Roy Berko - Page 43

Several weeks ago a study listed George W. Bush among the worst presidents of the United States. Also on that list was Andrew Jackson. However, in contrast to Bush, Jackson was also on the roll of the best presidents. That dichotomy is well noted in BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON, now rocking the Studio Theatre at The Beck Center for the Arts.

Cleveland Public Theatre's mission is to raise consciousness and nurture compassion through ground breaking new, adventurous work. Under the guidance of Artistic Director Raymond Bobgan, the theatre challenges audiences mainly strong works. Included in the winners have been this season's ANTELBELLUM, and past offerings such as DARWINNI, THE COMUPPANCE OF MAN, BLUE SKY TRANSMISSION: A TIBETAN BOOK OF THE DEAD, and INSOMNIA THE WAKING OF HERSELVES. Some other offerings have confounded more than excited.

Every once in a while it's nice to go to a theatre, relax, hear some pleasant music, enjoy stories of love and life, and smile. That's the situation at Actor's Summit with their present offering, I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE.

Last year Ensemble Theatre produced playwright Rajiv Joseph's HUCK AND HOLDEN. It was filled with humor and creative storytelling. Those attending Ensemble's newest venture into Joseph's work, GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES, will experience the same type of storytelling, but will probably find the production less satisfying.

GOD OF CARNAGE is a well written comedy that evokes constant laughter. It gets a top-notch production at Dobama. If you want an evening of totally delightful entertainment, to experience rationality being replaced by riot, this is a must go-see!

On Saturday, April 14 the lights went up on a new small entertainment stage in Cleveland area. The space, upstairs of the Cleveland Public Theatre, is the home of UP Cabaret, the brain child of Paul Hoffman.

In IPHEGENIA IN AULIST, which was written by Euripides, the classic ancient Greek writer of tragedy, Agamemnon, the leader of the Greek coalition is about to enter into a battle during the Trojan War. In order to appease the goddess Artemis, and encourage his troops to go into the battle in honor, he sacrifices his daughter, Iphigenia. Euripides uses tragic irony, a writing device in which the audience knows the tragic hero is making a mistake, even as the character is making it, to envelop the viewers in the action. We know he is making a mistake but are powerless to stop him.

ANYTHING GOES, which received the 2011 Tony Award for a winning revival, will start its national tour on October 2 after a four-week rehearsal period in Cleveland. The Cole Porter 1934 musical will be staged by director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall.

"Lizzie Borden took an ax, gave her mother forty whacks, when she saw what she had done, gave her father forty-one." That line from a caustic poem not only attempted to describe the 1892 murder of Borden's parents, but became a limerick used gleefully by girls for jumping rope.

If you've ever gone into an art gallery and seen a canvas with a large square within another square on a solid background, or a strip of color vertically slicing through a sea of solid color, you've been exposed to what may be classified as a painting of the anti-figurative aesthetic segment of the Abstract Expressionism movement. One of the most important painters of that school of art was Mark Rothko.

There is a new theatre in town…Blank Canvas. Founder Patrick Ciamacco explains that this is a professional theatre which pays designers and actors for their services. He states that the organization's staff is "dedicated to providing a positive working environment and want to show loyalty and investment in actors."

POOR LITTLE LULU, Matthew Earnest's play, which is getting its world premiere at Cleveland Public Theatre where it is being produced in association with The Lunar Stratagem, is a classic Theatre of the Absurd creation. The absurd movement, which was at its high during the turbulent mid-to-late twentieth century, centered on the existential question, "why do we exist?" Plays by Edward Albee and Eugene Ionesco put individuals in absurd situations, where the ridiculousness and horrors of life, and of the decisions made, were paramount.

During the pre-talk of the opening night production of THE MOUSETRAP, William Fee, Great Lakes Theatre's Producing Artistic Director, shared that when the company was designing the 2011-2012 season, they wanted to add a different dimension to their offerings. The show selected had to take a diverse approach to the usual offerings, but retain the theatre's classic tradition.

In 1939, Hattie McDaniel was the first African-American to win an Oscar for her portrayal of Mammy in GONE WITH THE WIND. She was also the first African American to be an invited guest to attend the Oscars. Ironically, she was required to sit alone at the back of the Cocoanut Grove, the site of the award ceremonies, a far distance from the white performers in the movie.

When Martin Friedman, Artistic Director of The Lakeland Civic Theatre, announced he was staging Stephen Sondheim's ANYONE CAN WHISTLE, there were some raised eyebrows in the theatre community. Friedman is a Sondheimophile. He knows the master's works well. Why would he even adventure into Whistle land, which is fraught with land mines?

At the start of the Karamu production of THE BLUEST EYE we hear the voice of Shirley Temple singing. Yes, Shirley Temple, the cute Caucasian child movie star with the curly blond hair and bright blue eyes. That song harbors what is to come.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: SPRING AWAKENING is an emotionally stirring, relevant, and well staged production. This is not a should see, it's a must see presentation. Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!

CAPSULE JUDGMENT: IN ARABIA WE'D ALL BE KINGS gets an impressive production and is a perfect vehicle to open CPH's new Lab Theatre. Due to its language and subject matter, it's not a play for everyone, but those interested in having an up-front emotionally involving theatrical theatre experience, should definitely see this production.