TRUE WEST
convergence continuum
November 16-December 16, 2012
216 687-0074 www.convergence-continuum.org

Bob Abelman

Tremont’s con-con fails to find the true north of “True West,” opting to take the easy way around the play’s many complexities and, often, losing its way completely. 

To see a full review of this show, read Bob Abelman's News-Herald article here

Christine Howey
Even though there are weaknesses in the playing of this piece, the brilliance of Shepard's concept, and the combustible energy of his words, comes through.

To see a full review of this show, read Christine Howey's review at  Cleveland Scene

Andrea Simakis

In Cliff Bailey, director Clyde Simon has found a burly, deft comedian. Though he lacks the feline sexiness and menace of a Malkovich (who will forever be Lee to me), Bailey more than fills Lee's stained, strained wife-beater and has a wicked good time doing it. Like a buzzard eyeing a carcass, nothing escapes his tiny, shiny, red-rimmed eyes.

To read a full review of this show, go to http://www.cleveland.com/onstage/index.ssf/2012/11/sam_shepards_true_west_is_true.html

 Art Thomas

Sam Shepard's script plays as well today as it did thirty-five years ago in this faithful production. Two brothers are searching for meaning in their lives with many moments of emotional tension. In this production laughs win out however as Lee and Austin reconcile contemporary Hollywood with the Old West.

Click here to read the complete review at WestLife

 
MIRACLE AND WONDER
Ensemble Theatre
November 15-December 2, 2012
www.ensemble-theatre.com or 216-321-2930

Bob Abelman

Move over “Miracle on 34^th Street.”  There’s a new holiday entertainment in town whose quirky charm, sense of humor and tender message offer a unique brand of Christmas cheer.

To see a full review of this show, read Bob Abelman's News-Herald article here.

Roy Berko

Ensemble’s Stagewright’s concept is an excellent means for local playwrights to try out their writing skills, get constructive feedback, and hopefully get their works staged.  Congratulations to Jonathan Wilhelm for developing the often delightful MIRACLE & WONDER.  Though it needs some refinements, and a more clearly directed concept, it is both entertaining and thought provoking and a change from the usual holiday theater fare.

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

Fran Heller

Cross "It's A Wonderful Life" with "Touched By An Angel" and you have "Miracle&Wonder," Cleveland playwright Jonathan Wilhelm's comedy about an angel (in this instance a Jewish one) who magically and mysteriously alights on folk with something missing in their lives and finds what connects them.
Principal weakness of play is an unwieldy plot that goes off on too many tangents and lacks focus.
Principal strength is sympathetic, funny and immensely likeable characters who take up residence under the skin.

To see a full review of this show, read Fran Heller's review at the Cleveland Jewish News

Christine Howey

Ensemble Theatre is to be credited with trotting out a new entry in the genre, Miracle & Wonder, a play developed through their laudable StageWrights playwriting workshop. It's a comedy dripping with Christmas-time atmospherics and tender references to non-traditional family values. In short, a play one would love to love.

To see a full review of this show, read Christine Howey's review at  Cleveland Scene

Marjorie Preston

Ensemble Theatre's current production, the World Premiere of “Miracle & Wonder,” by local playwright Jonathan Wilhelm, is a wacky comedy, smartly written and expertly acted, even though some of the explanations for events come late in the game and are a bit lengthy.  “Miracle & Wonder” can be a heady, abstract concept. But it can also be something right in front of us, if we choose to bear witness about the mysteries of life and those along for the journey.

To see a full review of this show, read Marjorie Preston's blog here.

Andrea Simakis

While discrete scenes, are well-acted and represent the stirring, sweet and funny sentiment shot through "Miracle & Wonder," the play never gels. The work feels more like a series of vignettes, partly because director Ian Hinz never figured out how to speed through a blizzard of scene changes. But I'd be a Grinch not to tip a tiara to Tim Tavcar, who gives a vanity-free performance as pot-bellied female impersonator Polly Esther.

To see a full review of this show, read Andrea Simakis's complete review, go to
http://www.cleveland.com/onstage/index.ssf/2012/11/miracle_wonder_at_ensemble_the.html

HOW HIS BRIDE CAME TO ABRAHAM
none too fragile theater
November 9-December 8, 2012330-671-4563 or nonetofragile.com

Roy Berko

In spite of good acting and an intense production, HOW HIS BRIDE CAME TO ABRAHAM has such a biased development that it fails to live up to the stated goal of educating the audience on hope and compassion as it relates to a pacifist attitude toward the Israeli/Arab conflict.

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


Christine Howey
As directed by Sean Derry, the two actors handling this ambitious material are starkly believable, even when the scenes are less so. 

To see a full review of this show, read Christine Howey's blog Rave and Pan

Kerry Clawson

Actors Leighann Niles DeLorenzo and Gabriel Riazi bring to life with impassioned intensity the horror, hatred and distrust of Middle East warfare in this two-person play by Karen Sunde. This pair sets a ferocious tone from the opening moment they’re seen wrestling on the ground of a sandy, boulder-strewn stage, she wearing a keffiyeh on her head so that at first, Abraham is unaware she’s a young woman. 

To see a full review of this show, see http://www.ohio.com/the330entertainment/theater-reviews/middle-east-warfare-explored-in-piercing-drama-1.349471

THE WHIPPING MAN

 Cleveland Play House--Allen Theatre

November 2-December 2, 2012

                                              216-241-6000 or www.clevelandplayhouse.com
 
Bob Abelman

Baruch atah adonai eloheinu melech haolam mechaye hametim.  The saying of this Hebrew blessing for the revival of the dead by a Black slave during the final days of the Civil War is the first of many unexpected moments in Matthew Lopez’s gripping “The Whipping Man.”   This is a production free of missteps and false notes and, like the handiwork of the whipping man--who is unseen but whose presence is felt throughout the play-- this play strikes hard and true.

To see a full review of this show, read Bob Abelman's News-Herald article here.


Roy Berko


THE WHIPPING MAN is one of the finest theatrical productions of this theatre season.  It is required viewing by anyone who wants to experience theatre at its finest.  This is one show that deserved a standing ovation.  Wow!
 
To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.


Kerry Clawson

Shattering secrets, lies and intrigue are set against the backdrop of a tumultuous turning point in American history in the stellar drama The Whipping Man at Cleveland Play House’s Second Stage. ...
Playwright Matthew Lopez presents arresting twists on the “family” ties that bind, stemming from complicated dynamics between masters and slaves that have developed through the generations. 

To see a full review of this show, read Kerry Clawson's review at http://enjoy.ohio.com/things-to-do.

Fran Heller

Giovanna Sardelli's hauntingly graphic direction and a trio of galvanizing performances burning with feverish intensity make for an evening of gripping theater.
Like all good drama, the play raises more questions than it answers.

To see a full review of this show, read Fran Heller's review at the Cleveland Jewish News


Christine Howey

An amputation is just one of the startling moments in this intense three-hander. And while the script is not particularly inventive with the conflicts engendered by sudden freedom from slavery, leaning on some stereotypes in the process, the production fizzes with a trio of energetic, spot-on performances.

To see a full review of this show, read Christine Howey's review at  Cleveland Scene

Kory

A powerful look into post-civil war relationships between former slave owners and their freed slaves, The Whipping Man is nothing short of incredible.

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

Andrea Simakis

 "The Whipping Man," now playing in the intimate Second Stage theater of the Cleveland Play House, is a production that achieves holistic perfection. It fires on all cylinders, right from the crash of thunder heralding the start of the tight, three-man drama, and never lets up, not once, like a Confederate mortar attack.

To see a full review of this show, go to
http://www.cleveland.com/onstage/index.ssf/2012/11/cleveland_play_house_delivers.html

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Palace Theatre-Playhouse Square
November 6 - November 18, 2012
216-241-6000 or www.playhousesquare.org

Bob Abelman

“Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” on tour is both beautiful and beastly.  Children will be charmed by this colorful equivalent of a musical theater theme park, while most adults may well feel cheated by the cost-saving production values and re-envisioned version of the original on Broadway. 

To see a full review of this show, read Bob Abelman's News-Herald article here.

Roy Berko

The touring production of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST doesn’t have the charm of the original staging.  It’s more Saturday morning television  cartoons and over-done farce than enchantment, but, as evidenced by the response of the opening night audience, audiences will generally like it.

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

Fran Heller

Fairy tales aren't just for kids. They're for grown-ups too.
With plenty of stage magic and storybook appeal for the younger set, and lots of heart and wisdom for the rest of us, this warm and fuzzy re-invention of the Disney classic is a feel-good family production with something for everyone.

To see a full review of this show, read Fran Heller's review at the Cleveland Jewish News

Christine Howey

Youngsters won’t be disappointed by this touring show, even though they may squirm a bit as it lumbers along for almost three hours, with intermission. Adults, however, could find entrancement hard to come by in a production directed with children’s theater broadness by Rob Roth. 

To see a full review of this show, read Christine Howey's blog Rave and Pan

Kory

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is a classic, but this production lacks the pixie dust you’d expect from a show with “Disney” in the title.

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

SEXUAL PERVERSITY IN CHICAGO
Ensemble Theatre
November 3-5, 2012
www.ensemble-theatre.com or 216-321-2930

Marjorie Preston

“Sexual Perversity in Chicago” by David Mamet, the inaugural production at Ensemble Theatre's new “Second Stage” space, ambitiously tries to cover kinky sex, lesbianism, molestation, premature ejaculation, living together, the power struggle between the sexes, pornography, bestiality, and gender stereotypes, but understandably, in just over an hour, only pursues these topics shallowly. The funny and realistic script seems to have a short attention span, jumping quickly from one subject to another in pursuit of completely covering the entire territory of sexual relations.

To see a full review of this show, read Marjorie Preston's blog "Brava!" here.

MARBLE CITY
THEATER NINJAS
November 1-17, 2012
http://theaterninjas.com

Christine Howey

The show is performed with unflagging commitment and vocal as well as physical precision. And while the flaws outweigh the strengths, it is a laudable, multilayered and challenging effort.

To see a full review of this show, read Christine Howey's review at  Cleveland Scene