Sunday, May 11, 2025

Heisenberg @ Ensemble Theatre



Through May 23, 2025
https://www.ensembletheatrecle.org/
(216) 321-2930

 

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

The Ensemble Theatre production’s Heisenberg, written by Simon Stephens and directed by Tom Fulton, introduces the audience to a new look at an encounter–which can be called a more positive and lighter version of Albee’s Zoo Story. Yet, throughout the 90-minute performance, the two characters—Georgie Burns and Alex Priest—exist somewhere between the theatre of the absurd and the “romantic comedy.”

Fulton, working with scenic designer Ian Hinz, created a simple stage featuring several black blocks and a bench, accompanied by the scarlet curtain backdrop. Hinz also designed lighting and used sectional illumination to heighten a surreptitious and timeless atmosphere. Though it could be set in any year, the “year”—according to several lines—is wondrously specific, in 2014, the year the playwright was writing this play. Locales are London and New Jersey, though they are embodied through Stephens’s lines.

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.

 

Monday, May 5, 2025

Alice By Heart @ Blank Canvas Theatre



Through May 17, 2025
http://www.blankcanvastheatre.com 
(440) 941-0458

 

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

If you relish a bit of reality meets fantasy this is definitely a show to put on your calendar. It is a pleasant evening of light musical theater that will help chase the rainy blues away.

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
No review yet.
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.

 

Choir Boy @ Karamu House



Through May 18, 2025
(216) 795-7077

 

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

This is a show that is full of surprises that encourages audiences to participate in their own way. It is a musical play that uses this tool to advance an idea of diversity, equity and inclusion...a lesson still in need of being taught more than ever. 

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
Karamu House production’s Choir Boy, written by Tarell Alvin McCraney and directed by Nathan Henry, is a superb work with seven talented singers/performers and two seasoned actors, exploring and problematizing the very reality of the strict “code of ethics and morality” imposed, unrealistically and unpractically, on a group of a prestigious boarding high school—The Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys. In a 100-minute one-act show, the audience witnesses a series of vignettes that capture snips and pieces of a dormitory high school life centered on well-choreographed songs sung by the seven performers.  These “affluent” and privileged yet with dilemmas, traumas, and anxieties remind me of the two boarding school students–Omari and Jasmine–in Dominique Morriseau’s Pipeline.
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.

 

Saturday, May 3, 2025

Fiddler on the Roof @ Cleveland Play House



Through May 25, 2025
http://www.clevelandplayhouse.com
(216) 400-7096

 

Howard Gollop

Still, the Play House production holds onto the tradition of quality, with choreographer Stas Kmiec assiduously tailoring the original 1964 choreography of Jerome Robbins (son of a Clevelander), lush musical direction by Diane Louie and intelligently simplified scenic design by Raul Abrego, unfortunately less inspired by the Jewish artist Marc Chagall, as in the original production, but still evocative in its own way.

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

Somehow this large company has been able to fit this colossal musical on a smaller than usual stage bringing all the excitement, drama, laughs, pathos and heart of the original. It is a truly great show that has the time flying by without nary a notice.

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

Laura Kennelly
Magic, beguiling fiddler, romance, song, and dance? Yes, please, thank you. The engaging Cleveland Play House production, directed by Michael Barakiva, lights up Playhouse Square’s Allen Theatre. It makes clear why Tony Award-winning Fiddler on the Roof has remained popular since its 1964 Broadway premiere. With book by Joseph Stein, music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, produced by Harold Prince and choreography by Jerome Robbins, it’s an affirmation of creativity and community.
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
Barakiva meticulously creates and maintains each moment, educing a “still picture” as the text and music suggest. Wooden cut-out motifs and multiple wings allow the stage to be seen as a page in a book or a framed painting—perhaps to pay homage to Marc Chagall’s “The Green Violinist” —which one would, some day in the future, appreciate in a gallery, library, and museum, hinting at the everlasting nature of this musical. In addition to cut-out motifs, scenic designer Raul Abrego designed and built slightly slanted houses (like those in “The Green Violinist”) along with a big central gate—beyond that point is outside of the shtetl of Anatevka. With a Star of David, this double metal gate ominously signals that the world beyond is resonant with concentration camps. On stage are benches for some audience members, and the wooden siding behind them suggests the exterior of Tevye’s humble farmhouse.


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

Joey Morona


“Fiddler on the Roof” is a classic not just because of its songs or its place in the musical theater canon, but because it beautifully captures the enduring challenge of balancing tradition with the need to adapt and change. Cleveland Play House has made those ideas feel as timely as ever.


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

 

Friday, May 2, 2025

Dial M For Murder @ Weathervane Playhouse, Akron



Through May 18, 2025
http://wwwweathervaneplayhouse.com
(330) 836-2626

 

Sheri Gross

No review yet.
To see a full review of this show, read Sheri Gross' review here.

Mark Horning

If you have never seen the movie or play before then you are in for a treat. The great stage set, costuming, accents and acting are all top notch. It is also brilliant the manner of breaking up the show into three short acts with two intermissions so as to give the audience a break. BRAVO all the way! If you have seen it before, it is time to see it once more.

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