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Busy theater season lies just ahead
(by Herb Hammer - August 25, 2010)
THEATER, BY HERB HAMMER
Busy theater season lies just ahead
The annual lull between the summer and fall theater seasons can make local playgoers wonder what might be going on. Has theater died?
No, theater hasn't died. Many play addicts forget about the late summer drop-off while theaters rev up for the busy season ahead.
The question we are often asked is, what's coming up? What will early autumn bring to local theaters?
With a quick look around, I can offer some suggestions:
First is "Murder by the Falls." Chagrin Valley Little Theatre's annual fund-raiser plays for two nights, Sept. 10 and 11. Don't expect an actual theater experience. "Murder by the Falls" is sort of recreational with audience participation.
The CVLT theater season opens Oct. 15 with an adaptation of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."
Playhouse Square will open its Broadway series on Oct. 5 with "Blue Man Group." Don't expect a theater experience here either. Three young men with blue faces go through a couple of hours of stage tricks. Though highly entertaining, calling "Blue Man Group" a theater experience would be misleading.
On Nov. 19, Playhouse Square begins to offer the key to its coming season. "Billy Elliot," the 2009 Tony Award winner, will open. The musical, based on the film with the same title, tells the story of a young English country boy who stumbles from boxing to ballet classes. Time Magazine called it "the best musical of the decade."
Across the street at the Hanna Theatre, the Great Lakes Theater Festival will open its season just prior to "Billy Elliot." The festival will again offer two plays performed in rotating repertory. On Sept. 24, Shakespeare's "Othello" will open, followed by Oscar Wilde's 1895 classic comedy "An Ideal Husband."
"Othello," first performed in about 1603, describes a Moorish general in the Venetian army and his wife, Desdemona. Racism, love, corruption and jealousy makes "Othello" relevant even today.
Over in the Tremont district, Convergence-Continuum is at it again. "Say You Love Satan," by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, is described as a sinfully comic tale of temptation. The New York Post described the play as "a smart hip comedy." It opens Sept. 3.
On Sept. 29, the Cleveland Playhouse will open its fall season with "39 Steps," adapted by Patrick Barlow from a book by John Buchan. The three-year Broadway hit is a spy-movie spoof where four actors play 150 roles.
The Cleveland Public Theater at West 65th Street and Detroit Avenue will begin the new season with "The Book of Grace" on Sept. 30. The play tells the story of a confrontation between an Iraq War vet and his estranged father.
If the most ardent theatergoer has a little patience, the new season, bursting with content, will keep everyone busy until the snow flies. See them all. I recommend it.
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