CLEVELAND THEATER REVIEWS

'Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie,' 'Maestro: Leonard Bernstein,' 'The Devil's Music: The Life and Times of Bessie Smith,' 'One Night with Janice Joplin.' What do these all have in common? They are shows that Cleveland Play House has staged in the last several years, and they are produ...

When a student pays $5000 for a ten-week educational seminar, s/he doesn't expect to be verbally attacked, viciously belittled, diminished, called names, and have a sexual liaison with the instructor. But that's exactly what happens in Pulitzer Prize nominee Theresa Rebeck's provocative comedy, 'Sem...

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This has been an exciting year on Broadway. The Tony Awards will be announced soon. In preparation, I went to New York to see some of the nominated shows. Here's some brief comments:...

As we exited the theatre after 'Bathroom Humor, my next-to-seat neighbor said, 'Oh well, it is what it is, and I'm not sure why it was!' 'nuff said....

Every once in a while a play comes along that, without histrionics, searching for laughs or mystery plot twists, resonates with the human connection. 'Kin,' now on stage at Dobama Theatre, is such a script....

PlayhouseSquare and Baldwin Wallace's renowned music theatre program and the school's arts management program, have come together for seven consecutive years to present an opportunity for the students to interact with professional theatrical figures in a real world unique way....

Each year, Ensemble Theatre selects a classic play to be part of their season offerings. Last year it was 'The Iceman Cometh,' which was recognized by the Cleveland Critics Circle for 'Superior Achievement for a Non-Musical Production.' This year's choice is Eugene O'Neill's 1920 Pulitzer Prize winn...

'Informed Consent' is a play for all theater-goers. There is intellectual interest, mystery content, and humor, all rolled into one well-written script, which gets a superb staging! This is a must see production!...

In 1968 'Hair,' dubbed the American Tribal Love-Rock musical, exploded on Broadway. It shocked the nation, but gave an accurate picture of a world rocked with chaos. The Vietnam war raged, the peace movement flourished, draft cards were burned, rebellion against traditional values exploded. 'Drugs, ...

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The wording on the gravestone of Kurt Weill comes from the song 'A Bird of Passage' from his musical, 'Lost in the Stars.' It reads: 'This is the life of men on earth: Out of darkness we come at birth. Into a lamplit room, and then-Go forward into dark again.'...

What do the phrases, 'all the world's a stage' and 'too much of a good thing' have in common? They are both quotes from Shakespeare's pastoral comedy 'As You Like It.' As is true of that genre, the play, which was written early in 1600, deals with shepherds and the rustic life, but, also concerns lo...

Picture this: on a Thursday night, an American theatrical comedy, one-third of which's dialogue was spoken in Hebrew, was viewed by an audience composed primarily of Hebrew speaking Israelis. The setting: Actors' Summit in Akron. Yes, Akron, Ohio with a small Jewish population!...

Last year, none too fragile theater's ON THE LINE was honored by the Cleveland Critics Circle as being the 'Best Non-Musical Production of 1913.' Their production of GIDION'S KNOT establishes itself as a candidate for the award this year!...

On opening night, when Corey Mach made his first appearance on stage in 'Flashdance The Musical,' the audience, after being prepped about his entrance by Gina Vernaci, Senior Vice President of Theater Operations, greeted him with a lengthy ovation. During the curtain call, the audience exploded in v...

Have you ever wondered, after seeing a play, what might have happened to the characters or even the physical structure in which the story is set, before the play began or after it ended? Bruce Norris's 'CLYBOURNE PARK' does exactly that....

One of the most common questions I encountered as a counselor when working with someone who had just experienced the suicide of a family member or acquaintance was 'Why did s/he do it?' Or, in confronting someone who was suicidal, the question is, 'Why do you want to do that?' Ironically, most of th...

'NOT BY BREAD ALONE' is everything good theatre should be....a thought- provoking, experience-broadening, emotionally inspiring experience that should open the eyes and hearts of the viewer. Mazel tov to Adina Tai and the Nalaga'at Deaf-Blind Theater Ensemble of Israel....

Walt Disney was an animator, cartoonist, producer, director, screenwriter, and the voice of Mickey Mouse. He won 22 Academy Awards. It is ironic that for a man noted for producing some of the most beloved and lovable visual characters, he was emotionally conservative, not often drawing attention to ...

Since he became the artistic director of Cleveland Public Theatre, Raymond Bobgan has set a clear path. He has organized a theatre that centers on practicality. It lives within its means, is well organized and is artistically creative. The play productions respond to 'the political events, societal ...

When Dobama, Ensemble, Beck's studio theatre and convergence-continuum, venues, where each has a mission of producing innovative and forward-thinking plays search for scripts, they usually turn to recent Broadway and off-Broadway offerings. Every once in a while, they workshop new scripts in order t...