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BWW Reviews: Superb Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Excites Audience at E.J. Thomas Hall
Dance Cleveland opened its 59th season in spectacular style with a performance of the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet at E. J. Thomas Hall, on the University of Akron Campus. The company, which was founded in 1996, has two official schools, one in Aspen, one in Santa Fe, and a year-round Mexican outreach prog...
BWW Reviews: Farcical THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR Doesn't Leave Well Enough Alone at Great Lakes Theatre
'The Merry Wives of Windsor,' a version of which is now on stage at Great Lakes Theatre, is considered by many literary critics to be one of Shakespeare's 'lesser' plays. Not bad, just not up to the dramatic level of the great writer, though its farcical nature is often praised....
BWW Reviews: THE PILLOWMAN - A Chilling Look at Life and Death at Convergence Continuum
Clyde Simon, Artistic Director of convergence continuum, has a knack for finding off-beat, provocative plays that incite discussion and strong reactions from the theatre's loyal following. That group, and probably many more, will find themselves entranced by Martin McDonagh's black comedy, 'The Pill...
BWW Reviews: Lakeland Civic Theatre Presents Depressing, Well-Staged AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY
The Westons of Pawhuska, Oklahoma, in Tracy Letts' Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY, gives new meaning to the phrase dysfunctional family....
BWW Reviews: CPH Examines Greed, Ambition and Misguided Principles in THE LITTLE FOXES
Lillian Hellman, author of 'The Little Foxes,' which is now in production at the Cleveland Playhouse, was a rebel with many causes. An independent woman in an era before the women's rights and liberation movements, she had strong political and societal opinions. Because of her liberal affiliations s...
BWW Reviews: Thought Provoking THE SUNSET LIMITED at None Too Fragile
Cormac McCarthy, the author of 'The Sunset Limited,' which is now on stage at none too fragile theatre, probes, in his script, the topics: Why would someone want to commit suicide? Why does one person turn to religion when angst-filled, while another rejects the concept of a deity? Is traditional ed...
BWW Reviews: Martin Céspedes Creates a Delightful FOREVER PLAID at Beck
Do you like close-harmonic singing? Are you harking back to experience the 'good' old days? Do you like to escape from the stressful world and just 'yak' at comedy shticks and revel in the ridiculous? Then the place for you to be is Beck Center where Cleveland's multi-award winning choreographer, Ma...
BWW Reviews: Spellbinding BELLEVILLE Opens the 55th Dobama Season
Dobama may be entering its 55th year (I was present the moment founding artistic director Don Bianchi declared its existence), but it is actually in its first season. What? Late last season, the Dobama board voted to change the status of venue to that of a full professional theatre. This makes Dobam...
BWW Reviews: No Bombs Greet This Version of HAIR - Just Heat and a Simulation of the Era
Theatre is representative of the era from which it comes. Seeing a play that reflects a specific time period can reveal the cultural attitudes of the people and society of that period....
BWW Reviews: It's a Choppy RIDE with Some Interesting People at None Too Fragile
Eric Lane is a prolific and prize winning playwright. His plays include 'Times of War,' 'Filming O'Keefe,' 'Floating,' and 'Dancing on Checkers' Grave.' Never heard of them? You are not alone. In spite of his recognition for writing some episodes for TV's 'Ryan's Hope,' his scripts are not on the li...
BWW Reviews: AMAZONS AND THEIR MEN Script Better Than Convergence-Continuum Staging
In 1932, Leni Riefenstahl attended a rally where Adolf Hitler spoke. She was so mesmerized by his public speaking ability that she reported that she had an apocalyptic vision that included a stream of water touching the sky and shaking the earth....
BWW Blog: A Clevelander's Views and Reviews of Canada's The Shaw Festival
'By the time the show is over, you will have been taken on a journey more compelling and magical than you could have imagined. For this, I think, is our principal function-as we delight, provoke and entertain, we must always surprise.' These are Jackie Maxwell, the Shaw Festival's Artistic Director,...
BWW Reviews: FROGS Fails to Create Much Excitement at Cain Park
'The Frogs,' Stephen Sondheim and Burt Shevelove's musical adaptation of Aristophanes' ancient Greek comedy, had a novel introduction to the stage. In 1974 it was produced in Yale University's Swimming Pool by the Yale Repertory Theatre....
BWW Reviews: OLIVER Doesn't Get Standing 'O' at Porthouse
I had one of my greatest experiences in the theatre when, on June 30, 1960, I attended the opening of 'Oliver!' at the New Theatre in London, England. I was seated 3rd row center!...
BWW Review: A Clevelander's View of the Stratford Theater Festival - A Season of Being Pushed to the Edge
The Stratford Festival of Canada, whose present artistic director is Atoni Cimolino, started on July 13, 1953, when Sir Alec Guiness walked onto a stage located in a large tent and spoke the first lines of what has become the internationally-recognized celebration of theatre. Now housed in five thea...
BWW Reviews: ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST is a Must See at Blank Canvas
It probably will come as shock to many to know that when the play, 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,' a script by Dale Wasserman, based on Kent Kesey's novel of the same name, opened on Broadway in 1963, in spite of a cast that included Kirk Douglas, Gene Wilder, William Daniels, Ed Ames and Joan Te...
BWW Reviews: ARCADIA - A Well Constructed Play Which Makes for a Long Echoing Sit at MAMAI
Czech born Thomas Stoppard is a Jewish British playwright who escaped from his birth country in 1939, just before the Nazi occupation. Living, in England, he has gained a reputation as one of modern English language's greatest playwrights. The recipient of an Academy Award and four Tony Awards, it i...
BWW Reviews: YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN Should Delight Beck Audiences, But...
On a November Saturday afternoon in 2007, I anxiously entered the Hilton Theatre in New York. I love exaggerated, well-conceived and performed farce. I was going to see 'Young Frankenstein' by the king of farce and parody, Mel Brooks. Yes, 'Young Frankenstein,' officially known as 'The New Mel Brook...
BWW Reviews: MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET Rocks the Ohio Theatre…'Great Balls of Fire!'
Part concert, part history lesson, and a lot of rock 'n roll-- that's 'Million Dollar Quartet', now on stage at the Ohio Theatre in PlayhouseSquare....
BWW Reviews: Sic-Fi STARMITES Should Delight Many at Porthouse
There was 'Star Trek.' Then 'Star Wars.' Then there were the werewolves and vampires. Then 'Hunger Games.' Now there is 'Starmites.'...
BWW Reviews: A Satisfying MY FAIR LADY at Porthouse Theatre
Last year's Porthouse production of 'South Pacific' joined the beautiful and gifted Kayce Cummings (Green) as Nellie Forbush with suave and talented Greg Violand as Emile DeBecque, with Terri Kent, the theatre's artistic director. The result was 'an evening of fine entertainment.' This year the trio...
BWW Reviews: A MAP OF VIRTUE Confounds at Convergence Continuum
Every once in a while a theatrical production results in a 'what is going on?' and 'why is time and energy being wasted on this?' reaction. Such is the case with 'A Map of Virtue' now on stage at convergence continuum....
BWW Reviews: Rabbit Run Introduces Audience to Unbridled Comic Hysteria in NOISES OFF
The Rabbit Run production of the farce, 'Noises Off,' was well directed, well acted, well technically presented and turned out to be a laugh riot! I saw this show in London was convulsed with laughter. The PP show had much the same effect on me. For anyone wanting a fun summer experience, the trip t...
Videos
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La Malasangre ( Bad Blood) LatinUs Theater Compay (5/22-6/07) |
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PARADE Weathervane Playhouse, Akron (6/18-7/19) |
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The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show The Dinner Detective Cleveland (6/13-6/13) |
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Dr. Seuss'' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical Palace Theatre Columbus (12/08-12/13) |
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Little Feat Bringing Their 'The Last Farewell Tour' To Goodyear Theater On November 9th Goodyear Theater (11/09-11/09) |
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Sweeney Todd Short North Stage - Garden Theater (9/26-10/17) |
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The Light by Loy A. Webb Soft Belly Theatre (6/17-6/19) |
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A BEAUTIFUL NOISE The Stranahan Theater (6/16-6/21) |
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Mean Girls Beck Center for the Arts (7/10-8/09) |
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Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Cassidy Theatre (8/07-8/23) |
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