Roy Berko - Page 36

A touring company of the multi-award winning musical 'CHICAGO,' is now appearing at the Palace Theatre in PlayhouseSquare.

It is the purpose of THE CLEVELAND CRITICS CIRCLE AWARDS to recognize outstanding Cleveland area productions, performers, directors and designers who contributed to the professional theatre scene during the 2013 season. For a listing of the theatres considered for 'Best of' and 'Superior Achievement' awards, go to: clevelandtheaterreviews.com

Greater Cleveland is blessed with a vital theatre scene. It is the purpose of the TIMES THEATRE TRIBUTES to recognize theatrical experiences that, in the view of this reviewer, were excellent and deserve recognition.

GODSPELL is one of the biggest musical theatrical successes of all-time. Based on the 'Gospel According to St. Matthew,' the musical tells the story of the last seven days of Christ's life. The parables have been contemporized, and Christ's followers are free spirits who sing the likes of 'Day By Day', 'All Good Gifts', and 'Turn Back, O Man.

She's Back!

Dan LeFranc's THE BIG MEAL is a ninety-minute comedy-drama about life, death, meeting, dating, marriage, child-rearing, the importance of casual comments and interactions, and the quickness of existence.

How good is the production of WICKED which is now appearing at the State Theatre? In 2009 when I took my then 14-year old grandson, known as the Kid Reviewer because I take him along to give the teen/tween view of shows, he gave it a 9.5 out of 10 on his 'rate the play scale.' Why only a 9.5? He said he's reserving the 10 for the most unbelievable show he's ever seen. But, he indicated 'WICKED' was GREAT!' Why? 'It had everything. Great story, outstanding production qualities...sets, costumes, lights, special effects. The music and the performances were awesome.' His advice: 'Go see this show! It's appropriate for kids and their parents.'

A CHRISTMAS STORY holds a special place in the hearts of many Clevelanders. The present staging, under the direction of John McCluggage, while engaging, misses out on some of the farcical and endearing dynamics needed to make this a totally wonderful holiday present. It's not bad, just not everything that it could be or has been.

2014 Winter/Spring Cleveland Theater Offerings

Sam Shepard, the author of FOOL FOR LOVE, which is now in production at convergence continuum, described the script as 'a very emotional play and in some ways embarrassing for me to witness but somehow necessary at the time.' The time was shortly after breaking up his marriage to be with another woman.

'If you hear a song in blue Like a flower crying for the dew That was my heart serenading you My prelude to a kiss'

About half an hour before the start of ONCE, the touring version of the musical which is now appearing at the Palace, the audience is invited on stage for beer, music and dancing. It turns out to be a big Irish jam session. An intermission hoe-down is also included in the staging. Come early. Join in. Have fun!

A psychiatrist, who is credited with naming the act of sadomasochism, stated, 'I feel justified in calling this sexual anomaly 'Masochism,' because the author Sacher-Masoch frequently made this perversion, which up to his time was quite unknown to the scientific world as such, the substratum of his writing.' Yes, this is the same Leopold Sacher-Masoch who is the author of VENUS IN FURS, which is the subject of David Ives VENUS IN FUR, now in production at the Cleveland Play House.

Lincoln Center is the largest contiguous performing arts center in the United States. Included in the complex are concert, dance, education, commercial and theatre spaces. The newest venue is the Claire Tow Theatre, a two-story, 23,000 square-foot space built on the roof of the Vivian Beaumont Theatre. The space includes the theatre, rehearsal and office space, and a lobby that opens onto an outdoor terrace surrounded by a new green roof with views of the rejuvenated Lincoln Center Plaza.

Theater Ninja is a nomadic theatre company which has no permanent home and appears in store fronts, art spaces, and churches. It was founded in 2006 with the goal of developing innovative, nontraditional theatrical experiences. As founder Jeremy Paul explains, 'We are a risk-taking company.'

On October 10, at the Dramatists Guild Fund annual gala at the Edison Ballroom in New York, Cleveland's Roe Green, Founder and President was honored for her patronage of the arts. The event was hosted by television and Broadway actor Michael Urie, and featured such legendary theatre elite as Stephen Schwartz, Ben Vereen, Bernadette Peters and Stephen Sondheim.

COCK, Mike Bartlett's compelling script, under the meticulous and creative direction of Corey Atkins, and some of the very best acting seen on a local stage, is an absolutely must see production. It's an A+ experience.

The Case Western Reserve/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program's class of 2014 has some excellent actors who should do well in their professional pursuits. Their production of TWELFTH NIGHT has some performance highlights, but the students appear to have been done a disservice by what could be declared a misdirected version of TWELFTH NIGHT. Maybe they can use the experience to learn the necessity of consistency of intent and directing execution.

As audience members smilingly walked out of Blank Canvas's THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MUSICAL! covered with spatterings of stage blood, I could only think that something appears to have gone off-course in Cleveland theatre. On stage at local venues are the blood revenge musical, SWEENEY TODD, as well as the story of the maniacal murderous RICHARD III. Then there is the burning up of a boy and the live burial of his mother in LILIES at convergence continuum. Now, I had just seen a psycho killer who uses a chainsaw, knives, hammers and baseball bats to bludgeon his victims. Victims who sing gleefully about their demise.

French Canadian playwright Michel Marc Bouchard's LILIES, with the subtitle 'the Revival of a Romantic Drama,' is a moralistic melodrama which is now in production at convergence-continuum. The author's best known work, it was recognized in 1992 as the best Canadian play. It was transformed into the movie LILIES, which won the Genie (the equivalent of the American Oscar) for the best film of 1996.