CLEVELAND THEATER REVIEWS

Mention the name 'Riverdance' and the general thought of many is Michael Flatley. Yes, Flatley, the Irish dance champion and the theatrical show consisting of mainly Irish music and dance, are synonymous....

The South Side of Chicago is noted for its gritty streets, drug dealers, drive by shootings and pressure for Black men and boys to not only protect their turf, but be 'prideful' and not allow themselves to be slave to the ways of the 'massa' (the white bosses)....

Truth can often be stranger and more compelling than fiction. Such is the case of David (Bruce) Reimer and his identical twin brother, Brian, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada....

In December, 1968, about 50 Lorain County Community College students flew to New York. Some in the clean-scrubbed conservative group, coming from a campus void of political turmoil, had never traveled as far-a-field as downtown Cleveland....

What happens when you present a charming script and add two of Cleveland's most beloved actors? You get five sold out houses and calls with attempted bribes to get in the door....

Verb Ballets chose to highlight two young Black choreographers for its 'Celebrating Black History' recent program at the Breen Center before a near sold-out performance....

Capsule judgment: It may have been a flop on Broadway, but ""Merrily We Roll Along" is a hit at Lakeland Civic Theatre. It's definitely a must see!!!...

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When Sister Rosetta Tharpe's name appeared on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ballot, there were many who thought, Sister who? Little did those not familiar with the history of the genre, know that 'she was wailing on the guitar before Chuck Berry, shouting call and response before Little Richard, an...

Grounded is the kind of script and staging on which Dobama fulfills its goal of presenting the best contemporary plays in a professional production of the high quality....

Lucky you. It is unnecessary to go to New York to see a production of this epic. It is now running at Ensemble Theatre as part of their 'We The People' 2017-2018 season. The first segment, subtitled 'Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches,' is running until January 28. In April, 'Angels ...

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

Yes, Holly (Beth Wood) and Jolly (Liz Conway) are back again. This time in Cleveland Public Theatre's world premiere of' The Loush Sisters Get Hard for the Holidays.'...

'The Chaste Genius and His DeathRay Gun,' now on stage at congruence continuum, tells the tale of an obsessive, germ phobic genius who lived most of his life trying to get financial backing from the likes of JP Morgan, to develop his ideas....

Last year, within a short time after getting off the plane in Havana, it became apparent that the Cuban people adore art, music, bright colors, personal style and family unity. And, after long periods of dictatorships, revolution, communism, deprivation of food and other necessities of life, they ha...

'Urinetown: The Musical' opened on Broadway in 2001, but its path from lyricist Greg Kotis traveling Europe, encountering a pay toilet, getting an idea for a story, joining with Mark Hollman, writing the lyrics together, Hollman writing the music, previewing the show at the New York's Fringe Festiva...

Yes, Beck Center has decided to recycle 'The Little Mermaid,' last year's holiday production so that more children of all ages can follow Ariel, the daughter of King Triton, the master of the sea, in her search for 'a world in which I feel truly realized on my own terms.'...

In October of 1978 Will Eisner published 'A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories.' The fictional tale ushered in a new venue, the graphic novel, using the drawing media to tell tales....

Ensemble Theatre is opening its 28th season, entitled 'We the People,' with O'Neill's 'The Hairy Ape.' The script fits into the theatre's selection of plays that 'celebrates the diversity and dynamics of the population that makes up this 'great nation' while also speaking to the challenges we still ...

Okay, I'm a 'Wicked' junky. I've seen the show five times, including seeing it in its first week of the New York run....

The Holocaust was a horrific series of experiences. As the years go by, and the survivors of the atrocities die off, leaving no one to attest to the actual pain and suffering, those who want to make sure that such experiences do not repeat themselves turn to tangible objects and written accou...

Karamu, the joyful meeting place, is the oldest continually running Black theatre in America. Ensemble, whose purpose is to showcase classical American drama, has some of its history steeped in Karamu....

Have you ever wondered if your life would have played out differently if, at a young age, you had been able to meet 'yourself' a couple of years older, forty years older, and then you as a person near the end of your life? Would the knowledge of the path you would follow, what pitfalls you would enc...

The quality of the music, the staging, the performances and the story line of Waitress assure that it will delight audiences as it traverses the country. It's a must see for anyone who loves musical theater at its creative best....

The 'new' Cleveland Ballet, under the artistic leadership of Puerto Rico-born Gladisa Guadalupe, a former member of the 'old' Cleveland Ballet, the Dennis Nahat-led company which left CLE for San Jose, California, has been officially named the Resident Ballet Company of Playhouse Square....