Great Lakes Theater

About the Theatre

The mission of Great Lakes Theater is to share the pleasure, power and relevance of live theater through mainstage productions and educational programs of the highest quality. Since Great Lakes Theater's inception in 1962, programming has been rooted in Shakespeare, but the company's commitment to great plays spans the breadth of all cultures, forms of theater and time periods, and provides for the occasional mounting of new works that complement the classical repertoire. Classic theater holds the capacity to illuminate truth and enduring values, celebrate and challenge human nature and actions, revel in eloquent language, preserve the traditions of diverse cultures and generate communal spirit. From the historic Hanna and Mimi Ohio Theatres in Playhouse Square and through community outreach, Great Lakes Theater seeks to create visceral, immediate experiences for participants, asserting theater's historic role as a vehicle for advancing the common good, and helping people make the most joyful and meaningful connections between classic plays and their own lives. Great Lakes Theater wishes to share such vibrant experiences with people across all age groups, creeds, racial and ethnic groups and socio-economic backgrounds. Great Lakes Theater is dedicated to the highest standards, to creative problem solving and to innovation in all areas of its operation, including theater production, education, outreach, management and governance.

The Winter's Tale

Sep 25 – Oct 11, 2026

By William Shakespeare In a modern verse translation by Tracy Young Adapted and directed by Tracy Young In partnership with Play On Shakespeare The unfounded suspicions of the jealous King Leontes destroy his family, as he imprisons Queen Hermione and casts away their newborn...

Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Oct 23 – Nov 8, 2026

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Book by Hugh Wheeler Based on an adaptation by Christopher Bond Originally Directed on Broadway by Harold Prince Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick Originally Produced on Broadway by Richard Barr, Charles Woodward, Robert Fryer, Mary Lea...

A Christmas Carol

Nov 27 – Dec 20, 2026

By Charles Dickens Adapted and Originally Directed by Gerald Freedman Experience the magic, wonder and joy of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol ! Join Mother Cleaveland as she reads this classic to her family and ignites her youngest child’s vivid imagination, bringing the...

The Comedy of Errors

Feb 5 – Feb 21, 2027

By William Shakespeare In a modern verse translation by Christina Anderson In partnership with Play On Shakespeare Mistaken identity leads to escalating chaos and nonstop laughs in Shakespeare’s fastest, funniest farce. Separated as children, two sets of identical twins...

Les Misérables

Mar 12 – Apr 4, 2027

A musical by ALAIN BOUBLIL and CLAUDE-MICHEL SCHÖNBERG Based on a novel by VICTOR HUGO Music by CLAUDE-MICHEL SCHÖNBERG Lyrics by HERBERT KRETZMER Original French Text by ALAIN BOUBLIL and JEAN-MARC NATEL Additional material by JAMES FENTON Adapted and originally directed by...

The Importance of Being Earnest

Apr 23 – May 9, 2027

By Oscar WIlde A brilliant comedy of manners celebrated for its impeccable wit and exceptional one-liners. When two charming bachelors invent double lives to escape social obligations, their harmless lies spiral into a web of mistaken identities, romantic complications and one...

Articles

Review: BLACK BY NATURE at Cascade Valley Metro Park

by Steve Sucato · October 1, 2026

In an unusual opening to DanceCleveland’s 70th Anniversary Season, the organization took to the outdoors at Akron’s Cascade Valley Metro Park over the past two weekends for the world premiere of dancer-choreographer Dominic Moore-Dunson’s site-specific dance-theater piece, Black by Nature. …

Review: BRIGADOON at Porthouse/Kent State University

by Roy Berko · August 11, 2026

In order to create authentic dances for Pothouse’s BRIGADOON, if social media pictures can be trusted, during rehearsals Martin Céspedes, the shows choreographer, wore a kilt.  The results are the captivating visual movements that light up the stage.…

Review: MEAN GIRLS at BECK CENTER

by Roy Berko · July 28, 2026

Tina Fay’s MEAN GIRLS, with the right level of farce can be a delightful experience.   Beck’s staging, inspite of a talented cast, was pleasant.  It could have been great with the right concept.  Go?, Of course! Most audience members, as displayed by the standing ovation at the end of the…

Review: SIDE SHOW IN CONCERT at Porthouse Theatre

by Roy Berko · July 17, 2026

Another exposure as Cleveland Heights’s Cain Park outstanding production directed by Victoria Bussert the present Director of Oberlin College’s Musical Theater program, which featured Gregg Violand, who will be featured, later this season, in Porthouse’s BRIGADOON.…

Review: MONET TO MATISSE: DEFYING TRADITION at Art Gallery Of South Australia

by Barry Lenny · July 13, 2026

An experience that may possibly require more than one visit.…

Review: GREASE at PORTHOUSE/Kent State University

by Roy Berko · June 24, 2026

GREASE, Porthouse-style, is a nostalgic reminder of the era of mid-1900’s and left those of a certain-age satisfied and maybe those of the Information Age/Digital Age asking “what was the attitude, grease and angst” all about.  …

Review: MEAN GIRLS at Akron Civic Theater

by Patti Kullman · June 19, 2026

Young performers overcame weather and sound issues to bring the vibrant, musical retelling of the 2004 film Mean Girls to the vintage, nostalgic Akron Civic Theater.…

Review: A BEAUTIFUL NOISE NATIONAL TOUR at Stranahan Theatre

by Julie Zatko · June 17, 2026

The national tour of A Beautiful Noise rocks into town this week, bringing enough sequins to light up all of Toledo. As the final engagement of Broadway in Toledo’s 2025–2026 season, this musical offers a closer look at the life of Neil Diamond while delivering a thoroughly entertaining evening …

Review: THE GREAT GATSBY: A NEW MUSICAL at Connor Palace

by Steve Sucato · June 12, 2026

THE GREAT GATSBY: A NEW MUSICAL is Surprisingly Great…

Review: FREAK THE MIGHTY at Cleveland Play House

by Julie Zatko · June 2, 2026

What did our critic think of FREAK THE MIGHTY at Cleveland Play House?…

Sondheim on Sondheim

May 30 – Jul 22, 2012