Sunday in the Park With George @ Great Lakes Theater

Through October 12, 2025

http://www.greatlakestheater.org

(216) 241-6000

 

Roy Berko

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, as directed by Victoria Bussert, and performed by the GLT cast, is a quality production.  It is a must see!  Congrats to the entire team on creating a special evening of theater.

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

Howard Gollop

Stephen Sondheim's revered "Sunday in the Park with George" is about as good as any production of the legendary Broadway musical can get. But this production quality at times sheds a harsher spotlight on the highly introspective, occasionally problematic work. But Like the thematic Seurat painting itself, success can be about sheer artistry over easy emotion. And in that respect, "Sunday in the Park with George" is a masterpiece to behold.

To see a full review of this show, read Howard Gollop's review here.

Mark Horning

To understand this show one must attempt to understand Seurat’s painting technique of using small dots that when viewed at a distance blend into an image. The songs, choreography, costumes, stage, actors, lighting and sound are all the dots and it is up to us to step back far enough to see a clear image. Luckily the precision of this production makes that easy. 

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

Laura Kennelly

Sunday in the Park with George, currently at Great Lakes Theater, blends music, story, and visual art to suggest the mind and method behind Georges Seurat’s most famous work, “A Sunday Afternoon on the the Island of La Grande Jatte” (1884). (It sounds fancier in French: “Un dimanche après-midi à l’Île de la Grande Jatte.”) Seurat, evidently seeking to escape the label “impressionist,” explored what became known as “pointillist” technique. Rather than traditional brushstrokes, he combined small dots to create “colors” via the viewer’s own vision. (If you compare his work to his competitor Renoir’s “Luncheon of the Boating Party” (1881), you can see what he was up against. “But what,” you might rightly ask, “does that have to do with the musical currently under discussion?” Oddly enough, it does—at least for those of us who tend to vanish down random rabbit holes of comparison and imagination. But back to the review: It’s fascinating to see how director Victoria Bussert adapts Seurat’s technique, using the finest “materials” (in this case, cast, set and music), to create a thought-provoking (and enjoyable) version of this rarely-produced Stephen Sodheim and James Lapine musical.
To see a full review of this show, read Laura's posts at Cool Cleveland.

Gwendolyn Kochur

Theater is like pointillism, in a way. It utilizes separate artistic contributions from casts and creatives and pieces them together so that, when viewed at a distance by the audience, it should create a seamless image. 

In Great Lakes Theater’s “Sunday in the Park with George,” director Victoria Bussert combines the artistry of skilled actors and creative designers to construct a visually stunning piece of theater ripe with talent. However, there is one character painted with such a charismatic, interesting hand that they continually pull the focus of the overall painting…and it’s not George. 

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

Joey Morona

Great Lakes Theater isn’t easing into its 64th season. The local repertory company, known for staging classics with flair, has made an ambitious choice for its 2025-26 opener: Stephen Sondheim’s daring musical “Sunday in the Park with George.” It’s a bold move, and not an easy one. The musical, at the Hanna Theatre through Oct. 12, is as evocative as it is esoteric. 

To see a full review of this show, read Joey's posts here.

 

Come From Away @ Weathervane Playhouse

Through October 12, 2025

http://www.wethervaneplayhouse.com

(303) 836-2626

WORTH NOTING: 

In order to bring attention to local productions of merit at theaters that are not on the Cleveland Critics Circle’s approved Equity Theater list, members of the Circle who attend a community or educational theater production that is perceived as of high quality will have the option of listing that production on the CCC blogsite.  These review(s) fall into that category.

 

Roy Berko
No review yet.
To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.

Howard Gollop
No review yet.
To see a full review of this show, read Howard Gollop's review here.

Sheri Gross
No review yet.
To see a full review of this show, read Sheri Gross' review here.

Mark Horning

This show has a tremendous amount of heart and nothing is left on the stage. It is a show that will tug on all of your emotions. You will laugh, cry, ponder, reflect and pray along with the cast as they sweep you along in a fast paced “screech”. 

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

Laura Kennelly
No review yet.
To see a full review of this show, read Laura's posts at Cool Cleveland.

Gwendolyn Kochur

No review yet.
To see a full review of this show, read Gwendolyn's posts here.

Dr. Yuko Kurahashi
No review yet.
To see a full review of this show, read Yuko's posts here.

Joey Morona
No review yet.
To see a full review of this show, read Joey's posts here.

 

Our Town @ Cleveland Play House

Through September 28, 2025

http://www.clevelandplayhouse.com

(216) 400-7906

     

Howard Gollop

Under the subtle inventiveness of acclaimed Tony- and Obie award-winning director Mary Zimmerman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play takes on a new glow of freshness and power, only occasionally overly self-reverential (as other productions of it tend to be). The main visual conceit for the Play House production, with scenic designer Daniel Ostling, is a ceiling of light banks that lower successively at each of the three acts. The meaning of this is not quite clear, but the effect is one of focus and interest.

To see a full review of this show, read Howard Gollop's review here.

Sheri Gross
No review yet.
To see a full review of this show, read Sheri Gross' review here.

Mark Horning

Once described as “the greatest American play ever written” this production lives up to the promise. While touching on the subjects of life, death and the beyond it encourages us to wake up now to seize the day by not letting a single scrap of time pass without noting something wonderful has happened. Carpe Diem and see this play.

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

Laura Kennelly
No review yet.
To see a full review of this show, read Laura's posts at Cool Cleveland.

Gwendolyn Kochur

CPH’s “Our Town” uses a precise, firm hand to deliver the life lessons of Thornton Wilder’s great American play in a rendition that demands audiences confront the preciousness of life.  

Read the full review here.

Dr. Yuko Kurahashi
No review yet.
To see a full review of this show, read Yuko's posts here.

Joey Morona
No review yet.
To see a full review of this show, read Joey's posts here.

 

The Notebook @ Playhouse Square

Through September 27, 2025

http://www.playhousesquare.org

(216) 241-5000

 

Roy Berko

THE NOTEBOOK THE MUSICAL tells an emotional story of love, family, loyalty and compassion.  The touring production is a high-quality, well directed and performed show.  It should be well-received in the hinterlands where its less than sophisticated tone and tale should appeal to audiences more than it did in the high-powered less-than sentimental New York.  YES, GO SEE AN IMPRESSIVE PRODUCTION OF A WELL-CRAFTED AND CONCEIVED SHOW! 

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

Howard Gollop

In the film version, the more cynical viewers might have been eager to condemn the sappiness of the epic romantic tale, although ultimately being won over at the end, focussing on the tragedy of true love undone by lost memory. But here, the bittersweet three-prong power of "The Notebook," woven into a single dramatic arch, commands the viewer from the beginning, growing only stronger until the last note of the musical's finale.

For the full review, visit https://chroniclet.com/news/443733/the-notebook-our-town-life-love-death-brilliantly-reflected-on-playhouse-square/ 

To see a full review of this show, read Howard Gollop's review here.

Sheri Gross

“The Notebook” is not just a love story; it is a reminder, especially during the High Holidays, that we must accept the bad in order to appreciate the good, that our days are precious, our choices matter, and possibly even more important, that this is a show that requires an enormous amount of tissues.

To see a full review of this show, read Sheri Gross' review here.

Mark Horning

Be prepared to have all of your emotions engaged in a single evening of superb musical theater. You will laugh, you will cry, you will cheer and you will fall in love with this wonderfully crafted example of superlative theatrical offerings. Shows like this do not come around that often so make it a point to see this production.

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

Laura Kennelly
No review yet.
To see a full review of this show, read Laura's posts at Cool Cleveland.

Gwendolyn Kochur

“The Notebook” is awash with sentiment, emotion and romance. It knows just the right buttons to push–and the musical notes to hit–to sweep you away, and that is a triumph in itself. Were it not prudent to ask the “why” and the “how,” to examine the brush strokes of the painting and determine how the pieces make the whole, it would be easy to get caught up in that wave of emotion and never notice the often redundant, manipulative tide that carried you out to sea in the first place. 

To see a full review of this show, read Gwendolyn Kochur's Review here.

Joey Morona

“The Notebook” is why we go to the theater: to get swept up, forget the world outside and feel everything. There are tears, but laughter and joy, too. Your mileage may vary, but to answer the question posed at the beginning — I cried 40 minutes in and four times in total.