Cessna

FROM THE PRESS

"Four actors [bring] the aftermath of the crash to life in a way that blends fiction with fact while dripping with noir and existential dread." - Cincinnati Citybeat

"As usual, Hall and Steele’s collaboration doesn’t disappoint." - Behind The Curtain Cincinnati

"It’s a testament to Hall and Steele that, by the end of the play, you want to know what really happened on that plane, even if the answer has nothing to do with reality... this show is fun and mysterious and well worth the hour you spend with it." - Cincinnati Enquirer

ORIGINAL CREATIVE TEAM

Greg Procaccino, Director

Mark Williams, Lighting Design

Helen Raymond-Goers, Costumes

Hunter Spoede, Sound Design

ORIGINAL CAST

Michael D. Hall

Michael G. Bath*

Mindy Heithaus

Carter Bratton

*Actors' Equity Association

ORIGINAL BAND

Steve Goers

Michael Dudley

Matt Hartmatt

a drama noir

On December 16, 1982, a twin-engine Cessna crashed into Sheppard’s Book Store in Montgomery, north of Cincinnati. The bookstore was destroyed, two customers injured and the plane’s six passengers killed on impact. The passenger manifest: four FBI agents, a private investigator, and notorious embezzler Carl H. Johnson, who was leading the cadre to $50,000 in hidden cash. The money is still buried somewhere in Cincinnati.

The stuff of Hollwood screenplays, these real events provide the premise for CESSNA. A “drama noir” in the style of classics like The Maltese Falcon and The Third Man, the production includes live jazz music, twists and betrayals, evocative use of light and shadow, and a mysterious box that seems to doom everyone who touches it to certain death.

Past Productions: Cincinnati Fringe Festival (2016)