At the end of the season, we'll still be talking about the bold ideas and big emotions, compelling performances and memorable designs of Ah, Wilderness!, continuing through Oct. 4 at Playhouse in the Park (421-3888); The Guys, continuing through Sept. 29 at Ensemble (421-3555); and Romeo & Juliet at Cincinnati Shakespeare, through Oct. 13(381-2273).

        Take your entire family, not just to enjoy but to expand the way you think about the world we live in and to embrace both community and humanity. (If you sign your kids up for Enjoy the Arts, they can take you.)

        In generations past, we supported arts as a matter of course. It's not an “of course” anymore.

        Surveys and polls invariably find people agreeing that it's “important” to have arts in a community.

        Today it's more important than ever, as many metro areas have discovered that arts and entertainment are what keep city centers alive at night. In Cincinnati, where the under-35 population has dropped 20 percent since the last U.S. Census, keeping the arts and entertainment scene healthy isn't merely important, it's critical.

        Already the arts are giving ground. Hopes for the Emery Theater look all but DOA, as, early this summer, Emery Center Corp. “mothballed” its fund-raising efforts for the indeterminate future.

        A midsize theater would have played a vital role in attracting the shows that are a magnet for Gen X and Y and upscale audiences. The Emery (at the corner of Walnut Street and Central Parkway) would also have been an invaluable anchor to the city's Over-the-Rhine Master Plan.

        The arts are one of our city's great strengths, but they aren't strong without us.

        Now more than ever we have to invest in our arts. That doesn't mean writing a big check. It means being there.

        Like the rest of us, in 2002-03, the performing arts are facing a tough economy. The difference between success and failure may come down to all the people who thought “I meant to see that” and never quite got around to it.

        Help our arts survive and thrive. You'll have fun doing it — just make the commitment to go to the theater (or concert hall or gallery). Try everything that sounds interesting. An open mind and heart will assure that you'll have a good time.

        Take along some friends so you can talk about it afterward. Call me and tell me what you thought.

        See you at the theater.

        Work in progress: Samm-Art Williams is a happy man.

        Mr. Williams, whose credits include Home and The First Breeze of Summer on Broadway and TV series including Martin, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Cagney and Lacey and many more, opens Ensemble Theatre's Theatre of the Mind staged reading series at 7 p.m. Monday with Conversations on a Dirt Road.

        Conversations is about two brothers wrangling over the sale of the family's country store in a small North Carolina town (Burgaw). Mr. Williams freely admits he's drawing from life.

        He grew up in a small North Carolina town in the days when a Saturday night's entertainment “was sittin' around tellin' lies. Farmers would come down in their best bib overalls — with neckties! Telling the biggest lie was like being Shaq!

        “But if you listened hard enough, there was a lot of wisdom. I feel nostalgic about those days.”

        Conversations had a production in St. Louis a few years back, but Mr. Williams felt there was more work to be done, primarily trimming. He was delighted to be in residence at Ensemble all last week “hearing a reading, then writing, then hearing it read, then writing — it's a wonderful process.”

        Mr. Williams has two rules in his writing. “There's always a mention of God and there are always happy endings.”

        This season, Theatre of the Mind will become an incubator for new work and to test plays ETC is considering for production.

        Mr. Williams laughs that he would love for ETC producing artistic director Lynn Meyers to say that Conversations has a slot in the 2003-04 season, “but even if it's never done again in my life, I'm getting a lot of gratification. I know this is my chance to find the best of this play. I am happy!”

        Tickets $5.ETC box office: 421-3555.

        Set your alarm clock: The Lion King already rules Cincinnati's box office jungle. With the blockbuster anchoring the season, Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Cincinnati breezed past the 24,000 subscriber mark this weekend, obliterating the existing record of 22,476, which goes all the way back to the first season at the Aronoff Center. (By last season, the touring series had dropped to 18,940.)

        Individual tickets go on sale at 6 a.m. Sept. 28 at the Aronoff Center box office only. Tickets go on sale by phone and on-line starting at 9 a.m. and, if Cincinnati is anything like every other city The Lion King has prowled into, first days sales will be stratospheric. (Think $1 million.)

        To entice folks downtown, the first 100 people in line will get original cast CDs, Broadway in Cincinnati staff will be handing out T-shirts while they last. “Light” breakfast will be provided, as will the morning paper.

        Best strategy for best ticket selection: avoid the first two weeks of the engagement, which is when those 24,000 (and counting) subscribers are going.

        If you haven't already, you might want to pick up tickets to The Producers at the same time.

        Broadway in Cincinnati spokeswoman Nancy Parrott says she expects the three-week run, opening Oct. 22, to be sold out before it opens.

        Casting news: It's a casting coup for Ensemble, which has signed Enquirer Theatre Award winners Bruce Cromer (outstanding lead actor) and Dale Hodges (outstanding supporting actress) for its double bill Underneath the Lintel and Bed Among the Lentils.

        Both are solo pieces. Mr. Cromer stars in Lintel, Ms. Hodges in Lentil.

        Playhouse associate artistic director Michael Haney directs. Lintel/Lentil opens Oct. 9. Call 421-3555.

        Irish eyes: O'Connel Street in Dublin has a famous statue, “The Dying Cuchulain,” that commemorates the 1916 Rebellion.

        The story will be performed by Frances Quinn in Cuchulain at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Jack Quinn's (112 E. Fourth St., Covington.) For information call the Irish American Cultural Institute (Cincinnati chapter) at 553-0964.

        One-acts: Make it a week of Irish drama. New Gate Celtic Theatre will perform a pair of one-acts at the Cincinnati Celtic Music and Cultural Festival next weekend. Richard Harrity's comedy Gone Tomorrow will be paired with W.B. Yeats' Cathleen Ni' Houlihan.

        The one-acts will be performed on the hour (alternating) from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Performances are free with festival admission.

        Shakespeare alum: If you're missing Giles Davies, longtime mainstay at Cincinnati Shakespeare, fans can catch him on screen in Homefree. Greg Newberry's short film will be part of Cool on Calhoun, opening event of Enjoy the Arts' 20/20 Festival at Old St. George.

        Shakespeare alum Sylvester Little Jr. is also featured. Mr. Newberry is very pleased with the way Homefree turned out “considering it was made for under $500.”

        Fresh back from The Palm Springs International Festival of Short Film, Mr. Newberry reports, “It was an amazing festival. Attendance was 7,000 people. There were nearly 500 people at Homefree's screening. Both the film and Giles were very well received.”

        Contemporary ensemble: Annie Fitzpatrick, longtime favorite on the Ensemble stage and Ed Vaughan, who delighted audiences in his first Cincinnati appearance last spring when he co-starred with her in Women Who Steal, are sharing a stage again. They are part of the ensemble of The Laramie Project at Contemporary American Theatre Company (CATCO) in Columbus.

        Ambassador Awards: Fitton Center for Creative Arts presents its annual Ambassador Awards on Wednesday in Hamilton.

        Award winners, chosen by a panel of 30 judges, include:

        Ben Schneider, Outstanding Young Artist; nationally and internationally acclaimed quilter Carolyn Mazloomi, Outstanding Artist; the City of Fairfield, Outstanding Organization for making a substantial impact on the cultural development of the area;

        Chris Tanner, Arts Education, for his Steel Band residency program at West Elementary School in Fairfield and as founder of the Steel Band and African Drum and Dance Ensemble at Miami University and a world percussion concert series presented throughout Butler County; Harry Wilks, founder of Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park;

        Mary Lord, Arts Volunteer for almost 20 years with Sorg Opera in Middletown, including getting the doors re-opened; Hamilton Scrap Processors, Business Support of the Arts, for providing studio space for the City of Hamilton's first artist-in-residence program; Sister Mary Barga, Arts Outreach, in particular for her work with senior citizens in Hamilton and Fairfield.

        E-mail jdemaline@enquirer.com

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