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BWW Review: Plot twisting WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION Compels at Great Lakes Theater
Agatha Christie, the 'Queen of Crime,' was a British writer of murder mysteries, noted for creating plays, books and short stories. They not only contained intriguing plot twists, which centered on scandalous murders, elaborate twists and turns, but revealed basic 'truths' that are not what they see...
BWW Review: Seeing BW/Beck's wonderful ONCE once, is not enough
'On Stage' recently announced that Baldwin Wallace University's Music Theatre program has risen to number one calling it 'a top destination for any student wanting to study musical theatre.'...
BWW Review: Reimagined MISS SAIGON Gets Standing “O” At The Connor Palace, But...
Before you ask, 'Yes, a helicopter lands on stage in the touring production of 'Miss Saigon,' now on stage at the KeyBank State Theatre, but, as with the production itself there is a 'but . . .'....
BWW Review: RAISIN IN THE SUN at Ensemble Theatre
It is entirely appropriate that the songs of Nina Simone were heard before, during intermissions and following the Ensemble production of Lorraine Hansberry's 'A Raisin in the Sun.' Simone, an activist and singer, was strongly influenced by Hansberry, who was the first female African-American playwr...
BWW Review: THE IMPACT OF SHUFFLE ALONG at The Musical Theater Project And Karamu
Musical theater and Broadway have been changed by some specific shows. Included are 'Oklahoma!,' the first book musical, 'Hair,' and its strong political/anti-war presence, 'Chorus Line,' with its emphasis on dance, and 'Rent' and its millennium theme. Another show, which tends not to be as commonly...
BWW Review: Touring CINDERELLA Charms and Delights with its Modern Political Messages
Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II, the fathers of the modern American musical, were advocates of social responsibility. In OKLAHOMA, they stressed the building of community. In SOUTH PACIFIC they pegged prejudice. In THE KING AND I, the duo examined intercultural understandings....
BWW Review: SPAMILTON: AN AMERICAN PARODY at Hanna, A Theatre-Goers Delight, Right!
It won Best Unique Theatrical Experience and 2017 MAC Award Show of the Year. 'Hamilton?' No, 'Spamilton: An American Parody,' which is now starting its North American tour at the Hanna Theatre in CLE's Playhouse Square....
BWW Review: BWW-CLE Professional Theater Tributes--2018
Greater Cleveland is blessed with a vital theater scene. It the purpose of BROADWAY WORLD.COM-PROFESSIONAL CLEVELAND THEATER TRIBUTES (BWW-CLE Theater Tributes), to recognize theatrical experiences that, in the subjective view of this reviewer deserve special recognition....
BWW Review: LIBERACE, well, facsimile, thereof, coming to Cleveland's Theatre in the Circle
David Maiocco is noted as being a tour-de force solo-performer, who is presently making a career of portraying 'Mr. Showmanship,' the uniquely American icon, Liberace....
BWW Review: Choreography the Highlight of less-than-well-conceived SHREK at Beck
Jeanine Tesori (music) and David Lindsay-Abaire (books and lyrics) developed the creative musical 'Shrek' from DreamWorks Animation's film and William Steig's book of the same name....
BWW Review: “Special” AVENUE Q at Blank Canvas
It has been said that dying is easy, farce is hard to do! And, 'Avenue Q,' the delightful, satirical, coming of age parable by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, is farce at its highest level....
BWW Review: AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS at Shahrazed Theatre/Ensemble Theatre
Shahrazad Theatre Company was formed late in 2016 with 'the purpose of performing shows that were important and valuable contributions to today's Cleveland theatre scene.'...
BWW Review: Relevant RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN Intrigues at Convergence Continuum
The anti-sexual assault and women's empowerment movements #MeToo and Time's Up have brought new relevance to the public conversation about women's issues surrounding the obstacles women encounter in their personal and professional lives....
BWW Review: Fosse Influences Almost Saves Touring 'CHICAGO' at the Connor Palace
As the red-jacket usher guided us to our seats before the opening curtain of 'Chicago' at the Connor Palace she said, 'I love musical theater, especially if the show has a Fosse influence.'...
BWW Review: BOOGIEBAN, Compelling, Emotionally Gripping World Premiere at None-Too-Fragile
According to the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study, 'roughly 11 percent of veterans who served in Vietnam, approximately 271,000 veterans of the war, continue to suffer from clinically PTSD symptoms.'...
BWW Review: JUST FOR LAUGHS COMEDY SONGS FROM MUSICALS at The Musical Theater Project
What do 'Avenue Q,' 'Spamalot,' 'Something Rotten' and 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum?' have in common? They are all American Musical Theater comedies, meant to entertain and evoke laughter....
BWW Review: Karamu's DAY OF ABSENCE Loses its Message due to Misdirection
As Douglas Turner Ward, the author of 'Day of Absence,' explains it, 'The time is now. The play opens in an unnamed Southern town of medium population on a somnolent cracker morning - meaning no matter the early temperature, it's gonna get hot. The hamlet is just beginning to rouse itself from the s...
BWW Review: Creative staging, quality singing featured in Kent's CHILDREN OF EDEN
When one thinks of Stephen Schwartz, the lyricist and composer of theater titles 'Godspell,' 'Pippin,' and 'Wicked,' or the films 'Pocahontas,' 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame,' and 'Enchanted' come to mind. How about 'Children of Eden'? Probably not....
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