Cincinnati

78^th Street Theatre Lab

Eric Nightengale, Artistic Director * Mark Zeller/Dana Zeller-Alexis, Producing Directors

Ruth Nightengale, General Manager

and

Clancy Productions

proudly present

CINCINNATI

By DON NIGRO

Featuring

NANCY WALSH

Directed by JOHN CLANCY

Lighting Design: ERIC NIGHTENGALE

Stage Manager: JOE FINELLI

Press Representation: SAM RUDY MEDIA RELATIONS

78^th Street Theatre Lab

236 West 78^th Street (Off Broadway)

(212) 868-4444 or www.smarttix.com

October 30 - November 22

In Don Nigro's CINCINNATI a school teacher (Nancy Walsh) turns her mind inside out and allows the audience to witness its deterioration. She rants and raves, digresses and obsesses on phrases and words, and then regains her composure only to ask with total sincerity A Can you honestly defend the rights of others to live?@ Paranoia runs rampant, and her mind veers off in several directions at once but unfortunately all roads ultimately lead back to pain. In order to make this palatable, Nigro coated the bitter pill with generous layers of humor - the teacher has a cynical and sophisticated perspective of the demons, real and unreal alike, that torture her.

Walsh does a magnificent job of portraying the insanity while simultaneously revealing a vulnerable and genuinely likable soul. This is made even more poignant by the fact that Walsh herself is currently undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. CINCINNATI is a classic example of life imitating art (Walsh was diagnosed while in rehearsals for the Edinburgh premiere), and you can only admire both Walsh and her troubled character for their resiliency, courage, and perseverance.

- Laurie Lawson -

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