Neil Adams News

Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT) is proud to announce the world premiere of The Family Claxon, a dark comedy by Eric Coble, 2016/2017 Nord Family Foundation Catapult Fellow, and directed by Craig J. George. The Family Claxon is onstage October 5 28, 2017, in CPT's historic Gordon Square Theatre.

Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT) is proud to announce the world premiere of The Family Claxon, a dark comedy by Eric Coble, 2016/2017 Nord Family Foundation Catapult Fellow, and directed by Craig J. George. The Family Claxon is onstage October 5 28, 2017, in CPT's historic Gordon Square Theatre.

Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT) is proud to announce the world premiere of The Family Claxon, a dark comedy by Eric Coble, 2016/2017 Nord Family Foundation Catapult Fellow, and directed by Craig J. George.The Family Claxon is onstage October 5 28, 2017, in CPT's historic Gordon Square Theatre.

There was a happening on West 44th Street! For a week, Chita Rivera brought her joyful, razzle-dazzling nightclub act to Birdland, which she calls her favorite room in the city. “These walls are filled with the best music! Playing Birdland just makes me feel cool,” she proclaimed. As if her iconic Broadway career wasn't cool enough, “Chita's Back” was a concert for the history books – with the ever-youthful legend in fine fettle; singing, dancing and telling some of the best insider stories any theater-lover could hope for. Material from Bye Bye Birdie, Chicago, Kiss of the Spider Woman, West Side Story and The Visitwere included, as well as a James Taylor duet with daughter, Lisa Mordente. The swinging was band led by guitarist/percussionist Michael Croiter, with Michael Patrick Walker on piano, Jim Donica on bass, and Dan Willis on saxophone.

Hart House Theatre's production accentuates the laughs and touches only lightly on the play's social commentary, which is perhaps the best approach for this piece. Credit director Andrea Wasserman for creating a realistic world for these cartoon-like bumblers to inhabit. Though the performances sometimes veer a little too close to farcical territory -sometimes pushing too hard to get laughs- the end result is an enjoyable crowd-pleaser. * * * (OUT OF FIVE)