Through November 26, 2017
(216) 795-7070
Bob Abelman
Karamu’s ‘The Lake Effect’ more
bluster than blizzard.
Roy Berko
“The Lake Effect,” written by
Cleveland Heights’ award winning playwright Rajiv Joseph, is a thought-provoking
script which uses Cleveland area references to develop its theme. It gets a creditable production at Karamu.
Mark Horning
While a bit of the acting is heavily weighted and
relies more on loud demonstratives, the core of the writing still makes for an
intriguing evening of entertainment. Sometimes it takes a perfect stranger to
be the holder of deep family secrets.
Andrea Simakis
Our eagerness to solve the mystery is
dampened by the wooden, self-conscious performances of Suleiman and El Dabh,
who never relax into their parts. (The cramped stage, erected in Karamu's
Concert Hall, a less than ideal venue for fully staged works while
the Jelliffe Theatre is refurbished, doesn't help.) They could take a lesson
from Little, a natural always at ease in whatever skin he's in. In one scene, he stands alone in a pool of light,
gazing into a whirl of falling snow, seeking a bit of otherworldly advice, and
it's then that we realize the full, poignant potential of Joseph's piece - and
the limitations of this Ohio premiere.
