September 2, 2010  
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Theater Reviews
Busy theater season lies just ahead
08/25/2010

The annual lull between the summer and fall theater seasons can make local playgoers wonder what might be going on. Has theater died?

CVLT season opens with 'Jekyll, Hyde'
08/18/2010

The fall theater season approaches, and Chagrin Valley Little Theatre has announced a full slate from October right through August of 2011. Six productions will appear on the main stage, with four additional productions scheduled for the smaller River Str

Silly 'Pimpernel' gets sillier yet
08/11/2010

Just over 100 years ago, Baroness Orczy wrote the novel "The Scarlet Pimpernel.

'Phantom' crashes a bit weakly
08/05/2010

In the cozy confines of the Allen Theatre, the centerpiece of Cleveland's Playhouse Square, a return engagement of "The Phantom of the Opera" is again drawing crowds.

CVLT produces flop terrifically
07/28/2010

Can the comic genius found in Mel Brooks' musical "The Producers" survive in Chagrin Falls?

'Gatherers' hunt grizzly comedy
07/21/2010

Richard and Pam are preparing for their annual dinner celebration with longtime friends Wendy and Tom. Seems civilized enough. The two couples, now in their mid-30s, have shared this once-a-year get-together since high school.

Humor never in doubt with Durang
07/14/2010

Christopher Durang has been making fun of some very successful playwrights for a couple of decades. He claims to have written well over 100 short plays. Mr. Durang claims a lot of things. One thing is sure -- he is a very funny man. His parodies, spoofs

 'Swim Club' makes splash with laughter
06/09/2010

Jesse Jones, Nicolas Hope and Jamie Wooten are not exactly household names.

Chagrin actress has Annie part down pat
06/02/2010

A year ago, the Times profiled the Welch family, Chagrin Falls residents with a passion for performing. The article offered a day in the life of aspiring actors Sam and Natalie, then 12 and 10 years old, respectively, as they were chauffeured from auditio

'Dark Ride' is tangled journey
05/27/2010

Several decades ago, Euclid Beach Park, a well-known Cleveland landmark, disappeared only to be replaced by apartment buildings. The park had a popular boat ride called the Tunnel of Love and another walk-through attraction labeled the Fun House

'Humble Boy' is full of surprises
05/20/2010

Charlotte Jones' memorable "Humble Boy," so densely plotted in contrivances, spews British farce without actually being a farce at all. Her complex comedy is given a nimble turn at Dobama Theatre, now in its first season on Lee Road.

With nothing to hide, he faces naked truth
05/12/2010

Everyone has had that frightening dream.

Great acting makes this 'Dream' hip
05/06/2010

Those who like their Shakespeare pure will be disappointed in the Great Lakes Theater Festival's 1960s-style of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." But director Charles Fee thinks far differently.

Two drunks stumble but prevail
04/29/2010

Bill Wilson had not had a drink for five months. But in the lobby of an Akron hotel, he was suddenly desperate for one, knowing full well once he started drinking again he might never stop.

'Forever Plaid' is pure entertainment
04/21/2010

To find Chagrin Valley Little Theatre finally getting around to doing "Forever Plaid" is a joy. While the show joins the great and not-so-great songs of the '50s, it can't be beat for pure entertainment.

 Actors get to fly on Kenston stage
04/14/2010

Sophomore Christian Carter has been flying high in his upcoming lead role on the Kenston High School stage. As a newcomer to Kenston Center Stage, the school's performing group, Christian said he never expected to be chosen for the title role in "Peter P

Love story on stage blossoms in real life
04/07/2010

"For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo."

THEATER, BY HERB HAMMER
03/31/2010

Don't let the title scare you away. "Kimberly Akimbo," the dramatic farce by David Lindsay-Abaire, as staged by Convergence-Continuum is a one-of-a-kind play in which you cringe and laugh, often both at the same time.

Dark comedy is taken to heart
03/25/2010

Stephen Karam appears to be a bit young to write a highly successful play. He was only 27 when his "Speech & Debate" opened at New York's Roundabout Theater in 2007.

THEATER, BY HERB HAMMER
03/24/2010

Stephen Karam appears to be a bit young to write a highly successful play. He was only 27 when his "Speech & Debate" opened at New York's Roundabout Theater in 2007.

'Secret Affairs' goes wild at CVLT
03/17/2010

Roy Wild's life is about to literally crash in on him. The wrecking ball is ready to destroy his Greenwich Village candy store, along with the tiny living quarters he shares with his screwball wife, Mildred.

Not enough twists, turns to save 'Emma'
03/11/2010

Jane Austen's classic romantic comedy takes on a new look in the hands of Cleveland Play House Director Michael Bloom. Mr. Bloom has adapted "Emma" for the stage and has turned over the directorial reigns to Peter Amster. Whether this team works well toge

Give 'Great White Hope' an opportunity
03/03/2010

When Jack Johnson broke the color barrier of heavyweight championship boxing, the world became a different place. We have come a long way since. But that doesn't make Howard Sackler's 1967 play "The Great White Hope" any more relevant than it is today.

Music, dance soar to great 'Heights'
02/25/2010

The more you pay attention to the fresh choreography, the pulsating music and the incomparable singing, the more you will fall in love with the 2008 Tony Award-winning "In the Heights" at the Palace Theatre in Playhouse Square.

Old West fable is as good as dead
02/17/2010

When "The Rider on the Pale Horse" first appeared in a 1950 issue of the Saturday Evening Post, the clever little folk tale was thought to be soon forgotten.

Old West fable is as good as dead
02/17/2010

When "The Rider on the Pale Horse" first appeared in a 1950 issue of the Saturday Evening Post, the clever little folk tale was thought to be soon forgotten.

Old West fable is as good as dead
02/17/2010

When "The Rider on the Pale Horse" first appeared in a 1950 issue of the Saturday Evening Post, the clever little folk tale was thought to be soon forgotten.

'Fats' Waller revival is jumping
02/10/2010

"The Joint is Jumpin'," a song from "Ain't Misbehavin'," the award-winning, jazzed-up revival of "Fats" Waller songs, best describes the exciting production staged at the Bolton Theatre of the Cleveland Play House. The Bolton is truly jumping.

Adapted children's fable premieres on local stage
02/03/2010

On the main stage of the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre is a play that merges Shakespearian tragedies with film noir crime dramas to create a comedic murder mystery. Judging from the title of the play opening Feb. 12 at the smaller River Street Playhouse,

 School musical leaps back to flapper era
01/28/2010

Kenston Middle School will perform the musical "Thoroughly Modern Millie" at 7 p.m. Friday (Jan. 29) and 4 p.m. Jan. 30 in the Kenston High School auditorium.

 School musical leaps back to flapper era
01/28/2010

Kenston Middle School will perform the musical "Thoroughly Modern Millie" at 7 p.m. Friday (Jan. 29) and 4 p.m. Jan. 30 in the Kenston High School auditorium.

 Merger of genres is tough act for CVLT
01/21/2010

It's Sherlock meets Shylock in Chagrin Valley Little Theater's production of "The Maltese Bodkin." On stage in Chagrin Falls through Feb. 6, it is a Labradoodle of a play.

There's much to like about 'Yogi'
01/13/2010

This has been a difficult year to be a Cleveland Indians fan. In addition to finishing the season with an embarrassing 65-97 record, the team and its fans had to witness the dreaded New York Yankees win yet another World Series, the 27th championship in t

Lincoln's legacy memorialized in dance
01/07/2010

Abraham Lincoln's legacy has been memorialized in marble and on Mount Rushmore.

Two shows at CVLT stood out in 2009
12/30/2009

Looking back over all the plays this reviewer has covered is an annual task that began 35 years ago when I first started writing for the Times. Sifting through the dozens of these stage experiences every year is a labor of love. Deciding on which producti

Local theaters warm up winter
12/23/2009

In last week's edition, this corner offered a schedule of the south Florida winter theater season. But most of us are staying here in the frigid northland.

Twisted 'Wicked' is serious, funny
12/09/2009

The battle of the witches continues at the State Theatre in Playhouse Square. Yes, "Wicked," the smash Broadway hit, has returned to Cleveland for the third time, and again audiences are packing the place.

'Maria' envisions favorite things
12/02/2009

When a Broadway musical makes the transition to the big screen, it is impossible to see any subsequent stage production of that musical and not have the now-iconic cinematic images pop into one's head.

'Willy Wonka' is holiday delight
11/25/2009

During the holiday season, there isn't anything you would consider to be too cute. This is certainly the reason to forgive the stage play with clumsy directing, cheap sets and awkward dances.

Darkness sheds light in 'Yellowman'
11/18/2009

In a recent interview with American Theatre magazine, contemporary playwright Dael Orlandersmith was asked to comment on her propensity for portraying lives torn apart by poverty, racism and substance abuse.

Theater guild widens its mission in Geauga
11/12/2009

When the Geauga Lyric Theater Guild was founded in 1954, its mission was to produce musical theater using local talent for the entertainment of Geauga County residents. Fifty-five years later, the guild continues to do that, while setting its course on an

Evolution debate worth the sweat
11/04/2009

Some political arguments just won't go away. Take for instance the 1925 "Scopes Monkey Trial," where a Tennessee school teacher was tried for teaching Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species." The trial drew national attention and turned out to be a ba

'Mystery' sends audience home happy
10/29/2009

Charles Dickens died suddenly after he had finished half of his 12-part novel "Mystery." After several attempts by various writers over the years to complete the work had failed, Rupert Holmes, giving full credit to Mr. Dickens, did the job with enormou

'Scarecrows' puts chills on thriller
10/21/2009

"The Wizard of Oz did a great disservice to the scarecrow by depicting him as a brainless bundle of good intentions. Pat Cook's mystery comedy thriller "A Murder of Scarecrows," which opened last weekend at the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre, sets things r

'Twelfth Night' sorts out confusion
10/14/2009

In order to avoid the confusion brought by the many farcical elements in Shakespeare's romantic comedy "Twelfth Night," it's best to read the synopsis first. If this is accomplished, the sheer joy of the Great Lakes Theater Festival's production can truly

'Cleveland,' the play, is real loser
10/08/2009

Dobama Theatre has finally settled into a permanent home. That's the good news.

'Private Lives' mixes in laughter
10/01/2009

The world in romantic comedies tends to be seen through rose-colored glasses. It is an affable place with warm hues, poetic prose and endless optimism radiating from the soul mates who occupy it.

 'Man of La Mancha' has history at CVLT
09/24/2009

This time last year, the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre produced "Guys and Dolls: In Concert," a stripped-down version of the 1951 Tony Award-winning musical performed with a full 25-piece orchestra on stage.

All ends well for 'problem play'
09/16/2009

If "All's Well That Ends Well" is "a problem play," as the Case Western Reserve MFA Acting Program proclaims, then why are they performing this 1623 seldom-seen Shakespearian relic?

Wandering Dobama gets ready to settle in
09/10/2009

Dobama has a new home. After leaving its underground converted bowling alley on Coventry Road in 2005, Cleveland's much-loved theater is about to settle into its long-awaited permanent residence.

'Perfect Crime' is brutally terrible
09/03/2009

Before leaving New York, there is always the urge to see at least one Off Broadway play. With scores to choose from, the choice isn't so hard after all.

Big and 'Wicked,' it's good and bad
08/27/2009

The Gershwin Theatre on 50th Street just north of Times Square is a massive spectacle of a place. Its enormous stage and wide, deep auditorium make it the perfect New York place for "Wicked," the prequel musical to the 1939 classic movie "The Wizard of Oz

Children's eyes open to theater
08/19/2009

There are few gifts as rewarding as introducing the next generation to the wonders of the performing arts. There are even fewer that are as affordable and accessible as the children's theater series offered by the folks at Playhouse Square.

'My Girl' hijinks get high Marx
08/13/2009

Those familiar with the Marx Brothers movies from the 1930s and 1940s will take particular pleasure in the version of "Me and My Girl" playing on the Mercury Summer Stock stage in Parma.

'Grease' and fun mix it up at CVLT
07/29/2009

Here we are back at Rydell High taking still another nostalgic look at Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey's satire of high school life in the 1950s.

Aurora's 'Joseph' just amazing
07/22/2009

The very first collaboration of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice was the 1968 comic musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." Starting as a small-scaled, staged musical choral show, it grew into a full-scale popular musical opera.

Sometimes, 10 minutes is too long
07/15/2009

Chagrin Valley Little Theatre has gone out on a limb.

 Actor has that voice but didn't get crunch
07/09/2009

"Stays sugar sweet and crunchy, even in milk."

'Fall to Earth' comes down heavy
07/02/2009

What are Fay and her daughter Rachel doing in a motel room? Why did they fly to this city far from their Chicago home? Well, playwright Joel Drake Johnson won't tell you just yet.

Drama gets displaced with 'Pangs'
06/24/2009

Unless you've been following the historical events in Israel the past 60 years or so, you would barely have a clue as to what's going on in Motti Lerner's high-pitched drama "Pangs of the Messiah."

Funny really happens in 'Forum'
06/17/2009

While it's always a pleasant evening of playgoing at the outdoor Porthouse Theatre on a summer night, it's even more pleasant when director Terri Kent has something special in store.

 Tolerance is lesson for 'Laramie Project'
06/11/2009

A senior project has become a production for Jenn Grobe, an upcoming Chagrin Falls High School graduate.

Naughty musical isn't that nice
06/04/2009

Ancient Chinese philosophers believed that everything in the universe operates in balance, where seemingly opposing forces -- a yin and a yang --complement each other.

Shaw Festival has Noel Coward treats
05/28/2009

The Shaw Festival has an extra treat in store this year for those who annually take the trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Summer stock takes theater into open air
05/21/2009

If you prefer your entertainment within the comfortable confines of a 19th-century barn, in a charming open-air arena or smack in the middle of a scenic park, then you have no doubt been counting the days for the seasonal opening of the area's summer-stoc

Musical is bloody good for laughs
05/13/2009

Cult horror movies have had their day. The intent when they were popular was to scare the bejabbers out of teens. They loved it and came back for more. Now, these movies are mostly gone.

'My Destination' reaches for clouds
05/06/2009

Eight years after Thornton Wilder's 1927 breakthrough novel "The Bridge at San Luis Rey" and three years prior to his 1938 Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Our Town," his novel "Heaven's My Destination" made its debut. Surely not as highly regarded as some of

Silliness swamps 'Duck Hunter'
04/29/2009

Sandy is a reporter for the Weekly World and Globe, a New York-based supermarket tabloid. We're told early on the paper is circulated nationally twice a week. Calling this rag the biweekly World and Globe might get people thinking the paper to be a gay pu

'Almost, Maine' does come close
04/22/2009

The River Street Playhouse, originally referred to as the Annex until this reviewer began calling the place the name the theater has carried for decades, is at it again. Once again, the tiny, 60-seat theater is outdoing its big brother, the Chagrin Valley

Play House has diverse lineup
04/15/2009

Now that the Cleveland Play House is winding down the 2008-2009 theater season, the theater, as in past years, has announced the 2009-2010 lineup of plays. Here it is April, and the first play won't open for five months. There's nothing like getting subsc

'Answers' better in second act
04/09/2009

Through a confusion of dates and names, there's a biography of sorts concerning legendary columnist Ann Landers being staged at the Cleveland Play House Bolton Theatre.

Second-grader gets onstage with Figaro
04/02/2009

A tourist walks into a New York City bar. He orders a beer and says, "Excuse me, bartender. How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" The bartender replies, "Practice."

CVLT digs in with dark comedy 'Incorruptible'
03/26/2009

A monastery in 13th-century France sets the stage for Michael Hollinger's witty farce "Incorruptible." It opened last Friday at Chagrin Valley Little Theatre.

'Receptionist' surely does have answers
03/18/2009

That vagabond professional theater company is at it again, this time performing Adam Bock's disturbing comedy "The Receptionist."

Dreary play is guilty as charged
03/12/2009

How can you take Fyodor Dostoevsky's 700-page Russian novel and boil it down to a 90-minute play where all the parts are played by three actors? Well, you can't, actually, although it is surely easier to manage than reading the book.

Diverse acting roles suit longtime gorilla
03/04/2009

Eric Oswald vowed that he would no longer be dressing up as a gorilla by the time he turned 40. Just two weeks shy of his birthday, he quit cold turkey. Since then, he has been donning women's apparel, a clerical collar, a camouflage outfit and nothing bu

Teen actors keep up with 'Rent'
02/25/2009

"When we teach our students," noted Tom Fulton, executive director of the Fairmount Center for the Arts in Russell, "they learn about the power of reaching -- reaching for something beyond themselves, something greater than any single one of them can be."

 Old Russell School lives in horror film
02/18/2009

Russell School is long gone, now the site of a new police station. But it will live on in a new movie that was made by 5-2-9 Films at the school before it was torn down.

Broadway comes, goes too fast
02/11/2009

Like a spritz of aerosol in the wind, the touring company of the Broadway musical "Hairspray" blew into Playhouse Square last Friday night and, a

Lightweight musical is predictable
02/04/2009

A poorly crafted, lightweight musical comedy has come to the 14th Street Theatre in downtown Cleveland. It's not the first, nor will it be the last we'll see of these fly-by-night shows in the smaller venues in Playhouse Square.

Two actors made for 'Blackbird'
01/29/2009

Where do we go from here? "Blackbird," by Scottish playwright David Harrower, delivers a gripping, fast-paced, in-your-face drama that leaves you paralyzed.

Reasonable 'Doubt' cast by CVLT cast
01/21/2009

The 1960s was a time of discord and confusion. The comfortably conservative traditions of one decade were conflicting with the liberalism of the next, leaving two generations in a state of disarray. Opposition to a war divided the nation.

Near or far, 'Rent' is great destination
01/15/2009

Local theatergoers have several opportunities to buy into "Rent," the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical that took Broadway by storm in the late-1990s.

Year of theater had mostly good, some bad
01/07/2009

Many years ago, I sat in the audience of a horrible play at the Cleveland Play House. Next to me sat Bill Doll, the theater critic at the time for the Cleveland daily newspaper. The play was so terrible (I don't remember the title), I didn't quite know w

Movie premiere is close to home for local actress
12/23/2008

True to her hometown roots, former Bainbridge resident Haley Higgins, who has a speaking role in the upcoming movie "Marley and Me" starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, will watch the premiere this Christmas Day when it opens nationwide right alongs

'Boom' is world-changing comedy
12/17/2008

We're in Jules' basement lab. There's a bed surrounded by several cabinets. Jules is a marine biologist who has placed an ad in an online hookup promising "sex to change the course of the world."

Video creations take off for Chagrin grad
12/10/2008

Chagrin Falls High School graduate Michael Cappetta, now a freshman at Ohio State University, is more likely to have his nose behind a camera on location than buried in a book at the library.

'The Eight' is naughty holiday alternative
12/04/2008

Eggnog laced with grain alcohol. Grotesquely misshapen sugar cookies garnished with bittersweet chocolate. These are the sorts of treats that will be left for

'Wizard of Oz' is enormous task
11/26/2008

There have been several adaptations of L. Frank Baum's book "The Wizard of Oz." The most highly regarded, of course, is the 1939 movie musical that starred Judy Garland.

'Raisin in Sun' is relevant as ever
11/19/2008

The Cleveland Play House decided to do "A Raisin in the Sun" long before Barack Obama was elected president. Yet the opening night performance occurred just days after Election Day.

One-man show is one continuous laugh
11/12/2008

Robert Dubac asks the old question that comes up from time to time. He asks, "What do women want?" And then he tells you. When you walk into the 14th Street Theatre to catch Robert Dubac's "Male Intellect: The Second Coming," don't expect to see a play. W

Hamburgers flip as this play flops
11/05/2008

Al spends most of his day shredding lettuce, while Matthew, the kitchen manager, flips burgers on the grill. Not so bad for starters, but playwright Cliff Hershman loses his way early and never finds his

Drama lacking for history on stage
10/29/2008

The Dobama Theatre is close to having a new home. Until that happens, and it will happen, the popular 50-year-old production company must continue to find places to perform.

Young piper crosses gender, age barriers
10/22/2008

When Gates Mills resident Ruth Chapman had her first encounter with a bagpipe, she was just 8 years old. At the time, the bass drum, the tallest of the three drums that comprise the instrument and rest on one's shoulder, was up to her chin, she said.

CVLT reunion earns its ovation
10/15/2008

Is there any better escape from the heated battles between good and evil on Wall Street, in Washington and in the Middle East than an evening with the sinners and saints in the Frank Loesser musical "Guys and Dolls"?

'Buried Child' is mesmerizing
10/09/2008

We are in the living room of a dilapidated Illinois farmhouse. The old man on the sofa wheezes and coughs and appears to be choking. This is the opening scene in Sam Shepard's 1979 Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Buried Child."

Blood, humor flow in 'Inishmore'
10/01/2008

The locals of downtown Cleveland may not even know there is a professional theater company on Euclid Avenue near Public Square. But as a matter of fact, there is. The Bang and the Clatter Theatre Company, a spinoff of the Akron company with the same name,

Stellar cast shines in 'Glass Menagerie'
09/24/2008

It's been some time since Tom Wingfield escaped from his cramped St. Louis apartment. He never looked back, but he hasn't been able to escape the sad memories with his shy, limping sister Laura and his overbearing mother, Amanda. "The Glass Menagerie,"

'Master Class' puts actors to tough test
09/18/2008

Before Celine Dion, Whitney Houston and Cher, there was Maria Callas -- an internationally renowned singer with diva status whose turbulent, high-profile personal life drew as much attention as her stellar on-stage performances. Ms. Callas' career as an o

'Murder' mystery is another hit in Chagrin
09/11/2008

Just minutes before curtain time Saturday at the Chagrin Valley Little Theater, where a sold-out crowd awaited the second night of the 23rd annual "Murder by the Falls," writer and director Donald Edelman joked that "the third time is a charm." Mr. Ede

'Picnic' has few bright moments
09/03/2008

The Fine Arts Association in Willoughby has brought to its stage William Inge's classic play "Picnic." Fine Arts has a reputation for good plays and excellent performers. But something went awry on opening night this past Friday. The intent was to delive

Play House to warm up season
08/27/2008

Northeast Ohioans suffer each year when fall is just around the corner. We suffer, because we know what's coming. Winter. But fear not, dear reader, for this is the time when the Cleveland Play House opens its doors to another new season. If anyt

Sam Shepard play isn't for squeamish
08/20/2008

Frank and Emma live a quite existence in a shabby Wisconsin farmhouse. Frank tends to his heifers, and Emma her plants. She waters them continuously. Their quiet world explodes around them from a simple knock on the door. The Bang and Clatter Sometimes i

'Freakshow' is oddly beautiful
08/13/2008

You can't help yourself. Once you've been to Convergence-Continuum and have felt part of one of its edgy, often bizarre productions, you go back again. Like it or not, you're bound to see the next offering. "Freakshow," C-C's latest endeavor, is merely w

Unlikely duo 'Harold, Maude' shine on stage
08/07/2008

A rope with a noose hangs center stage. A very tall, very young man places a bench beneath the noose. He proceeds to stand on the bench, place the noose around his neck, and kick away the bench falling into the air, dead. That's the very beginning of "Ha

'Urinetown' in line for good comedy
07/30/2008

A lot of thought and hand wringing must have gone on before Chagrin Valley Little Theatre decided to go ahead and stage the wild and wacky Broadway musical "Urinetown." What are they doing talking about urine right here in sophisticated Chagrin Falls? We

'Blood Brothers' is riveting drama
07/23/2008

There are many reasons not to spend these lovely July evenings indoors. The Mercury Summer Stock Theatre trumps each and every one of them by offering a superb, must-see production of the musical �Blood Brothers.� �Blood Brot

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