FALL THEATRE OFFERINGS EXCITE!The leaves will soon be falling, and local theatres’ curtains will soon be rising. Here’s what’s coming up:
Beck Center for the Arts, 17801 Detroit Avenue, Lakewood, 216-521-2540 An encore production of the uproarious Tony Award-winning comedy, ‘URINETOWN THE MUSICAL,’ opening on the Mackey Main Stage September 12 and running through October 12, 2008. This show, which critics called the “must see” production of 2005, will feature the return of the original cast and creative team from Beck’s production.
Workshop Players, 44820 Middle Ridge Road, Amherst, 440-988-5613
‘LYING IN STATE,’ a spoof of politics and funerals. September 11-28. For information go to www.workshopplayers.com.
The Bang and Clatter Theatre, 224 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, 330-606-5317 or www.bnctheatre,com
The Ohio Premiere of ‘THE LIEUTENANT OF INISHMORE’ by Martin McDonagh, which has been called a cunningly constructed, deeply and intensely felt, bitterly blood curdling and breathtakingly funny.” Runs September 5 through October 11, Thursdays through Sundays.
Playhouse Square, 216-241-6000 or online at playhousesquare.org
The electrifying, bashing, crashing, banging, kicking, joyous ‘STOMP’ returns to Cleveland for four performances, October 3 -5, 2008. The return of the percussive hit also brings some new surprises, with some sections of the show now updated and restructured and the addition of two new full-scale routines, utilizing props like tractor tire inner tubes and paint cans.
‘A CHORUS LINE’ October 14-26, 2008, Palace Theatre. Winner of nine Tony Awards, including “Best Musical” and the Pulitzer Prize for drama, this singular sensation is the longest-running American Broadway musical ever. This is the musical for everyone who’s ever had a dream and put it all on the line. Come meet the new generation of Broadway’s best.
Dobama Theatre/Karamu co-production, Karamu House, 2355 E. 89th Street, 216-795-7077 or 216-932-3396, www.dobama.org,
Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori’s groundbreaking musical ‘CAROLINE, OR CHANGE’ revisits the early 1960’s, a period of sweeping change in race relations as it affects two families, one Southern Jewish and the other African American. The Gelman's son, Noah, worships Caroline, their dignified African American domestic, as a surrogate mother figure. Their tentative and touching relationship is at the heart of this powerful story, infused with an exhilarating mix of music: classical, R&B, Motown, Klezmer, and Negro spirituals. September 19-October 12.
Great Lakes Theatre Festival, Hanna Theater (the new home of GLTF), www.greatlakestheater.org, 216-241-6000
Fall repertory September 24-November 8. ‘MACBETH’ and ‘INTO THE WOODS.’ See politics and magic meld in Shakespeare’s unforgettable masterpiece and also experience Stephen Sondheim’s bewitching collection of classic fairy tale characters as they romp though a “once upon a time” kingdom in a magical Broadway musical.
Cleveland Play House, 8500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, 216-795-7000, clevelandplayhouse.com
Tennessee William’s semi-autographical masterpiece, ‘THE GLASS MENAGERIE,’ on stage from September 12-October 5, followed by the hysterical British farce ‘NOISES OFF’ being staged from October 3rd to the 26th, then Lorraine Hansberry’s classic tale ‘ A RAISIN IN THE SUN’ from November 7-30, followed by a revival of ‘ A CHRISTMAS STORY’ from November 28-December 21.
Cleveland Public Theatre, 6415 Detroit, Cleveland, 216.631.2727, x501
‘GOLDSTAR, OHIO’ is a new play by Cleveland native Michael Tisdale that tells the stories of the 22 Marines from the Brook Park, Ohio based 325 Battalion who lost their lives in Anbar Province, Iraq. The play is a work of non-fiction created from transcripts of interviews with the families of the fallen Marines. October 16 - November 8.
Ensemble Theatre, Studio One Theater of the Cleveland Play House, 216-3421-2930
From Sept. 19 - Oct. 5, Edward Albee’s Theatre of the Absurd ’WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?’ This existentialistic masterwork from the 1960’s revolves around the conflictive marriage of George & Martha. A biting and timeless American classic! From Nov. 21-Dec. 7 in Brooks Theatre, Beth Henley’s ‘THE LUCKY SPOT’ will be on stage. This is a whacky comedy set in a depression dance hall in Louisiana which asks, “what hope might be found by the hopeless?”
SEE YOU AT THE THEATRE!
