Disappointing THE WINTER’S TALE at Great Lakes Theater

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association and Cleveland Critics Circle)

Shakespeare’s THE WINTER’S TALE, now on stage at Great Lakes Theatre, centers on jealousy, a false accusation, deaths, banishment and reuniting.  The plot, was taken from Robert Greene’s pastoral romance, PANDOSTO.  The Bard made some minor changes, mainly giving the script a happy-ever-after conclusion

The story, which takes place in Sicilia and Bohemia, finds King …more…

THE NORMAL HEART @ Ensemble: emotionally moving, expertly performed

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

Each night during the 2011 Broadway revival of THE NORMAL HEART, Larry Kramer, the author of the script, stood outside the theatre to distribute a letter to members of the audience.

The letter stated:  “Thank you for coming to see our play.  Please know that everything in THE NORMAL HEART happened. These were and are real people who …more…

Lakeland’s PROOF:  masterful script and production

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics Circle)

What happens when you combine a well conceived script, which tells a meaningful story, and it gets a masterfully staging?   You get, Lakeland Theatre’s PROOF.

Is there a thin line between genius and mental illness?  Can a person “burn out” when s/he gets near the age of 40, no longer able to muster up the deep thoughts that …more…

XANADU:  Beck makes bad script into funky fun

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

So there is no question about the praises that appear in this review:  XANADU is a bad script, with an uneven musical score, and few redeeming qualities.  In spite of this, the Beck Center’s production is mostly funky fun.  There are three reasons for this:  Martin Céspedes’s choreography, Scott Spence’s awareness that playing the material as a comic …more…

LOMBARDI kicks a field goal at Cleveland Play House 

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics Circle)

Vince Lombardi, the long time Green Bay Packers coach, is considered to be one of the, if not the most inspirational football coaches of all time.  Unknown to many is the fact that if not for Paul Brown, the first head coach of the Cleveland Browns, Lombardi might never have gone from being a …more…

MOTHERFUCKER or is it MOTHERF**KER, captivates at Dobama

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics Circle)

The Sapir –Whorf Hypothesis states that language is created because there is a way and need to express ideas, that the language used represents the culture and therefore expresses ideas in a way that reflects attitudes, often without a filter or censorship.  It goes on to state that we are our language.

Stephen Adly Guirgis, in …more…

Weathervane opens 78th season with intriguing AUGUST:  OSAGE COUNTY

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association & Cleveland Critics Circle)

The Weston’s of Pawhuska, Oklahoma, in Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning, AUGUST:  OSAGE COUNTY, give new meaning to the phrase dysfunctional family.

The dark comedy was developed at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre and, after a strong run in the Windy City, came to Broadway in 2007, where it ran for 648 performances.  …more…