What To Do in Cincinnati This Weekend: Sept. 21-23

FRIDAY 21-SUNDAY 23

EVENT: Oktoberfest Zinzinnati
These pretzels making you thirsty? You want German bier? Oktoberfest has both. Plus, you can catch a gaggle of dachshunds dressed as hot dogs participating in the Running of Weiners to kick things off at 11 a.m. Friday. What else? Expect a bratwurst-eating competition, the “World’s Largest Chicken Dance” (led by Thane Maynard of the Cincinnati Zoo) and bounds of German music and grub, like sauerkraut, cream puffs, goetta and bier cheese. You don’t even have to be German to celebrate, but lederhosen is always encouraged.
5-11 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday. Free admission. Second and Third streets between Walnut and Elm streets, Downtown, oktoberfestzinzinnati.com.
Photo: Brian Douglas

FRIDAY 21-SUNDAY 23

DANCE: The Kaplan New Works Series
The latest installment of The Kaplan New Works Series, Cincinnati Ballet’s annual production of new contemporary works, kicked the company’s 2018-2019 season off with an energetic jolt on Sept. 13 at the Aronoff Center for the Arts. Cincinnati Ballet dancer David Morse’s world premiere of “Gathering” was my favorite of the night. The curtain opened to reveal a stage set with no backdrop; the stage lights were drawn down, and pairs of dancers interspersed around them as the lights lifted back up. The music featured rhythmic electronic minimalism, fuzzed-out dissonance and a constant flurry of hand motions and twitches; the choreography feels like watching bits of Balanchine and other classical ballet through a fun-house mirror. The Kaplan New Works Series has to live up to its own knockout reputation each year. Rest assured, this season does.
The Kaplan New Works Series runs through Sept. 23 at the Aronoff Center. More info/tickets: cballet.org.

FRIDAY 21

ONSTAGE: The Who’s Tommy
It’s your final two chances to see this lightly staged production of Broadway’s The Who’s Tommy, featuring music and lyrics by Pete Townshend, based on The Who’s 1964 Rock concept album and directed locally by Leslie Goddard. Tommy, a boy who goes deaf, blind and mute after seeing a man murdered in a reflection in a mirror, takes to pinball — becoming a “pinball wizard” — to overcome his trauma. Expect to hear classics like “Pinball Wizard,” “Listening to You” and “I’m Free” come to life onstage with big vocals and choreography.
8 p.m. Thursday and Friday. $28-$42. Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, memorialhallotr.com.
Photo: Whittney Hammons

FRIDAY 21-SUNDAY 23

ONSTAGE: Mary’s Monster
Know Theatre’s current season is themed “Fear Itself” and a lot of that action is taking place on the mainstage with productions that tackle werewolves, Victorian lady detectives, dark comedy and ghostly lighthouse occupants. But the frights continue downstairs at the SecondStage cabaret with this world premiere of Mary’s Monster, written and performed by local actress Maggie Lou Rader. According to a release, “On a dark night near the end of her life, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley wrestles with ghosts: her dead children, her family, her famous husband Percy, her mother, and Frankenstein, her most famous creation.” It’s an examination of Gothic horror, female authors and how to make peace with death.
Through Sept. 23. $15; $25 “Living Wage” tickets. Know Theatre, 1120 Jackson St., Over-the-Rhine, knowtheatre.com.
Photo: Dan R. Winters

FRIDAY 21-SUNDAY 23

ONSTAGE: Misery
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s season-opener Misery explores the depths of human depravity and delivers a delightfully disturbing production that chills and entertains. It opens to total darkness; the only sounds are from the action that occurs offstage, where the audience hears the commotion of what seems to be a horrific car crash. When the lights come up on a seemingly calm yellow bedroom, we are introduced to famed romance novelist Paul Sheldon, the victim of the earlier crash. His strange caretaker is a sunny — if a little manic — nurse named Annie Wilkes, Paul’s “number one fan.” Paul is late for his return to New York to do a press tour for his latest novel, a Regency romance that details the life of main character Misery Chastain. But now, bruised, broken and confined to bed, Paul comes to depend upon — and ultimately fear — his increasingly disturbed caretaker-turned-captor. Perhaps one of Stephen King’s most famous and terrifying novels, Misery is an exploration of sanity, isolation and obsession.
Misery runs through Sept. 29 at Mount Adams’ Playhouse in the Park. Tickets/more info: cincyplay.com.
Photo: Mikki Schaffner Photography

FRIDAY 21-SUNDAY 23

COMEDY: Brad Wenzel
“I wasn’t necessarily the class clown, but I did like to make people laugh,” says comedian Brad Wenzel. “When I was 15, I started writing jokes, but didn’t tell anyone. About a year later, my cousin Charlie said I should do stand-up and offered to drive me to an open mic. That kind of gave me the extra push to try it.” Before becoming a headliner, he featured for folks like Brian Posehn, Kathleen Madigan, Gilbert Gottfried, Pete Holmes, Louie Anderson, Jerrod Carmichael and Patton Oswalt. The latter gave him some interesting insight. “He told me something interesting about the myth of a horrible childhood being a requirement for comedy,” Wenzel says. “He said, ‘I know some really hilarious people with totally normal childhoods, and I also know people with horrible childhoods who aren’t funny at all.’ ” Wenzel’s album, Sweet Nothings, is available from Third Man Records.
Through Sunday. $8-$14. Go Bananas, 8410 Market Place Lane, Montgomery, gobananascomedy.com.
Photo: Provided

SATURDAY 22

EVENT: Fire Up the Night
Three countries come to Coney Island on Saturday to compete for pyrotechnic supremacy at Fire Up the Night, an annual fireworks competition. Teams from Germany, France and Mexico will go head to head starting at 8:30 p.m. with three separate fireworks displays to see who will be voted the best. Rozzi’s Famous Fireworks will light up the sky in a grand finale over Lake Como. Moonlite Pavilion will host interactive music, dancing and displays from each different country for fun and education, and the “world’s largest empty pool party” starts the evening early at 4 p.m. with live music and more in the waterless Sunlite Water Adventure.
4 p.m. pool party; 8:30 p.m. fireworks Saturday. $25 per carload. Coney Island, 6201 Kellogg Ave., California, coneyislandpark.com.
Photo: Provided

SATURDAY 22

ONSTAGE: William Shatner
On Saturday, actor William Shatner will appear live onstage at downtown’s Taft Theatre to talk about his iconic screen role as Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek sci-fi film and TV franchise. Audience members will be able to watch a screening of the 1982 film, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and afterward, Shatner will comment on Khan, tell behind-the-scenes stories and host a Q&A session.
William Shatner will attend a screening of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan at the Taft Theatre 7:30 p.m. Sept. 22, followed by a Q&A. More info/tickets: tafttheatre.org.
Photo: Provided

SATURDAY 22

MUSIC: Lord Huron
Ben Schneider has only been recording as his musical alter ego Lord Huron for the past six years. Lord Huron’s first full-length, 2012’s Lonesome Dreams, was a critical success and garnered enough attention to hit the Top 5 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart. In April, right as the band was getting ready to play The National's Homecoming music festival on Cincinnati's riverfront, Lord Huron dropped its third album and debut for the band’s own Republic Records-distributed Whispering Pines label. Vide Noir finds the band exploring a more psychedelically inclined sonic tapestry, while retaining the crystalline atmosphere of its previous output. Clearly, the new direction is being embraced, as the band’s current tour is dotted with sold-out appearances, including the Cincinnati show at Bogart's.
Click here to see sanctioned resale ticket options for the sold-out show. https://concerts1.livenation.com/event/160054B2B290465C?irgwc=1&clickid=VyAw0IwA8zKI3dl2ylzwyx%253A2Ukg2pjwShVZ02c0&camefrom=CFC_BUYAT_253158&impradid=253158&REFERRAL_ID=tmfeedbuyat253158&wt.mc_id=aff_BUYAT_253158&utm_source=253158-Facebook-%2520TM&impradname=Facebook-%2520TM&utm_medium=affiliate

SATURDAY 22

EVENT: Hudepohl 14K Brewery Run
If you want to prep your body for a weekend of beer drinking and bratwurst eating at Oktoberfest, start Saturday with the Hudepohl 14K Brewery Run: “the race that thinks it’s a party.” The race starts and ends at the riverfront and the course takes runners (and walkers) past historic brewery sites, following the route that horse-drawn carts took to bring beer from Cincinnati breweries to waiting riverboats for distribution. After the race, hit up the after party — race entry includes a cheese coney from Skyline, and two beers from Christian Moerlein and Hudepohl (or a soda).
8 p.m. Saturday. $45-$55. Race starts at Mehring Way, near the Moerlein Lager House, 115 Joe Nuxhall Way, Downtown, hudy14krun.com.

SATURDAY 22

EVENT: P2 Northside Condom Crawl
The fundraising group Proud Partners of Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio will be hosting a “condom crawl” through Northside on Saturday to raise money for Planned Parenthood. Members of P2PPSWO will visit several bars on the Hamilton Avenue strip to drop off condoms and talk with patrons about safe sex, reproductive/health rights and related topics that face concerns under the current White House administration. The Hamilton, Listing Loon, Northside Tavern and Mixwells are confirmed sponsors. A free ’dom isn’t free — well, it is if you want to accept one, but it’s good form to throw them a few bucks to show your appreciation.
7 p.m.-1 a.m. Saturday. Free. Hamilton Avenue, Northside, facebook.com/P2PPSWO.