s circumstances simmers below the surface of their lives, and when it boils over, this tight-knit community is forced to confront what it means to be an outsider on the edge of the place they call home. Written by award-winning Ghanian-American playwright Jocelyn Bioh (School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play), this boisterous and heartwarming play makes its first regional premiere following its dazzling Broadway debut!

Subscriptions On Sale Now

Subscriptions to the 2024-2025 Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati season are on sale now. 4-Show Preview subscriptions are $144 (excludes holiday production); Regular and FlexPass subscriptions range from $245 to $318. ETC will continue its deeply discounted subscription options for students, with packages just $75 for Teen Scene subscribers and just $85 for Student subscriptions.
 

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