Roy Berko - Page 11

'Wakey, Wakey' leaves audience emotionally drained at Dobama.

Sara Bruner has proven once again that she is the queen of Shakespeare staging. As she did last season with her 'The Taming of the Shrew,' her women-centric version of 'Julius Caesar,' which is now on stage at Great Lakes Theater, is creative, well-formulated and long on clear message development.

The play 'Member of the Wedding' is based on Carson McCullers 1946 novel of the same name. The author also penned the script for the 1950 Broadway stage production which starred Ethel Waters, Julie Harris and Brandon DeWilde.

We are in the midst of 'The Music Man' blizzard. In the last year, Porthouse Theatre and The Shaw Festival have done the show, and a Broadway production starring Hugh Jackman as Harold Hill, will begin performances on October 15, 2020. Two-time Tony Award-winning superstar, Sutton Foster, will co-star as Marian the librarian. The production will be directed by four-time Tony Award winner, Jerry Zaks, with choreography by Tony Award winner Warren Carlyle.

On October 12 at 8PM in the Ohio Theatre and October 13 at 3 PM at Fairmount Temple, The Musical Theater Project (TMTP) will present 'BLUE SKIES-IRVING BERLIN AND THE AMERICAN DREAM' with Bill Rudman, Paul Ferguson, Trev Offult and Michael Shirtz, the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra and Joe Hunter Trio. It is a tribute to Irving Berlin.

As the lights come up on the Tony Winning Cleveland Play House's opening production of its 104thseason, it's 1942 and the Oberon Play House (a stand-in name for CPH), is about to open its season. There is a major problem, however. The plays scheduled are all Shakespeare, the company's males are all off fighting in World War II, and the director is in the service of his country.

The lights dim. Joseph Lyle Dunn, who we later learn is portraying Conrad, the play's protagonist, comes stage center and says, 'The play will begin when someone says: 'Start the fucking play.'' As if on cue, a member of the audience yells, 'Start the fucking play,' and it does!

How many times can you see 'Book of Mormon' and continue to be delighted? I'm at #8 and counting! Yes, the Huntington Bank Series touring production of the irreverent look at religion, racism, Mormon up-tight piety and all things ridiculous, is back again, and, if you can believe it, better than ever.

What happens when you meld together performers from the 'top destination for any student who wants to study musical theatre,' one of the leading orchestras in the world, and a recognized classic of the American theater lexicon? You get a production starring past and present Baldwin Wallace University's Music Theatre program (supplemented by a few guests), the Cleveland Orchestra (under the baton of Andy Einhorn), and 'South Pacific' by Rogers and Hammerstein.

Kenneth Lonergan is noted for writing about decent people who are unexpectedly challenged by issues of ethics. In his 'Lobby Hero,' now on stage at Blank Canvas, the 2016 Oscar winner for 'Manchester by the Sea' specifically asks, 'What happens when emotions come in conflict with principles.'

There is an old adage in the theater that an audience should not leave a musical theater production whistling sets and costumes. In other words, it should be the music and story-line that are most important.

Meredith Wilson's 'The Music Man' is one of American musical theatre's most produced shows. Professional, community and educational theatres stage the show on a regular basis. The songfest, which is as American as apple pie and a Fourth of July fireworks display, is now on stage at Porthouse Theatre.

Most musicals follow the tried and true pattern of being written in a format that it is expected to be examined and redone through a series of readings, rewrites, staged readings, rewrites, previews, more rewrites, and, if lucky, a full-staged production. As the process continues the script and score are improved to attempt to ensure that they are well-integrated.