LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC Arrives At Cincinnati Playhouse 3/28

The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park will continue its Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre season with Arlene Hutton's engaging and endearing play LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC .

This sweet journey of the heart begins public previews on March 28 and continues through April 26. Young lives intertwine when Raleigh, a recently discharged flyboy with ambitions of becoming a writer, and May, a woman who dreams of doing missionary work, board the same train to Los Angeles in the winter of 1940. They soon come to realize that not only are they headed in a similar direction, but their roots are closer than they could have dreamed.

The two grew up just miles from each other in Kentucky, but share very different memories of the local Nibroc Festival, an annual event neartheir hometowns. Out of this chance meeting blossoms a romance that draws Raleigh and May together, but conflict threatens to pull them apart. A year and a half after their train ride, they find each other once again in Kentucky and discuss what went wrong with their first attempt at love. When theirpaths cross one final time another year later, the two decide whether there is still room in theirlives for a stranger on the train and learn that sometimes you have to let go to get what you really want.

LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC premiered at the second New York Fringe Festival in 1998 and moved to the 78 th Street Theatre Lab a few months later. The play quicklymoved off-Broadway where it received a nomination for Best Play from the New York Drama League in 2000.

Over one hundred regional productions of LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC have been staged since its premiere. This play is the first in the critically acclaimed Nibroc trilogypenned by playwright Arlene Hutton. See Rock City and Gulf View Drive are the remaining plays of the trilogy. Hutton's work has been performed worldwide, with four appearances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She also wrote As It Is in Heaven, a play about Kentucky Shakers, and Parhelia, a new work about the Brontë family.

LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC is loosely based on the lives of Hutton's parents, who happened to be falling in love at about the same time as the play's setting. According to Hutton, " LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC is a patchwork quilt of family lore and stories I heard as a child, all stitched together to tell the fictional tale of Mayand Raleigh."

Returning to direct LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC is Rob Ruggiero, who helmed last season's acclaimed production of ELLA in the Marx Theatre. Other members of the artistic team include Michael Schweikardt (Set Designer), Alejo Vietti (Costume Designer), John Lasiter (Lighting Designer), Nick Eilerman (Assistant Director), Vincent Olivieri (Sound Designer), Ben Furey (Dialect Coach) and JosephMillett (Stage Manager). Dana Acheson (May) and Timothy Kiefer (Raleigh) make theirPlayhouse debuts as the two young lovers.

These free programs allow audiences to interact with cast members and others associated withthe production following the show.2 p.m. Sunday, April 52 p.m. Sunday, April 127:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 158 p.m. Thursday, April 23

Dining Options Karlo's Bistro at the Playhouse offers full-service dining prior to most eveningperformances. Dinners include salad, entréeand dessert.
Reservations are required by noonon the day of the show. The price is $25.
Karlo's Casual Fare offers busy theatre patronsan alternative light, quick bite prior to the show. Options include salads, sandwiches, soups, pasta and desserts. No reservations are required.

Prices for LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC range from $47- $57, depending on day and seat location.
All tickets are $41 for the preview performances at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 28; 7 p.m. Sunday, March 29; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 31; and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 1.

The official opening night is Thursday, April 2, 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. Saturdays and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sundays .

Tickets to LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC 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. Artists fly to and from Cincinnati on Comair, the Playhouse's official airline.

 

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