CLEVELAND THEATER REVIEWS

JOSEPH is one of my favorite escapist musical theatre scripts. I love the music, the creativity of taking a Bible story and making it into a pleasant family experience without getting preachy. The version now on stage at the Palace was not one of my favorite stagings of the show. Audiences will gene...

Overheard at intermission of 'DEATHTRAP' at Great Lakes Theater: 'I never expected that to happen!' Response: 'I've seen this before and what's coming up in the second act is even more surprising!'...

Roland Hayes, Paul Robeson, Marian Anderson. While Robeson and Anderson are probably names that many Americans can identify, Hayes probably is not....

From the heavy beating musical sound at the start, through the exciting powerful opening dance, to the exposition presented in the song, 'In,' through the compelling story filled with well designed twists and turns, to the startling conclusion, 'CARRIE: THE MUSICAL,' now on stage at Beck Center, cap...

It might surprise many to find that the original 1935 Broadway production of 'PORGY AND BESS' ran only 124 performances. The reasons were many including the all Black cast, some of the overtones of the script were perceived by some to be 'too Negro,' the opera format was considered 'not Broadway,' w...

Karamu, the nation's oldest African-American theatre, opened its Black History month celebration with 'CEREMONIES IN DARK OLD MEN' by Lonne Elder III. The play and its author are both noted for their strong place in the reflections of Blacks in this country....

The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement which spanned the period from about 1919 to 1929. It was the literary era when members of the Great African American Migration, Negroes who had moved into the U.S. Northeast and Midwest, asserted themselves in art, poetry, literature and theatre. Partic...

Of the three pieces in the 'ELEMENTS CYCLE,' 'AIR-WAVES' is the most message- clear. The CPT directors have seemingly come to terms with the need to add clarity of purpose to the devised theatre process. Though not as abstract as the two previous offerings, those wanting a traditional story line of ...

Lakeland Civic Theatre's THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA is a special night of musical theatre. To appreciate the show, the viewer must put aside any attitude of what a musical should look and sound like and embrace this creatively 'different' approach. I, for one, loved the story, the music and the product...

Annie Baker, the 33-year old multi award winning author of THE ALIENS, now in production at Dobama, is considered by many theatre and literary critics to be one of the freshest and most talented dramatists of this decade. Baker, whose style mirrors that of Anton Chekov, one of the leaders of 20th ce...

PHOTOGRAPH 51 is a bio-drama based on the life of Rosalind Franklin, a British biophysicist and crystallographer. Many think she should have been a Noble prize-recipient, but her standoffish personality, perfectionism, and some seemingly unethical actions by others, as well as the possibility of gen...

The opening night audience for YENTL failed to give the standard Cleveland standing ovation. This might be construed as an omen that there was a disconnect between the viewers and the production. It's too bad. YENTL is an important script, which tells a fascinating story of a writer, ahead of his ti...

'MENOPAUSE, THE MUSICAL' is a delightful portrayal of the 'Change, Change, Change' that women of a certain age go through, that consists of 'Hot Flashes,' as they realize that 'I'm No Babe,' and requires a 'New Attitude.' Do you have to be a 'mature' women to appreciate the goings on? No, but from o...

What is it like to live much of your life perceiving that you have been born in the wrong body and then going through the process to correct this mistake of birth? That's the major issue exposed by Christine Howey in her one-woman, self-acted and self-written play, EXACT CHANGE, now on stage at Clev...

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

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 Da...

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 sai...

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 everythin...

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 wom...

'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 i...

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 ...