Though it seems like it will never be here, there will be summer and the Cleveland theater scene will heat up. Here’s a list of some of the offerings that are being staged.
ACTOR’S SUMMIT
330-374-7568 or go to www.actorssummit.org
Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 PM and Sundays @ 2 PM
TINTYPES, May 19-June 19—The great American songbook comes to life in this musical review of popular songs from 1890 to 1917, including “Meet Me In St. Louis” and “Yankee Doodle Boy.”
BECK CENTER
216-521-2540 or http://www.beckcenter.org
8 p.m. evenings, 3 p.m. matinees
HEATHERS THE MUSICAL, May 27-July 2—Based on the 1989 film, it’s the musical tale of a teenage misfit who hustles her way into The Heathers, the most powerful clique in her high school, and falls in love with a dangerously sexy new kid.
BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL, July 8-August 14—Based on the 2000 Academy Award nominated film and the 2009 winner of 10 Tony Awards, it’s the story of a young boy in a depressed mining town in England, who discovers his extraordinary gift for ballet, and gets admitted to the prestigious Royal Ballet School.
BLANK CANVAS
440-941-0458 or www.blankcanvastheatre.com
THE WILD PARTY, May 20-June 4—A decadent musical filled with jazz blues, gospel and Tin Pan Alley, which remind us that no party lasts forever.
CAIN PARK
216-371-3000 or http://www.cainpark.com
THE TOXIC AVENGER, June 2-26—(Alma Theater)—Thursdays-Saturday @ 7, Sundays @ 2—A charming but toxic love story, with an environmental twist, which won the Award for Best Off-Broadway musical, about New Jersey’s first superhero (a seven-foot mutant freak with superhuman strength and a heart as big as Newark.
OPEN A NEW WINDOW: THE SONGS OF JERRY HERMAN, July 21, 7 PM, presented by the Musical Theatre Project.
FOR GOOD: THE NEW GENERATION OF MUSICALS, August 4, 2016, 7 PM, presented by the Musical Theatre Project.
CLEVELAND PUBLIC THEATRE
216-631-2727 or go on line to www.cptonline.org
LINES IN THE DUST, June 2-18, 7 PM--Thu/Fri/Sat/Mon in the refurbished James Levin Theatre, is a new work centering on a mother who is determined to find a way for her teenage daughter to escape their impoverished inner city school and get the education she deserves.
CLEVELAND SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
Free admission.
KING RICHARD THE SECOND—presented at numerous settings, the adapted Shakespeare classic opens on June 17 at Peace Park, Coventry Park Neighborhood, Cleveland Heights. For additional times and places go to http://www.cleveshakes.com
THE TEMPEST, an adapted version of the Shakespeare comedy, opens Friday July 22 at Peace Park and runs through August 7 at various locations. For additional times and places go to http://www.cleveshakes.com
convergence continuum
convergence-continiuum.org or 216-687-0074
Thursday-Saturday @ 8
HARBOR, July 8-30, the story of two newlyweds, Kevin and Ted, living in tranquil affluent domesticity, until Kent’s vagabond, pothead sister and her 15-year-old daughter show up.
SELFIES AT THE CLOWN MOTEL, August 26-September 26, clowns can be funny, sad and sometimes scary, and in this world-premiere production, they can also be human.
OBERLIN SUMMER THEATRE FESTIVAL
Hall Auditorium, 67 N. Main Street, Oberlin
Free admission, reservations requested—440-775-8169
For details and dates go to www.oberlinsummertheaterfestival.com
ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, June 24-July 31—An aging brother and sister request an orphanage send a boy to help on theie farm. A mix-up results and a romantic, hot-headed 11-year-old girl is sent. The results are startling and charming.
MACBETH, July 1-30—A Shakespeare classic which chronicles the moral descent of a notable Scottish warrior driven by ambition.
INHERIT THE WIND, July 8-30—A gripping award-winning script by Cleveland Height’s native Jerome Lawrence and Elyria’s Robert Edwin Lee, that follows the events surrounding a young high-school teacher who is arrested for teaching Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.
OHIO SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens (outdoor performances)
714 N. Portage Path, Akron
THE TEMPEST, Shakespeare’s magical comedy about a wizard and his daughter exiled onto an enchanted desert island filled with air spirits and mutant monsters.
July 1-17, for performance information go to: http://www.ohioshakespearefestival.com/
ROBIN HOOD: AN ADVENTURE, WITH MUSIC, an original musical family show about Robin, Marian and the Merry Men.
July 21-24 for performance information go to: http://www.ohioshakespearefestival.com/
MACBETH, considered one of Shakespeare’s best tragedies, it tells the fictional story of a Scottish lord who might be king but the price he must pay is dreadful. Filled with witches and war.
August 5-21, for performance information go to: http://www.ohioshakespearefestival.com/
PLAYHOUSESQUARE
216-241-6000 or go to http://www.playhousesquare.org
See the website for specific dates and times
STEEL MAGNOLIAS, Allen Theatre, May 29-August 21, it’s the 1980s in Louisiana at Truvy’s Beauty Shop where “There is no such thing as natural beauty.” A story of love, loss and enduring friendship produced by the Cleveland Play House as part of the Key Bank Broadway Series.
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, June 15-July 10, the return of the longest running Broadway musical in a new production featuring reconceived special effects, scenery and lighting designs, but the same marvelous story and musical score.
KINKY BOOTS, August 23-28, winner of six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, it’s the inspirational story of a struggling shoe factory owner, who, with the help of the fabulous Lola, changes the world of shoes and lives of many. Music by Cyndi Lauper.
TAKE A HIKE TOURS, FREE--every Thursday at 6 PM, from May 19-September 15, 90-minute walking tours of the Playhouse Square District, with actors portraying important historic Clevelanders from the neighborhood.
Broadway Buzz—One-hour before each major Broadway touring show, host Joe Garry gives the inside scoop about each show in the Idea Center @ Playhouse Square (1375 Euclid). Free admission. For the complete schedule go to http://www.playhousesquare.org
PORTHOUSE
http://www.porthousetheatre.com or 330-929-4416 or 330-672-3884
SISTER ACT, June 16-July 2—When nightclub singer Deloris Van Cartier witnesses a murder, she ends up in protective custody, posing as a nun! What follows is a musical delight!
RING OF FIRE, July 7-23—The music legend Johnny Cash comes to life in this Jukebox musical that weaves a story of some of America’s best know songs.
FOOTLOOSE, July 28-August 14—Based on the hit movie with Kevin Bacon, finds high school student Ren moving from Chicago to a rural town. That place will never be the same!
THE MUSICAL THEATER PROJECT
(productions staged in review format with narration)
see: CAIN PARK listing
