Great Lakes Theater’s ‘The Heart of Robin Hood’ is an action packed delight
Over the centuries the character and story of Robin Hood has seen many different interpretations. It is speculated that Robin Hood first appeared in verse during the latter part of the 14 th century as tall tales that were sung or spoken at fairs, after elaborate banquets or around the cozy family hearth of the peasant cottage. Eventually, the tales were written down as there are surviving manuscripts (mostly in verse) that date to the 15 th century. At some point, these in
Playhouse Square’s touring production of ‘Suffs’ inspires
The road to women’s voting rights in the United States has been a rocky one. As far back as the 1840s and probably even earlier citizens began to clamor that this basic right be allowed to women. In 1848 the Seneca Falls Convention (the first women’s rights convention) passed a resolution in favor of women’s suffrage. Over time various states acting on their own voted to grant women the right to vote (Wyoming – 1869, Utah – 1870, Colorado – 1893, Idaho – 1896, Washington – 19
Dobama Theatre’s ‘The Heart Sellers’ is a show for the times
The date is November 17, 1973. Richard Milhous Nixon is on every television channel (all three of them) giving his famous “I am not a crook” speech. The country is in turmoil over the accusations of a Watergate Hotel break in and cover-up that would lead to Nixon resigning on August 8, 1974 making him the most hated President in history (a record that he would hold for 52 years). Prior to all this drama the Hart-Cellar Act of 1965 would be signed into law by President Lyndon
CVLT’s ‘Shakespeare In Hollywood” is the warm cure for winter
Baby, its cold outside...no really...we are talking single digits cold so what could possibly entice us to leave our snug warm homes to travel the frozen roads of Ohio? Well...theater of course. It is a proven fact that laughter helps us to get warm and stay warm. A good sustained guffaw does wonders to bring heat to our cold bones and as an added benefit helps dispel the winter blahs. Chagrin Valley Little Theatre is currently offering Ken Ludwig’s “Shakespeare In Hollywood”
Playhouse Square’s touring ‘Stereophonic’ is a study of intensity
When you consider all of the challenges involved in making a hit rock and roll song much less a hit album it is a miracle that we have such a large catalog of great music by various groups. You can attest to this by a simple stroll through the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It took massive amounts of sex, drugs and time to make rock and roll back in the day. Four or five (or more) “friends” would gather to make music with each one having varying egos, personalities, histories, v
Playhouse Square’s touring “Grinch” is a holiday treat for the entire family
Don’t you dare blink or you might miss it and that would be a shame...especially if you have young children. The touring production of “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” is on stage at the KeyBank State Theatre but it is only there for eight shows through Sunday, December 14 th . If there ever was a show geared for family viewing this is it. Be forewarned, the show lasts 90 minutes with no intermission so a pre-show potty break is definitely encouraged. Other than that, be prep
Dobama Theatre’s ‘The Hobbit’ brings the magic
Way back in the 70s when Trolls, Wargs, Dwarves, Elves, Dragons, Men, Hobbits and other assorted mythical creatures walked Middle Earth there was a series of books by T. R. R. Tolkien. From 1925 to 1945 Tolkien was the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon and a Fellow of Pembroke College , both at the University of Oxford . He was in truth a linguistic expert. His four most popular novels included “The Hobbit” and what came to be known as the “Ring Trilogy” (
Cleveland Public Theatre’s ‘I Wear My Dead Sister’s Clothes’ is a concise study on grief
Death bites...no really it does. Maybe not so much for the people that die (unless they are suffering from a long drawn out boring disease). What really bites is that we (the survivors) are left behind and we are the ones who have to come in and sort through a lifetime of accumulation of mostly crap that has filled the closets, been stashed under the bed or hidden in the attic. A few years ago my wife’s second youngest sister passed away suddenly. She had always suffered from
Ohio Shakespeare Festival’s ‘Every Christmas Story…’ is yuletide gold
Photo By Scott Custer As the lights come up on the Henry C. Bishop stage on the sixth floor of the Greystone Hall at 103 S. High Street in Akron, Ohio we are welcomed by Tess Burgler in full Ebeneezer mode and who with a knowing nod to the audience begins... “Marley was dead…”. When suddenly out of the wings comes Natalie Steen dressed head to toe as the deceased character loudly protesting her role. “I simply cannot do this!”, she moans. Tess on the other hand is dead set on
Playhouse Square’s touring production of ‘Spamalot’ is ‘a silly place to visit’ and worth it
“I’m not dead yet”. “Just a flesh wound”, “I fart in your general direction”, “First shalt thou take out the holy pin.”“We are the knights that say “Ni”” and “Death awaits you all with nasty, big, pointed teeth.” are just a few of the many quotable lines from Monty Python’s “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” later to become the Broadway musical “Spamalot”. The title is a portmanteau (go ahead, look it up...I’ll wait…...you’re back? Good!) combining the words Spam and Camelot.
