Onstage: Through the Night

By Rick Pender for CityBeat

Daniel Beaty grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and he thinks of himself as a child of the Midwest. But his scope as a theater artist — trained at Yale University and the American Conservatory Theatre — is far broader. He works as a solo artist, but his performances are crowded with characters, as evidenced by this Obie Award-winning show launching the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s Thompson Shelterhouse season.

"Through the Night" presents six African-American males whose lives intertwine, from a child and a young man raised in the projects to a corporate executive and the bishop of a mega-church. During the course of one night they profoundly influence one another and show how personal courses are shaped by seemingly inconsequential decisions. Beaty wrote the piece and plays all six roles, plus others in their lives. $25-$71. Tuesday-Sunday. Through Oct. 21. Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, 962 Mount Adams Circle, Mount Adams. 513-421-3888, cincyplay.com.