Several times a year I go to review some of what's on stage on Broadway. This year, I expanded the experience by accompanying the Baldwin Wallace University Musical Theatre program's fifteen seniors.... (more...)
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, author of 'Appropriate,' which is now getting a compelling staging at Dobama, Cleveland's 'off-Broadway theatre,' is noted for writing plays that shimmer in spectacle, theatricality, and melodramatic substance. The African American centers his themes on race in America, white... (more...)
George Bernard Shaw's views on religion may be summarized by his statement, 'People believe anything that amuses them, gratifies them, or promises some sort of profit.'... (more...)
Theater people are superstitious! The practices that relate to the fears have various origins. For example, 'the ghost of Thespis (the first known actor in ancient Greece) is said to wreak havoc upon theaters all over the world. The ghost light tradition-leaving a single lit bulb upstage center when... (more...)
Sam Shepard, the author of 'The Late Henry Moss,' which is now in production at none too fragile, once wrote, 'I believe in my mask-- The man I made up is me. I believe in my dance--And my destiny.'... (more...)
Lots of today's science news concerns controlled drug studies done by pharmaceutical companies, as well as government agencies, to insure the safety and identify side-effects of the compounds.... (more...)
Stephen Sondheim, who wrote the music and lyrics for 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,' which is now in production at Blank Canvas, is noted as a brilliant lyricist. Interestingly, that is not the way he sees himself. He is well-trained as a musical composer, having, from a young age,... (more...)
When Great Lakes Theater Festival announced in June, 2009, that it's Associate Artistic Director, Andrew May, was no longer going to be part of the company, many CLE theatre-goers were shocked.... (more...)
Sometimes theater is high drama. At other times it's for learning about history or philosophy. 'Sassy Mamas,' now on stage at Karamu, is on stage for one purpose only...to create outlandish laughter.... (more...)
Mention the name 'Riverdance' and the general thought of many is Michael Flatley. Yes, Flatley, the Irish dance champion and the theatrical show consisting of mainly Irish music and dance, are synonymous.... (more...)
The South Side of Chicago is noted for its gritty streets, drug dealers, drive by shootings and pressure for Black men and boys to not only protect their turf, but be 'prideful' and not allow themselves to be slave to the ways of the 'massa' (the white bosses).... (more...)
Truth can often be stranger and more compelling than fiction. Such is the case of David (Bruce) Reimer and his identical twin brother, Brian, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.... (more...)
In December, 1968, about 50 Lorain County Community College students flew to New York. Some in the clean-scrubbed conservative group, coming from a campus void of political turmoil, had never traveled as far-a-field as downtown Cleveland.... (more...)
What happens when you present a charming script and add two of Cleveland's most beloved actors? You get five sold out houses and calls with attempted bribes to get in the door.... (more...)
Verb Ballets chose to highlight two young Black choreographers for its 'Celebrating Black History' recent program at the Breen Center before a near sold-out performance.... (more...)
Capsule judgment: It may have been a flop on Broadway, but ""Merrily We Roll Along" is a hit at Lakeland Civic Theatre. It's definitely a must see!!!... (more...)
???????When Sister Rosetta Tharpe's name appeared on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ballot, there were many who thought, Sister who? Little did those not familiar with the history of the genre, know that 'she was wailing on the guitar before Chuck Berry, shouting call and response before Little Rich... (more...)
Grounded is the kind of script and staging on which Dobama fulfills its goal of presenting the best contemporary plays in a professional production of the high quality.... (more...)
Lucky you. It is unnecessary to go to New York to see a production of this epic. It is now running at Ensemble Theatre as part of their 'We The People' 2017-2018 season. The first segment, subtitled 'Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches,' is running until January 28. In April, 'Angels ... (more...)
Greater Cleveland is blessed with a vital theater scene. It the purpose of BROADWAY WORLD.COM-CLEVELAND PROFESSIONAL THEATER TRIBUTES (BWW-CLE Theater Tributes), to recognize theatrical experiences that, in the subjective view of this reviewer, were excellent and deserve recognition.... (more...)
BWW Feature: Cleveland Broadway Connections: BWU MUSICAL THEATRE SHOWCASES, ARACA, and More!
BWW Review: Dobama's Compelling “Appropriate” expands the definition of dysfunctional family
BWW Review: CPH's THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE is F-U-N!
BWW Review: THE ADVENTURES OF THE BLACK GIRL IN HER SEARCH FOR GOD is Less Than it Could be at Karamu
BWW Review: Compelling “The Scottish Play” (“Mac**th”) at Great Lakes Theater
BWW Review: Humorous 'The Oldest Profession” at convergence continuum
BWW Review: Acting Soars in LATE HENRY MOSS at None Too Fragile
Sneak Preview of The Shaw Festival's 2018 Season
BWW Review: THE EFFECT at DOBAMA is More Effect Than Well Told Story
BWW Review: SWEENEY TODD, Sondheim at His Most Complicated, Comes to Blank Canvas
BWW Review: Unnerving, Compelling THE INVISIBLE HAND at Cleveland Play House
BWW Review: MISERY at Great Lakes Theater
BWW Review: SASSY MAMAS - Laughs, Laughs and More Laughs at Karamu
BWW Review: RIVERDANCE 20 Delights With its Blend of Dance, Music, and Telling of Tales
BWW Review: JELLY BELLY--A Fascinating Investigation of a World That Many Don't Know at Ensemble
BWW Review: BOY - Truth is Stranger Than Fiction at None Too Fragile
BWW Review: Talent-Filled HAIR Rocks at Beck
BWW Review: Charming “Love Letters” at Theatre in the Circle
BWW Review: “Celebrating Black History” by Verb Ballets a study of two choreographic styles
BWW Review: MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG at Lakeland Civic Theatre
BWW Review: Fascinating “How to End Poverty” @ Cleveland Public Theatre
BWW Review: CPH's MARIE AND ROSETTA Points the Spotlight on Future-Inductee Into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
BWW Review: Compelling GROUNDED at Dobama
BWW Review: Pulitzer Prize Winning Angels in America, Part 1 is Compelling at Ensemble
BWW Review: BWW-CLE PROFESSIONAL THEATER TRIBUTES--2017 at Greater Cleveland Theatre