CLEVELAND THEATER REVIEWS

For the last several years more and more attention has been placed on The Black Lives Matter and Me-Too movements, woke language, microaggression, radical feminism, transgenderism, Critical Race Theory and aggression against Asians. They have become issues for laws, politics, education, media and th...

THE TEMPEST, now on stage at Great Lakes Theatre, is thought to be Shakespeare's last known play. The script almost defies classification as it contains both tragic and comic themes, as well as romance. It explores many themes, including magic, betrayal, revenge, and family....

The return to a live performance program, 'New Beginnings,' staged on October 14 and 17, just reinforced the orchestra's masterful sound and ability to captivate an audience....

Written in 1982, the play is set in a recording studio in Chicago in 1920. It deals with issues of race, the attitudes of Blacks regarding Whites, religion, and the historic exploitation of Black recording artists by white producers....

The death penalty carries the inherent risk of executing an innocent person....

THE LION KING, whose North American touring company, which recently opened in CLE's Playhouse Square's Key Bank State Theatre, has an enviable record. It is the third longest running show in Broadway history, clocking a little over 9,300 curtain raisers. Only THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (12,370) and th...

A native New Yorker, Neil Simon is recognized as Broadway's King of Comedy. Following his very successful 1961 production of COME BLOW YOUR HORN, Simon's name on a script basically meant instant box office sell-outs during the era from 1960-1980, the Great White Way's era of comic plays....

Clyde Simon, the artistic director and one-man-band who founded convergence-continuum, CLE's Tremont-housed theatre, has an affinity for choosing challenging shows. Scripts that no other local performance venue will stage....

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Finegan Kruckemeyer, the author of THIS GIRL LAUGHS, THIS GIRL CRIES, THIS GIRL DOES NOTHING, now on stage at Beck Center for the Arts, was born in Ireland and has lived much of his life in Tasmania, an island state of Australia....

As I was walking into the pavilion at Blossom Music Center, the woman in front of me kept stopping to take pictures on her I-phone. She stopped, turned around smiled and said, 'Sorry, I'm from New Orleans. My husband and I are on a trip to see various outdoor music venues. This is the most beautiful...

Amélie, which is now on stage at Mercury Theatre, is a musical is based on the romantic comedy film of the same name....

BROOKLYN, THE MUSICAL, now being staged at Porthouse Theatre, on the grounds of Blossom Center, premiered on Broadway in October, 2004 and ran for 284 performances. Though the run wasn't long, and many of the reviews found the script 'trite and non-realistic,' it did accumulate a solid cult followin...

Friday, June 26, after a Covid-induced period of Zoom-only dance recitals, Cleveland's 'classical ballet with a dash of American modern dance' company, joined the world of the living with a performance of three pleasing pieces, at the Breen Center. ...

The weather forecast was for storms, possibly a tornado. The actress scheduled to play the lead role wasn't going to perform. Cars stood at odd angels blocking spaces in the parking lot. But, in reality, none of this mattered. Opening night for Quilters, the first show after a year of theatrical dar...

Walking into the Mimi Ohio theatre for The Choir of Men was almost a surreal experience. After receiving my tickets, based on the self-imposed over year-long Covid lockup, my mind was bouncing. Do I wear a mask? How close will others be in the auditorium? Do I greet people by shaking hands, hugging,...

In these days of angst, many theaters have attempted to stream various types of entertainment. The formats have been mostly musical reviews, with a few scripted musicals being attempted. ...

Call Me Elizabeth, which was recently streamed by Youngstown Playhouse, is a solo performance piece about the early life of Elizabeth Taylor. It was written by Kayla Boye and is set in May 1961. ...

Beck's stream is a total must see!...

VERB BALLETS BRIGHTENS THE PANDEMIC WITH AN IMPRESSIVE DISPLAY OF 'GOING SOLO'...

With pop, gospel, and reimagined classics, The First Noel tells the story of a family that must confront the grief of the past in order to reunite and celebrate the joy of the present. Join Tony Award winner Jason Michael Webb and CWRU/CPH MFA alum Lelund Durond Thompson for a special behind-the-sce...

Separated by a pane of plastic to protect themselves from spreading Covid, the Loush sisters referred to their sexual antics and skills, referred to the political and social world around them, sang with vitality, and tried to take their viewers on an escape from reality. Part of it worked, part didn...

In this pandemic era, where the best we can hope for are performances in Brady family-like shadow boxes, it is exciting to find arts companies going beyond the norm to bring about entertainment while still following the Covid protocols. ...

In 2012, when Baldwin Wallace's number one nationally ranked musical theater program, in conjunction with Beck Center for the Arts, produced SPRING AWAKENING, my capsule judgement read: 'SPRING AWAKENING is an emotionally stirring, relevant, and well-staged production.'...