EARTH PLAYS
Cleveland Public Theatre
February 21 through March 9, 2013

                                                 216-631-2727 or go to www.cptonline.org

Roy Berko

Cleveland Public Theatre is noted for its experimental theatrical work.  Though not for everyone, Ray Bobgan and his well intentioned group of creators, again challenges the senses in EARTH PLAYS (Part Two of the Elements Cycle) through the devised theatre method of creation. 

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


Fran Heller

Some of the pieces are maddeningly obscure, others didactic and still others serenely lyrical and beautiful.
"Earth Plays" stretches the boundaries of live theater in bold, experimental and imaginative ways that result in a total theater experience.
You won't understand everything you see, but the sum total of the experience is something you won't soon forget.

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


Christine Howey

While not as consistently enthralling as Water Ways, Earth Plays offers a number of memorable moments and only goes theatrically awry when it insists on delivering its worthwhile messages wrapped around a rock and repeatedly thumped on the audience’s head.

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

Kory

EARTH PLAYS is a collaborative, avant-garde, unsettling, graphic, powerful, and emotional journey through the issues that plague Mother Earth.

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

BLITHE SPIRIT
GREAT LAKES THEATER
February 22-March 10, 2013

                                                216-664-6064 or www.greatlakestheater.org

Bob Abelman


Noël Coward’s “Blithe Spirit” is the comedic equivalent of a dry martini.  Comprised of urbane smugness, just a hint of slapstick and stirred (the worlds created by Noël Coward are never shaken), the play is considered low-shelf stuff compared to Cowards’ more successful “Private Lives” and “Hay Fever.”  It is, however, still clever, caustic and particularly funny in the hands of Great Lakes Theater.

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


Roy Berko

Nöel Coward’s BLITHE SPIRIT is one of those magical epics that delights audiences.  Great Lakes Theater is blessed with some excellent female leads who help make the show a smile fest, though it should have been the laugh fest created by the master. 

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


Fran Heller

Coward's laser-sharp wit and rapier dialogue reach their apotheosis in "Blithe Spirit, " a modern classic that still delights more than 70 years later.
The enchanting production at Great Lakes Theater provides ample proof of the play's enduring charm.

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


Christine Howey

This wan production Blithe Spirit at Great lakes Theatre generates more faint smiles than laugh-out-loud moments. With a couple notable exceptions, the actors and director Charles Fee seem more intent on nailing a precise Coward-ian cadence to the speech than in developing real characters we can relate to and laugh with.

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

Kory

Great Lakes Theater is alive and well with the hilarious BLITHE SPIRIT, a Nöel Coward play about, of all things, a dead ex-wife.

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

Andrea Simakis

So raise a glass to this supernatural m nage + trois and a play [BLITHE SPIRIT] that crackles with life 71 years after it was first performed. Cheers, darling!

To see a full review of this show, read Andrea Simakis' blog or visit Cleveland.com here.

SONS OF THE PROPHETS
Dobama Theatre
February 22-March 17, 2013

216-932-3396 or dobama.org

Bob Abelman

If misery loves company, then Stephen Karam’s “Sons of the Prophet” should play to full houses.

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


Roy Berko

SONS OF THE PHOPHET is a brilliant script which gets an acceptable production at Dobama.  It’s a shame because the quality of the material is superb, and the cast, with more focused guidance, was capable of living up to the positive hype a production of this script deserves.
 
To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.


Fran Heller

Tsoris is a Yiddish word for misery.
It's what the folk who inhabit Stephen Karam's comedy-drama, "Sons of the Prophet" possess in spades.
An offbeat, tender-hearted play about grief, loss and the resilience of the human spirit, "Prophet" is funny, wise, moving and insightful: everything meaty theatre should be.

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


Christine Howey

It’s often hilariously funny, and also touching as we watch 29-year-old Joseph, his younger brother Charles and his Uncle Bill grapple with various serious (along with some petty) problems. Trouble is, the play is something of a dog’s breakfast in terms of structure, with scenes loosely strung together and many story lines never explored or resolved even slightly. 

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

Andrea Simakis

Following an ill-conceived intermission that throws the brakes on the propulsive, forward motion of the production, the final three scenes resolve little, then sputter and stall out.  Part of the problem lies with a script that thunders out of the gate and then flags, but any such structural glitches aren't helped by the sudden, vaudevillian tone brought by ensemble cast members Laura Starnik and Jeanne Task.Why Miller allowed the duo to go so broad is anybody's guess, given the playwright's explicit instructions to the contrary. The result doesn't feel funny so much as fraudulent, and it changes the black comedy to bleak sitcom. Ouch.

To see a full review of this show, read Andrea Simakis' blog or visit Cleveland.com here.

PSYCHO BEACH PARTY
Blank Canvas Theatre
February 22-March 9, 2013
440-941-0458 or www.blankcanvastheatre.com

Bob Abelman

Director Patrick Ciamacco, who is also Black Canvas’ artistic director, has a wonderful eye for the asinine.  And, to his credit, he has raised the bar on low budget inanity in this production.

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

Roy Berko

PSYCHO BEACH PARTY will make for fun viewing for those inclined to like theatre of the ridiculous and don’t want to gain anything from the thespian experience other than absurd silliness and get a lesson in the difficulty of bringing the camp style of performance to the stage.

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

Kory

Blank Canvas Theatre kicks off their second season by bringing the beach to Battery Park, in the middle of winter!

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

Andrea Simakis

Blank Canvas has delivered well-made, ireverent parody before" "Debbie Does Dallas" and, most notably, "The Texas Chainsaw Musical!"  But at time this production ["Psycho Beach Party"]  veered dangerously close to one in a high school aduitorium, the seats filled by cheering, supportive friends and family, delighted by absolutely. anything."

To see a full review of this show, read Andrea Simakis' blog or visit Cleveland.com/onstage here.

THE DEVIL'S MUSIC: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF BESSIE SMITH

Cleveland Play House
February 15-March 10, 2013

216-241-6000 or www.clevelandplayhouse.com

Bob Abelman

This restaging of the original New York production gives "The Devil" its due.

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


Roy Berko

THE DEVIL’S MUSIC is a very entertaining evening of theatre, highlighted by the performance of Miche Braden, but is somewhat burdened by the format of the script.
 

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

Fran Heller

It's as if the molecules start to move when legendary blues singer, Bessie Smith (an electrifying Miche Braden) saunters down the aisle of the mainstage Allen Theatre, making an entrance that is grand in every way.
When Braden belts the blues, heaven and earth collide.

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

Kory

THE DEVIL’S MUSIC: THE LIFE AND BLUES OF BESSIE SMITH is a naughty, indulgent evening of theatre that seamlessly harkens back to a by-gone era in American music.

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

Andrea Simakis

There is a spectral synergy crackling between Miche Braden and the "hot and hungry mama" she embodies in "The Devil's Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith," now at the Cleveland Play House. You can feel it in one of the show's most roof-raising numbers.

To see a full review of this show, read Andrea Simakis' blog or visit Cleveland.com here.

Art Thomas

The formidable talents of Miche Braden as Bessie Smith and the trio of instrumentalists heats up the Play House a third of the way through the show with "Blame It On the Blues." A clunky theatrical structure does give a lot of insight into Smith's troubled life but can't thoroughly develop any of the many fascinating storylines. 
 
Click here to read the complete review at WestLife

BLUE MAN GROUP
PALACE THEATRE--PLAYHOUSESQUARE
February 2-17, 2013 

                                                  216-241-6000 or www.playhousesquare.org

Roy Berko 

Through electronic gimmicks, flying colored paint, filling their mouths with marshmallows, eating Twinkies, audience participation, drumming (yes, it does get loud and the bass moves the theatre’s floor under your feet), three on-stage performers, a band and seven Blue Men hidden in the dark on-stage, teach and delight.  THE BLUE MAN GROUP is a go-see show for kids of all ages!

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

Fran Heller

"Blue Man Group" isn't just a show. It's a total experience.
A cross between a rock concert, performance art, and hi-tech video, the unique and highly imaginative multi-media extravaganza is vastly entertaining, visually spectacular, extremely intelligent and very funny.
Kids love it. So do grownups.

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


Christine Howey

It’s witty, it’s unpredictable (especially if you haven’t seen it). And if you have seen it, that’s exactly why you want to see it again.You want to see it for the 2D/3D dance. For the unending list of synonyms for the human butt (air balloons, wiggle clowns, Ali vs. Frazier… For the Twinkie banquet.

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


Art Thomas
Equal parts music and performance art, Blue Man Group, will inspire young musicians, especially percussionists, and lead adults through a giggle fest of silliness. Constantly reinventing themselves, Blue Man Group is currently obsessed with text messaging. The finale has the entire audience throwing up and plenty of tissue paper to catch the spills.

Click here to read the complete review at WestLife
  

A BEHANDING IN SPOKANE
none too fragile theater
February 8-March 9, 2013

                                             330-671-4563 or http://www.nonetoofragile.com

Roy Berko

none too fragile’s A BEHANDING IN SPOKANE is definitely not for everyone.  If you have a macabre sense of humor, have a high tolerance for swearing and offensive stereotypes, you  will really get into this show.  Others may be so offended and/or confused their only wish would be for the final lights out.  Which one are you?
 
To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.


Kerry Clawson

This play alternates between the sickeningly funny and just plain sickening — the latter in the form of viciously racist dialogue. Race plays a big part in the story in ways that don’t really make sense.A Behanding in Spokane is full of obscenities and racial epithets. As the off-kilter Carmichael, the bushy-haired, white-bearded Michael Regnier is uncomfortably frightening in his hatred.

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

Fran Heller

A cross between theater of the absurd and Gothic horror tale, the 100-minute one act is a lacerating, no-holds-barred satire of the American landscape.
Laced with profanity and politically incorrect language, the play takes a pot shot at our "sad, decaying nation" shaped by homophobia, racism and school massacres.
The well-acted production, directed by Sean Derry, milks the farcical, drawing lots of laughs from the audience, but which left this viewer unmoved.

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


Christine Howey

There is a bracing directness and honesty to the proceedings, yet it often feels like everyone is trying a bit too hard to be off the wall. Still the four performers, under the well-paced direction of Sean Derry, are so close to nailing their respective characters that one wishes for an unseen hand to guide them across the finish line. 

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

A STAR AIN'T NOTHING BUT A HOLE IN HEAVEN
February 1-24, 2013
  216-795-7077 or www.karamuhouse.org

Fran Heller

As a chapter in American history, the 1977 play captures the struggle of young black women trying to rise above their station in a sexist, racist and patriarchal society.
As contemporary drama, it feels dated.
 
The two-and-a-half hour production, directed by Terrence Spivey, grinds slowly, hampered by some uneven acting and actors who orate without emoting.
 
To see a full review of this show, read Fran Heller's review at the Cleveland Jewish News

Andrea Simakis

Still, the production [A STAR AIN'T NOTHIGN BUT A HOLE IN HEAVEN] is a moving one -- perhaps more so today.  Deep into Act 2, Aunt Mamie emerges from her fog, surprising her husband and nosey neighbor, Pearl.  Mamie, eyes shining, explains that she wants Pokie to take hold of that rope and never look back, because one day, she and other young blacks are "gonna be doctors and lawyers and scientists . . ."    "And president!" a woman in the front row called out.

To see a full review of this show, read Andrea Simakis' blog or visit Cleveland.com here.

YOU SAY, TOMATO, I SAY SHUT UP
PlayhouseSquare--12th Street Theatre
February 6-17, 2013
216-241-6000 or www.playhousesquare.org

Roy Berko

YOU SAY TOMATO, I SAY SHUT UP! is a funny, but not hilarious evening of theatre.  It makes for a pleasant escape evening of theatre.
 
To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.

Fran Heller

The 75-minute one-act proves the everlasting truism that in matters of the heart, opposites still attract and that what keeps two people hitched remains very much a mystery.
The show recycles familiar terrain, eliciting the occasional chuckle rather than LOL funny.

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


Christine Howey

If you’re in the mood for some gentle teasing of the bonds of love and matrimony, this is your ticket. But don’t expect too much of the in-your-face candor or outrageous energy promised in the title.

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

Kory

YOU SAY TOMATO, I SAY SHUT UP is fun, laugh out loud funny, and will remind you that all couples experience disfunction, and that no relationship (including your own) is perfect.

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

LES MISERABLES
PlayhouseSquare--Palace Theatre
Feburary 6-10, 2013

                                                 216-241-6000 or www.playhousesquare.org

Bob Abelman

Do you hear the people sing? Singing the song of angry men? How the hell can you not, considering that “Les Misérables has played over 48,000 professional performances to over 60 million people in 42 countries and the film version has earned a whopping $340 million at the box office since its December 2012 premiere.  The question is: is it worth hearing again? Yes, it is. 

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

Fran Heller

Les Miz isn't just a musical, it's a phenomenon.
This latest version is inspired by Victor Hugo's drawings and eye-popping video projections that pull the viewer into the action, like 3-D.
The result is a show more immediate and compelling, and one that heightens relevance to contemporary times.

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

Christine Howey

The 25^th Anniversary production of the Cameron MacIntosh production, now at the Palace Theatre at PlayhouseSquare reminds one of the power living, breathing actors can bring. And for those who love the film but were left with a bad taste in their mouth from Russell Crowe’s stupendously hollow performance as Inspector Javert, here is your palate cleanser.

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

Kory

Les Misérables is a well acted, fluid, technical marvel that has to be seen to be believed!

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

NEXT TO NORMAL
Lakeland Civic Theatre (Lakeland Community College)
February 2-27, 2013  

         440-525-7134 or http://lakelandcc.edu/academic/arts/theatre/index.asp

Bob Abelman

Although this musical earned several Tony Awards—which inspires visions of bright lights, happy endings and high-kicking chorus girls—that is no guarantee of a fun evening when coupled with a Pulitzer Prize.  In fact, Pulitzer is code for somber and thought-provoking.    “Next to Normal” is not easy to like, but there is much to love about this Lakeland Civic Theatre production of it.

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


Roy Berko

Does NEXT TO NORMAL, a musical about mental illness, sound like a downer?  The script, and the music, and this production are so well conceived, that there is no time during the production that the audience is not compelled to watch with rapt attention.  Lakeland’s production is an absolutely, positive, MUST SEE!
 
To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.


Fran Heller

"Next to Normal, " a rock musical whose subject matter is mental illness, could easily be a downer.
The luminous production of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize winning drama at Lakeland Theatre proves an exhilarating high.
 From the thrilling opening number, "Just Another Day", a song of survival, until the moving closing number, "Light", a song of tentative hope, the show blew me away.

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


Christine Howey

It isn't often we are able to witness a work of performance art embedded in a stunning art installation. But such is the case in the very satisfying production of Next to Normal, the Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical, now at the Lakeland Civic Theatre.

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


Kory
NEXT TO NORMAL at Lakeland Civic Theatre is a DO NOT MISS production.
To see a full review of this show, read Kory's blog at New102.com