CLEVELAND THEATER REVIEWS

Read our critic's review of THE 39 STEPS - the new production of the farce at the Great Lakes Theater....

Anton Chekov, along with Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg, were three late nineteenth and early twentieth century European playwrights who were the seminal figures in the birth of theatrical modernism. They turned their backs on the escapist romantic stories and took on real issues, and presented ...

The mockingbird is noted for its ability to duplicate the sounds they hear. The bird's reference in the title of Harper Lee's epic novel, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD supposedly refers to the statements of prejudice that are repeated over and over in the book's famous trial. Statements about Blacks, Jews, ...

In 2002, Seventy-year-old Joan Evelyn Southgate, a Cleveland area retired social worker and activist, left Ripley, Ohio, on foot, with the goal of highlighting the courage and resourcefulness of freedom seekers and conductor families who risked everything on the Underground Railroad. ...

THE LIGHTNING THIEF: THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL, which is finishing its four-performance sold out run at the Helen Theatre, is a co-production of Baldwin Wallace University's nationally recognized Musical Theatre program and Playhouse Square. It is the fifteenth collaboration between these two organi...

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In Shakespeare's comedies, he writes of trickery, false accusations, restoration of harmony and romance. He uses lots of double entendre and encourages fun and farce, as well as broad performances....

METEOR SHOWER, an absurdist comedy by Steve Martin, is now on stage at Beck Center for the Arts. ...

Shakespeare, in his comedies, writes of trickery, false accusations, restoration of harmony and romance. He uses lots of double entendre and encourages fun and farce as well as broad performances....

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MILLWOOD OUTPOST will be performed Fridays and Saturdays @ 7:30pm and Sundays @ 2:30pm through March 18- April 2, 2022 at the Creative Space at Waterloo Arts. Get tickets here. ...

Cleveland Play House's Artistic Director, Laura Kepley, in her comments in the playbill for ANTIGONE states, 'We originally programed ANTIGONE to be produced during the 2019-2020 season. The play was in its second week of rehearsals when we had to make the heartbreaking announcement that the product...

The film PRETTY WOMAN, based on the Roy Orbison song, which was originally planned to be a tale about class and prostitution, but was reconceived into a romantic comedy, opened to both critical and audience delight. It still gets a considerable audience when it is shown on television. ...

When evaluating a performance at Dobama the mantra to be used is, 'Would Donald approve?' Donald, in this case is Donald Bianchi, who, in 1959, with a small and enthusiastic group of thespians, founded what we now know as Dobama, Cleveland's off-Broadway theatre. ...

As the story goes, 'In 1991, Jeannette Sorrell was invited to interview for the position of Assistant Conductor with The Cleveland Orchestra. Sorrell met with Music Director Christoph von Dohnányi who told her that there was no point in trying to find time in the orchestra's schedule for an auditio...

Cleveland native, Michael Cavanaugh, has been called the 'New Voice of the American Rock and Roll Songbook.' He came to national fame when he was handpicked by Billy Joel to star in his Broadway musical MOVIN' OUT....

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, now on stage at the Connor Palace as part of the Key Bank Series, is a show with a history of controversy. It has been condemned by some religious groups, as well as sectarians. ...

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HURRICANE DIANE, a 90-minute play without intermission, now on stage at Dobama, has been described as 'An astonishing new play which whirls ancient myth, lesbian pulp, ecological thriller and The Real Housewives of Monmouth County into a perfect storm of timely tragicomedy.'...

It's that time of year again. Yes, stores are all decked out in holiday decorations, the Allen Theatre lobby is filled with Christmas Trees, and local theatres are strutting their stuff doing holiday productions. Many of the venues have run out of fresh material so they are remounting scripts from t...

California is noted as the home of liberal beliefs and a relaxed attitude toward sex. That wasn't always the case. ...

Each holiday season Beck Center presents a child-centric show. The scripts are the likes of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, THE LITTLE MERMAID, and SHREK. These are selections that have audience involving stories, well-known music and lyrics, show-stoppers, farcical humor or dramatic intrigue, and the opportu...

INTO THE WOODS is a musical with a book by James Lapine and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. ...

In 2010 a gay Mississippi high school student was banned from coming to her senior prom by the school’s Board of Education because she wanted to bring her girlfriend as her date.  She challenged the ruling, which resulted in the cancellation of the prom.  The student and the ACLU sued the distri...

Air guitar is a form of dance and movement in which performers pretend to play an imaginary electric guitar. Performances include exaggerated strumming motions and recorded rock music often coupled with loud singing or lip-synching....