Nancy Maier, Jerry Herman, “Open a New Window,” The Musical Theater Project

Nancy Maier left New York and a budding career to move to Cleveland.  Yes, she traded the Big Apple for Cle!

Many know Nancy Maier from her many performances with Bill Rudman and The Musical Theater Project’s concerts.  Some know her from her work with the wunderkinds of the nationally revered Baldwin Wallace’s Musical Theater program.  But how many know the “real” Nancy Maier?

A native Clevelander, born and brought up in the Brooklyn area of the city, Nancy started to play the piano at age 8.  She played by ear, could pick out tunes and modify them with no training.  Eventually she took lessons where her teacher, who was proficient in stride piano, exposed her to ragtime, chord charts, and boogie-woogie in addition to classical technique.  She was exposed to playing before people and her future track for her life was set!

Her life at Brooklyn High School, on Cle’s west side, mainly centered around music.  Her choice of a college was easy…Indiana U’s well known music school.  Now known as the Jacobs School of Music, it is one of the top institutions for composing, piano and performance.  She later transferred to Baldwin Wallace where she finished her undergraduate degree, and started to sing and play piano at local piano bars and pick up musical directing positions at area theatres.

When her husband, Dan, a stellar musician, wanted to expand his own musical career, the duo moved to New York.  Ironically, Brooklyn [New York].  While her husband toured with various bands, Nancy waitressed, accompanied various singers, became an audition accompanist, did some music directing and summer stock, performed at An Evening dinner theatre as associate conductor, and studied voice.  

In 1989, Nancy and Dan moved back to Cleveland.  They were “tired of all the gigs, their family was here, it was time to come home.”  As she said in a recent interview, “Coming back was wonderful.  I got my masters at CIM [Cleveland Institute of Music], met Vicky [Bussert, the “Mother Superior” of the BW music theater program], worked at Cain Park and BW, and adopted a child.”

Her career as a free-lance music director was on a roll.  Nancy became affiliated with Great Lakes Theater, Cleveland Play House, Beck Center and Karamu.

In 1996 she was appointed Music Director and vocal coach at BW Conservatory of Music, where she stayed until 2012.  In reality, she is still there.  She returns and “steps in as needed.” 

 

Her affiliation with Bill Rudman and The Musical Theater Project, started serendipitously.   “Bill used to see musical things I directed, realized I was passionate about my music, and sought me out for special projects.  We did some broadcasts from Cain Park and started to do concerts which honored specific composers and musical theatre topics.  I was appointed Associate Artistic Director and started to do some feature singing.”

Upcoming for Nancy and TMTP will be “Open a New Window:  The Songs of Jerry Herman.”  Maier, in her effervescent way stated: “I love Jerry Herman.  He knows he isn’t contemporary writer, he writes traditional “show” tunes, he has kept traditional music alive, is much deeper a composer than most people think, his ballads are quite deep, his lyric writing complex, he is an AIDS survivor from the 1990s, he identified with the message of his musical, “La Cage aux Folles.” She continued: “He was an only child, born in New York. At a young age he played music by ear, much like me.  I identify with him.” 

“You can hear a sense of optimism and hope in his songs.”  Herman wrote lots of standards including “I Am What I Am,” “Before the Parade Passes By,” “Hello Dolly,” “It Only Takes a Moment,” “Open a New Window,” “Mame,” and “I Won’t Send Roses.”

What should we look forward to in “Open a New Window:  The Songs of Jerry Herman?”  Nancy happily said, “Sing-a-longs, a couple of special guest artists, a surprise, hearing songs of Jerry Herman that you haven’t heard before, and gaining a new respect for a great composer.”

You can hear Nancy, Bill Rudman and the music of Jerry Herman on Sunday, March 26 at 3 pm at The Temple-Tifereth Israel, 2600 Shaker Boulevard, Beachwood.  To get tickets call 216-245-8687 or visit MusicalTheaterProject.org

Natalie Weiss will perform at Music Box concert and teach in a Cleveland Music Theatre intensive education program

Cleveland Music Theatre (CMT), the brainchild of native Clevelanders Miles Sternfeld and SeanPatrick, was created to provide exceptional education for the Cleveland community and beyond through reimagined, innovative musical theater productions and workshops. Broadway, national, and local artists collaborate to create a dynamic synergy, fostering successful professional careersand development in the theatre. The organization has presented the critically praised shows The Who’s Tommy (2013) and Aida, in July (2015). 

To date, CMT’s major thrust has been to present well-attended intensive training by providing opportunities for local students to explore the realities of what it means to be a modern working theater professional.  The intensive classes are taught by working Broadway professionals, national and local artists, including Tony Award winners, and cover every aspect of the business including the role of the performer, casting directors, agents, directors, music directors, choreographers, conductors, producers, and composers.

Intensive presenters have included Alice Ripley (Tony Award winner for Next to Normal), Shoshana Bean (Broadway:  Wicked and Hairspray), Christina DeCicco (Broadway:  Evita, Sister Act), Paige Faure (Broadway, Cinderella), Morgan James (Broadway:  Godspell, Wonderland, Motown), John Leggio (Broadway:  Cats, My Fair Lady, Showboat), Kathleen Marshall (Three-time Tony Winning Director/Choreographer), Patina Miller (Tony Award winner for Pippin), and Jared Zirilli (Broadway:  Lysistrata Jones, Wicked).

Local theatre professional instructors have included:  Victoria Bussert (Director of Musical Theatre, Baldwin Wallace University), Martín Céspedes (award winning choreographer), Jacqui Loewy (Director of Theatre, Notre Dame College), Fabio Polanco, (Professor of Acting, Kent State University), and Brian Zoldessy (Cleveland Critic Circle and Times Theatre Tributes award-winning actor).

CMT’s next offering will find Broadway performer, Natalie Weiss, doing double duty, teaching in the Cleveland Musical Theatre’s “Pop/Rock Intensive,” as well as starring in the organization’s Music Box Supper Club concert.   The venue is located at 1148 Main Avenue, on the West Bank of the flats.

Weiss, who graduated from Pennsylvania State University, was a season 4 semi-finalist on “American Idol,” was the understudy for Elphaba in Wicked, and spent two-and-a-half-years with Les Miserables.  She was also an understudy in Sherie Rene Scott’s Everyday Rapture.  Her videos, “A New World” and “Spark of Creation,” preceded her breakaway YouTube hit “Breaking Down the Riffs.”   She is noted for her impressions of Celine Dion and Britney Spears.  For more information on Weiss go to http://www.natalieweiss.net/

CMT alums Christina Ciofani, Dani Apple and Grace Hunt will also appear on December 18 at the 7:30 concert. 

The “Pop/Rock Musical Theatre Intensive” runs from December 16-18, 2016 at Cuyahoga Community College-East.  It will not only have Weiss on the faculty, but also features Martin Céspedes (choreographer) and Rob Kovacs (composer and music director).  The curriculum will include breaking down riffs, singing coaching, teaching auditioning techniques, and demonstrating original Broadway choreography.  Participants will also sing live in Natalie’s concert.

For information for both the intensive and the concert go to http://www.clevelandmusicaltheatre.org

Alan Wieder, former Clevelander authors an oral history about Studs Terkel

Roy Berko

Alan Wieder, Brush High School grad and former resident of South Euclid, is a renowned oral historian.  The author of such books as Ruth First and Joe Slovo in the War Against Apartheid,  Wieder’s newest volume is Studs Terkel Politics, Culture but Mostly Conversation.

As an oral historian, Wieder interviews the subjects of his books and/or those who knew them in order to address issues, themes, and time-periods through the lives/words of people who lived them. His goal is to let people tell their stories, or not tell their stories, as they see fit, so that the reader can get to know the real person.

 He became interested in oral histories in the mid-seventies when he was in graduate school and had no desire to do a traditional dissertation.  Instead Wieder interviewed Jews of his grandparent’s generation to tell stories of their educational & occupational aspirations and lives and how it influenced their children and grandchildren.  This led to an interest in relating the lives of people, ordinary, as well as the well-known.


As he read more and more about the process of oral histories, he came across the works of Studs Terkel.  As Wieder says, “I was blown away by Hard Times but even more by Division Street America.”

He relates, “Most of my recent work is different than Studs. The last book where I used first-person oral histories, vignettes, was Voices from Cape Town Classrooms.”

“I did interviews with teachers who fought the apartheid regime from various political perspectives – it was about progressive voices of what Studs called the ‘uncelebrated.’  During that project I was moved to do a book on one particular teacher/politico, Richard Dudley, who stood out as someone who taught  at a coloured school for 45 years and was the head of the Trotskyist organization in South Africa.”

Wieder explains, “I refer to the Terkel book as a narrative/oral history, not a biography.  He also shared, “Part of what I do leads to meeting and sometimes later becoming friends with people who are quite special – uncelebrated and celebrated.”


In the Acknowledgements to the Terkel book, Wieder states, “It was Studs Terkel’s books that made my work possible.”  He explains, “In the 1970s oral history did not have academic credibility, even in history departments and certainly not in educational schools. I think that my [advisory] committee was good with what I did because of Studs’ books.”

How is this book about Studs Terkel different from Tony Parker’s volume, Studs Terkel:  A Life In Words?   Wieder explained, “Tony’s book was straight interviews. My book is a collage combining the interviews I did, Studs’ radio interviews, his books, people interviewing him, as well as articles about him.” 

Studs relied on “scouts” to find people to interview for his various volumes. They were people that Studs either knew or someone put him on to who could introduce him to people and sometimes act as his guide.

How did Wieder find the sources to be interviewed?  He related, “Bernardine Dohrn and Bill Ayers are Chicago people and they provided great contacts. From there I just contacted people. Interestingly, well-known people as well as those you’ve never heard of were keen to talk about Studs. For instance, people like Stephen Schwartz (author of the musicals Pippin and Working) and David Schwimmer (of television Friend’s fame) were thrilled to talk about Studs.  So was Ken Burns (award winning documentary film maker) and Christy Heffner (former Chief Executive Officer of Playboy Enterprises). A Chicago guy, Jamie Kalven, who Studs referred to as a ‘guerilla journalist,’ gave me great insights into Studs’ view that ‘democracy could only exist through conversation/debate.’” 

Wieder related several Studs “factoids” that he uncovered in his interviews.  Included were” “one word to describe Studs’ world view is ‘underdogism.’ He was a lifelong supporter of labor, and unbeknown to many, he fought against white supremacy his entire life.”  “When Barack [Obama] ran for the Senate he [Studs] was a vocal supporter. By the time he ran for President, Studs only thought that it was amazing that we would have a black President.”


What in Terkel’s background appears to have turned him into a rebel with a cause?

“The people who lived in his parent’s men’s hotel, Wobblies, were fanatics who argued and debated.   He listening to political speakers at Bughouse Square – Chicago’s orator’s place.  Other influencers were his father’s love of Eugene Debs (an American labor leader), the Depression, Bill Broonzy (Blue’s singer) and Mahalia Jackson (gospel singer).  Above all his wife Ida whom he viewed as his ultimate teacher.”

Breakbeat Poet Kevin Coval calls Wieder’s book ”revelatory and beautiful” and his prose, “appropriate and stunning.” 

How did Wieder react to that praise?  He stated, “I was taken aback.  Sort of glossed over the words at first but then Joanie [his wife] said, ‘read this again.’  It made me like the book, my book, more than before as does the reaction from so many people, mostly in Chicago.”  



What does Wieder want readers to carry away from Studs Terkel Politics, Culture but Mostly Conversation?  He states, “I think the book accomplishes three things that are unique:
1.    A critical mass of Studs’ stories. Everyone who ever met him has a story but this is the first time they are in one place.
2.    His life long commitment to anti-racism – beginning as a teenager and ending when he died four days before Obama was elected.
3.    The marriage of conversation and democracy. For Studs, you couldn’t have democracy without conversation/debate.”

Wieder will discuss his book on Tuesday, September 20 at 7  PM at MacsBacks Books, 1820 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights.  Admission is free, reservations are not required.

A new area professional musical theatre and training program

“The Cleveland Musical Theatre” and “Making It on Broadway” may not mean much to many in the local community, but soon, if Sean Patrick and Miles Sternfeld have their way, those organizations will become a regular part of the Cleveland theater agenda.

Patrick is the Managing Director and Sternfeld is the Artistic Director of “Cleveland Musical Theatre.”  The native Clevelanders, Patrick from North Olmsted and Sternfeld from Moreland Hills, revealed in an interview from New York, where they now live, founded the organization because, “Cleveland has an incredibly rich source of professional theater talent, many of whom go on to national careers.  We want to create the highest quality musical theater in the Cleveland area by fusing Broadway talent with local talent.”

The duo combined to produce “Tommy” several seasons ago as a charity fundraiser and “Aida” this past summer as a showcase for what is to come. The model is based on successful programs around the country.  For example, Pittsburgh has such an endeavor.   “The productions give local talent the opportunity to work with national talent and national talent to work with Cleveland talent.”

In both “Aida” and “Tommy,” the principals were from New York but most of the cast were locals.  Some were Equity, others were young talent hoping to work toward their Equity membership. 

“The financial model centers on the talent paid salaries with competitive contacts as required by Equity.”

The production aspects are parallel to what John Kenley did in his early days with the Kenley Players, and Carousel Dinner Theatre did in Akron in its waning years.    The major difference will be that both Kenley and Carousel “did true summer stock, about five days rehearsals, followed by the productions.”  Patrick and Sternfeld see CMT (Cleveland Musical Theatre) doing more fleshed out stagings, with higher production values.

The long-term plans are for three productions each summer and a year-round educational program.

The educational program, “Making It on Broadway” will find CMT working with the well-established New York organization of the same name, “which allows for training in the realities of what it means to be a modern Broadway professional.” 

The classes will be taught by Broadway professionals.  For example, the recent intensive, which was held on the campus of Cuyahoga Community College-East,  was staffed by  Jamibeth Margolis, the NY casting director of “The Golden Bride,” Jodie Langel  who appeared on the Great White Way in “Les Misérables,” Martin Céspedes, multi-award winning choreographer who toured in “Man of LaMancha,” Natalie Weiss of Broadway’s “Wicked,” Bob Cline, a Broadway casting director, and Jackie Lowey, college drama professor who appeared on Broadway in “Oh, Calcutta.”  Master classes were taught by Natalie Weiss, who appeared in the 25 th anniversary tour of “Les Miserables” & Patina Miller, the 2013 Tony Winner for PIPPIN 2013. 

Courses included:  “Broadway Master class,” “Acting Your Song,” “Building Your Audition Book,” “Acting,” “Vocal Technique,” “The Business of Theatre,” “Audition Technique,” “Dance,” and “Business for Parents.”

Last summer’s class of 40 consisted of 16 out-of-towners and 24 locals.  This fall’s group of 30 had 6 from away and 24 locals.  “The summer class had 5 participants who received interested from Telsey + Co., Broadway’s largest casting office.”

Space is still available for the January 10, 2016 Master class that will be taught by Tony Award winner and Kent State graduate, Alice Ripley. 

On January 11, “Dream:  The Inaugural Gala” will be held in the newly redesigned Simon and Rose Mandel Theatre at CCC-East. 

The event is open to the public.  The cost is $55 for the stage show, which will feature former Clevelanders who have “made it on Broadway,” including Alice Ripley (Tony Award Winner for “Next To Normal”), Corey Cott (“Newsies”--Chagrin Falls), Corey Mach (“Godspell,” “Hands On A Hard Body,” and “Flashdance”--Strongsville), Timothy Warmen (“Spider-Man”—Willowick/Bratenahl).

Sponsor prices are:  $195 for the show and a preshow reception including a meet and chat with the performers; $495—on stage seat with dinner with the guest artists with wine service; 10 person tables are $6000 which include 2 complimentary tickets for each person for the up-coming season and full page ads in the season programs.

For further information about CMT, “Making It on Broadway, ”Master class with Alice Ripley,” or “Dream:  The Inaugural Gala” go to: http://www.clevelandmusicaltheatre.com

KRIS KRINGLE THE MUSICAL in world premiere at Olmsted Falls Performing Arts

It’s that time of year when local theatres fill their stages with holiday cheer.  Yes, it’s the season of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, A CHRISTMAS STORY, A CHRISTMAS STORY: THE MUSICAL, WHITE CHRISTMAS, and ELF THE MUSICAL. 

If Maria Ciampi and Tim Janis have their way, after a Broadway run, there should be a new musical holiday treat available for production: KRIS KRINGLE THE MUSICAL, which will get its world premiere at the Olmsted Falls Performing Arts Center.  The staging will run from December 4 through the 13th.  

The story tells the untold tale of Kris Kringle, a jobless toy maker.  It reveals what happens when an evil toy company CEO crosses paths with a jobless toy maker whose family name carries a curse with the power to destroy Christmas.

It is based on Maria Ciampi’s screenplay and book, KRIS KRINGLE.

Marie Ciampi, the author of the book, is a legal author, law school professor and legal practitioner.  It is not surprising, therefore, that KRIS KRINGLE involves an ancient contract, and one of the world’s most famous lawyers, Daniel Webster.  Ironically, Ciampi was born on Christmas Day.

The music for the production is by Tim Janis, who has two #1 Billboard charting CD’s and has worked with top artists in the music and entertainment business, including Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, and Ray Charles.

Janis, in a recent interview, shared that, although he has written and performed classical and pop compositions, his “first love is writing musicals.”  His RUTH, based on the biblical book of the same name, played for two years at the Sight and Sound Theatre in Strasburg, Pennsylvania.  His musical movie, THE BUTTON GIRL, starring Dick Van Dyke, will aired this December on PBS.

His writing process?  He “reads the story, gets a vision in his mind, and then starts to write.”  Sometimes it’s the lyrics which come first, sometimes it’s the music.

How close is KRIS KRINGLE to being finished?  “It’s really never done until it opens.  There is always tweaking.”  He indicated that as of two weeks before opening, “the bulk is there.”  “I’ll be available for alterations as the rehearsals proceed.” 

Janis will not be in Cleveland for rehearsals.  He’ll be in his recording studio, ready to make any changes needed.  The director and musical director will interface with the actors, and make suggestions of what, if anything, needs to be altered in the music or the words.

Janis, whose philosophy is, “Music can be more than entertainment,” has developed the Music with a Mission project, with the purpose of “encouraging an understanding and cognizance between different people and cultures.”  He brought Sinkithemba, the all-female HIV-positive South African choir to the U.S to raise awareness about the AIDS epidemic in that country, performed a series of concerts in China to bridge communication between the two countries, and is leading the Music In Our Schools volunteer program, which has had more than 30,000 children participating.  He also has worked with the Cleveland Clinic in their music therapy program.

KRIS KRINGLE will be directed by Pierre Brault, the co-founder and Artistic Director of Mercury Theatre Company, housed at Notre Dame College in South Euclid,  and Resident Director of Virginia Musical Theatre in Virginia Beach, VA.  Charles Eversole, the Artistic Director of Cleveland’s The Singing Angels, is the musical director. 

Equity cast members include Mack Shirilla, Amy Fritsche, Michael Mauldin, Maryann Nagel, Kristin Netzband and Greg Violand.

Interested in seeing KRIS KRINGLE in its local “before going to Broadway” showing?  Tickets can be purchased through the Olmsted Performing Arts Center by calling 440-235-6722.  To see the schedule of performances go to
http://www.olmstedperformingarts.com/events/event/kris-kringle/

Broadway legend John Kander to attended Musical Theater Project’s PERFECTLY MARVELOUS @ Allen Theatre

Liza Minnelli once said, “The greatest thing about [John] Kander and [Fred] Ebb is you sing their songs and you feel good.”  She was referring to the multi-award winning Broadway writing team who gave the world such songs as, “How Lucky Can You Get?,” “Maybe This Time,” “All That Jazz,” “Cabaret,” and “But The World Goes Round.”

These, and other compositions, came from such Broadway shows as CABARET, THE RINK, THE ACT, WOMEN OF THE YEAR, AND THE WORLD GOES ROUND, KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN, FOSSE, CURTAINS, and THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS.  The duo also contributed to such movies as FUNNY LADY and NEW YORK, NEW YORK.

Kander and Ebb met in 1964.  Though it had a short-run, their first collaboration, FLORA THE RED MENACE, created a bond between the writers and Liza Minelli.  At age 19, she not only made her first Broadway appearance in the show, but was the youngest person, to that date, to win a Tony Award.

In 1966 the duo transformed the play I AM A CAMERA into CABARET, which went on to win seven Tony Awards.   The musical, about the decadence in Germany that helped lead to the rise of Hitler, was later turned into a movie, which again reunited Liza Minelli with Kander and Ebb.  She won a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Sally Bowles.

The Broadway show and film CABARET also starred Tony and Academy Award winning Cleveland-born Joel Grey, who will appear on October 24 & 25 at the Allen Theatre in JOEL GREY UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL, as part of Cleveland Play House’s Centennial Celebration Weekend. 

Shows like THE HAPPY TIME, ZORBA, 70 GIRLS 70, and CHICAGO followed, and led to Kander and Ebb being anointed Broadway royalty.

Besides their three Tony Awards, the duo were recognized for their contributions to theater and music with the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors.

Ebb died in 2004, but Kander continues to create.  Last season THE VISIT, a work that the duo started in 1998, starred Chita Rivera on Broadway.

The 88-year old Kander will be the subject of The Musical Theater Project’s PERFECTLY MARVELOUS:  THE SONGS OF JOHN KANDER, which will be performed at the Allen Theatre on October 31 @ 8 PM and November 1 @ 2 PM.  

The TMTP concert will feature Tony Award winner Karen Ziemba, who attended the University of Akron, danced with the Ohio Ballet, and performed on the Great White Way in three Kander and Ebb’s shows.

Others in the TMTP multimedia concert will be Bill Rudman, The Musical Theater Project’s Artistic Director, musical director Nancy Maier, and performers Derrick Cobey, Katherine DeBoer and Matthew Wright.

For tickets to PERFECTLY MARVELOUS;  THE SONGS OF JOHN KANDER call 216-241-6000 or go online http://www.playhousesquare.org

On October 29, two days before Kander attends the PlayhouseSquare concert, he will be at Oberlin College, his alma mater, for a production of his 2011 musical, THE LANDING, which he wrote with Greg Pierce (nephew of David Hyde Pierce).  The script will be staged at the Apollo Theatre, 19 E. College Street.  Admission is free, but tickets are required.  To obtain tickets, call the Oberlin Central Ticket Service Box Office at 440-775-8169. 
JOHN KANDER: HIDDEN TREASURES, 1959-2015, a 2-CD deluxe collection with a 70-page booklet, including written notes by Jesse, Green, theater critic of “New York” magazine, and dozens of production shots and behind-the scenes photos of Kander’s musicals, will be released shortly.  Produced by Ken Bloom and Bill Rudman, the 49-tracks will include recordings from Kander’s student compositions at Oberlin, songs cut from CABARET, CHICAGO, and tunes released for the first time from Kander’s archives, as well as new recordings by Anita Gillete and Karen Ziemba.  It can be pre-ordered at http://www.MusicalTheaterProject.org

Behind the scenes story of the Cleveland Play House's Tony Award

 
At the end of each year, the Cleveland Critics Circle meets to select the winners of that year’s performance awards as well as to deal with matters of importance to area theatres.  At the session which brought to a close the 2014 season, I mentioned that Fran Heller, who was a member of CCC at the time,  had proposed several years ago that the group nominate the Cleveland Play House for The Regional Tony Award.  It had been agreed that the timing was probably not right as CPH was adjusting to its new home in the PlayhouseSquare area and a new Artistic Director was coming on board.
 


Now, however, the time was appropriate for the nomination as the move to the three new theatres in the Allen Theatre at PHSq had been successfully made and the new artistic director had had time to make her presence felt.  The idea was universally accepted. 
 


Andrea Simakis, of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com, volunteered to write the nomination letter.  Bob Abelman of the Cleveland Jewish News and The News Herald, and myself, of coolcleveland.com, artsamerica.com, broadwayworld.com, who are all members of the American Theatre Critics Association, agreed to second the nomination with our adapted versions of Andrea’s presentation.   
 


The nomination letters basically read:   
 


Cleveland Play House is the country’s first regional theater. Founded in 1915, CPH has entertained 12 million people in its more than 1,300 productions. Longevity aside, CPH’s commitment to fostering new talent makes it extraordinary. Alan Alda, Joel Gray and Paul Newman started their careers at Ohio’s flagship theater.
 


In 2011, CPH left its longtime home on Cleveland’s East Side for downtown’s Playhouse Square, the nation’s second-largest performing arts center. 

The move into the Allen Theatre complex, with its three state-of-the-art venues, allowed for more inventive staging and varied play selection. Today, the addition of CPH to Playhouse Square is the engine of an artistic renaissance that has helped  revitalize downtown Cleveland.
 


In 2012, CPH debuted The New Ground Theatre Festival, a weeklong celebration of original and avant garde works that culminates in the public reading of a play by a promising young playwright.
 
In May of this year, the comedy “Fairfield” by Eric Coble, will make its world premiere at CPH.  Coble developed the play at the CPH Playwrights’ Unit, an initiative designed to nurture new work. Coble’s “The Velocity of Autumn,” which opened on Broadway in 2014, was born at the Playwrights’ Unit.
 


The theater is also home to the Case Western Reserve University/  Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program. Alums of the three-year, tuition-free program include Tony Award nominee Elizabeth A. Davis, and “Mad Men’s” Rich Sommer.
 


For these reasons and a century of excellence CPH deserves this year’s regional Tony.”
 


Andrea’s, Bob’s and my documents were e-mailed to the ATCA committee in charge of conducting the selection. 
 


The wait began.
 


Early in 2015 the ballot of nominees for the Regional Theatre Tony Award were mailed to all members of the ATCA.  The Cleveland Play House’s name was on the list.  Ballots were marked by the membership and returned to the organization  for counting. 
 
Another waiting period began.
 


In late April the exciting word came that CPH had been selected to receive the award!
 
Laura Kepley, the theatre’s artistic director, recounted, “I was in the Cleveland airport, on my way to New York to see the opening of GROUNDED, the new play by my husband [George Brant].  I had just ordered a burrito for lunch.  My cell rang.  Kevin Moore [CPH’s Managing Director] was on the phone.  He excitedly told me of the notification of the Tony award.  I yelled, and threw my food up in the air, as I started screaming and sharing the news with total strangers.”  She doesn’t remember if she ever had lunch that day.  She continued, “I knew we had been nominated.  We were hoping for the award.  We are incredibly proud of the recognition.”
 


What does Kepley perceive to be the value of CPH receiving the recognition?   She indicated that the national spotlight is turned on Cleveland because of all the great things that are happening here.  The  Cleveland Play House now helps in the illumination. 
 
“It is a testimony to thousands of people who have done such hard work.  It is a stimulus for local pride.”  She also added, “People who have worked with us for years have reached out to share their Cleveland Play House experience.” 
 
“The recognition will help with fund raising.”  Kepley added, “It should help with attendance in affirming to those who have been coming for the CPH experience that they  have made a wise decision.  For those who used to come but don’t any longer, it may encourage them to see what we are now doing and act as an invitation to those who have never been in our theatres, to come experience Tony winning work.”
 


Kepley indicated that plans are for her, Moore and members of the Board to attend the New York ceremony.
 
She also said that the organization is in the process of planning a live-stream viewing party for The 69th annual Tony Awards hosted by CBS on Sunday, June 7th from Radio City Music Hall in New York City.   Another decision that has to be made is where to display the trophy.
 


Congratulations to The Cleveland Play House, and kudos to the Cleveland Critics Circle for its part in making the award a possibility.

Meet Ricky Ubeda,the winner of TV's, "So You Think You Can Dance" who will be performing in Cleveland

When the tour of “So You Think You Can Dance” comes to the Connor Palace Theatre in Cleveland on October 20, it will expose the local community to the top ten contestants and some of the other dancers who got the attention of the judges.

Since its premiere in 2005, “So You Think You Can Dance,” has been a television sensation. Created by Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, the show, which is a multi Primetime Emmy Award winner, has sparked the nation’s interest in dance and produced some top-ranked performers.  Many of the dancers have gone on to professional careers, including a number presently appearing in Broadway’s NEWSIES and hopefully in Cleveland when that show comes to town as part of the Key Bank Broadway series

A panel of dance experts select 20 dancers to appear in a competition.   They then whittle the number down to a final 10.  The jurists, plus votes by viewers, then select a winner.

The performers, who come from a variety of  dance styles including classical, contemporary, ballroom, hip-hop, street, jazz, tap and musical theatre perform all the genres on their march toward stardom.   Interestingly, two of the four 2014 finalists, were mainly tap dancers.

This year’s winner was Ricky Ubeda, who won a cash stipend of $250,000 and the offer of a part in the forthcoming Broadway production.

I interviewed Ubeda, who was in Los Angeles, during the rev-up to the national tour.  He indicated that he started hip hop dancing around age 12.  Raised by a single Cuban mother who “has always encouraged me to be myself, especially in dance, and be a leader,”  he was also “fortunate to go to Coral Reef High in South Miami.”  It has “a liberal atmosphere and advocates for being yourself.”  “There was no harassment over dancing.  In fact they had a co-ed dance team.  The attitude was, if you are talented, you were a hero. It definitely wasn’t like other schools.”

During the “So You Can Think You Can Dance” telecasts, Ubeda showed a great deal of emotion and emotional vulnerability, both as a dancer and in receiving comments from the judges.  Reminded that this is somewhat unusual for a male, he stated, “My mom was always open and vulnerable.  She taught me that it’s a beautiful thing to let the emotions show.”

Ubeda showed both amazing discipline and breath of ability in each of the dance styles.  He contends that his training helped, but that, in fact, “I was never taught half those styles.”  He contends that “having each choreographer for one and one-half hours the first day and five hours the second day, and then having the duets practice a lot on their own,” helped him hone his skills in each style.

Ricky is grateful to Miami’s Stars Dance Studio who held fundraisers and watch parties during the competition to raise money to send his mom, his siblings, his aunt and his best friend to the shows each week.

As for the competition itself, I probed whether he felt pressure since he was dubbed the potential winner by the judges from the first show on.  He stated, “it put pressure on me, but I listened to the judges’ feedback and took it as an opportunity to improve.”

What was the most difficult challenge he had during the competition?

“The physical exhaustion near the end was tremendous.  The stress and pressure added up.  There were times when we all felt that we just couldn’t keep going.  By the final four shows, we were all absolutely exhausted.” Also, since “we were a tight-knit group, and relationships formed as the competition went along, when friends were voted off it was tough.”

The top ten and some additional dancers, who were eliminated earlier, are going on a 75-city tour, which opens in New Orleans on October 1, 2014, and lasts until mid-February.  Each of the top routines will be included.  “Choreographer Mandy Moore will put the show together. All of the dancers are getting paid.”

After the tour, Ubeda has many decisions to make.  As the competition’s winner, he has have been offered a part in Broadway’s “On The Town.”  As of now, he plans to take the part.  He has already met the cast and has “an interest in getting to know Broadway.”

As for the prize money, he plans to “invest it, life’s crazy, you have to have backup.”

Ricky Ubeda is a dynamic and talented young man.  His future looks bright.

To get tickets to see Ubeda and the rest of the 2014 “So You Think You Can Dance” top ten, on Monday, October 20 at the Connor Palace (formerly the Palace Theatre), call 216-241-6000 or go to http://www.playhousesquare.org/events/index/20

Reuben Silver, the crown prince of Cleveland theatre, remembered

The State Theatre marquee lights were dimmed on Saturday evening, May 10, from 8 to 8:15 in memory of Reuben Silver, who died on Thursday, May 8.  Reuben was 88 years old.

Reuben Silver was a brilliant actor, director and educator, but most important, he was a kind and caring human being.  His impish smile and twinkling eyes could make a character live on stage, and calm and encourage those who he came in contact with off-stage.

He was the artistic director of Karamu from 1955 to 1976, and professor and Chair of the Theatre Department at Cleveland State for 17 years.  He awed audiences with his performances on such stages as Dobama, Great Lakes Theatre, Ensemble, Cleveland State, and Actors’ Summit.

He and his wife, Dorothy, to whom he was married for 64 years, were deservedly Cleveland theatrical royalty.  

They were the consummate team. He often appeared with Dorothy on stage.  In some productions each would director the other.

The Silvers were recognized in 1984 with a Special Citation for Distinguished Service to the Arts.  In 2012 they were recognized by the Cleveland Critics Circle for their “Outstanding Body of Work.”

Reuben’s presence will be missed by those of us who knew, admired and loved him for being such a special person, performer and friend! 

There is one less star in the local theatre community sky, and tears in many eyes, with his passing.

The details of a service celebrating Reuben’s life will be announced at a later date.

For an excellent article about Silver's life and career go to: http://www.benrose.org/MythBusters/mb_silver.cfm

Musical Theatre Project looks behind the scenes of "FIDDLER'

In September, 1964, Broadway welcomed what was to become one of the major musical theatre events.  With a score highlighted by “Sunrise Sunset,” “If I Were a Rich Man,” “To Life,” and “Matchmaker,” “FIDDLER ON THE ROOF” opened to rave reviews, sold out houses, and unbridled praise.

The path to that September day was not easy.  It was marked with many naysayers who thought the plot was “too ethnic” and “lacked popular appeal.”  Who wanted to hear about a poor milkman, in the now destroyed “shtetl” (town) of Anatevka?  Who would be interested in words of Sholem Aleichem, a writer of tales from the “old country?”  Why would modern Americans want to know of archaic traditions? 

The obvious answer, in retrospect, was “lots of people.”  The show has been produced in 32 countries and translated into 16 languages.

When Joseph Stein, Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock joined forces to write “FIDDLER ON THE ROOF,” they did so “in order to create an homage to our heritage. “ A heritage which included hundreds of years of Jews in eastern Europe, whose lives and way of life had been destroyed by pogroms (uprisings), forced evacuations, and ultimately by the “final solution,” the Holocaust. 

This was a life spent where they developed a culture of traditions, which included the way they prayed, ate, dressed, did business, got married, and interacted not only with each other, but those non-Jews who controlled the politics of the regions.  They spoke Yiddish, a language that not only held words which carried their traditions, but had a spoken identifiable cadence. There was music (the haunting cantorial sounds and Klemzer melodic beats), as well as literature, and artistic styles.

These traditions are the guts of “FIDDLER ON THE ROOF,” for, as Tevya, the central character, indicates, “without these traditions these people had no guidelines for how to live their lives.”  

There is controversy, however, over whether FIDDLER is a story of a specific group of people or whether it is a universal story.  If the former, then fidelity must be paid to developing the cadence of the language, and the realism of the traditions.   If the latter, re-imagining is appropriate.

George Roth, who has a long history of portraying Tevya, has some views regarding many aspects of the musical and his portrayal of the role in the upcoming concert version to be presented by Bill Rudman, artistic director of The Musical Theater Project, and the cast (Jacqi Loewy, Sheri Gross, and Jessica Cope). 

As a youth, Roth played the role at his high school in Potomac, Maryland which was staged with some of the original sets and costumes from Broadway.  He played it again in a “re-imagined” production at Beck Center several years ago.  Of that staging he says, “I didn’t think the show needed to be re-imagined.”  (One reviewer commented that the show was more “white bread” (the bread of non-Jews) rather than “challah” (the special bread eaten by Jews on the Sabbath.)  This past summer Roth played Tevya at Porthouse.  The latter performance won him the Cleveland Critics Circle Best Actor in a Musical Award, in the main because of the authenticity.

He compared Zero Mostel’s portrayal, where the role was played with “shtick,” with that of Luther Adler, who didn’t manufacture the actions but went with the guts of a Yiddish theatre actor who understood the motivations. (Mostel was Broadway’s first Tevya, in 1975. Adler replaced him when Mostel left the cast due to a contract dispute.)

Roth states in regard to the universality of the script, “’FIDDLER’ is really the story of the Jews of the pale.  What traditions were they singing about?  The traditions that kept the Jewish people together as one.  If you don’t portray authentic traditions I don’t know what the traditions are.”

Roth, the product of Holocaust survivors, finds a great love in playing the role.  He stated in a recent interview, “Actors like to be given words that expresses themselves.  Tevya feels like coming home...the warmth, the humor, the writing, suit me.”  “I can get the rhythms, I can grow around the sound, the authenticity, it’s satisfying.”

“My inspiration for playing Tevya starts with love.  Theatre is a celebration of imagination and love and good story telling.  Sholem Aleichem is a great story teller and “FIDDLER” is a great story to tell.  Tevya loves his family.  He wants what is best for them.  He copes with life’s issues with a sense of humor.  He is a wise fool who is trying to do the best he can.  There is humor and heart that is fully realized.”

“In order to get the right balance between comedy and tragedy, I need to get out of the way.  There is wonderful text and music.  I’m an actor/singer, not a singer/actor, so I need an emotional hovercraft to circle over the emotion and music.”

How will the concert production be as fulfilling to the audience as seeing a fully staged production?  “It’s not going to be the same.  It’s an intellectual production that celebrates a great musical.  It’s a different animal.”

To see and hear a full discussion and presentation of the making of “FIDDLER,” complete with a video commentary by Sheldon Harnick, attend the performances on March 9, @ 2 and 7 PM, Tri-C Eastern Campus (tickets 216-245-8687 or MusicalTheaterProject.org; or March 16 @ 2 PM, Stocker Arts Center, Lorain County Community College, 440-366-4040 or Stockerartscenter.com.

Roe Green is honored by the Dramatists Guild Fund in NY gala

On October 10, at the Dramatists Guild Fund annual gala at the Edison Ballroom in New York, Cleveland’s Roe Green, Founder and President was honored for her patronage of the arts.  The event was hosted by television and Broadway actor Michael Urie, and featured such legendary theatre elite as Stephen Schwartz, Ben Vereen, Bernadette Peters and Stephen Sondheim. 

The Dramatists Guild Fund is the public charity arm of The Dramatists Guild of America. Its mission is to aid and nurture writers for the theater, to fund non-profit theatres producing contemporary American plays and to heighten awareness, appreciation and support of theatre across America.

Ms. Green,  a graduate of Beachwood High School, noted for her contributions to such organizations as Kent State University, where she built the Roe Green Center, sponsors a visiting director’s series, and serves on the Porthouse Theatre Board.   She serves as a member of the Board of the Cleveland Play House and is the honorary producer of the Fusion Fest.  She was the recipient of the 2009 Ohio Arts Council’s Governor’s Arts 
Patron Award.

Winsor French, Cleveland legend, to come to alive at Beck Center

On Friday, August 23 and Saturday, August 24, WINSOR! A FEISTY CABARET, will be produced by The Musical Theatre Project and performed at the Studio Theater in the Beck Center for the Arts.  The cabaret, with the performers seated on stools, will star Scott Plate and be directed by Victoria Bussert.  The topic of the cabaret will be Winsor French.

Who is Winsor French?   From the early 1930s until the late 1960s, Winsor French, an about-town columnist for the Cleveland News and later the Cleveland Press, and founder of PARADE magazine, was the darling of Cleveland society.

French was friends with the likes of Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard, Noel Coward, Somerset Maugham, Alfred Lunt, Lynn Fontanne and John Steinbeck. He was a constant house guest of Cole and Linda Porter.  He travelled with them, and wrote articles about his world adventures, and the people he hobnobbed with, in the local newspapers.

The person most influential in getting French accepted by Cleveland’s elite was
Leonard Hanna, Junior.  Hanna was a philanthropist, art collector, theatergoer, patron of the arts, director of the M. A. Hanna Company, and one of the most powerful movers and shakers in Cleveland until his death in 1957.

Hanna, like French, was gay, but not as openly out.  French often stayed at the Hanna farm in Mentor, accompanied by Roger Stearns, a well-known local pianist, his long time companion.

In a time rampant against homosexuality, French was liked and respected.  He had good looks, a remarkable ability to tell stories in his resonant Baritone voice, most commonly starting his oral tales with his column’s opening phrase, “You won’t believe this . . . ”.

French, though not a member of their religious faith, was “in” with the “Jewish Jolly Set,” the most influential Jews in Cleveland.  It was that group which is credited with showing French the value of philanthropy.  Here was another instance that, in an era of strong anti-Semitism, French was able to breach the gap, hold his influential position, espouse Jewish causes due to his connections not only with Hanna, but with Cleveland Indian’s owner Bill Veeck.

In an era of racism, French often wrote about local Black night clubs and, in the age of prohibition, told about illegal speakeasies, and even commented on the cost of their booze.

French was born in Saratoga Springs, NY.  His father, a military man, died when he was five.  His mother remarried and Winsor became the step-son of Joseph O. Eaton, founder of Cleveland’s Eaton Corporation.  He was, for a short time, married to Margaret Frueauff, whose stage name was Margaret Perry.  The Tony Awards, given for professional theatrical merit, are named after her mother,  Antoinette Perry, who was the co-founder of the Theatre Wing, which originated the awards.

The bon vivant French will long be remembered, not only for his writing about “’sepia’ entertainers, Jewish socialites, school children in wheelchairs, and men who found males more exciting than females,” but for tooling around the city in a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud.

How did James Wood, the author of four books on the social history of Cleveland, and a long time CLEVELAND MAGAZINE columnist, come to write a book about French?

He credits the idea for OUT AND ABOUT WITH WINSOR FRENCH to “Margaret Halle Sherwin, who loved Winsor French and for a short time—not more than an hour or two—was engaged to marry this remarkable man.”

As Wood related in a conference call interview, “long time friend, Margaret, met me for lunch.”  She said, “After you finish the Halle book [HALLE’S: MEMOIRS OF A FAMILY DEPARTMENT STORE] you need to do Winsor French.  She kept after me.  The task was daunting.  There appeared to be no correspondence and archival materials.  One of his sisters eventually produced a letter file.”  Wood then related that he went back into the many years of columns and found a treasure-trove of information.  He realized that what he had was information about “a clever guy, writing with gay subtext.”  He was fascinated by “what French could do when, as a homosexual man he should have been in the closet.”

Though the suggestion for the book came in 1985, it took Wood until 2011 to get it published.

How did the staged version come into existence?  While Wood was interviewing Winsor’s sister, Martha Hickox, she said, “I wish you were writing a play, rather than a book.  An actor could portray Winsor better than a biographer.”

“Eventually, I gave a list of Winsor’s favorite songs to Bill Rudman, contemporary Cleveland’s connoisseur of musical theatre and cabaret.  I asked him if he thought they might be the basis for a show.  He said, ‘Maybe, if you would write the script.’”

Though there are no definite plans for anything other than the local staged readings, Wood, who will be in attendance at all three performances, and available for post-production talk backs, is interested in hearing how audiences react.  After that, he states, “Who knows?”

Only time will tell whether Wood, Rudman, Bussert and Plate will “fulfill Martha’s observation and give life to Winsor through a live theatrical performance of his favorite music.”

You can be part of history by attending one of the performances.  For $22 tickets call 216-245-8687 or visit musicaltheaterproject.org.

Post note:  My appreciation to James M. Wood and Bill Rudman for participating in a conference call on August 4, 2013, which is the basis for much of this article.  RMB

Spotlight on Kory of 102, theatre reviewer

Kory of 102 newest member of Cleveland Critics Circle

Members of the Cleveland Critics Circle, the official organization of area theater reviewers and critics, come from various backgrounds. Some are college professors and teachers, some are professional reporters and writers, others are public relations experts. There is even a life coach in the mix. But they have one thing in common, they all have strong theatre backgrounds as directors, actors, producers or have studied theatre history and playwrighting. That is, except for the newest member, Christopher Beale, known professionally as Kory.

Beale, was brought up in Apopka, Florida. He recounts that he was a kid with ADD, on Ritalin, who was a “dork.” In high school he was, in his words, “obnoxious, brave, insecure, and bullied.” He took several actions during that time that has set him on an interesting life path. In his freshman year he came out as gay. Part of the reason for his actions was his self-acknowledged “not afraid to be different.” Then, after his third freshman year, he decided that school wasn’t for him, and dropped out.

His path led to Disneyworld and eventually, because of his deep, resonant voice, to a job in radio. As he explains it, “I went to work at a little psychotic libertarian station connected to the Liberty Works Radio Network.” The job came about because he made a demo on a computer, contacted a number of stations on Friendster, and was hired as an intern. He moved to Maryland . After they found out he was gay, he was fired.

Not to be deterred, he moved back to Orlando, made another demo and got a job with Metro Traffic as their weekend traffic reporter and camera operator on a helicopter. Eventually he was hired as the overnight weekend dj at Y-100 Miami. Remember, this is a young kid, a high school dropout, competing in a world of many college trained and educated professionals. After a disastrous experience in Boston, he was offered a job in Colorado Springs. After three years there, the still twenty-something year old, wound up in Gainesville, then Orlando, and finally in Cleveland.

How did he get into theatre reviewing? The same serendipity that has followed him throughout his life reared its head. He went to see a production of ALTAR BOYZ and hung out with the cast. One of the cast members suggested, after hearing him comment on the show, that he write a review. Why not? He went into radio with no training or background, why not reviewing? He posted the critique on the station’s media list. It started to get hits. He was on his way to being a self-declared reviewer.

His commentaries don’t follow the usual approach of evaluating the production aspects of a show. Since he has never been in a play, except for one-line in kindergarten, never has directed nor read scripts, and has no formal theatre educational background, he writes from his gut.

Kory believes that the average theatergoer isn’t a theatre expert either. He states, “They are looking for entertainment and something that they have never done before. I write from that perspective.”

Why should someone pay any attention to his views? He says, “I don’t represent what I know about. I only know what I saw when I went to the theatre.” He seems to be learning on the job. His reviewing skills have increasingly had more depth. He admits that “since doing reviews and reading the writings of others, I’ve started to do research about the shows I see.”

He doesn’t actually read the reviews on air. He mentions a show a couple of times. He leads his listeners to his blog site, where the entire review resides. He often interviews cast and production members. “If there is a live interview, a segment is presented on air and my blog links to the interview.”

Some comments about his reviews include: “When I look at a show, I put it on a curve based on the kind of theatre I’m reviewing.” “I have the benefit of going into the theatre as an uneducated theatre-goer, so I go in fresh faced.” “I don’t claim to be an expert, but I know good entertainment when I see it.” “My bottom line is, if I had spent $90 to see this show would I have been feeling ripped off?”

Some might question whether Kory’s reviews have credibility. The answer depends on your viewpoint. If you are one who believes that there must be some educational and experiential basis for evaluation of any art form, whether it is painting, dance, music or theatre, then Kory’s background isn’t going to lead you to his blog. If, on the other hand, you want a gut level reaction to a show, Kory, is probably your man. There are many in town who seemingly buy into his perspective as the number of hits on his blog keep increasing!

To read a sampling of Kory and reviews of the other Cleveland Critics Circle members go to www.clevelandtheaterreivews.com

Legally Addicted

Fairmount Center for the Arts takes on the realities of prescription drug abuse

Two years ago, Fairmount Center for the Arts presented EAT IT’S NOT ABOUT FOOD. The production examined the dangerous world of eating disorders for tween and teen girls and boys. Using theatre rather than lecturing, the emotional impact was raw and unapologetic, making the pain of these eating disorders obvious.

The production was so powerful that the Cleveland Center for Eating Disorders signed on as a lead sponsor and twelve community productions were presented.

This year, Fairmount Center for the Arts’ Committee for Social Relevancy, in coordination with Recovery Resources, will present and tour LEGALLY ADDICTED, a program aimed at exposing high school students, their teachers, families, and community members, to the epidemic of prescription drug abuse and its pathway to street drugs. The sessions are aimed at inner city, suburban and rural audiences.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Ohio Department of Health, in 2010, prescription drug overdoses killed 1,544 Ohioans. From 1999 to 2010, Ohio’s death rate due to unintentional drug overdoses increased 372%, driven largely by prescription drugs.

The FCA program is part of an effort by the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities, which has partnered with the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services and Cardinal Health, to battle the opiate epidemic.

LEGALLY ADDICTED is a 35-minute script written by Notre Dame College Theatre and Communication professor, Jacqi Loewy. The play will be coupled with a post-play dialogue in which experts on substance abuse and recovery from Recovery Resources and other programming partners, will lead discussions adapted to fit the audience being addressed. Advanced content materials have been prepared to help prepare students and parents for the performance. The entire approach is to speak with, not at the students and parents.

LEGALLY ADDICTED will be directed by Dustin Welch. The actors, who will be mainly teenagers, will be selected through open auditions. The show’s staging requires little in the way of technical support, as the setting is minimal.

An anonymous private funder has given a grant to help underwrite the cost of script preparation. Support of foundations and companies interested in supporting either performances or production expenses are still being sought.

Each showing costs $1000, but subsidization may be available to schools and organizations who want to present LEGALLY ADDICTED. The programs are available Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1 pm and Monday evenings from September through May.

After a series of staged readings, a full-production and discussion will be held on September 10 at the Fairmount Center. There will also be a showing at the large opiate summit to be held in the area on September 28. Segments of the production will be available on You Tube and other social media.

For more information about the production go to www.fairmountcenter.org, For booking performances contact Lindsay Gips at 440-338-3171.

Blank Canvas/Patrick Ciamacco

Welcome to BLANK CANVAS: The evolution of a new theatre

The story sounds right out of a 1930s Andy Hardy movie: with the cry, “Let’s put on a play,”Patrick Ciamacco and his merry band of henchman, decided, about 6 years ago to create a new theatre. At first they thought of the title Ghostlight Theatre, but since the name was already taken, and not wanting to tempt a lawsuit, the decision was made to call it Blank Canvas. Yes, a space void of substance, opening up the possibility to design and formulate what they wanted,with no restrictions.

After making a splash as the Laughter League, housed in Medina, Blank Canvas was offered a space in The 78^th Street Studios. The owner wanted a permanent theatre tenant, the group wanted a space to do what they wanted without having restrictions placed on them such as union requirements. It was a match made in heaven. Well, almost. The owner cut a great deal, but the creative team had toinvent on the run as they needed to quickly mount a show.

Their opening production, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MUSICAL, an adult rock musical coming of age story about a 1970s handsome serial killer,played to half-filled houses through the first weekend, then, as the word spread, the 85 seat theatre was sold out for the rest of the run.

The writers of CHAINSAW came, loved it, and incorporated thechanges that director Ciamacco made into their Las Vegas edition of theshow.

Their second production, OF MICE AND MEN, based on John Steinbeck’s epic tale of two farmhand drifters, received rave reviews, and also did well at the box office.

Ciamacco indicates that “a lot of people responded favorably to the differences in the types of the first two shows, as well as the theatre space which is an intimate, right there space, with no audience member more than 15 feet from the stage.”

How is it financed? Ciamacco and some friends donated the start up costs. The income from the Laughter League helps. The Near West Theatre donated the BLANK CANVAS’s seats. Relationships with other theatres helped get a lighting board, and sound instruments were borrowed or rented at low costs. Some of the area’s best technicians volunteered their time free, and the actors were cooperative and helpful, building and painting scenery. Yes, it’s Andy Rooney comes to Cleveland.

What should audiences expect from Blank Canvas? Ciamacco admits the philosophy isevolving, changes have already been made in the description of who the audience is and what will be the final production, but right now, he wants low tickets prices for a quality show, a season with something for everyone, possibly someOhio premiers, and a place where non-traditional theatre-goers will feel welcome.

Their next production is Will Kern’s HELL CAB. It consists of 70 minutes of vignettes about modern city life and the people we meet for a brief moment but who touch us long afterwards. Six actors play 25 roles, while a cabbie, seated in a real yellow cab on stage, acts as the audience’s guide. The show runs May 4-20.

Ciamacco, who is young, creative, idealistic, and probably a little naïve, has great plans for the Blank Canvas. Based on the first two productions, this dynamo may be on the path to developing another fine area venue.

The theatre is located in the 78^th StreetStudios, 1301 West 78^th Street, Suite 211. For tickets, which are $15, or other information call 440-941-0458 or go to www.blankcanvastheatre.com

KSU's Roe Green Visting Director's Series

KSU'S VISITING DIRECTOR'S SERIES--2012

Local arts patron and activist Roe Green is at it again! Much of Cleveland theatre is stamped with the Roe Green tag. She’s the sponsor of the Cleveland Critic’s Circle’s ClevelandTheaterReviews.com. She’s the fairy godmother to the Kent State University’s theatre program, as her foundation recently built their new theatre and dance center. She serves on the KSU Foundation, School of Theatre and Dance and Porthouse Theatre’s Advisory Boards. She serves on the board of The Cleveland Play House and has been the honorary producer for their Fusion Fest. She sponsored the theatre program at the Jewish Community Center for many years. She has also donated to other area theatres.

Her latest foray into the arts is KSU’s Roe Green Visiting Director’s Series which brings in a playwright to work with students and create an original theatre piece. This year’s director/playwrite is Ami Dayan. Dayan, who has studied and worked professionally in the U.S., Europe and Israel, was recently commissioned by The Denver Center Theatre Company and the Colorado Shakespeare Festival to craft new works. He is the president of Maya Productions, an independent theatre company (see www.mayaproductionsinc.com).

Dayan has adapted Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s 1779 literary masterpiece NATHAN THE WISE, one of the earliest pieces celebrating religious tolerance into a play with music. In actuality, it is a full-ledged musical drama. The script is a plea for religious tolerance between Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

The KSU production succeeds on many levels. It is entertaining, tells its tale in an audience involving mode, and has some interesting, if not memorable music. As is the case with any work-in-progress, it needs some tweeking.

The student cast members do a nice job of developing their roles. The singing is generally very good, the musical sounds enhanced the show supporting rather than drowning out the performers.

Again, thanks to Beachwood High School grad Roe Green for her continued support of the arts.

Great Lakes Theatre Shakespeare Composing Contest

GREAT LAKES THEATRE celebrates Shakespeare’s birthday with music

April 23 is the anniversary of William Shakespeare’s 448th birthday. That gala date will be celebrated by Great Lakes Theatre, Cleveland’s classic company, in grand style. In cooperation with WCPN 90.3 FM, the announcement of their 2012 songwriting contest winners will officially be announced.

The competition was open to junior and senior high school soloists or bands. The assignment was to submit new, original music inspired by ROMEO AND JULIET, which will be in production at GLT on the Bard’s birthday.

“The idea of the songwriting contest is to connect musically talented students to classic works of literature appearing on the Great Lakes stage,” said the theatre’s Education Director Daniel Hahn. “Shakespeare has inspired countless artists, and since his plays are often musical and lyrical, we wanted to see how student composers might respond to his work.”

“We had over 75 students enter the contest this year, far and away the most ever,” said Hahn, “and the entries were so good we actually added a fifth grand prize winner, after originally planning for just four.”

The grand prize winners were: Alex Berko (grade 10, Solon High--pictured above), Lexi Clegg (grade 7, Laurel School), Maria Bernadette DiDonato (grade 12, Normandy High), Keifer Wiley (grade 11, Orange High), and the band “InTandem,” featuring Wil Birsic (grade 12, Elyria Catholic), Brett Diederich (grade 12, Elyria Catholic), Zach Gunelach (grade 12, Elyria Catholic), and Caitlin Terrell (grade 12, Medina High).

Music submissions of all styles and genres were accepted. Each grand prize winning entry received a $250 cash prize, a professionally engineered recording, commemorative CDs and a radio broadcast of the song on a special edition of WCPN’s Around Noon. Winners were interviewed by Dee Perry, the host of the program. In addition, winners received tickets for a production of ROMEO AND JULIET.

Broadway Series 2012-13 announced

 

CLEVELAND’S BROADWAY SERIES 2012-13 ANNOUNCED

There was no doubt while Gina Vernaci, the Cleveland Play House Square’s Senior Vice President of Theater Operations was announcing the 2012-13 Key Bank’s Broadway series in the Westfield Insurance Studio Theatre, that something special was happening. The applause continued to get louder and louder as Vernaci added one pleasing offering after another.

The series opens with ANYTHING GOES which received the 2011 Tony Award for a winning revival. The Cole Porter 1934 musical will be staged by director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall. The production will rehearse in Cleveland for its tour and will open here. Performances are set for October 2 through 14.

The touring production will star Rachel York as Reno Sweeney, who was present for the Key Bank preview. The dynamic York played Fantine in LES MISERABLES on Broadway, and Marguerite in the second Broadway version of THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL. Her other Broadway productions include CITY OF ANGELS, VICTOR VICTORIA, SLY FOX and DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS.

In a one-on-one interview, York, who declares that she is a perfectionist, finds that touring, and living out of suitcase is going to be a challenge as she is a new mother and will be bringing her child on the tour. She finds that every opening night in each city is a major challenge. The different audiences and new venues presents an interesting challenge.

Following ANYTHING GOES will be a new staging of Disney’s Beauty & the Beast from November 6 through 18.

The Bette Midler produced PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT, which won a 2011 Tony Award for costumes, will disco into town from January 15-27. This is a quirky show of a troupe of cross-dressers traveling Australia in a rocking tour.

Another super star, Whoopi Goldberg, is the producer of SISTER ACT, based on her 1992 movie. The feel good musical, which has been called “ridiculously fun” will be on the local stage from March 5-17

My review of WAR HORSE, which I saw on stage at Lincoln Center ended with the statement: “Filled with amazing puppetry, stirring music, a riveting story, compelling graphics, and fine acting, WARHORSE is mesmerizing theatre. It is a once in a lifetime theatrical experience.” To be honest, I never expected the show to tour…there are just to many technical wonders to reproduce. I’m so excited to see how the masters who created the show pull it off. You may have seen the movie, but it was a light-weight compared to the stage production. See Handspring Puppet Company of South Africa’s amazing puppets in action from April 9 through 21, 2013.

GUYS AND DOLLS, Damon Runyon’s sit down your rockin’ the boat musical will be a joint production with Great Lakes Theatre. It will be staged in the intimate Hanna Theatre from May 1 through June 23.

The season climaxes with THE BOOK OF MORMON, Broadway’s hottest ticket. My review of the show was, “THE BOOK OF MORMON is one fun ride that takes on religion, the Broadway musical, life and strife, and comes out the winner. It’s a precious laugh delight.” Unfortunately, the Trey Parker/Matt Stone hilarious musical will only be at the Palace Theatre for three weeks, so the odds of getting tickets will probably necessitate buying a season ticket. With the quality of what’s scheduled, that should be a no brainer.

Find details at playhousesquare.org/broadway