WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS? @ CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE

October 23-November 14, 2021

www.clevelandplayhouse.com 

(216) 241-6000

Roy Berko

WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS tells the angst of being Latino and gay in modern day America.  The CPH production, due to the play’s format and staging, is somewhat frustrating.  Since the piece, according to the author, was intended to be a collection of original poems and songs, it might work best in a concert format, where the huge Allen stage would not have to be traversed and the attention would be just on the performer and the relevant material.

To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.

Mark Horning

This show is a riveting musical and poetic solitary journey of a young gay Latino woman determined to find her place in the world and in America. Along with being inspirational it is a plea for America to reexamine our immigration policies that have gone from being compassionate to political with the last administration.  

To see a full review of this show, read Mark Horning's Review here.

Chris Howey

"Where Did We Sit On The Bus?" is theatrical delight with a big and boisterous heart.

To see a full review of this show, read Chris Howey's Review here.

"Airness" @ Dobama Theatre

Through November 21, 2021

https://www.dobama.org/airness

(216) 932-3396

Roy Berko

AIRNESS is a fine play to attend if you are feeling angst and need an escape.  Though much of the air guitar playing could have been more dynamic and involving, the message of the author stands out. 

To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.

Sherri Gross

If you are suppressing an inner rock star that wants to be unleashed, or if you consider yourself a "groupie" of the great rock bands of the '70s, '80s or '90s, or if you want to escape the conventions of everyday life and carve out a comfortable niche with the like-minded, self-proclaimed nerds who understand the "the whole impetus of air guitar is world peace," then your safe space is a Dobama Theatre.

Sherri Gross's reviews appear in the Cleveland Jewish News

Mark Horning

This is a show for those with eclectic tastes. Some attendees will scream and shout throughout the performance while others will sit quietly and nod their heads and still others will walk out scratching their heads. It is simply where your head is at the time.

To see a full review of this show, read Mark Horning's Review here.

Chris Howey

Airness is the kind of show that deserves and needs a raucous audience that can shriek, stomp and scream at every jump, slide and gyration. That's when this show will truly discover its own "airness."

To see a full review of this show, read Chris Howey's Review here.

 

"The Tempest" @ Great Lakes Theatre

Through November 7, 2021

https://www.greatlakestheater.org/

(216) 241-5490

 

Roy Berko

THE TEMPEST is not one of Shakespeare’s great plays, but, with the right production it can make for a positive classical theater experience.  Multi-award-winning Director Sara Bruner, who is a master of staging the Bard, unfortunately was not up to her usual superb level in guiding this production.

To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.

Mark Horning

Although all of the lines of the play are in Middle English there is no difficulty in understanding what is happening on stage as the combination of spoken word and physical effectuation makes it easy to follow the action. This is a delightful production that dazzles the senses and tickles the funny bone. Come see Shakespeare as it was first designed to be viewed.

To see a full review of this show, read Mark Horning's Review here.

Laura Kennelly

Bring on enchantment, feuding families and romance! Shakespeare’s The Tempest at Great Lakes’ Hanna Theatre in Playhouse Square welcomes live audiences for the first time since the 2020 Big Shutdown.

Director Sara Bruner and her merry crew create a fitting celebration in this lively presentation of (what may be) the last play Shakespeare wrote alone — and, perhaps consequently, one that falls into poetry and senior philosophy at the expense of plot. But who cares? With beautiful speeches like Prospero’s meditative lines —”We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep” — it’s easy to look inward and at the islands we find our lives lived on today.

To see a full review of this show, read  here or posts at Cool Cleveland.

"The Butcher of Baraboo" @ None Too Fragile

Through October 30, 2021

www.nonetoofragile.com 

(330) 962-5547

 

Kerry Clawson

In "The Butcher of Baraboo," every character has deadly impulses inside them, which we see in sporadic flashes paired with an ever-loopy humor.

In this character-driven work, all five characters are highly memorable, including Jen Klika's sadly contained Valerie; Anne McEvoy's mess of a town sheriff; Kelly Strand's wild pharmacist Midge; Doug Sutherland's controlling Donald and Mary Werntz's desperate Sevenly.

To see a full review of this show, read Kerry Clawson's review here.

Mark Horning

If you are a fan of intimate in your face no holds barred theater then this might be your cup of strong coffee. This tale of love, deceit, drugs and blood and has more twists than a doubly bent corkscrew. Well worth the short drive down to Akron.

To see a full review of this show, read Mark Horning's Review here.

Miss Holmes @ Ohio Shakespeare Festival

Through October 24, 2021

http://www.ohioshakespearefestival.com/miss-holmes

(330) 574-2537

 

Kerry Clawson

The mystery has some twists, of course. But the most satisfying part is watching the friendship and respect grow between Watson and Holmes. As Miss Holmes points out to Watson early in the show, their work as detective and doctor isn't so different: "I observe. I deduce. I investigate. I diagnose. I prescribe." 

To see a full review of this show, read Kerry Clawson's review here.

Mark Horning

Rather than a WHODUNIT this is more of a WHY’DTHEYDOIT with a flimsy plot, bad voice projection, terrible British accents and being overly long to boot. This is a play in desperate need of a make over. 

To see a full review of this show, read Mark Horning's Review here.

 

"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" @ Karamu House

Through October 31, 2021

https://www.karamuhouse.org/

 216-795-7070

Roy Berko

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM is a well-written, well-performed play, that grabs and holds the attention.  The author, August Wilson, as is his usual manner, brings a strong spotlight onto the plight of the Black population in America.  This is a production well worth seeing!  (Side-note:  The theatre is chilly.  Be advised to bring along a sweater or jacket.) 

To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.

Mark Horning

For any educator wishing to explain the concept of Critical Race Theory they need go no further than to share the production of August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” It is a microcosm of the American Black experience in the 20’s and for that matter much of history. The Karamu production of this epic play captures all of the tension, spirit and tragedy as originally intended.

To see a full review of this show, read Mark Horning's Review here.

"The Exonerated" @ The Beck Center For The Arts

November 7, 2021

(216) 521-2540 x10

https://beckcenter.na.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/1357

 

Roy Berko

THE EXONERATED has a strong and important message.  It is one that anyone interested in civil justice should hear.  The docu-drama methodology of one speech following another relayed the idea, but didn’t make for compelling theater.

To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.

Mark Horning

This “it could happen to anyone” drama should strike a nerve in anyone who views it. What the show lacks in visually appealing action it makes up for in content. Some will find it a bit of a yawn while others will be on the edge of their seats. It will depend on your perspective.

To see a full review of this show, read Mark Horning's Review here.

Laura Kennelly

The Exonerated, now playing at the Beck, offers an unexpectedly compelling look at the death penalty.

Why “unexpectedly?” Because director Colleen Longshaw skillfully avoids yelling at or lecturing to the audience. Written by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, the docudrama presents true accounts of a half dozen wrongfully convicted individuals on death row. Listening to one speaker and then to the next, we learn about their lives, the crime they were convicted of, and the legal decisions that put them on death row. Given that execution cannot be undone and that eventually they were found innocent, their stories make a strong case for abolishing the death penalty.

To see a full review of this show, read Laura's posts at Cool Cleveland.

 

The Lion King @ Playhouse Square

Through October 15, 2021

(216)241-6000

www.playhousesquare.org

Roy Berko

With its stellar credentials one would expect the Playhouse Square’s production to be spectacular.  The sets, costumes, puppets, and special effects are.  Unfortunately, the quality performances and dynamics needed to make the performance shine, are often in short supply.  This is THE LION KING light…a gentle roar, compared to previous dynamic stagings.

To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.

Kerry Clawson

Seeing "The Lion King" at Playhouse Square is a shock to the senses, in the best sense of the phrase, after a bleak 18 months with no live musicals at indoor Northeast Ohio venues.

The awesomeness of it all was almost overwhelming on opening night Tuesday at Playhouse Square as the show's North American tour brought that jolt of in-person color, wonder, magic and excitement that we've all been starving for. What grander way to finally bring musicals back to Cleveland than with the most popular, most massive show on the planet?

To see a full review of this show, read Kerry Clawson's review here.

Howard Gollop

There really is no other dramatic sustenance to draw upon other than the original Disney animated movie. Despite a handful of new songs and music by various artists and authentic African sources (plus a fleshed-out rendition of the 1961 pop classic "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"), the on-stage "Lion King" starts to wallow in a rather pallid script by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi. But this time, the touring production, buffed up splendidly for a new post-Covid-19 lockdown tour schedule, seems to mitigate the show's pitfalls with exceptional precision and energy.

(For a full review go to https://chroniclet.com/news/277497/review-lion-king-returns-afresh-on-reopened-playhouse-square/ )

Mark Horning

Broadway is back in all its glory at Playhouse Square with the phenomenal “The Lion King” once more gracing the stage of the Keybank State Theatre. This is a show that dazzles with great music, dance, comedy and heart. 

To see a full review of this show, read Mark Horning's Review here.

Joey Morona

No matter how many times you’ve seen the show, it still elicits oohs and ahhs.

To read the entire review:  https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2021/10/broadway-is-back-in-a-big-way-at-playhouse-square-with-disneys-the-lion-king.html