Weathervane Playhouse’s ‘Parade’ defines heavy drama
I have to admit. This is one of the most difficult reviews that I have ever written. Not because the show is bad, on the contrary it is one of the best produced musicals ever. With a multi generational cast of 43 and 32 musical numbers it is the most complex and ambitious works I think Weathervane Playhouse has ever put on stage. The fact of the matter is this show is jarring and one that will stay with you for days following. The show is aptly directed and choreographed by J
The Porthouse Theatre production of “Grease” is the word
“Grease”. Probably one of the most well known Broadway shows and movies adaptations. The show features music, lyrics and book by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The name is a triple reference to the cultural phenomena of the 50’s that included the excessive use of hair gel, a diet of greasy burgers and pizza and the hot rod car culture. In the show, fictional Rydell High School is a reference to rock and roll singer Bobby Rydell and based on Taft High School in Chicago. The show
Blank Canvas Theatre’s ‘Noise Off’ is a few door slams off from good
“Noises Off”, currently onstage at Blank Canvas Theatre, is a 1982 farce penned by English playwright Michael Frayn. The title is taken from the theatrical stage direction indicating sounds coming from offstage. Frayn got the idea for “Noises Off” while watching another one of his shows from back stage. The three acts (lasting over three hours) are a play within a play that shows the evolution of an English sex farce called “Nothing On”. Act one is an after midnight dress reh
KeyBank Broadway Series production of ‘The Great Gatsby’ will razzle some dazzle others
Sometimes reading a book or seeing a movie adaptation or two can hurt one’s perception of a Broadway musical. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel “The Great Gatsby” captured the roaring twenties in sharp detail (warts and all). Fitzgerald went to great lengths in capturing the razzle dazzle that varnished over the truth of deep pain, relentless social climbing, loss of ethics, post-war psychosis (exhibited in both civilians and veterans alike) and jazz-jazz-jazz which translated
Convergence-Continuum’s ‘Plano’ is a blink and you will miss it kind of show
At 9:00 p.m. Saturday evening I found myself back in my car and heading home. As I was cruising the streets of Tremont, I turned to radio WTAM 1100 AM to see what the final score of the Cleveland Guardian’s game was. Instead the show “Coast to Coast AM with George Noory” was on the air. On this particular evening George was talking with “the world’s most renowned ufologist” (whose name I did not catch) who mainly griped that the world leaders and the United Nations refused to
LatinUS production of ‘La Malasangre’ (‘Bad Blood’) lives up to its name
While attending church this morning the speaker made a Freudian slip during his talk referring to “family and pestilence” rather than “famine and pestilence” in some cases this is not far from the truth. I then attended the Sunday afternoon matinee of “La Malasangre” (“Bad Blood”) which further emphasized this theme. La Malasangre is a dark tale of violence, intolerance, discrimination, disrespect, abuse of power, brutal control and fear in an 1840 Latin country. On a wet fre
Cleveland Play House’s ‘Freak The Mighty’ sings
“I never had a brain until Freak came along and let me borrow his for a while, and that’s the truth, the whole truth. The Unvanquished truth, is how Freak would say it.” With this opening teaser we are hooked for the next two hours as we witness a brilliant musical, Cleveland Play House’s production of “Freak The Mighty” with book and lyrics by Anthony Drewe and music by Ryan Fielding Garrett. The show is based on a novel by Rodman Philbrick. Maxwell Kane (Netza Jimenez) is a
Weathervane Playhouse’s ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ is a killer
If you ask anyone for a list of their all time favorite classic movies, high on the list will most probably be the 1944 classic screwball black comedy and crime film “Arsenic and Old Lace” starring Cary Grant. Directed by Frank Capra with screenplay by Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein. It was based on Joseph Kesselring’s 1939 play of the same name. Due to contract stipulations the film was held from release during the Broadway play’s run. Unfortunately for the movie th
Playhouse Square’s Touring ‘The Outsiders’ defines the word ‘intense’
It is 1967 in Tulsa, Oklahoma and trouble is brewing. Just like the Montagues and Capulets of R & J fame and the Jets and Sharks from West Side Story, tensions have reached a boiling point. The Greasers from the poorer section east across the railroad tracks and the Socs (Socialites) who inhabit the affluent west side of the city have been battling it out for years. The Socs as a group have been repeatedly attacking lone members of the Greasers beating them senseless. Thus th
Ohio Shakespeare Festival’s ‘Into The Breeches’ brings history to life
On the surface, “Into The Breeches” is a comedy but in the hands of Ohio Shakespeare Festival it is much more than that. It is a time capsule of what it was like living in “the home front” where no one was positive that a total victory could be had against a seemingly unstoppable enemy. Along the way the play covers the subjects of gender profiling, racial prejudice and gay bias that was wrongfully prevalent during those times. It is 1942 and America is deep into World War II
