Roy Berko - Page 22

Conor McPherson, author of THE NIGHT ALIVE, now on stage at Dobama Theatre, is considered one of the important new breed of playwrights who delve into the lives of people. In this case, Irish people, usually Irish men. He has an eye for loneliness and despair. His plays often are 'meditations on regret, guilt and confusion.'

Much like Lewis Carroll's ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND and L. Frank Baum's THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF OZ, Norton Juster's THE PHANTOM TOLL BOOTH is a fantasy adventure. All three are perceived as tales for children, but, in reality, though they are intended to teach youngsters, the messages are often so complex that they go over the heads of their intended audience.

A present trend in entertainment is story telling before an audience. 'The Moth: True Stories Told Live,' is one of Public Radio's highest rated offerings. The publicity for the show states, 'The Moth is deeply rooted in the desire [of humans] to connect with each other through shared experiences in stories.' ccording to its blog site, though there are many opportunities nation-wide to experience first-hand 'The Moth' readings, none are being staged in the Cleveland area.

Greater Cleveland is blessed with a vital theater scene. It has been the purpose of the TIMES THEATER TRIBUTES, now known as BROADWAY WORLD-CLEVELAND REGIONAL PROFESSIONAL THEATER TRIBUTES (BWW-Cle Theater Tributes), to recognize theatrical experiences that, in the subjective view of this reviewer, were excellent and deserve recognition.

Contemporary musical theater and jazz, are two major contributions to the arts of the world that have come from the United States. Originally filled with escapist reviews and song and dance shows, with no story or purpose other than to entertain, the American musical has evolved into a format to tell tales of importance (HAMILTON), highlight sociological and societal changes (HAIR) and make pleas for understanding (RENT).

This country is in political and social turmoil. There is a President-elect who appears will win the Electoral College endorsement, while losing the election by a reported 2-million plus votes. There is a rise of xenophobia, the Alt-right, the presence of hate groups, possible destruction of the health care system, while the liberal-left pleads for protection against sexual imposition, women and gay rights, and clean air.

Cabaret. It's 1931 in Germany, a country of unrest. We find ourselves at the Kit Kat Klub, a seedy cabaret, a place of decadence and emotional abandonment. Hanging over the entire scene is the aura of the growth of the Nazi party and the impending reign of terror.

Cleveland Music Theatre (CMT), the brainchild of native Clevelanders Miles Sternfeld and Sean Patrick, was created to provide Northeast Ohio with high quality, engaging, locally produced musical theater by uniting Cleveland's most talented artists with Broadway/national talent, while creating educational opportunities for rising professional actors.

One of the difficulties of doing the Disney Theatrical, The Little Mermaid, is how to do the underwater scenes. Yes, much of the story of Ariel, the daughter of King Triton, the master of the sea, in her search for 'a world in which I feel truly realized in my own terms,' takes place, as the songs states, 'Under the Sea,' in contrast to 'The World Above.'

When the Cleveland Ballet left this area for San Jose, California, in 2000, it is rumored that the organization was over one-million dollars in debt. Lots of fingers were pointed as to why the deficit existed, but one thing is for sure, there will always be, it the minds of those who saw it, one lasting legacy of Dennis Nahat and his reign as the company's Artistic Director. From its 1979 debut, when it sold out every night of its two-week run, until its escape to the west coast, Nahat's THE NUTCRACKER reigned supreme.

Here's a list of some of the offerings of local theatres through the winter and spring seasons (January-May). SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL THEATRES!

Henry David Thoreau was a rebel. A rebel with many causes. He opposed taxation, contested war on foreign soils, was a strong advocate for the abolition of slavery, refused to pay fees for things that he thought were earned and therefore should not cost money (e.g., as a Harvard graduate he rejected paying the dollar required for getting his official graduation certificate). He believed in the interdependence of man and nature, independent thinking, education through discovery, and he rebuffed organized religion.

JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical, had an unusual path to being one of the oft-produced musicals of all time. It has been estimated that world-wide, over 20,000 school, community and professional theatres have produced the work.

Several weeks ago, in my review of Baldwin Wallace University's production of WEST SIDE STORY I stated, 'BWU's Music Theater program is nationally recognized for its quality, as evidenced by the number of its graduates who have light up the Broadway theater scene and touring productions. Of those in the WEST SIDE STORY cast I stated: 'Broadway bound? Colton Ryan, though not the tall macho leading man type, should find a place on the Great White Way in roles for the young, clean scrubbed type who have big voices.'

A near sold-out audience rose as one following the BODYTRAFFIC dance concert at the Ohio Theatre. They had witnessed a variety of creative, well-executed, serendipitous dance numbers.

WEST SIDE STORY, the Jerome Robbins (concept development), Leonard Bernstein (Music), Arthur Laurents (book), and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics), had an interesting road from idea to Broadway production to revivals. The script is now in production by the Baldwin Wallace Department of Theatre and Dance and the Conservatory of Music's Musical Theatre Program.

Bill Rudman, Artistic Director of the Musical Theater Project who hosts the radio show 'Footlight Parade' and often co-hosts the MTP live performances, has had an interest in musical theater since he was five and his parents let him stay up late to watch Mary Martin in Peter Pan on television. As Rudman said in a recent interview, 'That did it!'

As the lights come up on Joel Drake Johnson's RASHEEDA SPEAKING at Karamu, a shadow of a woman can be seen through the textured door window of a doctor's office.

Ulysses, a former college professor and well-published poet, has been living off the grid for over twenty years. His wife and son assumed he was dead.

Peter Pan has had quite a life. Since his conception by J. M. Barrie, the boy who refused to grow up has been associated with books, plays, films, costumes, art work, a television series, and music, as well as having his name given to a race horse, a food product, a bus line, an emergency health rescue service, a psychological syndrome, and a rock band.