The Magician's Table @ Playhouse Square

Through December 6, 2026

https://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

The closest cousin to this type of entertainment might be a murder-mystery dinner theater -- without the dinner. But it does have an international pedigree: After a successful multi-year residency in London, the creators partnered with Right Angle Entertainment to bring the production on its first North American tour. Playhouse Square arranged to bring the hit show to downtown Cleveland as one of the first U.S. cities to host it. The success seems to have continued in Cleveland, where its original run has been extended into December. Few traditional shows run that long on Playhouse Square, but, then again, that's the magic of magic.

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.

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.

Gwendolyn Kochur
No review yet.
To see a full review of this show, read Gwendolyn'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.

 

Daphne's Dive @ Dobama Theatre

Through October 18, 2026

https://www.dobama.org/

(216) 932-3396

 

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.

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.

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

Dr. Yuko Kurahashi

The play’s focus could be on the changing political and social landscape of Philadelphia and the nation, with an emphasis on activism for social justice, equality, and anti-poverty as the city (and other US cities) face gun violence, drug epidemics, civil forfeiture, housing problems, unemployment, and federal funding cuts. These problems—in resonance with today—are present in the background of the play, never clearly and strongly expressed in the script. Hudes touches on many issues that don’t fit neatly into one play. Yet a group of committed performers delivers both public and personal stories about the bar, bringing their humanity and drama to the forefront. 
To see a full review of this show, read Yuko's posts here.

Joey Morona

Walking into an unfamiliar bar full of regulars can be intimidating. Daphne’s Dive, however, makes room for one more.

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

 

The Winter's Tale @ Great Lakes Theater

Through October 11, 2026

https://www.greatlakestheater.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

While not one of Shakespeare’s most notable or for that matter performed works, Cleveland audiences will enjoy the superb theatrical romp that combines comedy, tragedy, death deceit, madness and reconciliation. Patrons of the Globe loved it back in the day and you will love it now.

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

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

Dr. Yuko Kurahashi
No review yet.
To see a full review of this show, read Yuko's posts here.

Joey Morona

For all its zigging and zagging, “The Winter’s Tale” is a story about what time can heal and what it can’t. As Great Lakes Theater embarks on this landmark season, it just feels right to start with a play that looks to the past while still finding a way forward.

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

 

Mr. Rickey Calls A Meeting @ Karamu

Through October 18, 2026

https://karamuhouse.org/

(216) 795-7070

 

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.

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.

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

Dr. Yuko Kurahashi

Schmidt originally wrote this play as a memory play told by 64-year-old retired African American bellhop Clancy Hope, who recalls a day in 1947 as a young bellhop at a New York hotel. In this production, the show takes us straight to a Big Apple hotel room in 1947, as Branch Rickey enters and inspects the service details, such as drinks and ice. After Jackie Robinson arrives, Clancy Hope (Averly LaMar Pope), a curious 17-year-old bellhop, enters to learn any secrets from Rickey. Thus, there is no flashback scene as Schmidt crafted for an earlier version of this play. 

This fictional meeting shares the same aesthetic, theatricality, and historical depth and renderings as seen in Kemp Powers’s play (later a film) One Night in Miami, which uses a meeting (a meeting actually took place, but the contents are fictional) on February 25, 1964, between Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke in a room at the Hampton House in Miami. I would point to Lauren Gunderson’s Revolutionists, a play set in an imaginary meeting that playwright Olympe de Gouges calls, inviting assassin Charlotte Corday, former queen Marie Antoinette, and Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle. 

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.

 

Conversations After A Burial @ Cesear's Forum

Through October 24, 2026

https://www.playhousesquare.org/events/detail/cesears-forum-presents-conversations-after-a-burial

(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.

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.

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

Dr. Yuko Kurahashi

The original French version’s poeticism, lyricism, and musicality were lost in translation and staging. This is Reza’s metaphysical and metaphorical depiction of the Chekhovian world of Fools (le monde du fous), where the characters desperately seek physical and emotional comfort after hurting themselves and each other. Throughout the show, the characters “cook” themselves—sometimes even burn up—like the “pot-au-feu” Nathan makes for dinner. Humans’ sense of entitlement, sarcasm, lack of compassion and decency, and deep-rooted familial grudges are laid bare with (dry) humor and poetic pathos. This production is, naturally, very American: all the lines are delivered with realism and seriousness. 

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.

 

Angel Street @ Clague Playhouse

October 3, 2026

http://www.clagueplayhouse.org

(440) 331-0403

WORTH NOTING: 

In order to bring attention to local productions of merit at theaters that are not on the Cleveland Critics Circle’s approved Equity Theater list, members of the Circle who attend a community or educational theater production that is perceived as of high quality will have the option of listing that production on the CCC blogsite.  These review(s) fall into that category.

 

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 tiny little theater in Westlake, Ohio always manages to punch well above their weight class. All the elements of stage, costume, lighting, sound, props and dialect come together in this production for a stupendous evening of intrigue and mystery. A very fun evening of theater is guaranteed for all. 

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

Gwendolyn Kochur
No review yet.
To see a full review of this show, read Gwendolyn'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.

 

Death Becomes Her @ Playhouse Square

Through October 3, 2026

https://www.playhousesquare.org/

(216) 24106000

 

Roy Berko
No review yet.
To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.

Howard Gollop

The illusory qualities of the show are first revealed in Burn's opening number in the fictitious "Me, Me, Me," called "For the Gaze," with nonstop costume changes, de rigeur mincing chorus boys and less-than-subtle nods to Liza Minnelli, Julie Andrews and, of course, Judy Garland, replete with a stuffed Toto. And if anyone doesn't get the homophonous intention of the title "For the Gaze," then maybe a different kind of show would be for him or her.

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

First of all, leave the kiddies at home for this one. This is very adult themed and naughty. For the adults you will find yourself hurting from laughing during the entire two and a half hours that fly by. It is a scream in its best sense. Be dazzled.

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

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

Dr. Yuko Kurahashi

Gattelli has made each moment of this musical over the top, exhilarating, and funny. The spectacular theatrical rendering, reminiscent of Bob Fosse’s work and variety shows, brings much delight to audiences in this pre-Halloween month. Integrating familiar plots, characters, and themes from an aging star (Sunset Boulevard, All About Eve), female rivalry (A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Wicked, among many other works), and a husband haunted and tormented by his late wives (Blithe Spirit), the musical maximizes each scene with high-energy chorus numbers, strong performers, the presence of the diva epitome Viola Van Horn, and dazzling costumes, scenery, and lighting, creating a series of small, physically and musically exciting “acts.”  

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

Joey Morona

“Death Becomes Her” isn’t trying to change your life. It just wants to entertain you for a couple of hours. Like youth and beauty, the feeling may be fleeting. But while it lasts, it’s a hell of a good time.

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

 

The Addams Family Musical @ Cain Park

Through September 20, 2026

https://cainpark.com/

(216) 371-3000

 

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

With the temps and humidity dropping it makes the Cain Park Alma Theater quite comfortable this time of year. This is a great show to bring the entire family. The nineteen cast members leave nothing on the stage as they romp their way through an excellent rendition of a fan favorite. Click-Click.

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

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

Dr. Yuko Kurahashi

Directed by Colin Anderson, this production showcases talented and enthusiastic local performers. As Anderson notes in the program, “The Addams Family characters have been subverting our expectations for nearly 100 years,” offering participants and audiences the chance to enjoy “cross-cultural understanding” and mutual learning, to overcome differences in appearance, and to find joy in celebrating and loving the characters’ “inner darkness.” True to his words, the production captures the work’s cultish, modern gothic nature, transforming references to morbidity—a taboo practice in our culture—for audiences across generations, from baby boomers to children. 

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.