Ovation Theatre Company Presents Rarely-Seen Gem: A Voice of My Own

Ovation opens its sixth season with this unique play with music by Elinor Jones. Six women portray over two dozen roles in this provocative look at women authors, from Ancient Greece to present day. From Sappho to Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen to Toni Morrison, the women tell their very different stories of triumph, rejection, and perseverance as they found their voice in a male-dominated profession. With original songs, this play with music is sure to enlighten as well as entertain.

The cast for A Voice of My Own is composed of six of the most gifted actresses in Cincinnati: Ovation’s Managing Director Lisa Hall Breithaupt takes the stage again following the sell-out run of The Diary of Anne Frank in April. Returning to Ovation’s stage for their second production each are Kristin Clippard and Sunshine Cappelletti. Making their Ovation debut are veteran performers Burgess Byrd, Barbara Karol and Leanne Greenberg.

Voice is directed by Artistic Director Joe Stollenwerk, who helmed such previous Ovation productions as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Crimes of the Heart, and You’re Gonna Love Tomorrow.

While the piece is certainly educational in nature, that is not its sole purpose. “The actresses have really brought this piece to life. Each of the authors is unique and has an interesting story to tell. And some of the play is very funny—much more so than you might expect from a piece of educational feminist literary theatre. The play is meant to speak to everyone, and so I’m directing this play not only with women audiences in mind, but also the husbands who get dragged along. I want the play to draw them in as well, and I really think it will.”

Live music will precede some of the performances, and talkbacks with members of Women’s Theatre Initiative, Xavier University’s English Department, and others will follow several performances.

Performances are October 3, 4, 9, 10, and 11 at 8:00 and October 5 at 2:00, at the Fifth Third Bank Theater at the Aronoff Center for the Arts, located at the corner of Main and Seventh Streets in Downtown Cincinnati.

Tickets are $16 general admission, $14 seniors, and $12 students. Tickets can be purchased at the Aronoff or Music Hall box offices, or by calling 513-241-SHOW. Ovation also offers a Pay What You Can Preview on Thursday, October 2nd, at 8:00.

For more information about the show or Ovation, please call 513-369-1544 or email
ovationtheatrecompany@yahoo.com.