NEWS
UC President Calls ‘Biological’ Bathroom Signs an ‘Error,’ Promises to Keep DEI Programs For Now
CityBeat was inside the University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees meeting protested by hundreds of angry students, staff and community members.
BY MADELINE FENING
Hundreds of University of Cincinnati students, faculty, staff and community members gathered in the early morning of Feb. 25 to protest the university’s rollback of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs, as well as new “biological” bathroom signs on campus.
Protesters with signs saying “WE SEE. DO U.C?” and “DO NOT COMPLY IN ADVANCE” surrounded the university’s Teachers-Dyer Complex as the board gathered for their first meeting in 2025. Hundreds of protesters made their way through the building’s halls, demanding to be let inside. Dozens were eventually granted entry, including CityBeat
Competing with the thunderous sound of shouts and banging fists from demonstrators left in the halls, UC President Neville Pinto attempted to address the angry crowd.
“I want you to know that we see
you and hear you,” Pinto said. “These are legitimate reactions to significant change.”
What’s happening?
The outrage stems from UC’s apparent readiness to comply with state and federal orders to eliminate DEI programs – everything from the African American Cultural & Resource Center to the campus Women’s Center and LGBTQ Center – but these orders have yet to become law.
The chief concern among protesters was the potential impacts of Senate Bill 1 – the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act – a bill that takes square aim at DEI in Ohio’s public colleges. The bill was introduced by Republicans and passed by the Ohio Senate in February. SB 1 now heads to the Ohio House for consideration where a companion bill – House Bill 6, the Enact Advance Ohio Higher Education Act – sits in committee.
SB 1 would ban all diversity and inclusion efforts at all Ohio public universities and community colleges and limit diversity scholarships. The bill would also require students to take an American history course and set rules around classroom discussions with topics involving “controversial beliefs,” which the bill defines as “any belief or policy that is the subject of political controversy.”
• According to the bill, these topics would include:
• Climate policies
• Electoral politics
• Foreign policy
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion programs
• Immigration
• Marriage
• Abortion
The bill also prevents faculty from striking and shortens university board
of trustees terms from nine years down to six years, among other things.
SB 1 will need to pass the Ohio House – which is dominated by Republicans – before getting Gov. Mike DeWine’s signature to become law. DeWine has the power to veto the bill, but lawmakers could override his veto with a 3/5 vote from each chamber, which lawmakers have done in recent history.
Undergraduate Student Trustee Joseph Cortas represents UC’s undergraduate population in board meetings. He told the board that students will suffer under the parameters of SB 1.
“More than any time in recent history, our students’ collegiate experiences are not exclusively of their own choosing,” Cortas said. “We did not seek, nor did we provoke, a deconstruction of systems seeking to protect, support and sustain us. We did not expect, nor did we invite, fear into
Protestors walk toward the Teachers-Dyer Complex to protest the University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees' compliance with Senate Bills 1 and 104.
PHOTO: MAYLEA SALMON
and onto our campus and into our classrooms.”
But SB 1 does not loom alone over UC. President Donald Trump has threatened to pull funding for any university across the country found to be promoting DEI initiatives. This came in the form of two executive orders authored by the president during his first days in office: one directing federal agencies to terminate all “equityrelated” grants or contracts, another requiring federal contractors to certify that they don’t promote DEI.
On Feb. 21, a federal court in Maryland preliminarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing key provisions of his executive orders, arguing the provisions are unconstitutionally vague and infringe free speech rights.
The Trump administration will likely appeal the preliminary injunction ruling, meaning there’s a chance the core questions of DEI could fall before the United States Supreme Court.
Before the federal court blocked Trump’s DEI executive orders, the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights issued a sweeping “Dear Colleague” letter declaring all raceconscious student programming, resources and financial aid illegal, threatening to pull federal funds from
schools that do not comply by Feb. 28.
The letter cites the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard as precedent, but the ruling only struck down affirmative action in college admissions. Still, the Trump administration believes it extends to all DEI-related programs in colleges.
How UC is responding
Despite the federal injunction on Trump’s orders – and SB 1 not yet at DeWine’s desk – Pinto released a statement on Feb. 21, saying UC would roll back its DEI programming.
“As you are no doubt aware, the federal government has effectively outlawed DEI programs and practices within government entities, including public universities nationwide,” Pinto wrote. “Given the extent to which our university, like most educational institutions, relies on federal funding to deliver and sustain our core mission, it is untenable to operate as if noncompliance with these directives is an effective option.”
The letter goes on to explain that UC has started the process of examining its DEI programming and is “evaluating jobs and duties related to DEI.”
References to DEI principles are also being removed from UC’s website, social media and other materials.
“Honestly, why are y’all making these decisions when [SB 1] hasn’t even passed the House yet?” one protester asked the board. “If the government can’t enforce it, why can the schools?”
“Class of 2029 has already seen that email,” said Christian Caffey, a thirdyear criminal justice student. “Your incoming class has already seen that email. Dammit, if you won’t listen to us, that money gonna talk, and that money gonna start speaking real different when that amount of tuition starts going down.”
In response to protesters’ frustration, Pinto confirmed that all DEI-related programming would continue on campus, pending the outcome of SB 1 and the federal injunction on Trump’s executive orders.
“Right now, all of the programs we have can continue,” Pinto said. “SB 1 has not been passed yet.”
Pinto and other board members promised open discussions with students and staff as the university awaits legal outcomes, but protesters argued that the university has not done enough to engage with those who would be impacted in the first place.
“Do you guys know what students are in charge? What students are active?” said one protester to the board. “Because you’re saying we’re gonna do stuff, I haven’t seen nothing. You
haven’t contacted [UC African Student Association], [United Black Student Association], UC Caribbean Coalition, you haven’t contacted the Women’s Center, the LGBTQ Center. Why aren’t y’all talking to the student leaders? Where’s the transparency?”
Faculty Senate Chair Tamika Odum, who represents UC faculty in board meetings, confirmed in her testimony that student leadership has only recently been invited to the table for discussions.
“President Pinto, we urge you to go beyond communicating with us about the changes that lie ahead: We are asking that you invite us, both faculty, staff and students to the conversation,” Odum said. “Last night you invited leadership from undergraduate student government, graduate student government, faculty senate and staff senate to discuss the future. This was a first step to working more collaboratively towards a future we can be proud of.”
“Biological” bathroom signs
Pinto did not address in his public letter the already public changes to bathroom signs on campus, sparking widespread backlash on social media.
On Feb. 21, students began sharing photos of new campus bathroom signs which read “biological men” and “biological women,” a warning to transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming students and staff that they are not welcome in the restroom that aligns with their gender identity.
A university spokesperson reportedly confirmed to WLWT that the signs were placed in response to Senate Bill 104, commonly known as the “Bathroom Bill.” The bill, passed last year by the Ohio Legislature, bans students from accessing bathrooms that do not conform with their sex assigned at birth. Gov. DeWine signed the bill into law in November.
The only portion of SB 104 that mentions bathroom signage language says: “Each institution of higher education shall designate with clear signage each student restroom, locker room, changing room, or shower room accessible by multiple students at the same time for the exclusive use by students of the male biological sex only or by students of the female biological sex only.”
CityBeat previously spoke with Ryan Thoreson, an assistant professor of constitutional law at the UC College of Law, who emphasized that he is not speaking on behalf of the university. He said the bill’s language does not suggest schools must include the word “biological” on bathroom signs.
“I don’t think that the bill as written requires that the university adopt this kind of language, and I’m actually not aware of any other universities
adopting language like this in response to a bathroom bill,” Thoreson said.
“The portion of the bill that refers to the signs could have given sample language if they intended sample language to be used. It could have put language in quotation marks that was required to be used. Obviously, it’s up to the university’s interpretation how they want to take the legislation, but the legislation, I think, could have been more clearly worded, if this is what they had intended universities to do.”
During the contentious UC Board of Trustees Meeting, CityBeat asked if the university believed the word “biological” was required to be on bathroom signs in order to meet compliance for the new law, despite no other universities apparently doing the same.
“That was an error,” Pinto responded, causing protesters to vocally erupt, muffling the rest of his response.
“You told me you would advocate for trans people!” yelled one protester. “I’m one of few faculty on campus, what are you doing for me? What are you doing for other trans people on campus? All you’re doing is capitulating!”
CityBeat asked the board if the university plans to enforce the bathroom policy, but got no answer.
It’s unclear how UC plans to enforce the bathroom policy required by state lawmakers. The only section of the bill that mentions violations of the law says: “The authority of the [Ohio Department of Education] as the community school oversight body to suspend the operation of the school under section 3314.072 of the Revised Code if the department has evidence of conditions or violations of law at the school that pose an imminent danger to the health and safety of the school’s students and employees and the sponsor refuses to take such action.”
No matter how closely UC decides to enforce the state’s bathroom policy, Thoreson said some students may still be at risk of harm.
“There are students at UC and elsewhere who have transitioned earlier in their life, whose classmates and peers might not know that they’re transgender, and this bill puts them in an impossible position,” Thoreson said. “Either they go into a bathroom that is not consistent with their gender identity in the way they present and that puts them at risk of harassment or even violence, or they go into a bathroom that is consistent with the way that they present and their gender identity, and they risk being punished or facing consequences if it’s discovered that they are trans and are using a bathroom that they’re not supposed to use under the law.”
Sheriff and Evendale Police Attempt to Identify Nazis, Salvage Trust After Feb. 7 Rally
BY MADELINE FENING
Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey said her department is working to identify the neo-Nazi demonstrators who descended on Lincoln Heights in February. She’s also reviewing how law enforcement handled the incident as widespread fury continues over the way officers interacted with the neo-Nazis. As McGuffey calls for Ohio lawmakers to criminalize behavior seen on the Vision Way overpass, one local representative told CityBeat that Republicans won’t make it easy.
It all started on Feb. 7 when about a dozen neo-Nazis carried out a public demonstration on an I-75 overpass near Lincoln Heights. Photos and videos from residents and law enforcement showed the neo-Nazis waving large swastika-emblazoned flags.
Some of these flags were also tied to the overpass fence facing highway drivers. Photos shared online also showed a banner that said “America is for the White Man.” It took mere minutes for residents of the historically Black Lincoln Heights village to rush to the overpass and drive out the neo-Nazis. Reshares of an Instagram Live video from the clash appeared widely on TikTok, with one showing residents burning a swastika flag left on the overpass.
During a Feb. 18 press conference, McGuffey said her office has “a great deal” of information to identify the neo-Nazis, who she believes are from outside the region.
“We’re working on intelligence, getting information from other agencies, getting information from other people who are watching these groups, and we are working right now to identify all of these men,” she said.
McGuffey said her office has been in contact with the FBI, the Ohio Bureau of Investigation and Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich. She asked Pillich to research and investigate the available video footage and reports to help identify the neo-Nazi demonstrators, as well as legal frameworks that “may apply.”
“Connie Pillich’s office has agreed to research and investigate legal and constitutional issues that may apply here, and our internal affairs unit will also be conducting an administrative review,” McGuffey said.
Investigating the police response
McGuffey said her department is also planning to have sit-down talks with police leadership from Evendale and Lockland to better plan for possible neo-Nazi demonstrations in the future; media outlets and advocacy organizations have chronicled an uptick in neo-Nazi demonstrations in
recent years.
“Those meetings will not be coordinated until the prosecutor’s office gives us, first, our own factual understanding of where we were, what we did, the codes, etc.,” she said. “Then we can sit down and meet.”
On Feb. 12, the Lockland Schools Board of Education released a statement demanding answers from the Evendale and Lockland police departments, saying security footage from the Lockland Educational Annex shows the neo-Nazis speaking to an Evendale officer on school property after the demonstration.
“Upon arrival, the men in the U-Haul are seen outside of the vehicle getting themselves and weapons organized. They can also be observed engaging in conversation with the Evendale officer,” the board said. “The Evendale Police Department officer left the scene prior to the U-Haul leaving. Prior to leaving, the truck and occupants are clearly seen ON school property, and our elementary school students were dismissed within minutes of all of this occurring. Most importantly to note, the school district was not notified of this potentially dangerous situation occurring on our school grounds.”
The Village of Evendale responded to the board’s message on the city’s website, saying, “Officers were trying to separate the groups as far apart as possible and lead them to a less visible area to further conduct their investigation. We recognize and agree with the school board’s outrage. This is part of the actions we will be reviewing from that day.”
On Feb. 18, the Evendale Emergency Service Facebook page announced that all
16 hours of body camera video would be publicly available for the community to review, linking to the videos on YouTube and Vimeo.
“Relevant to recent misinformation, we encourage you to review Body Cam 1 from VIMEO MINUTE 13:15 TO VIMEO MINUTE 26:30,” the city said in a follow-up post.
The body camera footage of the officer speaking to the neo-Nazis in the school’s alleyway occurs between 23:45 and 25:45.
“We’re trying to figure out a plan to get that Jeep,” the officer said to the unmasked driver of the U-Haul full of neo-Nazis.
One of the neo-Nazis had left their Jeep at a parking lot next to the overpass, unable to retrieve it without walking through the counter-protesters. A dog was also left in the Jeep during the rally. Weather data shows it was about 43 degrees in the Cincinnati area when the neo-Nazi demonstrator confessed this to the officer.
“If the dog in there is cool with me driving him to you guys, I can go get it,” the officer said to the neo-Nazi group in the U-Haul.
“He’s my service animal, that’s why I really need to get him,” said one unmasked neo-Nazi.
“Get your mask on, let’s go,” one neoNazi demonstrator can be heard saying to the neo-Nazi Jeep owner.
“I don’t give a fuck about my face right now, dude,” he replied.
“Just take, um,” the officer sighs. “Gosh, just take that black sweatshirt off and you can get in my car...”
“Cool, thank you, brother. God bless you, dude,” the neo-Nazi Jeep owner
replies.
From there the officer talks to the men about logistics for getting the Jeep and confirms that they’re done for the day. The maskless neo-Nazi then gets in the Evendale officer’s car while the officer helps to buckle him in.
The officer is seen leaving the alleyway before the U-Haul departs. The neo-Nazi Jeep owner told the officer they were heading for Louisville, Kentucky.
The neo-Nazi is heard trying to make small talk from the back of the officer’s cruiser; the officer replied politely to some statements or not at all. At one point, the neo-Nazi demonstrator says something about the local area, the beginning of his sentence is difficult to hear, but the audio clears up mid-sentence:
“...the one with the soul food and the chicken wing spot,” he said.
“Yeah,” the officer replied.
“Like, where the Section 8’s are,” the neo-Nazi demonstrator said. “And I said, nu-uh, I said I’m not going…”
“Yeah,” the officer replied.
Statewide solutions
While speaking to reporters, McGuffey asked state lawmakers to give police more arresting power over armed demonstrators, with certain criteria.
“Just because this is protected speech, this hate speech does not mean that it’s okay, and I am calling on the legislature in Ohio to make it a crime to wear a mask for the purpose of intimidation while opencarrying a weapon,” McGuffey said. “I’m calling on the Ohio Legislature to give us
Body camera footage shows the Evendale officer asking the neo-Nazi demonstrator to remove his black sweatshirt before transporting him back to his Jeep.
PHOTO: SCREENSHOT VIA EVENDALE POLICE
options to put some laws in place so that we can take action on these individuals, so we can identify them, so we can prohibit them from wearing masks, so that we can confront this hate speech in an appropriate and concise way. That’s the legislature of Ohio’s responsibility, and those men and women up there in Ohio need to step up and get it done.”
Ohio’s House and Senate districts split right at the border of Lincoln Heights, the overpass where the Feb. 7 demonstration took place. CityBeat reached out to the Ohio Senate representatives from each district, Sen. Louis Blessing III and Sen. Steve Wilson, to ask if the Republican lawmakers would consider McGuffey’s call to action.
Wilson’s office told CityBeat he was unavailable for an interview, but said, “Senator Wilson strongly condemns the Nazi ideology that was expressed during the demonstration earlier this month.” Blessing’s office did not immediately respond to CityBeat’s request for comment on McGuffey’s statements.
Ohio’s House districts near Lincoln
Heights are similarly split, but held by two Democrats: Rep. Rachel Baker and Rep. Karen Brownlee. Baker and Brownlee did not immediately respond to CityBeat’s request for comment, but both representatives published a joint statement with other Hamilton County Democrats following the neo-Nazi rally.
“I am deeply disturbed by the presence of armed hatemongers in Lincoln Heights this weekend. This act of intimidation has no place in our communities. I am proud to represent and be a part of a community that does not support these ideals. My community supports a free, fair and just Ohio. I am thankful for the community’s willingness to work together to overcome this act of hate,” said Rep. Brownlee.
“Hate is not welcome in our community,” said Rep. Baker. “Lincoln Heights community members stood united and conveyed this message loud and clear – they showed the country how to peaceably run out hate. As those with hatred in their hearts become emboldened, we must strengthen our laws, increase our resources and protect our communities
and children from having to confront this again.”
Rep. Dani Isaacsohn, a Democrat who represents a district south of Lincoln Heights, told CityBeat he’s not confident the current Republican-dominated statehouse is willing to write new gun laws.
“The levels of hate and vitriol and antisemitism and racism that are now out in the open and bubbling to the surface are beyond alarming,” Isaacsohn said. “We have to ask ourselves, is this going to help? I’m a strong believer in the First Amendment and a strong believer that we should have common sense gun laws. [...] The issue is not whether people actually want that type of common-sense gun law. The issue is that the Republican majority in Ohio has been totally coopted by the extreme wing of this issue, that they’re not even willing to entertain popular common sense gun laws like that.”
In a previous story about the lack of neo–Nazi arrests during the incident in Lincoln Heights, CityBeat spoke with a legal scholar about why arresting Nazis
for being Nazis is so difficult in the U.S. Ryan Thoreson is an assistant professor of constitutional law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law.
“I think, as a general matter, the Supreme Court has been very permissive toward hateful speech that is likely to offend and even to deeply offend the general public or particular communities,” Thoreson said. “A lot of the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence has been particularly wary of what it calls a hecklers veto, this idea that if an audience strongly disagrees with a message, that they should be able to override the speaker’s right to convey that message, and that applies even when the speech is particularly upsetting to the audience who hears it.”
McGuffey seems to think the neo-Nazis from Feb. 7 may have overstepped the guardrails of free speech, calling their actions a “threat.”
“This intimidation is a threat to our community and should never happen,” McGuffey said. “It may be legally protected speech, but I can tell you, it is not okay. Intimidating citizens is not okay.”
Pro-Palestinian Activists Disrupt Cincinnati Ballet Production, Company Says Protesters’ Claims are ‘Patently
BY MADELINE FENING
The Cincinnati Ballet has responded to claims made by pro-Palestinian demonstrators who staged a protest during a Feb. 26 performance of The Wizard of Oz at Music Hall.
According to a press release from one of the protesters, Mike Madanat, fourteen pro-Palestinian activists disrupted a production of The Wizard of Oz by dropping a “FREE PALESTINE” banner from a balcony at Music Hall during the show’s intermission. The release also said demonstrators handed out pamphlets before the show, which detailed “information about the genocide of the Palestinian people,” according to the release.
A video of the disruptions was shared to Instagram from two accounts: Midwest Direct Action 4 Pali and Cincinnati Palestine Solidarity Coalition. Ushers for the ballet can be seen asking demonstrators to stop distributing pamphlets.
A spokesperson for the Cincinnati Ballet told CityBeat the demonstration did not impact the performance.
“The safety and well-being of our patrons, staff, and artists is our top priority,” a ballet spokesperson said. “On Wednesday evening, a small group of individuals attempted to distribute unauthorized materials and display banners during our performance of The Wizard of Oz at Music Hall. While these actions did not interrupt the performance, they were promptly addressed by Cincinnati Ballet and Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA)
False’
staff to ensure that the focus remained on the artistry and experience of live theater.”
Why protest the ballet?
Cincinnati Palestine Solidarity Coalition (CPSC) has actively carried out pro-Palestinian demonstrations around Cincinnati since Israel launched a fullscale invasion of Gaza following Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 2023 terror attacks, where upwards of 1,200 Israelis were killed and roughly 250 were taken hostage. Since the attack, Palestinian health authorities estimate Israel’s military effort in Gaza has killed more than 46,600 people, with more than half being women, children or older people.
Members of CPSC have had a vocal presence in Cincinnati City Council meetings, pushing for council members to pass unequivocal condemnations of Israel’s efforts in Gaza, but their reason for protesting the Cincinnati Ballet stems from a 2023 protest involving local high school students.
“The Cincinnati Ballet has threatened to pull $400,000 of funding from the School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) after students staged a walkout in December of 2023 in solidarity with the Palestinian people,” Madanat’s press release reads. Madanat previously published an advice column for CityBeat, which has not been updated since April 2024.
This allegation is echoed, though slightly differently, in the caption for the video CPSC posted from the Music Hall protest. The caption claims the ballet did in fact pull funding from SCPA.
“The Cincinnati Ballet is yet another zionist entity who pulled funding from the school for creative & performing arts because they did a walk out for Palestine,” the video’s caption reads.
A spokesperson for the ballet told CityBeat the accusations about pulling funding from SCPA are “patently false,” and that the ballet was never funding the arts school in the first place.
“The group claiming responsibility for the disruption alleged Cincinnati Ballet withheld funding from the School for the Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA). This is patently false; Cincinnati Ballet is not a funder of other organizations,” a ballet spokesperson said.
SCPA is not mentioned in Cincinnati Ballet’s 2022-2024 annual report, published on their website.
Madanat did not provide CityBeat with proof of the alleged $400,000 funding pull by the time this story was published, nor did he respond to CityBeat’s request for comment on the Cincinnati Ballet’s statement about funding other organizations.
Growing tensions
CPSC’s most recent demonstration comes after a bizarre doubling-down
from President Donald Trump on the future of Gaza. In a Feb. 4 joint press event with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said the U.S. would “take” Gaza, relocating the remaining Palestinians to redevelop the enclave into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Then, on Feb. 26, Trump posted a video to Instagram and Truth Social so shockingly riddled with absurd symbolism, even MAGA Republicans were telling him to take it down.
“I’m a trump supporter and what the fuck is this....” reads just one of 63,000 comments on the Instagram post.
“I hate this. I love our president, but this is horrible,” reads a comment on Trump’s own Truth Social platform.
The video, which remains on Trump’s social pages, is an apparent AI rendering of “Trump Gaza,” complete with a giant golden Trump statue, Elon Musk dancing under falling cash, a poolside (and shirtless) Trump sipping cocktails with Netanyahu, bearded belly dancers, a child with a golden Trump head balloon, a gift shop with hundreds of golden Trump statues and more.
The video was posted just one day before “intensive discussions” between Israel and Hamas in Cairo, according to AP, representing a critical moment as negotiations transition from phase one to phase two of the current ceasefire deal.
ADVICE COLUMN
Bad Advice
In his new column, Bad Advice, writer Collin Preciado will be giving you the worst advice you’ve ever heard.
BY COLLIN PRECIADO
Dear Collin, My girlfriend and I have been together for 14 years, but I’m looking to call it quits. I’ve been very honest with her this whole time that I don’t want to start a family with her as she’s not really someone I want to have kids with. She said she wanted kids, but she likes to party pretty much every night and is not really mom material. Even if I did suddenly decide I wanted to have kids with her, she’s now past the age in which it seems wise to do so, so I really need to get out of this relationship for good so I can get on with starting my own family before I become too old myself. I’ve tried to give her lots of hints that it’s over by having her move all her stuff back into her apartment and changing the locks at my place so she can’t get in unless I’m at home. I’ve tried to initiate the break-up talk but by the time the conversation is over it doesn’t seem like we’re actually broken up. What’s the most effective way to get the point across to her that it’s over?
Sincerely, Almost Single
Dear Almost Single, Thank you so much for writing to me with your dilemma. As you know, this
advice column is a safe space for any and all questions, and any problems submitted to me will be considered thoughtfully and without any judgment whatsoever.
With that being said, please know that you’re a horrible person. You’ve sat on the best years of this woman’s life and have potentially wasted her chance at starting a family of her own because you’re a selfish monster who lacks basic empathy and effective communication skills. If you were capable of starting a family in the past 14 years you would have already done so, but you didn’t and you almost certainly never will. I hope the rest of your life is filled with pain, misery and profound loneliness.
Now as far as your problem goes, I’m happy to help you solve this predicament. You really only have one option when it comes to cutting off the only person who will probably ever be capable of enduring you. You can’t break up with her in the normal way as you will rightfully just end up being an outcast among every single person you know. Your friends (if you have any, which is doubtful) and everyone they know will be as aware as I am of how selfish and idiotic you are for
dumping this woman after wasting a decade and a half of her time, and they’ll never want to have anything to do with you ever again, so really your only move here is to fake your own death and start over in a completely different country where you will have no chance of ever being recognized.
I’ve found the best way to fake your own death is to make it appear like you’ve drowned. Last year, a guy in Wisconsin (allegedly) tried this approach when he decided he wanted to move to Uzbekistan to be with his internet girlfriend (who may or may not have actually ever existed). Surprisingly this man is a bigger dong than you are because he had a wife and three kids that he was trying to abandon, and he almost had a nearperfect plan to do so. He paddled out to the middle of a lake, capsized his kayak, left his wallet and phone nearby so people would think he was dead in the water, and then took a bus to Canada where he flew off on an airplane to Eastern Europe where I hope he found out he had been scammed. The man almost got away with faking his own death, but he made a few mistakes that you’re not going to make. His biggest error was not
fully wiping the evidence of his plan off his laptop, and then leaving said laptop behind so the police could figure out exactly what he was doing. After searching his device, the police discovered he had moved a lot of money into a foreign account, possibly had a secret girlfriend overseas, and had purchased an airline gift card so he could buy a plane ticket he thought would be untraceable. Had he just destroyed his laptop, or even just brought it with him, his family likely would have been spared a ton of humiliation, and also would have been the beneficiary of a nice life insurance payout. Instead, he ruined his life and is probably going to jail. While you should probably go to jail too for being such a massive loser, you can probably avoid this fate by just not leaving your laptop lying around. As far as where you should start your new life over, you should probably move somewhere cold and miserable. Like Antarctica. Maybe you’ll be eaten by a polar bear. Good luck.
Send me your unsolvable problem at badadvice@citybeat.com. What’s the worst thing that could happen? I’ll be sure to let you know.
Collin advises a reader on faking their own death in this month’s column.
PHOTO: VERA ARSIC, PEXELS
THE PET ISSUE
CITYBEAT EXPLORES THE WEIRD, WILD AND MISUNDERSTOOD PETS LIVING IN GREATER CINCINNATI
BY SARAH WALSH
Three blocks from Paycor Stadium, an African serval’s grandkitten curls up on a couch and falls asleep purring in human arms.
A Russian tortoise trundles around a fenced-in yard in Amelia, accepting watermelon treats from owner
Angie Tucker and check-in sniffs from her Pomeranians.
And when CityBeat knocks on a door in Wyoming, fiveyear-old Vera van Leersum runs to the door to show off her birthday presents: A bearded dragon and a tarantula.
“All the animals are my favorite,” she says, but the ones given places of honor by her toy chest creep and crawl.
About 62% of Americans — 207 million individuals — live with animals, and most consider them part of the family, according to a 2023 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center.
Almost all of these animals are domestic cats and dogs, felis catus and canis familiaris. Fewer than seven percent of American households include a reptile, bird or small rodent, the American Veterinary Medicine Association found in 2024.
And although insects are the most numerous animals on Earth, arachnid- and insect-fanciers like Vera remain too rare to appear on most pet surveys at all.
“Most people feel the need to connect with animals and nature,” writes Hal Herzog, an anthrozoological scholar, in a 2010 book exploring humans’ emotional relationships with their creatures. But, he explains in the opening chapters: “Our culture tells us which species we should love, hate and eat.”
In 2004, English anthrozoologist James Serpell proposed a simple framework for how these categories are created. He hypothesized that human societies grade other species along two axes: “Affect,” or the amount of affection they evoke, and “utility,” their perceived usefulness in everyday life.
Those scoring high on both metrics, useful and loved, enjoy privileged positions in our homes and communities. (Serpell’s leading example is a guide dog for the blind.) Animals ranked low in both categories, such as rats, opossums and spiders, spend their lives scavenging
from dumpsters or dodging the undersides of human shoes.
In opposite corners of the quadrant are the useful but unloved, a category that includes beef cattle, wild game and lab mice, and the useless but loved. Think of tropical fish in an aquarium or your favorite human cousin.
Curious to know who among us has braved these quadrants in search of a pet like no other, CityBeat cast an online bat-signal for Cincinnati’s “weirdest” pets. And boy, did the woodwork deliver.
Each of the six human-animal relationships shared with CityBeat represents a Cincinnatian’s decision to pluck an animal from our culture’s least favored categories — hated, eaten, useless, unloved — and make a new home for it in their heart.
“[My extended family] thinks I’m crazy,” says Tucker, the tortoise owner, who also cares for a host of other reptiles and a dozen-odd arachnids. “I’ve lost my mind. With the spiders especially, they’re like, ‘No, no, no, I’m going to come burn your house down.’ But they’re my pets like everything else.”
When the pull of love and curiosity is stronger than the prospect of distaste, little girls coo over black tiger cockroaches; skunks sleep in baby carriers; and a vinegaroon, a carnivorous arachnid whose pincers grow straight out of its face, can make the perfect accessory to a manicure.
The displacement inherent in these adoptions, however, places greater-than-usual responsibility on human caretakers. An owner’s failure to prepare or provide for an unconventional pet can leave the animal deeply vulnerable in a habitat and culture not built to accommodate it. How do you rehome a hand-reared skunk? Who inherits your tortoise after you die? And what kind of hat looks best on a bearded dragon?
CityBeat found out.
STRAWBERRY AND VERA
Strawberry the bearded dragon wears several hats, including a sequined sombrero and a derby-ready trilby, in the time Vera van Leersum shows her off to CityBeat cameras. As the primary companion of a preschooler, long accustomed to being stroked, carried and handfed, two-year-old Strawberry tolerates the dress-up game in stolid lizard humor.
She’ll be rewarded at the end with an Argentinian Dubia roach — an unheard-of treat for her wild relatives in Australia — and a blown kiss from Vera, who received her as a birthday present two years ago.
“Reptiles are one of my favorites,” says Vera, who plans to be a mermaid veterinarian when she grows up. “My favorite thing to do with Strawberry is feed her bugs. I like every snake, and I’m not scared of spiders and tarantulas.”
Researchers have disagreed for centuries over whether most people are born with a fear of snakes and arachnids or learn it as children from watching adults, Hartig writes in Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat
Vera makes a strong argument for the latter. Her particular fearlessness echoes horticulturist mom Lindsey van Leersum, who spent her own
childhood pulling wild-caught amphibians out of the creek behind her house and begging her parents for an exotic pet.
“My big dream as a child was, I really wanted an iguana,” Lindsey says. “My parents told me no. And [one day] my mom finally said yes, I could have one, but then she found out she was pregnant with my youngest brother and changed her mind.”
As an adult, she sought a more binding agreement. Her wedding vows with husband Jeroem van Leersum included an agreement that she could bring home any animal she wanted. In the couple’s years together, the family’s Wyoming home has become a mixed-species enclosure for cats, dogs, chickens, a bearded dragon, an axolotl, a leopard gecko, a tarantula named Bluey, a fluctuating population of cockroaches and two little girls — Vera and two-year-old sister Lucy.
Jeroem jokes that Lindsey has laundered her desire for exotic pets through the children.
Lindsey says Vera didn’t need the encouragement.
“Vera, when she was little, just became obsessed with snakes,” Lindsey says. “She would steal all of our phone-charging cords and pretend they were snakes. We bought a bunch of rubber snakes, too, and our phone cords still disappeared. And then she just had more snakes.”
After a consultation with reptile keepers at the Cincinnati Zoo, where Lindsey once worked as a landscaper, the van Leersums decided a bearded dragon would make the best starter pet for the herpetologist princess.
“Beardies” are sturdy, sweet-tempered lizards who evolved in the arid climate of eastern Australia and spread to other continents via smuggling in the 1980s. Low-maintenance, striking to see and amenable to human handling, they rank among the most popular domestic reptiles in the United States and come highly recommended as children’s pets.
The van Leersums found Strawberry at the Cin City Reptile Show. Vera fell in love. In a series of home videos recorded by Lindsey and later compiled by warm-and-fuzzy animal video distributor The Dodo, Vera reads stories to Strawberry, plays dolls with her and takes her for rides in a Barbie convertible.
She still wants a snake someday, she says as she shows off her cockroaches and adjusts her tiara headband. Lindsey admits it’s probably a matter of time.
Asked what she’d do or say to convert a person — say, a CityBeat writer’s 63-year-old father — afraid of things with scales, Vera’s solution is simple: “You gotta introduce him to the nice ones. And don’t be scared. They’re friendly!”
BANANA SPLIT, EMILY AND LINDLEY
Lindley Legg wanted to see their girlfriend, Emily Hartig, smile. So they bought her something slimy.
Banana Split, an Australian green tree frog, matches the couple’s Brat-green Over-the-Rhine apartment and the striped shirt Hartig wears to pose with him. Like Vera, the museum curator has been preoccupied with her favorite critter since childhood; like Lindsey, she’s found that unconventional pets provide an opportunity to bond with the people she
loves.
Like Strawberry, Banana Split was purchased at the Cin City Reptile Show and looks fabulous in a sequined hat.
“She just always wanted a frog, and I wanted to see her childlike joy,” Legg, an environmental scientist at Procter & Gamble, says of Banana Split’s adoption. “There’s so many pictures of her as a kid with frog stuffies and frog shirts.”
“I just think they’re so cute,” Hartig says. “They are
so cute. I can’t really explain it. Ever since I was a little kid, I just was drawn to them.”
“I think it’s a gay thing,” Hartig adds jokingly. (Alex Jones might agree.)
While his wild kindred dodge predatory snakes and birds in forested areas of Australia, New Guinea and New Zealand, Banana Split lives in a 34-gallon bioactive vivarium with an insect cleaning crew, sleeps in a frog-sized hammock and eats crickets from Hartig’s hand. (“He uses his eyes to help him swallow,” Legg
Vera is the fearless and affectionate owner of Strawberry, the bearded dragon.
PHOTO: AIDAN MAHONEY
shares happily. “So when he swallows, his eyes become flat.”) It’s The White Lotus for an Australian green tree frog.
His favorite activity, Hartig says, is showering. Like all amphibians, Banana Split absorbs moisture through his skin, so hand-dripping water onto his head is the equivalent of a spa treatment and a cool glass of lemonade. Hartig swears he smiles.
“He’s really funny,” she says. “I think that’s also why I like frogs. I feel like they really have personality.”
Friends and family are mostly “obsessed with meeting him,” per Hartig. When Legg’s artist sister draws comics of the little family unit, she hides his smiling froggy face in each panel.
And when the couple sits down for a movie night, Banana Split joins them on Hartig’s knee.
A COVEY OF QUAILS, PLUS KATIE AND TEDDY
Not every pet is suited for a cuddle on the couch. Rather than invite their exotics inside, Katie and Teddy Moser of Lakeside Park, Kentucky, devote considerable effort to accommodating their animals on their own terms.
The couple leaves portions of their backyard unraked in autumn so firefly larvae can overwinter safely between the wet, warm layers of leaves; they encourage the growth of milkweed to attract monarch butterflies; and they’re determined to keep their backyard quails’ lives luxurious but natural.
The Moser family had owned chickens before they moved to Lakeside Park, Katie explains as she prepares a plate of mealworms and strawberries for their small covey. But the city’s bylaws forbid the keeping of nonnative birds, so the fowl were rehomed with Teddy’s parents and the search for a Kentucky-native feathered friend began.
They picked the ones that pecked at her heartstrings.
“No one really owns bobwhite quails as pets,” says Katie, a native plant designer. “Mostly they’re just being bred on farms and used for dog hunting. Basically, people will raise them and release them as dog treats. That’s not our vibe. I was like, ‘I want to take these home and love on them.’”
So she and her husband, Teddy, bought six baby quails for $12 and brought them home in a Tupperware
container. While the bumblebee-sized chicks huddled under a heat lamp, Teddy built the coop with $350 in supplies from Home Depot and blueprints he’d found online.
“There’s a bit of the rescue animal aspect” to the project, Katie says. “We also really like the [prospect of] 20 eggs a week,” which they expect the three females to produce when the weather begins to warm in April.
“That’s a really fun thing because we are pretty big garden people, sustainability people as a whole,” Katie says. “I keep telling my son he’s gonna have an Easter egg hunt every morning.”
Three quail eggs equal about one chicken egg, so they’ll have an even dozen every two weeks — not bad in the egg-obsessed economy of 2025. They could compel the females to lay their eggs faster by installing a heater in the coop, but Katie says they prefer to let it happen naturally.
Likewise, they’d be thrilled to get baby quails someday. Bobwhites mate for life, and the three-to-three sex ratio in their coop is promising.
But they’re in no hurry. Teddy and Katie adopted the flock to protect them from short, utilitarian lives in service of human interests. The Moser covey still lives more or less according to natural rhythms in a natural habitat.
Just in the VIP section.
PHOTO: AIDAN MAHONEY
SEKHMET, LAUREN AND DAVID
And what about a pet that has no natural habitat at all?
Sekhmet purrs, snuggles and chases toys across her downtown Cincinnati condo like a housecat, but she’s twice the size of one. She uses a litter box and rides happily in a stroller but becomes territorial at direct eye contact from strangers. And she is smart, her owners say — smart enough that they child-lock their front and
balcony doors so she doesn’t open them on her own.
One of her grandparents was a felis catus. The other was a serval, a leggy African wildcat known as one of nature’s fastest and most successful feline predators.
“It’s like having a dog, a toddler and a velociraptor in the house,” says owner Lauren Arnold, who adopted Sekhmet as a kitten with her husband, David. “All those things.”
Wild-domestic hybrids like Sekhmet, an F2 Savannah cat, are classified as exotics for their close proximity to undomesticated ancestors, says Mariemont veterinarian Dr. Jeremy Zola.
But, as products of all-American genetic engineering, they’re as reliant on human care as any Persian or Goldendoodle.
“You can’t leave these cats alone,” Lauren says,
Katie Moser eagerly anticipates her bobwhite quails’ tasty and economical eggs, but they are far from purely utilitarian — she adopted six chicks to spare them from short lives in service to human demands.
Like Strawberry, Banana Split was purchased at the Cin City Reptile Show and looks fabulous in a sequined hat.
PHOTO: PROVIDED
pointing out the baby-proofed kitchen cabinets and wall decorations hung just outside Sekhmet’s 10-foot vertical jump range. “Because they get into trouble.”
So the Arnolds work from home and don’t mind going out of their way to keep Sekhmet entertained. Their first shared pet was 17-year-old Kitty, a cat whose significant late-in-life health challenges demanded constant athome care.
Losing him devastated the household, David says, but when they began to look for a new companion, they knew they could meet the challenge of a high-maintenance breed.
First, though, came the challenge of finding a trustworthy breeder.
Because the existence of a domestic hybrid is impossible without the existence of a captive wildcat ancestor, hybrid cats’ would-be owners must screen their breeders carefully to ensure they receive a healthy, well-socialized animal whose wild parent or grandcat is treated humanely.
“There’s a lot of bad operators out there,” Lauren says. “There’s situations where there’s a Savannah cat [for sale], and it seems too good to be true. So we looked really hard to find a reputable breeding operation … someone who’s responsible and cares about the cats.”
They found their breeder in Traverse City, Michigan, after meeting other cats who got along well with humans and owners who’d had positive experiences. One of Sekhmet’s cousins is so well-acclimated to human contact that he works as a therapy cat.
Sekhmet’s name, which is printed in hieroglyphs on her food dish, is a tribute to the way she completed their home after Kitty’s death.
“Sekhmet is the Egyptian lion goddess” of protection, battle and medicine, David says. Their Sekhmet “is a pretty fierce cat. She loves to play and pounce, but [the ancient] Sekhmet was a warrior and a healer. We like that duality.”
“ PARTY ANIMALS” AND ANGIE
The van Leersums, Hartig and Lindley, the Mosers and the Arnolds all successfully reordered their lives around animals who require special accommodation. Not all adopters manage it.
Just like cats and dogs, exotics get abandoned, surrendered to shelters, returned to pet stores or removed from their owners’ care by authorities. Cincinnati Animal CARE spokeswoman Lisa Colina says the organization rehomes a few dozen “other” category animals each year, including wolf-dogs, tarantulas, rats and snakes.
Angie Tucker’s “party animals” — the collection of reptiles, amphibians and arachnids who share Tucker’s Amelia home — are pet store returns and oddball rescues adopted after rejections by previous owners.
Unlike the other adopters who spoke to CityBeat, Tucker had no preexisting yen for the creatures whose terraria now occupy a full wall of her family’s living room.
She just felt sorry for Nubs, a bearded dragon whose missing foreleg hurt her chances of finding a home.
“About three years ago, I got to work at a local pet store for a little bit, part-time,” Tucker says. “And people kept coming and bringing animals back, surrendering them. They were all missing a limb or, you know, something went on.
“[Pet stores] call them unsellables. If there’s something wrong with them, they’re damaged goods.”
She had a basic understanding of reptile care and a starter set of equipment from the store when she volunteered to adopt the “unsellable” beardie. Learning more about her charges and their needs has been the best part of tending to the expanding menagerie, she says.
“If I saw a snake coming four years ago, I would’ve probably run the other way,” Tucker says. “But the more
I’ve learned, the more I’ve learned to trust them. They really do bring you joy and knowledge. The ongoing education… I mean, at my age, you think you know it all. And then I got into this and thought, ‘Wow. I have so much to learn.’”
Now she drapes her ball python over her shoulders like a feather boa, wears press-on nails to complement
Like any domestic house cat, Sekhmet chases toys, uses a litter box and occasionally hisses at unfamiliar people.
PHOTO: AIDAN MAHONEY
GULP. Vinegaroons resemble scorpions at a glance, but they’re much safer pets. Instead of stinging, they spray a pungent liquid to ward off predators.
PHOTO: AIDAN MAHONEY
photos of her vinegaroons, and lets two Russian tortoises, Koopa and Bowser, follow her around the house. And Nubs is a sought-after star. Tucker’s critters travel around Greater Cincinnati as Tucker’s Party Animals, a rental service giving event crowds a chance to hold, feed and take pictures with previously unloved animals. “We do a lot of birthday parties,” Tucker says. “Kids really like it. Even in the 14-to-15-year-old age range, they
like the animals, and they love that they can take selfies.”
Because so many of these animals had already been displaced by the time they met her, and because almost all of them have captive life spans measured in decades, Tucker is careful to ensure that those who live longest have other homes waiting in the likely event they outlast her.
Statistically, Nubs will probably live to see at least a sixteenth birthday. Most ball pythons make it past 30, as
do many tarantulas. Koopa and Bowser may have more than 50 years of lettuce-chomping ahead.
“We do have to will the tortoises to someone,” she says. “We have a son and a grandson, and we’re hoping to live long enough that the grandson can take over [their care]. Our girls don’t seem interested, but they do joke about it. ‘You know, Mom, we’ll be fighting over your turtles after you’re gone.’”
ROSIE, RAMONA, PERCY AND HANNAH
Seven-year-old Rosie the skunk “just kind of fell into my lap” after another owner surrendered her, Cincinnati Parks botanist Hannah Fitz says. Observing the little creature’s glossy coat, roly-poly tummy and sweet temperament, one wonders how Fitz ever finds the heart to push her off.
“She’s basically a stuffed animal,” Fitz confirms. “She loves to be held. I’ve got a whole arsenal of baby carriers to wear around the house or when I take her to Findlay Market. [Her baby sister] Ramona went with me to BLINK.”
Rosie’s first owner — who still gets regular photo updates from Fitz — knew she was a charmer, too. When she realized that Rosie could no longer stay in her home, she contacted Cincinnati Parks to find a new home that allowed her to remain in contact with human beings.
“Rosie’s former mother had reached out to see if one of the nature buildings [at Parks] would want to add her to the collection for interacting with kids,” Fitz says. “But nobody’s there on the weekends, so they weren’t able to. My friend Joe called me and said, ‘Hey, Hannah. Do you want a skunk?’”
Of course she did.
Fitz acquired her five cats and two other skunks, Percy and Ramona Flowers, in similarly serendipitous ways. Rehomed plants and repurposed pieces of decor fill the small clan’s CUF home, where the trio of skunks cuddle on the couch and build blanket nests in the cabinets. In the upstairs “skunk room,” they chase treats around a pond liner that Fitz reshaped into a ball pit. All three are curious, mischievous and sociable.
“They’re just little double-wide ferrets,” she says. Of all the species shared with CityBeat this month, the striped skunk has had the most tempestuous historical relationship with human beings. Rosie’s kindred have occupied every quadrant of Serpell’s affection-utility chart — in turns useful and useless, despised and treasured — without ever changing their stripes.
The earliest written description of a skunk is a rebuke from French Jesuit priest Paul le Jeune, who encountered the species on a mission in North America during the 1640s. He described it to readers of The Jesuit Relations as follows:
“I mention it here, not on account of its excellence, but to make of it a symbol of sin. … It has black fur, quite beautiful and shining; and has upon its back two perfectly white stripes, which join near the neck and tail, making an oval which adds greatly to their grace. … But it is so stinking, and casts so foul an odor, that it is unworthy of being called the dog of Pluto. No sewer ever smelled so bad. I would not have believed it if I had not smelled it myself.”
Skunk farming nevertheless became a lucrative trade in the New World, where the fur le Jeune admired could be fashioned into hats and coats, and Americans in the early 20th century found the little omnivores useful as pest control. In 1961, a contributor to The Iowa State Veterinarian wrote that a domestic skunk “makes a pet which is safe,
lovable and above all novel and exclusive.”
The rabies panic of the late century, however, tanked what popularity they’d accrued, and today only 17 states allow for the legal possession of mephitis mephitis.
Le Jeune might be mollified to learn all 17 require that pet skunks be de-scented. Rosie and her siblings each went to a veterinarian as kits to have their scent glands — the two anal sacs that produce a skunk’s sulfurous defensive spray — removed. De-scented skunks still smell musky, like their ferret cousins, but can’t mark up their home, spray intruders or fight fire with fire in a skunk-on-skunk dispute.
The operation is safe, quick and considered “not very invasive,” per Mariemont vet Zola, who compares it to “a more technically difficult spay-neuter.”
(“The procedure is often done outdoors for obvious
reasons,” Zola adds.)
However, it creates a permanent ethical imperative for the owner. A skunk that can’t fend off predators with spray is a skunk that will need a human caretaker for the rest of its life.
Fitz says she’s happy to shoulder the responsibility. Her home is baby-proofed to keep her three curious charges safe, and she devotes considerable effort — sometimes to the point of exhaustion — to ensuring they stay safe, healthy and entertained.
Owning her skunks “does limit my ability to move in the future,” Fitz says. Her pets could move with her to Indiana, but they become contraband at the Ohio-Kentucky border. And caring for her animals requires patience, accommodation and understanding from her friends and family. “But I just want to give them the best life that I possibly can.”
Hannah Fitz showed CityBeat that skunks are the misunderstood snuggle bugs of the unlikely pet kingdom.
PHOTO: AIDAN MAHONEY
ARTS & CULTURE
A Chill in the Air
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company stages the perfect gloomy season play — Macbeth
BY NOAH MOORE
The chill in the air isn’t the only cold coming to the city, as Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s next production, Macbeth, recontextualizes the classic Shakespeare play through the lens of the Cold War. The fateful tale, equal parts ambition and manipulation, transports audiences to a time fraught with tension and power struggles. This powerful production features a smorgasbord of Cincinnati theater stalwarts and marks a return home for actress Hayley Guthrie, who plays Lady Macbeth.
Guthrie is no stranger to Cincinnati stages. Having begun her acting career in her youth and been a part of Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s repertory group for six seasons, her history with the local theater scene runs deep.
“I started doing theater when I was 10. And it was all musical theater, and then I did RenFair and then I got cast in A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” said Guthrie. “I was, like, all of a sudden, getting paid to do these things and, again, it was all Shakespeare, so I said I’m just gonna stick with this.”
Guthrie’s roles in productions like Romeo and Juliet (as Juliet) and Miss Julie (in the titular role) further strengthened her connection to Cincinnati’s theater world. The demands of the repertory group, where she often toured or rehearsed by day and performed by night, pushed her artistic growth. However, after six seasons — some including up to nine productions each — Guthrie stepped back to focus on family and eventually moved to Seattle, Washington.
“That used to be what you did. You were hired the whole season, and you were in every single play. That is a lot, but I mean, a steady pay and a steady job. It was amazing,” Guthrie said. “And then, by the end, it was just a lot.”
Years later, Guthrie returned to Cincinnati with her family and is now set to make her grand return to the stage in a show widely regarded as a classic.
As Lady Macbeth, Guthrie portrays the
determined and headstrong wife whose manipulation sets the show’s turmoil into motion. The role is one of several reasons Guthrie was enticed to return to the stage.
“It’s been a delight, it’s been a treat, it’s been heavy, it’s been dark. There’s not a calm scene in it for her; she kind of starts at 11 on a scale of 10. There’s layers to it,” said Guthrie. “I’ll leave to go home and I’m like, I swear we only ran that scene like two times, but I feel like we’ve been going all day. Learning how to shut the valve off is always a challenge.”
The production is set within the Cold War context, incorporating themes such as mind control projects like MKUltra and political struggles for power, enhancing the play’s exploration of power dynamics. Guthrie notes how this added layer deepens the themes of the play.
“That’s kind of what we’re building in and layering around it and seeing where it takes different things, because if you’ve just popped a pill, whether it’s to calm your nerves or make you bold, what is that doing and how does the down play into the unraveling?” she said. “It’s a little spooky, honestly. I love it though.”
Though set in the Cold War era, Guthrie believes the themes are still relevant today.
The production also walks a fine line between the supernatural and the physical, heightened by Shakespeare’s witches.
“The director (Christopher Edwards) stated a lot that he thinks what we do to each other is much more horrific than what the supernatural does to us. We’re a lot uglier with the human element, we do a lot uglier things,” Guthrie explained. “The fear is there and the trauma is there.”
As if the return to the stage wasn’t special enough, Guthrie’s daughter, Ceridwyn, also makes her debut in Macbeth, playing Little Duff and several apparitions. Guthrie describes the experience of being both a mother and a scene partner as uniquely rewarding.
“I was very nervous because I was like, I don’t know how to mom and work a full-time job, but it’s been so easy and so awesome. We had a couple of times where she was like, ‘Mom, let’s talk about this and how do we do this,’ and I was like, ‘Maybe go talk to your scene partner,’” said Guthrie, laughing.
However, balancing the demands of being both a parent and a performer is never easy. Guthrie reflects on the difficulties of long nights away from her family, especially when her children
were younger, and her gratitude for this opportunity.
“They’re finally at an age where I can do it. You know, at 8 and 11, they can understand and process me not being around,” Guthrie shared. “We’re together all the time. Love is so special. It is really special, and I’m so grateful.”
The title Macbeth carries with it a longstanding superstition in the theater world — it’s considered unlucky to say it inside a theater, often referred to as “the Scottish play” to avoid the curse. Guthrie shares her own experience with this superstition during rehearsals.
“If you’re doing a play, you’re allowed to say the title, and we had a big discussion about it at the first read,” she said. “I think I told somebody I was playing Lady Macbeth in the theater earlier this year, in the lobby, and they were like, ‘Don’t say it!’ And I’m like, ‘Oh no! Do lobbies count?’” Theatergoers need not worry about curses or ill fates in this production, though.
Macbeth, presented by Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, runs now through March 23. More info: cincyshakes.com.
Hayley Guthrie as Lady Macbeth in Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s production of Macbeth PHOTO: PROVIDED BY CINCINNATI SHAKESPEARE COMPANY
SCULTURE
New Summermusik Series Features Native American and Asian Indian Artistic Responses to Water
BY ANNE ARENSTEIN
ummermusik’s We Are One series showcases Native American and Asian Indian artistic responses to the world’s most vital natural resource.
We Are One: Water runs March 21-25 with music, dance, film and presentations by area environmental and cultural groups, including two family-friendly events. Most performances are free. Featured performers include SCPA and CCM alumnus Connor Chee, Lakota hoop dancer Starr Chief Eagle and awardwinning filmmaker and dancer Padma Chebrolu.
“This series’ mission is amplifying under-consulted voices in our community,” says Summermusik Executive Director Evan Gidley. “Although there are no federally recognized tribes in this area, many folks have Native American ancestry.”
Gidley reached out to the Urban Native Collective, a Cincinnati organization working to cultivate knowledge about Native American history in local and regional communities as a resource for programming.
“We wanted to create programming that was authentic and had meaning,” Gidley says. “Water emerged as a theme that had resonance for the UNC members and there were ties to the Asian Indian community who participated in last year’s Summermusik Festival.”
The series opener, “Passage of the River” on March 21, combines Chebrolu’s films with a live interactive dance performance of traditional Asian Indian music and commentary at the Evendale Cultural Arts Center, with a pre-concert performance by students from Cincinnati Music Village.
Chebrolu created a series of short documentaries of her dancing by the Ohio River in Augusta, Kentucky. Gidley says the films create a powerful story of water and its connection to spirituality in Asian Indian culture, and that Native American cultures also share deep spiritual and emotional ties with water.
“We’ll show short excerpts of the film, Padma will do dance demonstrations with live musicians, and we’ll end with her teaching simple dance moves to the audience,” Gidley says.
Chee returns for a series of programs, beginning with a public masterclass on March 22 at First Unitarian Church in Avondale, and performs his own compositions and works by Native American composers in two other concerts.
“Connor beautifully integrates his culture into Western classical forms,” says Daniel Parsley, Summermusik’s associate conductor. “His transcriptions of Navajo
melodies are amazing, blending two heritages and styles into something unique.”
Born in Page, Arizona, Chee moved to Cincinnati with his family to attend SCPA.
“I grew up in a small town in northern Arizona and my parents had to make a two-hour drive each way to Flagstaff for piano lessons,” he recalls. “My mom’s from Cincinnati and she knew about SCPA. She encouraged me to apply, and I was accepted when I was in fourth grade.”
At the age of 12, Chee played Carnegie Hall after winning a gold medal in the World Piano Competition’s Junior Division. He went on to study at the Eastman School of Music and returned to CCM for a master’s degree.
Chee says he didn’t think about synthesizing his cultural heritage with Western classical music until he spent time with his grandfather on the Tonalea Chapter of the Navajo Nation.
“He knew traditional chants, ceremonies and history, and I wanted to find a
Avery’s “The Waters, The Women” for the first time.
On March 23, Chee joins the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and Lakota hoop dancer Starr Chief Eagle for a free family concert at Christ Church Cathedral downtown. Tate’s Spirit Chief Names the Animal People combines storytelling and Starr Chief Eagle’s dancing to tell the story of how the salmon, the bear and the eagle were assigned their own realms, narrated by Cate Donahue from the Urban Native Collective.
The concluding concert at the Cincinnati Art Museum’s Fath Auditorium on March 25 confronts the challenges of water conservation from cultural and environmental perspectives. Reena Esmail’s Malhaar: A Requiem caps off an evening of choral and string quartet works and a panel discussion with staff from the Cincinnati Nature Center, Mill Creek Alliance and WAVE Foundation.
Esmail is an Indian American composer known for her vocal and choral works intertwining traditional Hindustani instruments and vocal techniques with Western classical forms.
“It’s a fascinating, really cool work,” says Gidley. “Hindustani vocalist Vidita Kanniks and tabla player Jim Feist will play throughout, along with a 16-voice chorus of professional singers”
Parsley adds that Esmail addresses water’s duality as a life force and a life threat. “Using the form of the requiem, she puts the two together as a tribute to water.”
way to preserve some of those songs that are getting lost,” he explains. “Spending time with him led me to this personal preservation project, taking some of the melodies he would sing and setting them for piano.
“My path veered toward creating original works that attempt to incorporate parts of the culture and traditional philosophies. It took me in a completely different direction.”
Chee and a Summermusik string quartet will commemorate World Water Day on the evening of March 22 with a concert at the Fitton Center for the Arts in Hamilton. Logan York of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma will also be at the event to lead a pre-concert discussion on the history of Native American culture in the Greater Cincinnati area.
The program includes works by Mohawk composer Dawn Avery and Chickasaw member Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate. Chee knows both composers and looks forward to playing
The Saturday evening concert at the Fitton Center for the Arts is a ticketed event. All other programs are free and require advance registration.
Gidley and Parsley hope to see new participants in the audiences and affirm a commitment to We Are One’s vision.
“We are a wonderful arts organization, but what does that mean if the only things we do are in a concert hall? How do we engage more people and redefine what classical music is?” Parsley says. “Jerod Tate and Reena Esmail are in that conversation. We’re engaging underconsulted communities and artists so we can address a holistic vision of what this can be.”
“I love it when groups of people are in a room together who would not otherwise be there,” Gidley adds. “It’s rewarding not just having people show up but also having interaction and a learning experience as well.”
Summermusik presents We Are One: Water from March 21-25. For more information, visit summermusik.org.
We Are One: Water features performances from pianist Connor Chee PHOTO: PROVIDED BY SUMMERMUSIK
THEATER
Curtains Up! A Sneak Peek at Upcoming Seasons for Several Cincinnati Theater Companies
BY RICK PENDER
Four of Cincinnati’s theaters have announced their upcoming seasons. Here are the shows mapped out by artistic directors Bridget Leak (Know Theatre), Brian Isaac Phillips (Cincinnati Shakespeare Company) and Blake Robison (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park). Also listed are touring productions to be presented by Broadway in Cincinnati at downtown’s Aronoff Center.
JULY 2025
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare (Cincy Shakes’ Free Shakespeare in the Park, July 11-Aug. 31). The classic comedy features tomfoolery, magical mischief and love in the woods — at parks across the Tri-state.
The Play That Goes Wrong by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields (Cincy Shakes, July 18-Aug. 10) A reprise of 2024’s very funny theatrical disaster, with most of the same cast.
AUGUST 2025
Where the Mountain Meets the Sea by Jeff Augustin. (Playhouse/Rosenthal Shelterhouse, Aug. 30-Sept. 28). From the 2020 Humana Festival in Louisville. With lyrical storytelling and live folk music by
the Bengsons, it weaves a tale of rediscovering love and the bond between a son and his Haitian immigrant father. Directed by Playhouse favorite Timothy Douglas.
SEPTEMBER 2025
An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Amy Herzog (Cincy Shakes, Sept. 5-20). What happens when one person’s truth becomes a community’s greatest threat? Ibsen’s 1882 play asks how far are we willing to go to stand up for what’s right. Herzog’s adaptation won the 2024 Tony for Best Revival of a Play.
Back to the Future: The Musical (Broadway in Cincinnati, Sept. 9-21). Using original tunes by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard, this show follows Marty McFly as he’s transported back to 1955 in eccentric Doc Brown’s time machine. Needing to fix a disrupted timeline, he has to fix the present, escape the past and send himself… back to the future.
King James by Rajiv Joseph (Know Theatre, Sept. 11-27). A comedy about basketball, superstar LeBron James and Cleveland, where two fans weather the highs and lows of friendship and sports worship.
Mythic by Marcus Stevens and Oran Eldor (Playhouse/Rouse Theatre, Sept.
20-Oct. 19). Making its U.S. premiere with Broadway ambitions, the ancient Greek myth of Persephone is turned on its ear as a pop-rock musical comedy. Staged by Tony winner Kathleen Marshall.
OCTOBER
2025
Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen (Cincy Shakes, Oct. 3-Nov. 1). A hilarious take on the world’s most famous vampire for the Halloween season.
The Notebook (Broadway in Cincinnati, Oct. 14-26). Nicholas Sparks’ 1996 best-selling romantic novel is now a musical about the power of love. Allie and Noah, from different worlds, share a lifetime of love despite forces that threaten to pull them apart.
The Heart Sellers by Lloyd Suh (Playhouse/Rosenthal Theatre, Oct. 25-Nov. 23). A moving new comedy about two Asian immigrants, Luna and Jane, who find friendship while preparing a turkey for their first American Thanksgiving.
NOVEMBER 2025
Love’s Labour’s Lost by William Shakespeare (Cincy Shakes, Nov. 14-Dec. 6). The
comedy becomes an ’80s-inspired high school romp, blending classic mischief and romance with vintage fashion, neon colors and rad vibes.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, adapted by Blake Robison (Playhouse/ Rouse Theatre, Nov. 21-Dec. 28). Ebenezer Scrooge, haunted on Christmas Eve, changes his grouchy ways. Know Theatre’s Bridget Leak directs.
Die Hard Is a Christmas Movie by A.J. Baldwin and Alexx Rouse (Know Theatre, Nov. 28-Dec. 21). A 2024 holiday hit, the classic action film is the starting point for a story of a family willing to risk it all to make it to Christmas morning … or die hard trying. Cincinnati Playhouse’s Tatiana Godfrey directs.
DECEMBER 2025
Because You’re Mine, created by Matt Cusack and Allison Kelly (Playhouse/ Rosenthal Theatre, Dec. 3-23). Great loves and country music love songs from Johnny and June, George and Tammy and many more!
Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some) by Michael Carleton, James FitzGerald and John K. Alvarez (Cincy
The Wiz comes to Broadway in Cincinnati in March of 2026
PHOTO: JEREMY DANIEL
Shakes, Dec. 11-28) Back for its 20th season, this very amusing mashup crashes contemporary comedy into familiar holiday tales. Jeremy Dubin stages it again.
Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda (Broadway in Cincinnati, Dec. 16, 2025Jan. 4, 2026). The mega-hit, winner of 11 Tony Awards and choreographed by Cincinnatian Andy Blankenbuehler, portrays America’s Founding Fathers through the filter of hip-hop, jazz and R&B.
JANUARY 2026
Hell’s Kitchen by Alicia Keys (Broadway in Cincinnati, Jan. 13-25, 2026). A semi-autobiographical musical story by Grammy winner Keys about growing up in 1990s New York. It explores the dynamics of a mother-daughter relationship amid a young woman’s quest for identity.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, adapted by Lauren M. Gunderson (Playhouse, Rouse Theatre, Jan. 17-Feb. 15, 2026) Director Joanie Schultz stages this new adaptation of the classic story by putting novelist Alcott into the spotlight as Jo March.
Serials (Know Theatre, Jan. 26, Feb. 9 & 23, March 9 & 23, 2026). Know’s Monday night episodic theater party that’s been around since 2014.
A Soldier’s Play by Charles Fuller (Cincy Shakes, Jan. 30-Feb. 15, 2026). An unflinching examination of racism on a segregated WWII Army base. A 1981 Pulitzer Prize winner and Tony winner for best revival. (Cincinnati Playhouse staged it in 1983.) Guest director Chris Edwards.
FEBRUARY 2026
Mary’s Wedding by Stephen Massicotte (Playhouse/Rosenthal Shelterhouse, Feb. 7-March 8, 2026). In this poetic, romantic dreamscape drama, a young couple discovers the thrill of first love on the eve of World War I. (Staged by Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati in 2008.)
Shucked by Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally and Robert Horn (Broadway in Cincinnati, Feb. 10-22, 2026). More silly jokes than kernels on a corncob fill this story of a woman who leaves her small town to find out why the corn crop is dying. The New York Post said, “the audience sits in a state of perpetual giggle.”
Constellations by Nick Payne (Know Theatre, Feb. 12-21, 2026). Marianne, a physicist, and Roland, a beekeeper, whose stories and various possible outcomes are explored through multiverse theory, free will…and honey. Bridget Leak directs.
Mrs. Christie by Heidi Armbruster (Playhouse/Rouse Theatre, Feb. 28-March 29,
2026). The curious, real-life 1926 disappearance of Agatha Christie sets the stage for this charming comedy as a devoted superfan tries to solve the case 100 years later. Directed by Joanie Schultz.
MARCH 2026
The Wiz by William Ferdinand Brown (Broadway in Cincinnati, March 3-15, 2026). A groundbreaking twist on The Wizard of Oz that won the 1975 Tony Award. Its score features soul, gospel rock and ’70s funk, performed by an all-Black cast that will “groove on down the road.”
Othello by William Shakespeare (Cincy Shakes, March 6-29, 2026). The intense and timeless tragedy of jealousy, passion and betrayal, staged by Candice Handy as a fully classical Elizabethan production.
Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical by Janet Yates Vogt and Mark Friedman (Playhouse/ Rosenthal
Shelterhouse, March 21-May 17, 2026). This musical biography features many of Clooney’s signature songs. It also offers a personal portrait of the beloved entertainer who began life in Maysville, Kentucky. Directed by Michael Marotta (who acted in the Playhouse’s 2014 production).
Chicago by John Kander & Fred Ebb (Broadway in Cincinnati, March 24-29, 2026) The classic satire about corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the “celebrity criminal.” This tour is based on the 1996 Broadway production, the longest-running American musical revival on Broadway – 11,000-plus performances as of February 2025.
The Ravenside Occurrence by Derek J. Snow (Know Theatre, March 27-April 18, 2026). A world premiere about four headstrong women who break out of an asylum in 1876 and hide out in a
haunted, abandoned London inn. With an original score for a string quartet.
APRIL 2026
The Piano Lesson by August Wilson (Playhouse/Rouse Theatre, April 11-May 3, 2026). A clash over the fate of a family’s heirloom piano sets the stage for this explosive Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning masterpiece. Directed by Lou Bellamy.
Pericles by William Shakespeare (Cincy Shakes, April 17-May 3, 2026). Rarely produced, this tale of an adventurous prince gets a sci-fi reimagining to kick off Cincy Shakes’ multi-year endeavor to produce Shakespeare’s entire canon for a second time. CSC veteran Giles Davies returns for the title role.
Water for Elephants by Rick Elice (Broadway in Cincinnati, April 21-May 3, 2026). Adapted from Sara Gruen’s 2006 novel, this 2024 Broadway hit tells the story of Jacob, a young veterinarian, who joins a traveling circus after his parents die during the Great Depression. He falls in love with Marlena, wife of the jealous ringmaster. A folk score by PigPen Theatre Co., inspired by music from the 1930s, supports circus acts, lifelike puppets, aerial silk performances and acrobatics.
MAY 2026
Suffs by Shaina Taub (Broadway in Cincinnati, May 12-17). A 2024 Tony Award-winning musical about women who won the right to vote through the Suffrage Movement in 1920 with the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in 1920.
Emma by Jane Austen, adapted by Kate Hamill (Cincy Shakes, May 22-June 14, 2026). Candice Handy will direct this portrait of a headstrong matchmaker convinced she can’t personally fall in love. Cincy Shakes previously produced Hamill’s adaptations of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.
The 23rd Annual Cincinnati Fringe Festival (Know Theatre and beyond, May 29-June 13, 2026). Cincinnati’s summer theater party.
JUNE 2026
Disney’s The Lion King by Julie Taymor (Broadway in Cincinnati, June 10-July 5). The landmark musical has been seen worldwide by more than 100 million people. The story of hope and adventure offers stunning visuals and amazing puppets in a telling praised for creativity and memorable music.
Because You’re Mine creators and performers Allison Kelly and Matt Cusack
PHOTO: PROVIDED BY CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK
Alexx Rouse and Phineas Clark in Die Hard Is A Christmas Movie
PHOTO: MIKKI SCHAFFNER
FOOD & DRINK
On a Roll
Kawa Revolving Sushi keeps freshness and fun in rotation
REVIEW BY NADYA ELLERHORST
Iwish I could regale you with an Anthony Bourdain-esque recounting of eating the freshest nigiri amid brooding world travels. I wish I could explain how my palate was forever changed after a visit to Tsukiji Fish Market. I wish I could honestly say that I haven’t indulged in $5 sushi Wednesdays (R.I.P.) at Kroger.
But, I can’t. I’m a simple gal; I appreciate the finer things in life, but sometimes, I like mayonnaise on my sushi and, when the opportunity presents itself, just a little bit of kitsch. The two combined? Irresistible.
Kawa Revolving Sushi opened its second Cincinnati location last summer in Oakley. Finally succumbing to curiosity (and the stuff I see on YouTube), I decided to give the conveyor belt restaurant a spin.
Arriving at Kawa, I was led to a booth. Within its confines, the conveyor belt slowly spun away. Learning that it was my first time there, my server gave me the rundown. Near the conveyor belt was a little tablet, where I could place orders for drinks, appetizers, non-sushi entrees (including ramen) and dessert. To pay, I could use the tablet to tally up my order totals, and my server would separately count however many platters I snatched off the belt, each priced at $3.25.
I started by using the tablet to order a Shirley Temple (sure, I could have ordered a beer, but see above re: kitsch). I was truthfully expecting the most thrilling mocktail of my young adult life because I read that at Kawa, drinks are served by robots. I was, however, exclusively served by my human server, instead of the tray-laden robot that nonetheless zoomed by me numerous times. I tried not to take it personally. I did, fortunately, get served by a robot in a different capacity. While they weren’t exactly whizzing by, I was a little nervous about the mechanics of grabbing the little platters of sushi. I decided to buy myself some time by ordering appetizers: seaweed salad ($3.25), takoyaki ($5.45) and shrimp tempura ($6.99). All three were brought
to me via a little rail right above the conveyor belt; a mix of plastic trains and trucks carted along my starters, announcing their arrival in a deadpan robotic voice.
The presentation of the seaweed salad left a little to be desired, with it looking a bit mushy, but it tasted fresh. I cautiously bit into my takoyaki, having been burned by volcanic dough liquid too many times to count, but was a little disappointed to find that they were lukewarm (I would have preferred to have been scalded). The tempura was a highlight — the log-like, piping-hot crustaceans and crunchy batter were delicious.
Confidence built up, I turned to the conveyor belt, where two-piece plates of nigiri, three-piece plates of special rolls and four-piece plates of basic sushi meandered away. I gingerly grabbed a little tub of ginger from a passing bowl. Empowered, I reached for my first platter — the Dragon roll, with eel, cucumber, avocado and eel sauce. Amid my adrenaline rush, I saw eel nigiri, my personal favorite, scooting by in my peripheral vision, and snatched up a platter. Both were fresh and tasty, and I was ready for more.
Having eaten enough California rolls to last me multiple lifetimes, I focused on Kawa’s special rolls. I alternated between grabbing platters and tapping through the tablet to find out exactly what I was eating.
I sampled the Bengals roll, featuring shrimp tempura, crab meat, “crunchy flakes,” spicy mayo and eel sauce. This roll was pretty much swimming in
toppings, and while it was good, and I knew what I was getting myself into when I pulled it off the belt, it was a bit heavy flavor-wise. I also tried the green soy paper-wrapped “Forest,” with shrimp tempura, avocado and asparagus, topped off with “lobster salad,” “crispy crab flake” and “creamy dressing.” Save for the crab flakes, I found this roll a little bland, but no one could argue that it hadn’t been just made in the kitchen from which the conveyor belt issued forth. Freshness at Kawa was definitely a no-brainer.
My absolute favorite was the Tiger roll, and not just because it was pink (but that didn’t hurt). The combination of tuna, salmon, yellowtail and avocado wrapped in (pink!) soybean paper was refreshingly subtle in comparison to the more mayo/tempura-ensconced options.
If you can’t seem to find the sushi you want, or maybe get a little impatient, I’ll add that you have the option to order the same rolls slowly rolling by your shoulder via the tablet. And the sushi wasn’t the only food on the catwalk. I was passed by little cakes, bowls of fresh fruit, “Chef’s Special” dishes, salads and more.
The robot continued to pass me, too, playing funky little tunes to gracious customers and totally ignoring me.
It’s fine. I really don’t care.
I had wanted to try more — I had my eye on the Pink Lady (cucumber, salmon and avocado, topped with spicy tuna, spicy mayo and tobiko) and the Reds (shrimp tempura and asparagus, topped with spicy tuna, masago and
spicy mayo) — but, in the name of research, I was already worried I’d overdone it. It was a bummer; looking back, I also would have loved to try some more of the nigiri.
I didn’t come to Kawa to eat the best sushi of my life. I just came to eat sushi. And the sushi turned out to be really good. The concept? Even better.
Kawa is a wonderful place for families, who can sit together at the booths, pick out sushi and be served by apparently selective robots (again, I really don’t care). It’s great for dates, where it’s just you, your significant other and food on all sides, with no need to worry about stalling conversation to look at menus.
And it’s perfect for parties of one, like me. I find that eating alone in public can sometimes feel awkward (even though I know it shouldn’t). At Kawa, not only are you in your own little sushi world, where everything you need as a solitary diner is pretty much within arm’s reach and situated in a comfy seating area, and where servers are always on standby to help. You’re probably enjoying the process a little too much to even notice any feelings of self-consciousness.
It’s fun. It’s fresh. It’s niche. And the service – both human and otherwise –is all-around excellent. I’d say give into the hype and try it at least once.
If you go, my regards to the robot.
Kawa Revolving Sushi, 3880 Paxton Ave., Oakley and 11381 Montgomery Road, Symmes Township. More info: instagram.com/kawa_revolving_sushi.
The sushi conveyer belt at Kawa Revolving Sushi
PHOTO: NADYA ELLERHORST
Greater Cincinnati’s Pet Food Scene Is Growing with Fresh and Local Options
BY CAROLINE BECKMAN EATS
For many people, pets are family. In fact, in many homes, some pets have a higher status than their human family members. Therefore, it’s no surprise that many pet owners want the best food and treats for their furry friends. Cincinnati-area pet owners don’t have to look far; several local companies are providing nutritious and delicious treats and food for pets in the Queen City.
Pet Wants
Pet Wants may have over 100 franchised locations across the United States, plus a delivery service, but it all started in Overthe-Rhine, with a storefront at Findlay Market. Open since 2010, Pet Wants focuses on pet nutrition. Co-founder Michele Hobbs got the idea from the journey to solve her dog’s own health problems. Most prescriptions weren’t helping, except for steroids, but Hobbs was worried about the effects of longterm use.
“I had spent so much time and money and energy on vet bills and specialized diets, and nothing worked,” Hobbs said. “I set out to find out how to change it, and it was food. It was the nutrition in the food. My dog was nutrient-deficient.” Her research paid off. Her dog showed improvement. Many customers have reported similar results.
Unlike many big-brand foods, the food made and sold at Pet Wants does not have preservatives and is made with fresh
ingredients at a family-owned plant with high standards for quality.
When Pet Wants first opened, Amazon primarily sold and delivered books, so Pet Wants had less competition and was ahead of its time. Pet Wants has embraced many changes in the social climate, and now can even be found on DoorDash. However, the more things change, the more they stay the same, both in terms of Pet Wants’ devotion to freshness and nutrition and the loyalty of their customers.
“Believe it or not,” Hobbs said, “we have dogs that are still coming to us that came when we first opened. Isn’t that crazy?”
Pet Wants, 1409 Vine St. and 1813 Pleasant St. in Over-the-Rhine, plus multiple other locations. More info: petwants.com.
MaiRo & Co
Another local brand that prides itself on bringing nutritious and delicious pet food to the Cincinnati area is MaiRo & Co Dog Treat Bakery. Founded by Stephen Drace and Robert Burnett, it is named after their three dogs, Maisie, Rosie and Coco, who were also the inspiration for the brand. Drace and Burnett started out making treats for their dogs; soon, they also made treats for friends and then branched out into opening their own bakery.
Drace and Burnett, originally from Southern California, have quickly settled into life in Cincinnati and become part
aspects of the business, from baking to forecasting demand to counting money from sales. This helps the students learn valuable life and work lessons.
“Our goal is to continue to scale up to provide even more opportunities to those facing obstacles and challenges securing traditional community employment,” said founder and “chief baking officer” Lisa Jones Graham.
Flavors produced by Brewhaus include peanut butter, pumpkin, cheese, honey blueberry, and raspberry carob chip. Brewhaus also bakes for and supplies the dog treats sold at Graeter’s locations, making it part of Cincinnati history. Aside from their standard flavors, Brewhaus can make custom recipes and frequently does for breweries and dog-themed businesses.
Brewhaus Dog Bones, 1623 Burney Ln., Mt. Washington. More info: brewhausdogbones.com.
Pugalicious Pet Treats
of the local community. Their treats can even be found at such institutions as Findlay Market and Jungle Jim’s. The ingredients also come from local sources, such as honey from several apiaries throughout Southwest Ohio and eggs from their own backyard chickens. It doesn’t get much more local than that.
MaiRo & Co started out with typical dog treats and the occasional birthday cake, but after much experimentation, the company now offers unique treats such as donuts, churros and even dogfriendly buckeyes.
“All the same goodies you can find in a human bakery, but for dogs,” Burnett explained.
MaiRo & Co, 89 Bayham Dr., Greenhills. More info: mairoandco.com.
Brewhaus Dog Bones
Cincinnati is known for its breweries, and one company is cashing in on that reputation in a unique, meaningful and sustainable way. Brewhaus Dog Bones sells bones made from spent beer brewing grains by students with intellectual disabilities. Brewhaus is a nonprofit organization, and all proceeds directly support the workers.
Launched in October 2014 with Listermann Brewing, Brewhaus Dog Bones now works with 20 local and Midwestern breweries.
The crew is made up of 18-22-yearold students, and they participate in all
Another local brand that proves that necessity breeds creativity is West Chester-based Pugalicious Pet Treats, owned by Michelle and Patrick Burns. The name and the inspiration come from the same place: The Burns’ pug, Ace, who is “allergic to everything.” He needs a grain-free, limited-ingredient diet. There were few treat options available to Ace, so the Burnses took matters into their own hands. They began making freeze-dried treats, and a business idea was born.
The flavors are simple: Duck, bison, sweet potato, pumpkin and more, using simple, local ingredients and restaurantgrade proteins. While any animal can enjoy them, they are especially beneficial for elderly animals, animals with dietary restrictions and even animals who struggle to eat.
“We make all treats and food ourselves in small batches to ensure quality,” Patrick Burns said. “We take raw meat, vegetables and liver–sourced from local suppliers with high sustainability standards–blend and freeze-dry without using any preservatives. During the freeze-drying process, moisture is removed from the treats without using heat that would destroy the nutrients. We test all our products with [our dogs] Rocky, Ace and Hunter before we sell them to ensure they meet their standards! We are confident, if our dogs love them, you will too!”
Pugalicious Freeze Dried Pet Treats, West Chester. To shop their treats in person, browse their list of retail partners at pugaliciouspettreats.com/retail-partners. More info: pugaliciouspettreats.com.
Bakers at Brewhaus Bakery and Dog Bones gather with Barley the dog PHOTO: PROVIDED BY BREWHAUS BAKERY AND DOG BONES
MUSIC
It’s a Healthcare-nomenon
Chappell Roan wants healthcare to be accessible for artists. SofaBurn Inc. in Northern Kentucky is making her dream a reality.
BY CLAIRE DUNHAM
In the heart of Dayton, Kentucky’s Historic District, tucked inconspicuously between a salon and a chiropractor’s office, sits SofaBurn Records, an independent record label founded by Chris Mueller. The label boasts an impressive roster of over 20 artists. From Kentuckybased country musician Jeremy Pinnell to Swedish blues-rock band Black River Delta, SofaBurn is non-genre specific and distributes music from local and international acts alike. But what makes the label truly unique is its founder’s artist-first, community-minded mission.
When Chris, a drummer and selfproclaimed “music junkie,” launched the label in 2006, he did not want to sign other artists. Instead, he thought founding the label would open doors for his own musical endeavors.
“I felt that I was running into a lot of walls because we were self-managed and self-booked, so I started a record label,” he explained, “It was just a vehicle for us to put our own records out.”
After founding SofaBurn, Chris continued recording and releasing music with several bands in the Northern Kentucky area. This is when he met Mike Montgomery, a fellow musician, sound engineer and the owner of Candyland Studio. The duo collaborated on several projects and a friendship blossomed.
One night while they recorded music in Montgomery’s studio, Chris asked a
question that would change the SofaBurn legacy and the trajectory of their lives: “What if we could actually find a way to do music full-time?”
Montgomery agreed to the proposed business venture and became SofaBurn’s label manager. He was already in the process of relocating his studio to a new building in Dayton, so they transformed that space into a place where both SofaBurn and Candyland could thrive.
“It was a record label venture, but I was doing it in my recording studio, which was right down the hall,” Montgomery said about the new collaborative space.
Pinnell became the first act (outside of Chris and Montgomery’s bands) to sign with SofaBurn Records. Pinnell released his first album OH/KY in 2014 to critical acclaim.
“Chris really wasn’t putting bands out. He’d only started the record label to push his own band and he agreed to put my first record out,” Pinnell recalled.
The SofaBurn family grew. Daniel Martin Moore came to the label from Subpop, and Zach Gabbard, a member of the Cincinnati-based band Buffalo Killers, connected Chris to PR professionals. All the while, Chris, who has a master’s degree in social work, also prioritized philanthropic efforts.
“We set up a donor-advised fund, and we were donating money to a charitable cause every month,” he said, “That’s
began constructing the program. The board decided to focus on three main services: 1. Addressing any existing medical debt, 2. Finding care, and 3. Providing financial assistance.
They raised money to purchase insurance for independent artists through the healthcare marketplace. Baker hoped this would give individuals access to routine care, or as she described it: “help artists understand how to start taking preventive measures to care for themselves, instead of waiting until the tooth has to be pulled.”
One recipient of this aid is a Northern Kentucky-based painter David Mueller (of no relation to Chris). David studied at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. Then, in 1989, he moved to Cincinnati and briefly designed cards for Gibson Greetings. David left the commercial art world in 1991, with the help of local art benefactor Ramesh Malhotra, to pursue work as an independent fine artist. However, despite receiving many accolades and awards for his work, David still struggled financially, specifically with healthcare costs.
“You’re always jumping toward the next thing, the next commission, the next whatever,” he said, “And it’s a really crazy business, so healthcare costs and all that stuff are problematic for an artist.”
when we first became involved in the LGBTQ community and the low-income housing community.”
Then, the country was thrust into the COVID-19 pandemic. Musicians stopped touring, so operations at SofaBurn halted to an abrupt stop. During this time, Chris saw the independent artists around him struggle to make ends meet.
“Folks were not able to pay for healthcare. Folks were not able to pay for their everyday needs because they relied on playing live to do that,” he said, “If they couldn’t do that, they were dead in the water.”
He decided to take action, and SofaBurn Inc. was born.
“We filed paperwork for our 501(c)(3), I put a board together and we decided, ‘We’re going to start a nonprofit and we’re going to help artists,’” he said.
One of those board members is Lynn Baker, a music-lover and Humana employee.
“My husband had a really rare cancer when we were in our late thirties. My girls had a complicated birth and lots of NICU stays, and my son has had a couple of rare conditions with complex surgeries,” Baker said. “So navigating the healthcare system was something that I’d been doing personally and professionally for like 15 years when Chris and I started talking.”
Baker joined SofaBurn Inc., and they
David and Chris met over two years ago, but David still vividly remembers the moment Chris told him about SofaBurn Inc. He says his jaw dropped.
“I was shocked, and they ended up paying for an entire year of my health premiums,” David shared, “I get so stressed about it [healthcare] because I’ve gone through so much, so SofaBurn has taken two years of that stress off of me. It’s a profound gift.”
After their original fundraiser, SofaBurn subsidized insurance for one artist. This year, they are covering monthly premiums for 13 artists, including David.
However, Baker warns of an impending uncertainty in healthcare triggered by shifts in the federal government.
“In 2025, it’s more important than ever to take care of yourself,” she said, “because we don’t really know what the healthcare landscape will look like next year.
Despite this uncertainty, SofaBurn Inc. remains dedicated to its mission of supporting independent artists and recently announced a new partnership with Midwest Friends Fest, a two-day music festival this summer at the Southgate House Revival in Newport. In the future, Baker hopes to see the organization serve more communities across the country.
For more information about SofaBurn Records and SofaBurn Inc., visit sofaburn.com.
Jeremy Pinnell PHOTO: STACIE HUCKABEE
SOUND ADVICE
JESS LAMB
March 8 • Radio Artifact
On March 8, Jess Lamb will bring her musical talents, powerful presence and ambitious artistic vision to Radio Artifact in Northside. Celebrating International Women’s Day, Jess has curated an event that will not only feature her iconic voice and music, but also many of the female artists who make up her indie music label, City Queen Sounds. The evening will be a musical experience that will have people dancing, singing and shouting at the top of their lungs for more.
Jess began her musical journey as a young child, learning to play the piano by ear while attending her neighborhood Pentecostal church. Capitalizing on the power of spiritual music, Jess spent her youth forming and nurturing her artistry. She latched onto the deep soul connection that music brought, not only to her family, but to everyone she would eventually collaborate with.
Jess, along with her brother, guitarist and producer, Kenny Lamb, began recording songs in their church basement, on an 8 track recorder, leaning into spiritually-based songs. Together, the two siblings fostered a love for the healing effects of music, a passion that Jess continues to bring
to her music, and also to the unforgettable shows she creates.
Jess, now a voting member for the Recording Academy, and a GRAMMY U mentor, believes deeply in the strengths of musical collaboration. It was this belief which became the impetus for creating her own independent music label, City Queen Sounds. A proud promoter of local music — female artists in particular — Jess has a growing roster of some of Cincinnati’s best musicians, instrumentalists and producers gracing the label, many of who will be appearing at the City Queen Sounds Showcase at Radio Artifact.
“I lean into the spiritual aspects of collaborating with others and lifting our voices as one,” Jess tells CityBeat “Harmonization actually raises our serotonin levels.”
The Jess Lamb Band is made up of several rotating members, including Siri Imani on vocals, Warren Harrison on synth, Amanda Eldridge on bass, Nate Trammel on drums, and many others. And no matter what the lineup is on any given show, the experience is not soon forgotten.
The lineup for this showcase includes Imani, sappha, Annie D, Victoria Lekson and more.
Jess Lamb plays Radio Artifact on March 8 at 8 p.m. More info: allevents.in/cincinnati. (Eric Bates)
TOWN MOUNTAIN
March 14 • Memorial Hall
With Asheville, North Carolina’s recent once-in-a-generation hurricane flood damage, the city has slowly been digging itself out and rebuilding. Known for its popular arts and foodie culture, Asheville revels in its local music scene — one of its most celebrated bands is Town Mountain, a hot roots outfit now touring the Midwest, including a Cincinnati stop here at Memorial Hall. The acoustic string band released its bluegrass-inspired debut, Heroes & Heretics, back in 2008; but through lineup changes and a new record label, New West Records, Town Mountain’s sound has evolved into a raucous surge of honky-tonk, alt-country and rock. Part of that stems from the addition of Miles Miller on drums in 2018, who enhances their country-rock inclinations. Lines in the Levee, their most recent record from 2022, underscores the group’s rich ensemble playing. Led by co-founder Robert Greer on vocals/ guitar, the group’s rowdy swagger and warm, collective vocals are reminiscent of The Band, roots royalty. Mandolinist
Jess Lamb
PHOTO: KRIS LINKUGEL
Town Mountain
PHOTO: DAVID SIMCHOCK
Phil Barker’s opening title song echoes The Band’s standard, “The Shape I’m In,” with its galloping groove and emotive vocals, Appalachian soulstyle. Town Mountain’s latest project, last year’s Dance Me Down Easy: The Woodstock Sessions EP, features favorite covers of the Kinks, Rolling Stones and more in a rustic blast of classic rock and country.
Barker explains the band’s changes to Smoky Mountain News last month: “The current lineup definitely has the same core intent, just painted with a broader brush. The addition of drums and pedal steel gives us the chance to continue to challenge ourselves artistically and explore what we’re capable of. It has definitely been met with levels of resistance from some of our listeners, but for us right now as artists, it has been a great evolution. . .”
Town Country plays Memorial Hall on March 14 at 8 p.m. with Cristina Vane as the opener. More info: memorialhallotr.com. (Greg Gaston)
THE DRIVER ERA
March 16 • Andrew J Brady Music Center
The Driver Era, the musical duo made up of brothers Rocky and Ross Lynch, is making a stop at the Andrew J Brady Music Center on their “Obsession Tour” this month, bringing their groovy sound and thrilling performance style along
Fast forward to 2025 and The Driver Era’s upcoming album, Obsession, is set to be released on April 11. Four singles have been released from the album, including the punchy-yet-sensual “Touch” and the funk-filled track “Don’t Walk Away,” providing some insight into the tone of the album. A captivating and genre-bending project, the album touches on topics like love and longing while being backed by moody synths and dance-inducing melodies that lay the foundation for The Driver Era’s high-energy and infectious live performances.
The Driver Era plays the Andrew J Brady Music Center at 8 p.m. on March 16. More info: bradymusiccenter.com. (Alanna Marshall)
THE DOLLYROTS
March 19 • Southgate House Revival Husband and wife Luis Cabezas and Kelly Ogden have made their mark on the punk rock genre throughout the past 20 years as The Dollyrots. Combining classic pop-punk music with candycoated and humorous dispositions in their lyrics and transforming their careers into a family affair is what sets this band apart from the rest.
as a duo called The Dollyrots. Their debut studio album, Eat My Heart Out, was initially self-recorded and released before its wide release with Panic Button (under Lookout! Records) in July 2004. Three years later, they released their Because I’m Awesome album under Blackheart Records. This led to one of the band’s biggest hit songs, “Because I’m Awesome,” which ended up being featured in many shows and movies, including the ABC Family TV show Greek, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 and the Bring It On: Fight to the Finish movie trailer.
for the ride.
The two are no strangers to the music industry, as they started out in R5, a pop-rock band that consisted of two additional members of the Lynch family, Riker and Rydel, and their family friend, Ellington Ratliff. Formed in 2009, R5 released the albums Louder and Sometime Last Night, which featured some of the band’s most popular releases, including “(I Can’t) Forget About You” and “All Night.” In 2018, Rocky and Ross decided to form The Driver Era, as the rest of the band went on to pursue careers outside of the music industry.
With the transition from R5 to The Driver Era came more of an alternative and electronic sound, which clearly resonated with fans of the duo. Their debut album, X, featured their first hit single, “Preacher Man,” which became a fan favorite and debuted at no. 15 on Billboard’s Alternative Digital Song Sales chart in 2019.
Their next two albums, Girlfriend and Summer Mixtape, were released in 2021 and 2022 and showcased the many different influences that the duo has drawn their sound and style from, ranging from Calvin Harris to Pharrell Williams to Prince. The duo also released Live at the Greek in December 2023, a collection of recorded live performances from their sold-out show at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles in June 2023.
The duo met in middle school when Cabezas taught Ogden how to play guitar, and they started playing music together before moving from Florida to California after college. Starting out as a four-person band called No Chef with friends Josh Harrold and Mike Benbow, the two decided to go full-time in 2000
Night Owls, The Dollyrots’ most recent album, was released in October 2023 and features 13 tracks coated in the band’s trademarked sound. The duo prides themselves on their nonstop touring capabilities, performing over two thousand concerts throughout their careers. Bringing along their two kids, River and Daisy, for the ride, and even having them join the duo on stage at concerts, The Dollyrots have found a way to turn tour life into a family vacation (which they actually did with the release of their 2016 live album, Family Vacation: Live in the Los Angeles). Eight albums and over 20 years later, The Dollyrots have accumulated a dedicated fan base, as well as dedicated themselves to their own family that has grown as they’ve gone throughout their careers as musicians.
The Dollyrots play the Southgate House Revival (The Sanctuary) at 7:30 p.m. on March 19. More info: southgatehouse.com. (AM)
The Dollyrots
PHOTO: JEN ROSENSTEIN
The Driver Era
PHOTO: PROVIDED BY TOTAL ASSAULT
NO LOOSE ENDS
BY BRENDAN EMMETT QUIGLEY WWW.BRENDANEMMETTQUIGLEY.COM
name with a drink
1. Like the polar opposite of this clue
5. Jazzy style
10. ___-Hulk (Jennifer Walters’s alter ego)
13. Plow
25. Waters of “Drunk History” 26. Peace-and-love type
27. Russian man’s name that means “the Lord is my God”
28. One after the other?
31. Computer program that shares its
33. Situation where the comments far outnumber the likes on socials
35. “Cutting it fine, huh?”
36. Kind of account
37. College basketball channel
38. Follow closely
39. Flush, e.g.
40. Utensil used for making applesauce
41. Jungfrau’s home
42. Peacock’s parent company
43. Lady doc, informally
44. ___ mater
46. Draw forth
48. Actor who removed Donald Trump from the Screen Actors Guild
51. “Silicon Valley” star ___ Nanjiani
53. Kathryn of “Agatha All Along”
54. It’s spotted in casinos
55. Level
56. “You beat me”
58. Pizzeria stock
59. Length of some fundraiser runs
60. Montana, famously
61. “I’m working ___!”
62. Granola morsel
63. Birds that fly in a V-formation
64. Prima donna’s have big ones
Down
1. Industrial arts?
2. Words to live by
3. Bit of personal growth
4. Boom sticks?
5. Collection at some liquor stores
6. Opposite camp
7. Some wagers
8. Crew member
9. Empty billboard’s come-on
10. Successfully complete a task, and a hint to the endings of the other theme answers
11. “Only Murders In the Building” streamer
12. Slow-churned ice cream brand
15. Fit to be tied
20. Off-roader’s wheels, for short
22. Financial planner’s suggestion
24. Explorer Amundsen
25. Nose tackle’s squad
27. One setting up firewalls
29. Cry
30. Birds with asymmetrical ears
31. Legend of the music biz
32. Kaffiyeh wearer
34. Teamed up
35. Collision sounds
43. Pictorial PC display
45. Office computer system
47. Like good weed or sick memes
48. Lightens the load
49. Letters sung after many a farm animal
50. Stops playing
51. Caveman diet alternative
52. Iris’s place
53. Sharpen up
57. Slab of baloney
58. Supposed inventor of detective fiction
LAST PUZZLE’S ANSWERS:
