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Archives for November 2014

Arts America Blog

“The Nutcracker”–orchestra and chorus superb, short version and dancing proficient

November 30, 2014 by

“The Nutcracker”—orchestra and chorus superb, short version and dancing proficient

 Roy Berko

(member, Dance Critics Association)

From 1981 until about 2000, Cleveland audiences were enchanted with Dennis Nahat, the then artistic-director of Cleveland Ballet, later the Cleveland San Jose Ballet’ s version of “The Nutcracker.”  Often starring the wunderkinds of the company, Karen Gabay and Raymond Rodriguez, the production was filled creativity, gorgeous costumes and scenery, enveloping story telling, and general wonder.

Since the …more…

Fiddler on the Roof

November 27, 2014 by

Currently celebrating its 50th anniversary, a colorful, reimagined version of the classic Tony Award®-winning musical Fiddler on the Roof will hit the Maltz Jupiter Theatre’s stage December 2 – 21, 2014. It’s been five decades since Fiddler on the Roof first premiered on Broadway on September 22, 1964. It was nominated for ten Tony® Awards, winning nine (including best musical, score, book, direction and choreography), and held the record for …more…

Stars of David

November 26, 2014 by

The Broward Center for the Performing Arts will present the premiere of the first national tour of the New York hit song cycle Stars of David from Tuesday, December 23, 2014 -Sunday, January 4, 2015 in the Amaturo Theater.  The premiere is presented as part of the 2014-15 Off-Broadway Series sponsored by CYN Claim Your Nightlife Nightclub. 

Presented by Daryl Roth in association with Harbor Entertainment, the tour will feature local …more…

TOPDOG/UNDERDOG affords a conflicted look at the African American male@ none too fragile

November 25, 2014 by

Roy Berko

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

Suzan-Lori Parks won a Pulitzer Prize for her script “Topdog/Underdog,” now in production at none-too-fragile theatre.  She also won the MacArthur “Genius Grant” Award for the play.   The script is an existential trip asking, “What is it like to be a black male in modern America?”

Being a student of James Baldwin, African American powerhouse writer, when she was a student at …more…

TERMINUS–a play which indulges the author’s inner 16-year-old self compels at convergence-continuum

November 23, 2014 by

Roy Berko

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

“The story is told in verse, densely packed with rhyme, which has to be spoken so that it sounds like natural language.“  “Much of the play concerns a battle between angels and demons.”  “There is little action in the play, just a series of monologues.”  The descriptions are vivid, “fingernails pierce an eyeball and drain it of fluid, a knife slices into …more…

“A Chorus Line” is “one singular sensation at BWU

November 22, 2014 by

‘A Chorus Line” is “one singular sensation” at BWU

Roy Berko

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

Baldwin Wallace is a powerhouse in providing talent to the Broadway stage.  In the past year, over a dozen of the program’s grads have listed, “a proud graduate of Baldwin Wallace” in their Great White Way “Playbill” resumes.

What’s the secret?  A selection system that picks only the best applicants, fine training in dancing, voice …more…

Art Basel : Michy’s Pop Up and Garden Cafe

November 19, 2014 by

One of the hottest tickets of the season in Miami each year is Art Basel.  This year’s events will feature Superstar Chef Michelle Bernstein’s two pop up Art Basel eateries, Michy’s Pop Up and Garden Café.  Food is a form of art for famed Miami Chef, Michelle Bernstein, and her foodie fans know this. Lucky for all, she is “popping up” again this year for seven nights during Art Basel. Chef …more…

Into The Woods

November 19, 2014 by

When a local professional theatre closed, their Director of Education Melissa Boher Jacobson, had a dilemma.  She had already auditioned and cast an enthusiastic and talented group of actors, aged 10 – 18 to appear in their conservatory work-shop production of INTO THE WOODS.  In spite of the fact that they no longer had a theatre to perform in, the cast and families were so committed to the project that …more…

Classic, “The Great Gatsby,” at Ensemble

November 17, 2014 by

Roy Berko

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

F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of “The Great Gatsby,” which many consider one of the greatest American novels, is the writer who, more than any other, painted a literary vision of the American Jazz age.  It was the 1920s, the era of decadence, mob violence, prohibition, flappers, dance crazes, high fashion, loose women,  powerful men, love and lust.

Fitzgerald’s “This Side of Paradise,” “The …more…

Mesmerizing “The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time” is a must see!

November 11, 2014 by

Roy Berko

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

Christopher, age 15, the character at the center of “The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time,” has Asperger’s Syndrome.  AS is one of the five classifications of the Autism Spectrum Disorders, as defined by the American Psychiatric Association’s “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual” (DSM).

Asperger’s is characterized by “severe deficits in social interaction and communication.”  It is fairly common for those with …more…

A Clevelander’s views on some Broadway, Fall, 2014 productions

November 11, 2014 by

Roy Berko

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

New York City is approximately 500 miles from Cleveland.  People from the North Coast often make the trek there to partake in the shopping, dining, but most often, the theatre.  In order to keep the locals abreast of the Great White Ways offerings, I review some of the  shows.  Here is a sampling of what’s new on Broadway.

To read the entire review …more…

Sting’s music launches a compelling “The Last Ship” on Broadway

November 10, 2014 by

Roy Berko

(Member Cleveland Critics Circle, America Theatre Critics Association)

What do you do if you lived an unhappy childhood in a forlorn town in England’s industrial north?  If you are Sting, you leave, become a famous musician, win 16 Grammy awards, write a memoir (“Broken Music”) and then create a moving theatrical musical.  A musical which was inspired by the haunting landscape from which Sting fled, and inspired him to “try …more…

Little Piggies

November 9, 2014 by

The Playgroup LLC continues to present the best work by local playwrights with nine exciting performances of Todd Caster’s Little Piggies. Sibling rivalry explodes during a party for their rich, aging uncle.  Confetti and insults fly with the arrival of an unexpected visitor.  Little Piggies join together to save their inheritance in this wickedly funny black comedy by Todd Caster.

Published and produced playwright, Todd Caster, is author of Riddle of …more…

“The Country House,” humorous, thought-provoking dramedy

November 9, 2014 by

Roy  Berko

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

Donald Margulies’ “The Country House” is a play of warmth, compassion and wit.  It is also a script of angst and frustrations.  Capping off the tale with a surprise ending, Margulies has created an old-fashioned drawing room play which tells a tale with humor and pathos.

Margulies, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his “Dinner With Friends,” has a way with …more…

Mind-chilling “Disgraced” compels on Broadway

November 9, 2014 by

Roy Berko

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

As the final curtain fell on “Disgraced,” the audience sat transfixed.  At the start of the curtain call, there was light applause.  People seemed unable to transition from the play’s emotional ending to reality.  But then the audience, almost as a unit, jumped up, clapping and orally shouting praise for the presentation.

What had just been experienced was a mind-boggling, frightening, upsetting, enlightening, depressing, …more…

The “Whack” HOW WE GOT ON, is “dope” and “fresh” at Cleveland Play House

November 1, 2014 by

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

“The Urban Dictionary,” the ultimate source for the meaning of all words modern, defines rap as a music genre in which the ability of the performer to express himself/herself  is prime.  Specifically, “it’s like poetry with attitude.”  The source goes on to say that “It is hated by many people who believe in the stereo type that only blacks make rap and …more…