RUTKA Will Make World Premiere at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park

RUTKA, a new indie-rock musical adapted from Rutka’s Notebook: A Voice from the Holocaust, will make its world premiere at Ohio's Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park (962 Mt Adams Circle) this fall, in the first stage of its future development. Previews will begin on Sunday, October 13, 2024 with opening night set for Thursday, October 17, with the run scheduled through Sunday, November 10, 2024.  

RUTKA features music and lyrics by recording artists Jocelyn Mackenzie and Jeremy Lloyd-Styles formerly of the Brooklyn-based indie-rock band Pearl and the Beard. Book is by award-winning playwright and multiple Emmy Award nominee Neena Beber (Executive Producer and Writer on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”). The production is directed by Wendy C. Goldberg, the distinguished former Artistic Director of The National Playwrights Conference at The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, and a two-time Chair of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama jury.

RUTKA is a contemporary rock musical based on the internationally acclaimed Rutka’s Notebook: A Voice from the Holocaust, a diary by 14-year-old Rutka Laskier. Rutka documented her thoughts and experiences during a three-month period in 1943 while living in the Jewish Ghetto in Bedzin, Poland. Her diary would remain hidden for 63 years until it was published in 2006. Following its relatively recent discovery and authentication by scholars, Rutka’s Notebook has drawn comparison to The Diary of Anne Frank. (In an odd coincidence, Rutka Laskier and Anne Frank were born on the same date: June 12, 1929).

Rutka’s world is consumed by the usual teen concerns, like friendships, gossip, a new haircut, and the flickers of first love — all of which she documents in her diary. But the world at large is far from usual. It’s 1943 in war-torn Poland, as Rutka and her friends are trying to live life as normally as possible while confined in the Jewish Ghetto. With their futures and fates uncertain, they reach for hope, resilience, and resistance. This all-new musical is a compelling drama and a shining example of how even one small voice can make a difference in the world. RUTKA is brought to life by an extraordinary ensemble of young performers and with a raw and emotional sound, promising an unforgettable musical experience.

The production of RUTKA at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park is presented by arrangement with Amy Langer and David Schwartz of Think System Productions,  Executive Producer Cody Lassen (Spring Awakening, Indecent, The Band’s Visit), and with the support of The Smart Family Foundation. General management is by KGM Theatrical.

BIOGRAPHIES

Jocelyn Mackenzie (Music and Lyrics) is a Brooklyn-based musician, maker, and medium. A singer, songwriter, songwriting coach, artist, stylist, and psychic, she released her debut solo album PUSH on Righteous Babe Records in early 2021. Arranged entirely for string quartet about healing through radical self-love, PUSH was co-created by an all-star team of collaborators including Franz Nicolay, Adam Schatz, Jo Lampert and more. Originally the singing drummer from indie-pop trio Pearl and the Beard, alongside l Rutka co-composer, Jeremy Lloyd-Styles and cellist Emily Hope Price, the group released six studio albums in their tenure and boasted an extensive touring history across the US, UK and Canada with noteworthy artists such as Ani DiFranco, Neko Case, Iron & Wine, Ingrid Michaelson, Lucius, Dar Williams, and Lady Lamb. Jocelyn’s first solo EP features a song co-written by Ani DiFranco, and her music and voice over talent have appeared in film, theater, commercials, and television. On stage, she has been involved in The Bengson’s Hundred Days and as a performer and devising member of Trusty Sidekick Theater Company’s Mendelssohn Electric. Mackenzie holds a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art (2005) and is skilled in makeup, costume making, knitting, crochet, graphic design and fabrication. She is also a psychic medium. At her core, Mackenzie's extra-sensory skills inform her songwriting and visual art, integrating media and meaning to create work that is both sensual and personal.

Jeremy Lloyd-Styles (Music and Lyrics) is a Brooklyn-based songwriter/producer. He is best known for his work writing, performing, and touring with the folk trio Pearl and the Beard, sharing the stage with such acts as  Ani DiFranco, Neko Case, Iron & Wine, Ingrid Michaelson, Bastille, Dar Williams, Lady Lamb, The Drums, Matt + Kim, Sharon Van Etten, Laura Marling and more. He's had his music featured in national commercials, the films Hello, My Name Is Doris, Spoiler Alert, and Unicorn City, the television shows Lucifer, the Royals, and the Hannah Gadsby Special: Douglas. In addition to these works, he records solo material under his name and provides vocals for the 80s darkwave synth-pop band NoNight on Lost Future Records. "From his bearded greatness that generally stands at six months of growth, to the reassuring and friendly tone in his voice, he comes across like a long-lost buddy from high school." - Urban Beardsman 

Neena Beber (Book)  is a playwright, screenwriter and lyricist who was born and raised in Miami, Florida. Current plays: Kate Suspended, workshopped at The O’Neill Center’s National Playwright’s Conference, and A Mother, co-conceived with Jessica Hecht and slated to be presented next year at Hartford Stage and the Baryshnikov Arts Center. Other plays include the Obie Award-winning Jump/Cut, as well as The Dew Point, Tomorrowland, A Common Vision, and Misreadings, all published by Samuel French. Neena is a recipient of a Lilly Award, the L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award, and Sloan and Amblin Commissions, and was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. She is the author of librettos for the operettas Ulysses, Home; Kassandra; and most recently Iphigenia (composer Anthony Brandt). A member of the BMI Lehman Engel Advanced Musical Theatre Workshop, other musical collaborations include book and lyrics for Jade Alaska (composer Ben Diskant) and lyrics for the new musical Finding Frida (composer Jaime Lozano). She wrote the screenplay for How to Deal and the short Bad Dates. She most recently received an Emmy nomination for writing on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (co-EP). Other TV credits include episodes of “Ballers,” “Imposters,” and adapting “Little Bear” for TV with Maurice Sendak. Neena holds a B.A from Harvard University and an M.F.A from N.Y.U.'s Tisch School of the Arts, where she was a Paulette Goddard Fellow. An alumna of New Dramatists, Neena has taught at at Columbia University and mentors for Reel Works.

Wendy C. Goldberg (Director) has spent over 25 years leading the foremost programs in the development, direction, and the production of works for the American Theater.  She also works as a director and executive producer in television, video games, and alternative media.  As Artistic Director of the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center from 2005-2022, under Goldberg’s tenure the O’Neill was awarded the 2010 Regional Tony Award, the first play development and education organization to receive this honor as well as the 2016 National Medal of Arts from the White House. Goldberg has overseen the development of more than 200 projects for the stage. She is currently Head of the MFA Directing Program at Boston University.  She is the President and Founder of TheFrontOffice an entertainment company, with projects as Executive Producer on an upcoming docuseries with LeBron James's Spring Hill Entertainment among others. In 2020, the charitable arm of the company, TheFrontOffice Foundation, was created to help aid the theater industry during the pandemic and  has offered a half a million dollars in grants to multiple artists.  Wendy created The National Directors Fellowship at The O'Neill for the development of directors, a collaboration with the Kennedy Center, SDCF and the National New Play Network funded by the Doris Duke Foundation. Wendy has twice served as the Chair of the Jury for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama at the School of Journalism of Columbia University (2019 - A Strange Loop and 2020 - The Hot Wing King), a historic milestone, and helped aid the Pulitzer Board to award and recognize theater created digitally during the pandemic shut down.  Her directing credits include many world premieres, revivals and musicals at some of the most esteemed theaters across the country and in New York. Credits include: five productions for Arena Stage, five productions for The Denver Center, three productions for Actors Theatre of Louisville, five productions for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park where she is an Associate Artist, three productions for The Guthrie, and productions for The Goodman, Signature, Center Stage, Alliance, Playmakers Rep, and Paper Mill Playhouse among others. Wendy began her career as an intern in Artistic Direction at Arena Stage and was then hired as the company’s sole Artistic Associate in 2000. As Associate at Arena for five seasons, Ms. Goldberg helped to create the theater’s new play initiatives and led them from their inception through 2005. Ms. Goldberg has directed in every major new play development program in the country and has helped create and consult on these programs for Arena Stage, Denver Center and Goodman Theatre, among others. Wendy is the recipient of the Zelda Fichandler Finalist Award given to a director who is “transforming the region through theater” by the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation. She is an honors graduate of the University of Michigan (BA) and holds a MFA in Directing from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television where she received the distinguished alumni award in 2014.

THINK SYSTEM PRODUCTIONS (Producer). TSP’s mission is to create bold and innovative works for all entertainment platforms, including film, TV, theater, and publishing. We’re attracted to properties that have the potential to cause audiences to think about their world and their lives differently than they did when they first entered the theater, turned on the TV or picked up the book. TSP was formed by producers Amy Langer and David Schwartz. David is a 25+ year veteran of the entertainment industry, including 17 years at The Walt Disney Company, where he was Assistant General Counsel, and 3 years at MGM, where he was Senior Vice President. Amy spent many years as a professional performer, touring the world in national and international productions of shows like West Side Story and A Chorus Line, before launching into producing. Her experience as a performer has provided her with a keen dramaturgical sense and understanding of the creative process. She has produced shows and large-scale events both domestically and internationally. They are proud to have the opportunity to help bring Rutka Laskier’s powerful and important story to audiences across the country and around the world.

Cincinnati Playhouse IN THE PARK is committed to bringing diverse, engaging works of great artistry to the community and to putting Cincinnati’s artistic excellence in the national spotlight. Founded in 1960 and a recipient of two Tony Awards — the 2004 Regional Theatre Tony Award and the 2007 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical for Company — the Playhouse is nationally known for its excellence and commitment to new works and as an artistic home for America’s best actors, directors, and designers. For more than 30 years, the Playhouse has produced at least one world premiere each season. Osborn Family Producing Artistic Director Blake Robison and Managing Director Abby Marcus oversee a full-time staff of 80. In spring 2023, the Playhouse celebrated the grand opening of its $50 million theatre complex, featuring an all-new mainstage: Moe and Jack’s Place – The Rouse Theatre. Visit cincyplay.com.