Les Misérables @ Huntington Bank Featured Performance

Through September 22, 2024

www.playhousewquare.org

(216) 241-6000

 

Roy Berko

LES MIZ!  It is still captivating and is a major piece of the musical theater tapestry which gets an excellent production.  If you haven’t seen it before or need a refresher, get to Playhouse Square and get “A Heart Full of Love.”

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

Howard Gollop

As the latest national tour proves, the Broadway classic works just as well with a traditional sets by Matt Kinley, still lavish by national tour standards. This "Les Miz" is still at once melodramatic and divinely inspiring -- qualities that beckon to be captured musically.

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

Chris Howey

Again? Certainly. As the Thénardiers sing in their concluding bleat "Beggars at the Feast:" "Life is easy pickings/If you grab your chance."

To see a full review of this show, read Chris Howey's Review here.

Purlie Victorious @ Karamu House

Through October 20, 2024

www.karamuhouse.org 

(216) 795-7077

Roy Berko

The cast, headed by Dyrell Barnett, as Purlie, gives full-effort and has some fine moments.  Treva Offutt directs. If you are interested in seeing a slice of Black Americana, and want to back the continued efforts of Karamu, the country’s oldest Black theatre, go see PURLIE VICTORIOUS!

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

Mark Horning
No review yet.
To see a full review of this show, read Mark Horning's Review here.

Chris Howey 

Both hilarious and pungent, the energy in this 1961 script written by the renowned actor Ossie Davis never flags since the excellent Karamu cast, under the direction of Treva Offutt, pays attention to every jot and tittle of Davis's words and intent.

To see a full review of this show, read Chris Howey's Review here.

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

Dr. Yuko Kurahashi

Into The Woods @ Great Lakes Theater

Through November 10, 2024

http://www.greatlakestheater.org

(216) 241-6000

 

Roy Berko

INTO THE WOOD is a well-conceived script, which gets a fine GLT production!  There has been, and will be many presentations of this musical, but few will match this one!  Go…enjoy musical theatre at its finest!

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

Mark Horning

If you are a fan of Stephen Sondheim then you will probably flock to this show and love every minute of it. Good for you. As for me there is not enough aspirin in the world that could get me back to see this show in any form but that is just me. The audience loved it and you will probably love it also. 

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

Howard Gollop

Director Victoria Bussert charges though the dark proceedings with clarity and style. With the craftsmanship of choreographer Jaclyn Miller and musical director Matthew Webb, the able ensemble moves assuredly through production numbers and pathos with equal alacrity. It's an engaging forest of light and dark undertones that beckon the willing audience to get lost into.

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

Chris Howey

This Great Lakes Theater production of the much-loved Stephen Sondheim musical bristles with invigorating movement and features a raft of fine singing voices. And aside from a couple wrinkles, it is a richly involving treat.

To see a full review of this show, read Chris Howey's Review here.

Laura Kennelly

Stephen Sondheim’s classic Into the Woods, now at the Playhouse Square’s Hanna Theater, offers a blissful, exuberant, dangerous — and deliciously musical — expedition into the forest.

As director Victoria Bussert pointed out in the program notes, “Be careful what you wish for, you may get it.” And that’s what Into the Woods’ two full acts are all about. It’s an enchanting production shining with exceptional performances.

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

Kate Klotzbach

Busser's direction is quick-paced and well-timed, making this production a whimsical whirlwind well worth entering Into the Woods for.

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

Dr. Yuko Kurahashi

Into the Woods is not a typical happy musical. During the “natural disaster,” three mothers die, leaving Little Riding Hood, Jack, and the baby motherless. Two adolescents may be under the parental guidance of the Baker and Cinderella for several years. The third mother, the witch, is left “childless” as the Giant’s Wife kills Rapunzel. The multiple deaths, along with philosophical quests in the story, transform this musical into a social parable, offering the possibility of multiple interpretations about humans, their relationships, and the environment.  Underneath the vivacious, colorful, cheerful presentation, The Great Lakes Theater production of Into the Woods compelling maintains Sondheim and Lapine’s revisional work, which came out of an intellectual and aesthetically challenging twist on the traditional fairytales.

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

Ludlow Fair and The Madness of Lady Bright @ Cesear's Forum

Through October 26, 2024

www.playhousesquare.org

(216) 241-6000

 

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
No review yet.
To see a full review of this show, read Mark Horning's Review here.

Chris Howey
No review yet.
To see a full review of this show, read Chris Howey's Review here.

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

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

Dr. Yuko Kurahashi

Cesear’s Forum is staging two short plays by Lanford Wilson—Ludlow Fair (1965) and The Madness of Lady Bright (1964), co-directed by Greg Cesear and Tricia Bestic. Attending two of Wilson’s earliest plays offers me the opportunity to contemplate what these two American plays of the Absurd might mean to contemporary audiences.  As a theatre historian, I naturally try to put them in the social and cultural context of its creation period.
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 Sunshine Boys @ Beck Center For The Arts

Through October 6, 2024

http://www.beckcenter.org 

(216) 521-2540

 

Roy Berko

It is enjoyable when a theatre reprises a Neil Simon comedy.  THE SUNSHINE BOYS, because of the requirement of enacting the classic comic routine is probably the most difficult Simon play to stage well.  The cast and crew give full effort, but don’t completely hit the bullseye!

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

Howard Gollop

Alan Safier and Rohn Thomas bring to life potentially cardboard characters conceived in Simon's amusing but un-nuanced style. All the pathos as well as all the one-liners emerge sharp, fresh and -- like Cheri Prough DeVol's deteriorating residential-hotel set -- convincing. The rest of the cast -- particularly Doug Sutherland as the beleaguered nephew and Joyce Bell Linzy as the wisecracking geriatric nurse -- complete an exceptional cast. The production is not only a nostalgic nod to Vaudeville, but a nostalgic validation of Neil Simon as a onetime mainstay of Broadway and regional theater.

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

Chris Howey

The Sunshine Boys is a slight and thinly amusing diversion if you don't ask too much from your comedy offerings. Kind of like a sitcom you've seen five (or 25) times before.

To see a full review of this show, read Chris Howey's Review here.

Laura Kennelly

Is getting old and cranky funny? Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys (1972), now at the Senney Theater at the Beck Center for the Arts, suggests it is possible — even unavoidable if one is wise — to see it that way.

Under the direction of William Roudebush, Simon’s light-hearted drama (with a serious side) centers around a comic vaudeville duo whose heyday was in the 1920s and 1930s. But now it’s 1972. Nothing is funny anymore. The duo (once famous as “Lewis & Clark) split after a fight. But it doesn’t matter since no one books either one anymore.

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

Dr. Yuko Kurahashi

Since I have not had a chance to see Neil Simon’s works recently, attending the Beck Center of the Arts production of The Sunshine Boys, directed by William Roudebush, was such an informative, educational, and historically reflexive experience. This work definitely stands as a period piece that allows the audience to enjoy the show while critically assessing the chauvinistic nature of vaudeville.

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

Pride and Prejudice @ Cleveland Play House

Through September 29, 2024

https://www.clevelandplayhouse.com/ 

(216) 241-6000

 

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

Sheri Gross

Autumn in Cleveland; the weather is, of course, unpredictable, but the evenings are crisp with a hint of sweetness in the air that makes you want to curl up with a good book…or maybe even head to the Cleveland Play House to watch love bloom in Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.” Do it! But forget just about everything you think you know about this classic tale; this ain’t your Bubbie’s “Pride and Prejudice.” 

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

Chris Howey

P&P is given a comical gloss and feverish energy that makes this CPH production light, airy and damn funny. 

To see a full review of this show, read Chris Howey's Review here.

Laura Kennelly

Kate Hamill’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, now at the Cleveland Play House, tries to have fun with the “game of love.” To some extent, director Michael Barakiva and his versatile cast of eight succeeded last Friday night, but at times the effort of creating a farce and simultaneously replicating Austen’s 1813 novel overwhelmed them.

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

Dr. Yuko Kurahashi

Everything is over the top, from the scenery to the costume, magnifying the world Austen sensitively but poignantly criticizes. In Austen’s novel, the character flaws—especially those of male characters, including Mr. Darcy—are often pardoned and even celebrated in the narrative dictated by Elizabeth Bennet’s point of view. This adaptation underscores the “flaws” of the people who try to compromise with the flaws of themselves and their partners.  

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

A View From The Bridge @ Cain Park

Through September 15, 2024

www.cainpark.com

(216) 371-3000

 

Roy Berko

 A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE is a powerful and meaningful play that gets a fine production.  This is an absolutely must-see for any serious theater-aficionado.

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

Mark Horning

The one touch stone of an Arthur Miller play is it deals with stark and depressing subject matter. Fans of his work will not be disappointed in this production. The action builds slowly to its predictable climax as the cast sweeps you along.

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

Chris Howey

If you like your drama served up rich, complex and piping-hot, look no further than Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge, now at Cain Park's Alma Theatre.

  To see a full review of this show, read Chris Howey's Review here.