Around Cincinnati

Anne Arenstein learns about the upcoming 2013 Cincinnati Tri-State Wagner Festival, celebrating the works of composer Richard Wagner. Guests are Wagner Society Cincinnati founder Jim Stouffman and their opera authority, Charles Parsons, who detail the various events and performances that will take place this year.

Cincinnati native Ben Sandmel has studied music and musicians during his career, and now living in New Orleans, he has written about one of the true pioneers of R&B music in his new book Ernie K-Doe: The R&B Emperor of New Orleans. The author was recently a part of the Books by the Banks book festival in Cincinnati, and recently spoke by phone with David Delagator to talk about this interesting artist, best known for his hit Mother in Law.

The dramatic tale of Richard II is the next production by the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Artistic Director Brian Isaac Phillips joins Jim Stump to discuss this Shakespeare work, how the actors prepare for the historical aspects of this play, and how this production kicks off their first chronological history cycle.

Author and Ohio State alumnae EJ Levy, winner of the Flannery O’Connor Award for her debut book, Love, In Theory, spends a few minutes on the phone with Barbara Gray, talking about why she chose a collection of short stories for her debut, and her creative use of a narrator.

Northern Kentucky resident and writer Bruce Worden, author of Goodnight Keith Moon, plus his popular blog Homophones, Weakly, talks by phone with Jim Nolan about his newest comic book series, Woodstalk: Three Days of Peace, Music and Zombies.