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CLEVELAND THEATER REVIEWS

The latest reviews and critic recommendations from Cleveland
BWW Reviews: Compelling, Must See 12 ANGRY MEN at Blank Canvas

BWW Reviews: Compelling, Must See 12 ANGRY MEN at Blank Canvas

by Roy Berko — July 15, 2013
Little did Artistic Director Pat Ciamacco realize when he elected to produce Reginald Rose's 12 ANGRY MEN that his selection would be fortuitous. How could he have known that the Casey Anthony and George Zimmerman trials would be the major news stories, with the latter being decided the day Blank Ca...
BWW Reviews: SPAMALOT - Silly Fun at Beck

BWW Reviews: SPAMALOT - Silly Fun at Beck

by Roy Berko — July 15, 2013
You know you aren't in for the typical Broadway musical, when, at the start of SPAMALOT, now on stage at Beck Center, a historian gives a brief overview of medieval England and a Finnish village appears with dancers slapping each other with dead fish as they perform the 'Fisch Schlapping Song.' That...
BWW Reviews: SHREK Should Please at Mercury Summer Stock

BWW Reviews: SHREK Should Please at Mercury Summer Stock

by Roy Berko — June 23, 2013
SHREK is a creative script. The Mercury Summer Stock production will delight many. This is a community theatre production, and, a fairly acceptable one....
BWW Reviews: SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE, a Pleasant Summer Escape at Cain Park

BWW Reviews: SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE, a Pleasant Summer Escape at Cain Park

by Roy Berko — June 23, 2013
A musical review, by the very nature of its structure, is usually not of great interest to those theatre-goers who want a story line or an over-riding theme. Someone attends a musical review because there is a tuneful style or type of music that you like or there are some singers performing who you ...
BWW Reviews: THE BOOK OF MORMON - A Total Must-See Delight at The Palace

BWW Reviews: THE BOOK OF MORMON - A Total Must-See Delight at The Palace

by Roy Berko — June 22, 2013
THE BOOK OF MORMON is an absolute go see production for anyone who is not a language prude or a religious fanatic. It is filled with total delight, magical showmanship, a marvelous score, creative dancing and fine staging. It's everything a modern musical that is meant for pure entertainment, with a...
BWW Reviews: SOUTH PACIFIC Lights Up Porthouse

BWW Reviews: SOUTH PACIFIC Lights Up Porthouse

by Roy Berko — June 16, 2013
Under the directing abilities of Terri Kent, the Porthouse production of SOUTH PACIFIC makes for a fine evening of summer entertainment....
BWW Reviews: Oft Brilliant, But Flawed MEDEA, Introduces Mamai Theatre

BWW Reviews: Oft Brilliant, But Flawed MEDEA, Introduces Mamai Theatre

by Roy Berko — June 15, 2013
MEDEA, a masterpiece example of classical tragedy, is one of the Western world's greatest plays. It is a daunting undertaking. Some directorial decisions and story interpretation in this staging seem questionable, but the production is blessed with a brilliant performance by Tracee Patterson. It's w...
BWW Reviews: CROWNS - A Celebration of 'Hattitude' at Karamu

BWW Reviews: CROWNS - A Celebration of 'Hattitude' at Karamu

by Roy Berko — May 26, 2013
CROWNS tells an important story of perseverance and faith among the women of the Southern African American community, as represented by their 'hatitude.' The Karamu production, which has some strong performances, is somewhat tarnished by some directorial decisions, but is worth seeing....
BWW Reviews: Unnerving Musical about the Crime of the Century at Convergence-Continuu

BWW Reviews: Unnerving Musical about the Crime of the Century at Convergence-Continuum

by Roy Berko — May 20, 2013
Musicals have come from various sources. There has been the tale of an illiterate flower girl who was transformed into a proper woman (MY FAIR LADY), a Biblical Jewish youth who became a leader in Egypt (JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT), a prince who kept searching for his corner of the...
BWW Reviews: Acting Overshadows Esoteric Script at Cleveland Public Theatre

BWW Reviews: Acting Overshadows Esoteric Script at Cleveland Public Theatre

by Roy Berko — May 15, 2013
Philip Ridley, the author of TENDER NAPALM, now being staged at Cleveland Public Theatre, was trained as an artist. His paintings, like his plays, are characterized by using a palate of colors, splashed all over. There is also a bizarre quality to his writing which is fairly typical of 1990s British...
BWW Reviews: THERE IS HAPPINESS (and Absurdity) at Cleveland Public Theatre

BWW Reviews: THERE IS HAPPINESS (and Absurdity) at Cleveland Public Theatre

by Roy Berko — May 13, 2013
If you went to college, and took a course in poetry, you'll find yourself morphing back and wishing that your professors had had a romp in the grass, and expressed themselves with such absurd hysterical language, as the duo in THERE IS A HAPPINESS THAT MORNING IS, which is getting a fine production ...
BWW Reviews: NEW GROUND...New. Theatre. Festival, Light up Cleveland Play House

BWW Reviews: NEW GROUND...New. Theatre. Festival, Light up Cleveland Play House

by Roy Berko — May 7, 2013
Cleveland Play House's The 2013 New Ground Theatre Festival lit up the three stages in the Allen Theatre complex starting on May 2nd with parts running through the 19th....
BWW Reviews: LOVE STORY, THE MUSICAL Showcases BW Talent at the 14th Street Theatre

BWW Reviews: LOVE STORY, THE MUSICAL Showcases BW Talent at the 14th Street Theatre

by Roy Berko — May 7, 2013
Fanatics of chick flicks virtually swoon when they hear the words, 'Love means you never have to say you're sorry,' or someone hums a bar or two of 'Where Do I Begin?' Ah, yes, Andy Williams crooning the theme song from the 1970 film, LOVE STORY, which starred Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw and holds t...
BWW Reviews: Creatively Conceived and Thought-Provoking WORKING at Blank Canvas

BWW Reviews: Creatively Conceived and Thought-Provoking WORKING at Blank Canvas

by Roy Berko — May 4, 2013
Probing into the lives of real people often yields fascinating theatre. The classical musical CHORUS LINE was based on interviews that Elyrian, James Kirkwood, wove into a fascinating tale of the true life and theatrical experiences of Broadway singers and dancers....
BWW Reviews: THE LYONS Roars at Dobama Theatre

BWW Reviews: THE LYONS Roars at Dobama Theatre

by Roy Berko — April 27, 2013
Nicky Silver's absurdist play, THE LYONS, gets an excellent production at Dobama. The balance between comedy and tragedy should get positive audience response and inspire some personal awareness....
BWW Reviews: RICH GIRL, a Sure to Please the Audience Production at Cleveland Play Ho

BWW Reviews: RICH GIRL, a Sure to Please the Audience Production at Cleveland Play House

by Roy Berko — April 25, 2013
The plot: self-made vindictive wealthy person, inhibited daughter, handsome suitor who may be after her money, parent attempts to torpedo the relationship. Sound familiar? It should. That's basically the storyline of the Henry James novella WASHINGTON SQUARE and the play and film, THE HEIRESS. It's ...
BWW Reviews: THE ICEMAN COMETH, a Four-Hour Marathon at Ensemble

BWW Reviews: THE ICEMAN COMETH, a Four-Hour Marathon at Ensemble

by Roy Berko — April 23, 2013
Eugene O'Neill, along with such writers as Anton Chekhov, Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg, transformed western theatre. They transitioned the stage from a place for escapist ideas into a mecca for the examination of real life problems. The quartet laid the foundation for what is now known as 'the...
BWW Reviews: none too fragile's WHITE PEOPLE is Wrenching, Powerful Theater

BWW Reviews: none too fragile's WHITE PEOPLE is Wrenching, Powerful Theater

by Roy Berko — April 14, 2013
WHITE PEOPLE is very well worthwhile for anyone who thinks that gaining insight into personal ideas and values is a mission of theatre. You won't leave this production the same person as when you entered. This is compelling theater!...
BWW Reviews: Compelling WAR HORSE Grasps the Imagination at the Palace

BWW Reviews: Compelling WAR HORSE Grasps the Imagination at the Palace

by Roy Berko — April 11, 2013
One of the fears of seeing a show which I regarded as one of the most mesmerizing that I've ever seen, was that the touring company of WARHORSE would fade by comparison. It did, somewhat, but still came out an exciting winner in the derby called theatre....
BWW Reviews: Actors' Summit's MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD - Delightful, Thought-Provoking

BWW Reviews: Actors' Summit's MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD - Delightful, Thought-Provoking

by Roy Berko — April 8, 2013
The great fear of realizing that MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD is a series of vignettes which look at varying phases of motherhood, is that it will turn out to be a Hallmark sentimental mindless experience. Fear not. The eighteen authors of the vignettes avoid making the experience sappy and purely entertaini...
BWW Reviews: PERHAPS PERICLES - A Maybe Shakespeare Script at Cesear's Forum

BWW Reviews: PERHAPS PERICLES - A Maybe Shakespeare Script at Cesear's Forum

by Roy Berko — April 7, 2013
For those who are interested in seeing a version of what may be the very little performed PERHAPS PERICLES, the Cesear's Forum's showing is a good opportunity....
BWW Reviews: Afrobeat, Political Commentary FELA! Rocks the Palace Theatre

BWW Reviews: Afrobeat, Political Commentary FELA! Rocks the Palace Theatre

by Roy Berko — April 3, 2013
At the conclusion of FELA!, the Afrobeat political awareness musical, now on stage at the Palace Theatre, caskets are carried onto center stage and piled up. On top of the stack of caskets, emblazed with names such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X and words such as 'freedom,' 'bullying' and 'oppr...
BWW Reviews: STRUCK Examines the Brain and Strokes at Cleveland Public Theatre

BWW Reviews: STRUCK Examines the Brain and Strokes at Cleveland Public Theatre

by Roy Berko — April 2, 2013
STRUCK, now on stage as Cleveland Public Theatre is an interesting piece, much in the vein of Arthur Kopit's WINGS, which had a startling production at Beck Center starring Dorothy Silver, in which the ramifications of a person having a stroke is investigated....
BWW Reviews: A Wonderfully Delightful MUCH ADO at Great Lakes Theater

BWW Reviews: A Wonderfully Delightful MUCH ADO at Great Lakes Theater

by Roy Berko — April 1, 2013
Boy hates girl. Girl hates boy. Boy overhears that girl is secretly in love with boy; girl hears vice versa. Other boy and girl love each other, but something gets in the way of their happiness. That's the basic premise of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, which is now on stage at Great Lakes Theatre. Throw i...
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Videos


La Malasangre ( Bad Blood) in Cleveland La Malasangre ( Bad Blood)
LatinUs Theater Compay (5/22-6/07) PHOTOS
O.A.R. in Cleveland O.A.R.
Blossom Music Center (9/11-9/11)
All-City Musical presents: Mean Girls in Cleveland All-City Musical presents: Mean Girls
Akron Civic Theatre (6/13-6/14)
Walk On: The Power of Carousel in Cleveland Walk On: The Power of Carousel
Cleveland Museum of Art, Gartner Auditorium (6/14-6/14)
Dr. Seuss'' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical in Cleveland Dr. Seuss'' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical
Palace Theatre Columbus (12/08-12/13)
The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show in Cleveland The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show
The Dinner Detective Cleveland (7/25-7/25)
Frankly Ben Franklin: A Musical Memoir in Cleveland Frankly Ben Franklin: A Musical Memoir
Theatre in the Circle (6/04-6/07) PHOTOS VIDEOS
Ragtime in Cleveland Ragtime
Near West Theatre (7/17-8/02)
The Fray & Dashboard Confessional in Cleveland The Fray & Dashboard Confessional
Jacobs Pavilion (8/12-8/12)
The Producers in Cleveland The Producers
Short North Stage - Garden Theater (3/12-4/11)