Sunday, February 21, 2016

MR BURNS: the post-apocalyptic future according to The Simpsons @ CPT

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It should come as no surprise to anyone who has seen Anne Washburn’s MR. BURNS A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY, now in production at Cleveland Pub...
Tuesday, February 16, 2016

IN THE HEIGHTS explodes with Latino verve @ Beck Center

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At the start of IN THE HEIGHTS, now in its locally produced premiere at Beck Center, Usnavi chases away Graffiti Pete, a graffiti artis...
Sunday, February 14, 2016

Slight GOLDEN LEAF RAG TIME BLUES at Ensemble

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Director Ian Wolfgang Hinz’s program notes state, “GOLDEN LEAF RAG TIME BLUES is an exploration of prejudice and humanism.”  He continues,...
Friday, February 12, 2016

IF/THEN, in spite of a wonderful score, confuses some at Conner Palace

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I happened to be in D.C. on November 5, 2013 when IF/THEN opened its preview run.  I was fortunate enough to get tickets to opening nigh...
Wednesday, February 10, 2016

DETROIT ’67 @ Karamu looks at the riots in the Motor City

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February 1, 1960--North Carolina State University students protested when the administration wouldn’t let a black male’s name appear on th...
Saturday, February 06, 2016

Lakeland Civic Theatre journeys INTO THE WOODS for wishes, choices and consequences

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Most fairy tales start with “Once upon a time,” and end with “And they lived happily ever after.”  Ever wonder if “happily ever after” is ...
Sunday, January 31, 2016

PURE SHOCK VALUE, absurd farce confounds at none too fragile

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Sean Derry and Alanna Romansky, Co-Artistic Directors of none too fragile have, since its founding in 2010, established the venue as a maj...

CPH’s compelling THE MOUNTAINTOP places spotlight on Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Katori Hall, who wrote the award winning play THE MOUNTAINTOP, which is in production at Cleveland Play House, in her script attempts to a...
Tuesday, January 26, 2016

SAME TIME NEXT YEAR, delightful “old time” comedy at Actors’ Summit

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Bernard Slade.  Name sound familiar?  Probably not.  How about “Bewitched,” “The Flying Nun,” “The Partridge Family,” “Bridget Loves Berni...
Saturday, January 23, 2016

Funny, thought-provoking THE REALISTIC JONESES at Dobama

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What do Tracy Letts (SUPERIOR DONUTS), Yasmina Reza (GOD OF CARNAGE), Amy Herzog (4000 MILES), and David Adjmi (MARIE ANTOINETTE) have i...
Friday, January 22, 2016

It’s snowing in Cleveland, but look forward to spring and summer @ the Shaw Festival

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The Canadian winds are whipping across Lake Erie!  Yes, the snow is on the ground, the weather is miserable, but soon the cold winds will...
Tuesday, January 19, 2016

FRANKENSTEIN’S WAKE @ CPT, a thought-provoking reimagining of the Shelly legend

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When the mention of the name Frankenstein is made, the common visual reference is that of Boris Karloff, who was a large green monster wi...

Apollo’s Fire, Cleveland’s “other” internationally recognized orchestra presents “Sephardic Journey”

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Apollo’s Fire, Cleveland’s “other” orchestra is credited with having built the largest audience in the nation for “early-music” (Renaissa...
Sunday, January 17, 2016

Musical black comedy delights and could incite thinking at Cleveland Play House

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How does the musical black comedy LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS fit into the Cleveland Play House’s 100th anniversary theme of paying homage to t...
Thursday, January 14, 2016

Cleveland’s “Daddy Warbucks” comes home in ANNIE tour at Conner Palace Theatre

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Gilgamesh Taggett has made a name for himself on the Cleveland theater scene in a variety of roles.  Two times he received praise for his ...
Monday, January 11, 2016

CPT’s INCENDIARIES HOUGH 1966, thought-provoking but problematic

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July 18, 1966 is a day that will long be noted in the Cleveland community.  That hot, muggy day festered into what is now called “The Houg...
Saturday, January 09, 2016

“Petite firecracker,” Lauren Molina, stars in Cleveland Playhouse’s LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

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If you had asked Lauren Molina during her high school days in Detroit what she was going to be when she grew up, the self-described “brain...