Mariemont Players

Walton Creek Theatre is a place you’d never find, much less see, unless you were already going to a show at the Walton Creek Theatre.
Tucked away on Walton Creek Road, in the middle of tucked away Mariemont, this place is home to the Mariemont Players, a community theatre troupe who puts on about five or six different plays a year.
The theatre is a beautiful old brick building that was clearly designed at another time. It’s almost entirely vertical — meaning you enter at the lobby, and you go up stairs to get to the stage and downstairs to get to the bathroom. Nothing is really on the floor you’re on.
The stage is in a small room, with layered levels of seats. That was a neat touch. Most community theatres just set up rows of chairs and if you’re in the back, it’s hard to see. Not here, these were set up like a movie theatre, so wherever you are, you got a view of the show.
Lighting good, sound good, and the play was enjoyable to watch for sure.
They have a concession stand and put out some soda at intermission, where they don’t actually charge anything — just ask for donations for the theatre. I really liked that, and in fact, gave them more than I would have if I was simply buying an overpriced glass of coke. That was a nice community touch.
The theatre seems to only do productions for a … let’s say, older generation. There’s nothing insane here like The Falcon Theatre doing «Evil Dead: The Musical» or «Rocky Horror.» Instead, they do runs of musicals and bio-​plays about famous people from an older time (Mark Twain and Groucho Marx.) That’s not such a bad thing, mind you, it’s just this building is so cool I could see them really hitting a younger audience with a wider variety of shows. Ah well.

I am in love with this Theatre! It gives you that very intimate, absorbed-​into-​the-​show kinda vibe.
The building itself is just cool, and… unique? You honestly wouldn’t think this building is a theatre let alone anything really… I believe it used to be an old school, as the toilets are about a foot off the ground… But it’s very neat. Good luck finding it as well. Even with my gps screaming at me that it was right there, I felt slighty deceived. In fact you’ve probably driven by it and not even noticed it. But fyi, the door is in the back, on the first floor, right off the parking lot.
There’s roughly about 100 seats, set up stadium style on the top floor. If you’re in the front row and can just about stretch your legs out and touch the stage. The lighting is very well done, the sound makes you feel more like you’re right there than you are, and the whole style lets you be completely immersed in whats going on.
The concession stand is also the box office on the first floor. They have soda, coffee, crackers, candy, and other small quick snack foods, for donation. They don’t charge you for them persay which is awesome, and makes me want to give them more than its worth. The restrooms are located in the basement in an incredilby neat arched hallway, that makes you feel like you really are stepping back in another time. Supposedly in the boys bathroom you can see where the cornerstone was painted over and it dates back to the mid 1800’s.
All in all I’m not sure how they could do bigger productions, or at least ones that have more than maybe 4 – 5 people in them, but I’d love to see them do some new big productions there and pack the house every weekend. It really is a great place to check out if you ever get the chance.