WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF @ Lakeland Civic Theatre

September 18-October 4, 2015

440-525-7134 or

http://lakelandcc.edu/academic/arts/theatre/index.asp 

Roy Berko

WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF gets a very credible staging at Lakeland’s Civic Theater.  The acting is of high quality.  Potential audience members should be aware that, though the show clicks along at a nice pace, this is a long three-act play with two intermissions.  It’s well worth a trip to Lake County to see this seldom produced classic.

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

Christine Howey

Friedman is a deft and nuanced director, managing to cadge some shivers of revulsion from this classic play. And as always, Albee’s words carry the day, taking us on a fraught journey through an evening of barely civilized confrontation, showing us how our illusions can either protect us or destroy us.

To see a full review of this show, read Christine Howey's blog Rave and Pan

Violet @ Lakeland Civic Theatre

Through February 15, 2015

Lakeland Community College, 440-525-7526

 Bob Abelman

If scar tissue could sing, its music would be written by Jeanine Tesori with words by Brian Crawley.  Rarely has a composer and lyricist joined forces to produce as tender, touching and unconventional a musical about the scars we bear – inside and out – as “Violet,” currently on stage at Lakeland Civic Theatre.

To see a full review of this show, read Bob Abelman's blog here.


Christine Howey
The characters and the music in Violet are both complex and believable, creating a seamless work that is fully satisfying. As Violet and Finch grow closer, two people being judged by their outward appearance, the play concludes by saying “Yes” to a happy ending that feels fully earned.

To see a full review of this show, read Christine Howey's blog Rave and Pan

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTRY @ Lakeland Civic Theatre (Lakeland Community College)

September 19-October 5, 2014

440-525-7134 or http://lakelandcc.edu/academic/arts/theatre/index.asp

Roy Berko
 
The Lakeland production of AUGUST:  OSAGE COUNTY is a well-conceived staging of an award winning script, and though not for everyone, makes for a well worth drive to Lake County.
 
To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.

Christine Howey
 

The first act seems to build tension a bit too slowly, with the actors often tucked up stage in little corners of Keith Nagy’s necessarily complex set. But the second act is mostly a downhill rush to destruction, with the actors and the audience hanging on for dear life.

To see a full review of this show, read Christine Howey's blog Rave and Pan

THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA

LAKELAND CIVIC THEATRE
January 31-February 16, 2014

440-525-7134 or http://lakelandcc.edu/academic/arts/theatre/index.asp

Bob Abelman

Against all odds, despite the risks and challenges, and in Italian without subtitles, Lakeland Civic Theatre does a masterful job of presenting this simple yet dramatic story and doing justice to what the New York Times labeled the most romantic score since “West Side Story.”  

To see a full review of this show, read Bob Abelman's article here.

Roy Berko

Lakeland Civic Theatre’s THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA is a special night of musical theatre.  To appreciate the show, the viewer must put aside any attitude of what a musical should look and sound like and embrace this creatively “different” approach.  I, for one, loved the story, the music and the production, and would declare it a MUST SEE!

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

Tom Fulton

Musical theater is surprisingly unforgiving. Audiences are far more likely to recognize a squeaking sour note than they are the barking clamor of a bad actor in Shakespeare. So it is to this cast's credit that under the excellent musical direction of Jordan Cooper and the sensitive and intelligent leadership of Martin Friedman, the notes and most key moments of The Light in the Piazza at Lakeland Civic Theatre weave together like silver strings in a fairy's pavilion.

To see a full review of this show, read Christine Howey's blog Rave and Pan

BOEING-BOEING

 

Lakeland Civic Theatre
September 20-October 6, 3013

440-525-7134 or http://lakelandcc.edu/academic/arts/theatre/index.asp

Bob Abelman

“Boeing Boeing” premiered in Paris in 1960, where it ran for seven years.  An English translation was first staged in London in 1962, where it ran for seven years.  When the show came to Broadway in 1965, it lasted 23 performances.  Unless you are French or British, you will likely side with the New Yorkers when seeing this Lakeland Civic Theatre production.

To see a full review of this show, read Bob Abelman's News-Herald article:  http://www.news-herald.com/arts-and-entertainment/20130924/theater-review-boeing-boeing-fails-to-take-off-at-lakeland-civic-theatre#.UkHrW7scApU.facebook

Roy Berko
 
BOEING-BOEING is a light-weight farce that receives what should be an audience pleasing production at Lakeland Community Theatre.    

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

Fran Heller
 
Farce, with its pratfalls, pummeling, slamming doors and split-second timing is pure physical theater and fiendishly difficult to pull off.
The production at Lakeland Civic Theatre does not induce paroxysms of laughter, but it holds its own, gathering comic steam in the second act after a sluggish takeoff in the first.

To see a full review of this show, read Fran Heller's review at the Cleveland Jewish News


Christine Howey

Once you accept the show’s premise as a charming anachronism, the stage is set for lots of door-slamming hijinks. And that does happen at times.  But the over-long and repetitive script, as translated by Beverly Cross and Francis Evans, eventually wrings a lot of the humor out of what should have been a sprightly romp.

To see a full review of this show, read Christine Howey's blog Rave and Pan

NEXT TO NORMAL
Lakeland Civic Theatre (Lakeland Community College)
February 2-27, 2013  

         440-525-7134 or http://lakelandcc.edu/academic/arts/theatre/index.asp

Bob Abelman

Although this musical earned several Tony Awards—which inspires visions of bright lights, happy endings and high-kicking chorus girls—that is no guarantee of a fun evening when coupled with a Pulitzer Prize.  In fact, Pulitzer is code for somber and thought-provoking.    “Next to Normal” is not easy to like, but there is much to love about this Lakeland Civic Theatre production of it.

To see a full review of this show, read Bob Abelman's News-Herald article here.


Roy Berko

Does NEXT TO NORMAL, a musical about mental illness, sound like a downer?  The script, and the music, and this production are so well conceived, that there is no time during the production that the audience is not compelled to watch with rapt attention.  Lakeland’s production is an absolutely, positive, MUST SEE!
 
To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.


Fran Heller

"Next to Normal, " a rock musical whose subject matter is mental illness, could easily be a downer.
The luminous production of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize winning drama at Lakeland Theatre proves an exhilarating high.
 From the thrilling opening number, "Just Another Day", a song of survival, until the moving closing number, "Light", a song of tentative hope, the show blew me away.

To see a full review of this show, read Fran Heller's review at the Cleveland Jewish News


Christine Howey

It isn't often we are able to witness a work of performance art embedded in a stunning art installation. But such is the case in the very satisfying production of Next to Normal, the Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical, now at the Lakeland Civic Theatre.

To see a full review of this show, read Christine Howey's review at  Cleveland Scene


Kory
NEXT TO NORMAL at Lakeland Civic Theatre is a DO NOT MISS production.
To see a full review of this show, read Kory's blog at New102.com

PROOF
LAKELAND THEATRE @ Lakeland Community College
September 21-October 7
440-525-7134 or  
http://lakelandcc.edu/academic/arts/theatre/index.asp

Bob Abelman

The playwright cleverly employs the very axiomatic method used in devising proofs to tell this story, starting with undefined elements, working through their potential relationships, and allowing their worthiness and true nature to surface in the end. Likewise, director Martin Friedman's approach to this script reflects the same simplicity, delicacy, and fluidity that define a perfect proof. Math, it seems, can be riveting.

To see a full review of this show, read Bob Abelman's News-Herald article here.


Roy Berko

What happens when you combine a perfectly perceived script, which tells a meaningful story, and a gets masterfully staged show?   You get, Lakeland Theatre’s PROOF.  This is a production everyone interested in a good story and a great production must see!

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


Fran Heller

When a perfect play meets a flawless production, the result is theatrical nirvana.
Such a play is David Auburn's "Proof" which bagged the 2001 Tony for best play and the Pulitzer, and rightfully so.  No less exhilarating is the very fine production at Lakeland Civic Theatre, under the passion-fueled direction of Martin Friedman and a quartet of sublime performances every inch as compelling as the 2000 Broadway show I saw.

To see a full review of this show, read Fran Heller's review at the Cleveland Jewish News


Christine Howey

Revolving around a father and daughter, both of whom are gifted but troubled mathematicians, the play peels back layers of both science and humanity—but in a continually entertaining and deeply affecting way.

To see a full review of this show, read Christine Howey's blog Rave and Pan