Here’s a list of some of the offerings of CLE professional theaters 2024 fall (September-December).
You can track my reviews on http://www.royberko.info/, or contact me to get on my direct review list. You can see a synopsis of the local reviewers’ comments about the plays at http://www.clevelandtheaterreviews.com/
BECK CENTER 216-521-2540 or http://www.beckcenter.org
8 p.m. evenings, 3 p.m. matinees
10/22-11/22—CATS-PAW (Studio Theater)—A cat-and-mouse game between a young reporter and a terrorist leader leads to a shocking conclusion.
12/1-30—JOSEPH & THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT (Senney Theater)—Family friendly which tells the tale of how Joseph is sold into slavery by his jealous brothers and how he becomes the nations and family hero!
BLANK CANVAS 440-941-0458 or http://www.blankcanvastheatre.com/
8/25-9/9—PETER AND THE STAR CATCHER—The tale of how an orphan became Peter Pan!
10/20-11/4—ZOMBIE PROM—The girl-loves-ghoul rock ‘n’ roll off Broadway hit is set in a high school in which the law is laid down by a zany, tyrannical principal. Filled with lots of 1950’s hit songs!
12/1-16—ROCKY---A musical based on the Academy Award Best Picture film, with equal parts or grit and heart, and tells the tale of the triumph of spirit, strength and love. A Cleveland area premere.
CESEAR’S FORUM 216-241-6000 or go to http://www.cesearsforum.com/
Kennedy’s Theatre, Playhouse Square, 1501 Euclid Avenue
9/29-10/28—A FUGITIVE’S LESSON---Two absurdist one-act plays (Eugene Ionesco’s THE LESSON and Ugo Bettis THE FUGITIVE).
CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE
216-241-6000 or go to http://www.playhousesquare.org
7:30 Wednesday-Saturday, 2:30 Saturday and Sunday
9-9/10/1—THURGOOD—A tribute to a real American hero who embodied courage, integrity, and determination. Featuring Lester Purry.
10/21-11/12—MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN—A gritty yet highly theatrical tale that brings what’s buried back to life.
12/1-16—LANGSTON HUIGHES’ BLACK NATIVITY (presented by Karamu House)—The soulful, heartwarming story, gospel celebration.
CLEVELAND PUBLIC THEATRE
216-631-2727 or go on line to http://www.cptonline.org/
9/22-23--REVERIE ORACLE (Gordon Square Theatre) -- A collective dream of performers, who are engaged in a rigorous game where imaginary landscapes are embodied. Poetry is given voice and songs are shared.
10/19-11/04--OUR LADY OF COMMON SORROWS--(James Levin Theatre) --The assumed immaculate conception of a 15-year-old honor student incites a crisis of faith for her family. A psychedelic ride where reality dances with fantasy, everyone is suspect, and big questions are asked about God, faith, and value of life.
11/15-19 THE OUTSTRETCHED HAND--(Gordon Square Theatre) --Three young adults push against and pull towards their heritage, communities, and families, as they work towards becoming their full selves.
congruence continuum. convergence-continuum.org or 216-687-0074
Thursday-Saturday @ 8
10/13-11/4—THE GROWN UP—Kai is given a magical door-knob by his grandfather that enable him to travel through space and time to see future events in his life.
12/1-23—WONDERLAND WIVES — (Intended for mature audience with very immature tastes) -- Cinderella’s Prince Charming is serving ten years in the pen, Belle’s house is overrun with little monsters, Alice has been hitting the caterpillar’s pipe a little too hard lately, and Snow White’s husband has shacked up with the three little pigs.
DOBAMA
216-932-3396 or http://www.dobama.org
check the theatre’s blog for performance times
9/6-29--MAKE BELIEVE--In the attic of one family’s home, four young siblings recreate their everyday lives in a game of make-believe. Meanwhile, the world beneath them holds a more ominous reality.
12/1-31--LITTLE WOMEN--Four girls come of age in a journey of self-discovery learning that while families change and grow, the ones we love are always close at heart.
ENSEMBLE THEATRE
216-321-2930 or http://www.ensembletheatrecle.org
Fridays and Saturdays @ 7:30, Sundays @ 2. New home: Performing Arts Center on the campus of Notre Dame College, South Euclid
9/8-24—LUNGS---Follows a couple through the surprising lifecycle of their relationship, as they grapple with questions of family and change, hope, betrayal, happenstance, and the terrible pain that you can only cause the people you love.
10/27-11/12—THE ISLAND--A profile on the depth of human resilience on the face of unspeakable injustice and racism.
GREAT LAKES THEATER
http://www.greatlakestheater.org or 216-241-6000
Wednesday-Saturday @ 7:30, Saturdays @ 1:30, Sundays @ 3 @ Hanna Theatre
9/22-10/8—NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812-- A sensational slice of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace lends inspiration to this bold, imaginative electropop opera from award-winning composer (and Lakewood native!) Dave Malloy.
10/25-11/05—DRACULA: THE BLOODY TRUTH--With four spirited actors playing forty characters, this breakneck adaptation takes you from spooky Transylvania to the charming English coast. A wild, zany, (almost) authentic adaptation that provides a spooktacular evening full of campy horror fun!
11/24-12/23--A CHRISTMAS CAROL (Mimi Ohio Theatre) --Open your heart to Charles Dickens’ classic tale of one man’s ultimate redemption.
INTERPLAY JEWISH THEATRE interplayjewishtheatre@gmail.com or 216-393-PLAY
(Play readings at Dobama are free, but reservations are required. Presentations at the Maltz Museum are fee based)
TBA
KARAMU HOUSE 216-795-707) or www.karamuhouse.org
(Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday)
9/22-10/15--CLYDE’S—Lynn Nottage’s tale of a truck stop restaurant where they are in search of the perfect sandwich.
12/1-16—LANGSTON HUIGHES’ BLACK NATIVITY (presented at Cleveland Play House)—The soulful, heartwarming story, gospel celebration.
LAKELAND CIVIC THEATRE 440-525-7134 or http://lakelandcc.edu/academic/arts/theatre/index.asp
9/29-30—KING LEER (staged reading/Equity Showcase)-- Mitchell Fields (Lear), Tom Fulton (Kent), Brian Bartels (Albany), Lara Mielcarek (Goneril), Sibohan Carroll (Regan), Jon Loya (Edgar), Dan Hendrock (Edmund), Kennedi Hobbs (Cordelia), Cody Swanson (Fool), Mark Moritz (Gloucester) and Aaron Elersich (Oswald). All the proceeds are being donated to our theatre program.
none-too-fragile theatre 330-671-4563 or http://www.nonetoofragile.com
9/29-10/14—AMERICAN BUFFALO—David Mamet’s tale of three small-time hustlers who want a bigger cut of the American Dream.
12/1-16--TBA
OHIO SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL http://www.ohioshakespearefestival.com/
(Winter and Spring Home: Greystone Hall, Akron). Shows Thursday-Saturday at 8:00, Sunday matinees at 2:00.
10/5-22—DRACULA--Johnathan Harker travels to Transylvania on real estate business to meet a polite, yet mysterious, count. Little does he know that this journey will set into motion a horror that he, and his family, have never dreamed possible.
11/30-12/7—SHAKESPEARE IN HOLLYWOOD—It's 1934, the Golden Age of Hollywood, and Shakespeare's famous fairies, Oberon and Puck, have magically materialized on the Warner Bros. Hollywood set of Max Reinhardt's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM.
PLAYHOUSESQUARE
216-241-6000 or go to www.playhousesquare.org
See the website for specific dates and times
10/3-22—THE WIZ— (Connor Palace) --This groundbreaking twist on The Wizard of Oz changed the face of Broadway—from its iconic score packed with soul, gospel, rock, and finger-snapping 70s funk to its tale of Dorothy’s journey to find her place in a contemporary world.
10/17-18 — (E.J. Thomas Hall) –PRETTY WOMAN--“If you love the movie, you’ll love the musical!”
10/24-29—THE BOOK OF MORMON— (Key Bank State) -- This outrageous musical comedy follows the adventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries, sent halfway across the world to spread the Good Word.
10/31-11/19—GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY — (Connor Palace) -- Reimagines 20 legendary songs of Bob Dylan as they’ve never been heard before, including “Forever Young,” “All Along The Watchtower,” “Hurricane,” “Slow Train Coming,” and “Like A Rolling Stone.”
11/13-14 — (E.J. Thomas Hall)—MEAN GIRLS--The story of a naïve newbie who falls prey to a trio of lionized frenemies.
12/5-10—HAIRSPRAY— — (Connor Palace) -- You can’t stop the beat! Can a girl with big dreams (and even bigger hair) change the world?
BROADWAY BUZZ--Get the inside scoop from host Joe Garry one hour before each Key Bank performance. Held in the Upper Allen, accessible through the Allen Theatre lobby. Admission is free and all are welcome!
RUBBER CITY THEATRE EQUITY MAINSTAGE 234-252-0272 or http://www.rubbercitytheatre.com/
The University of Akron
9/8-18 – THE BARON OF BROWN STREET -- Lenny King, a homeless man living alone in a tent under an Ohio bridge, becomes an overnight celebrity after a newspaper story details Lenny’s kind heart in forgiving three teens who set him on fire and laughed at his pain as he burned.
10/6-14 – HYDE -- This feminist retelling of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson will receive its premier at RCT.
10/27-11/4 – HAMLET -- The ghost of the King of Denmark tells his son Hamlet to avenge his murder by killing the new king, Hamlet's uncle. Hamlet feigns madness, contemplates life and death, and seeks revenge. His uncle, fearing for his life, also devises plots to kill Hamlet.
12/21-23 – WHITE CHRISTMAS -- With a dazzling score, with lyrics and score by Irving Berlin which features such well-known standards as “Blue Skies,” “I Love A Piano,” “How Deep Is the Ocean” and the perennial title song.
SEAT OF THE PANTS ENSEMBLE https://seatofthepants.org
Friday and Saturdays at 8 PM/Sundays at 2 PM
11/3-19 -- TROUBLE IN MIND – Alice Childress’ play focuses on racism and sexism in American theatre.
THE MUSICAL THEATER PROJECT https://musicaltheaterproject.org/
TBA
