MISS SAIGON @ PLAYHOUSE SQUARE

Through February 17, 2019

(216) 241-6000

Or www.playhousesquare.org

Roy Berko

“Miss Saigon” is a powerful piece of musical theater, with a vital story and soaring music.  It tells a tale of historical significance, not sugarcoating the conflict, the effect of the presence of American GI’s on the Vietnamese population, and the human chaos that was left behind.   The impressive touring production was hampered by an overly loud sound system which had the orchestra drowning out the singers and direction, which resulted in overblown chaos in almost every scene. 

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

Kerry Clawson

Everything about this production is magnificently larger than life, from its dramatic love story to its massive score, gorgeous sets, bold staging and over-the-top sleaziness of the Engineer character.

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

Howard Gollop

With slightly less scenic gimmickry and a bit more definition in musicality and dramatics, the revival production comes across much more emotionally satisfying and engaging. Yes, Broadway has grown smarter technologically as well as theatrically since the days of the Broadway dinosaur.

Laura Kennelly

Miss Saigon, that tale of war and woe, is back in Cleveland after all these years. The KeyBank Broadway Series musical, directed by Laurence Connor, offers a slightly reworked version of the first national tour that played here in 1992.  Although the show lacks a hummable score and relies too heavily on sung dialogue, it does succeed in adding a human face to the horror that was the Vietnam War. Its focus is on the fall of Saigon in 1975 when the Viet Cong took the city and the exodus of South Vietnamese troops and the U.S. military turned into panic-fueled chaos.

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

Andrea Simakis

What I'll remember of the re-imagined "Miss Saigon" is Kim, almost spectral in white, riding the shoulders of a crowd trying to breach the gates of the American Embassy, her arms reaching out, and finding nothing.

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

A RAISIN IN THE SUN @ ENSEMBLE THEATRE

Through February 17, 2019

 (216) 321-2930

Or www.ensemble-theatre.com

Bob Abelman

Ensemble’s ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ is a week away from perfection.

To see a full review of this show, read Bob Abelman's blog here  or go to www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/bob_abelman/

Mark Horning

As controversy charges the emotions of our nation in regards to 

who “deserves” to live “where” this work is a stern reminder of 

the basic freedoms enjoyed by us all. This is classic theater at its
 
very best and just as hard hitting today as it was 60 years ago. 

Fill the seats for this one!

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

Roy Berko

“A Raisin in the Sun” is a play about the need to keep fighting to make this a more just and free world.  This is a scropt which is meant to counter those who believe that disdain for those who are different is what would “make America great again.”  Ensemble does the script proud.  It is a production very worth seeing!

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

REVOLT. SHE SAID. REVOLT AGAIN. @ DOBAMA THEATRE

Through February 17, 2019

(216) 932-3396

Or dobama.org

Bob Abelman

Dobama’s anarchic ‘Revolt’ a reminder that theater can and should shock.

To see a full review of this show, read Bob Abelman's blog here or go to: 

www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/bob_abelman/

Roy Berko

Maybe the clue to gaining some concept of ““Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again,” is to look at the hundreds of shoes that totally surround the three-sided thrust Dobama stage, and realize that they are all different styles, sizes and colors, and accept that they, like the words of the script, are a clue to the chaos of our era, and though some may fit some, they will not fit all, and though some may serve one purpose, they each may fit another.  As such, the play, or any one pair of shoes, each is not for everyone!

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

Mark Horning

Disturbing! Visual! Loud! This play fully captures all of the unleashed pent-up fury of being a woman in the 21^st century. Should men attend? Hell yes! Should couples attend? Hell yes! Bring the kids? Hell no! Just be warned that you are in for a jarring experience much akin to your first exposure to Caryl Churchill’s Cloud 9 (1979) and Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues (1996). It is the type of theater that can bring empires down. 

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

Andrea Simakis

But, my sisters, there is a fine line between a play that is naughty rude, and even anarchic--all traits I admire--and one that is often annoying.  That explains why I left the show not pumping my fist, electrified by the challenging, transgressive theater I'd just seen, but deflated and confused.

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

AN ILIAD @ CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE

Through February 10, 2018

(216) 241-6000

Or www.clevelandplayhouse.com

Bob Abelman

‘An Iliad’ at Cleveland Play House takes us on a theatrical odyssey. 

To see a full review of this show, read Bob Abelman's blog here or go to www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/bob_abelman/

Roy Berko

In a virtuoso performance, Tarah Flanagan, using language that ranges from contemporary realism to epic poetry, and inhabiting over 50 characters, challenges us to realize the role of rage and think, “How do you know you’ve won?”  As the modern day conflicts in Vietnam, Syria and Afghanistan illustrate, “How do you know?”  This is an absolute “must see” production for anyone who desires to experience a theater production at its finest and is willing to probe what makes us human.

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



 
Kerry Clawson

 In “An Iliad,” the tale of war that actress Tarah Flanagan recounts, is an age-old song of conflict, rage and destruction. But this single actress on a nearly bare stage makes the story feel contemporary as she addresses the audience directly as the Poet.

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

Mark Horning

Take an epic poem, translate it into modern vernacular, relate it to situations that have been going on since time immemorial, add dashes of humor, the unworldly sounds of a cello, the sheer theatrical power of one tremendous actress and you have indeed a modern epic that will in itself go down through the ages. 

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

Laura Kennelly

How about a war story? Stomping across the bare floor of the Outcalt Theatre, the seemingly indefatigable Tarah Flanagan as The Poet calls upon the muses to sustain and inspire her as she recounts An Iliad. Her version, crafted by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare, is based on the Robert Fagles translation of Homer’s classic.

See a full review at artstillmatters.com or read Laura's posts at Cool Cleveland.

Andrea Simakis

"An Iliad" is spellbinding, a rollicking adaptation filled with shrewd modern day references and burning with wit, intelligence and empathy, flawlessly executved by Tarah Flanagan and Eva Rose Scholz-Carlson.

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

RODGERS + HAMMERSTEIN'S CINDERELLA @ Connor Palace (Huntington Featured Performance)

January 15-20, 2019

216-241-6000 
or www.playhousesquare.org

Bob Abelman

You’re welcome.  If you choose to turn off the news, put down your cell phone, forget Facebook and head downtown to Playhouse Square to see the touring production of “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella,” you will thank me for recommending these two and a half hours of unabashedly romantic, unadulterated, uninterrupted escapism. 

To see a full review of this show, read Bob Abelman's blog here or go to www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/bob_abelman/

Roy Berko

The touring production of ROGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN’S CINDERELLA is well conceived and performed.  It is charming and delightful to the eye and ear.  It’s the wonderful experience that will leave audiences, young and old, glad they went to the theater and wishing for return trips. 
 
To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.

Howard Gollop

And so, the book goes off in more directions and plot distractions than a Victor Hugo novel. This becomes even more jarring, because few, if any, of these topical–relevance distractions are supported by the magnificent original Rodgers & Hammerstein score.

Fortunately, the songs are good enough and self-contained enough so that, no matter how far the book casts the fairytale astray, the music can take the show back over, if only briefly. All it takes is the wave of a conductor’s magic wand.

Mark Horning

Sometimes even a chestnut like Cinderella can surprise and delight. In this case it is the cast that brings out the magic carried solidly on the shoulders of youthful enthusiasm. Bring the entire clan for an astounding mid-winter break of happiness. It will have you believe that wishes can come true.

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