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

C. Denby Swanson’s “The Norwegians,” now on stage at Dobama Theatre, centers on Tor and Gus, two Minnesota Norwegians, who are hit men who offer to “whack” individuals who have “done others wrong.”  Olive, a former Texan, has been mistreated by her boyfriend. She meets Betty, who has hired Tor and Gus in the past to rid her of an ex- boyfriend.  …more…

A haunting “Night of the Living Dead” @ Blank CanvasRoy Berko

Roy Berko

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

Pat Ciamacco, Artistic Director of Blank Canvas Theatre, is audience friendly.  He wanted to find a script for the venue’s Halloween season.  Though there are a lot of movies that fit his liking, there were few to no plays.  So, true to Ciamacco’s nature, he decided to write one.  But, then he …more…

Roy Berko

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

Families can be interesting to observe.  Take for example, the family who is the subject of Sean Grennan’s “Making God Laugh,” the 125th main stage production of Actors’ Summit.

The quintet are functional, but with some over-arching problems, mainly centering on Ruthie, an obsessive-compulsive wife and mother.  Ruthie, who believes rules are rules, traditions are traditions, and none these are up for discussion …more…

Roy Berko

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

Truth, well maybe the truth, can be stranger than fiction.  According to the show, itself, the musical “[title of show],” yes, that’s the title of the show, which is now appearing on stage at Beck Center’s Studio Theater, was conceived when one of the script’s authors received an announcement about a musical festival.  The New York Musical Festival, to be exact.  The …more…

Roy Berko

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

“Les Misérables” is a classic historical novel by Victor Hugo.  It is probably one of the most noted literary pieces of the 19th century. “Les Misérables,” Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel’s musical adaptation of the novel has become an epic of the musical theatre stage.

The script is usually performed in grand style with large sets, a huge cast, a big orchestra.  …more…

Roy Berko

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

The State Theatre in PlayhouseSquare is rocking.  Rocking with sounds of the likes of Diana Ross, The Supremes, The Jackson Five, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.  Rocking with a full orchestra, a visually stimulating electronically enhanced production, and the story of Berry Gordy.

Berry Gordy, who is the central character of “Motown The Musical parlayed a loan of $800 into a …more…

Roy Berko

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

“The Merry Wives of Windsor,” a version of which is now on stage at Great Lakes Theater, is considered by many literary critics to be one of Shakespeare’s “lesser” plays.  Not bad, just not up to the dramatic level of the great writer, though its farcical nature is often praised.

Nicholas Rowe, a Bard expert, indicates that the reason the play was …more…

Roy Berko

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

Eugene O’Neill is one of America’s greatest, if not THE greatest playwright.  The winner of a  Nobel Prize for Literature and four Pulitzer prizes for drama, including “Anna Christie,” which is now in production at Ensemble Theatre, his plays are master classes in language usage.

His forte is realism, much in the mold of Chekhov and Ibsen.  He was the forerunner of the …more…

Roy Berko

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

Clyde Simon, Artistic Director of convergence continuum, has a knack for finding off-beat, provocative plays that incite discussion and strong reactions from the theatre’s loyal following.  That group, and probably many more, will find themselves entranced by Martin McDonagh’s  black comedy, “The Pillowman.”

The play is set in an unnamed country whose symbol is a large five cornered red star, which is bannered …more…

Lakeland Civic Theatre presents depressing, well staged AUGUST:  OSAGE COUNTY

Roy Berko

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

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

The dark comedy centers on Beverly Weston, an alcoholic, the family patriarch, and award winning poet who-disappears.  We quickly learn that his wife, Violet, eats prescription drugs like …more…

Cesear’s Forum’s “Occupant,” the true or false history of sculptor Louise Nevelson

Roy Berko

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

Louise Nevelson, the subject of Edward Albee’s play, “Occupant,” now in production by Cesear’s Forum, may or may not be the person that is written about in the script.  The iconoclast artist, known for her monochromatic abstract expressionist sculptures, was an elusive figure.  Many of the accepted “facts” of her life …more…

Roy Berko

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

Cormac McCarthy, the author of “The Sunset Limited,” which is now on stage at none too fragile theatre, probes, in his script, the topics:   Why would someone want to commit suicide?  Why does one person turn to religion when angst-filled, while another rejects the concept of a deity?  Is traditional education a negative or positive influence in dealing with problems?  What …more…

Roy Berko

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

Do you like close-harmonic singing?  Are you harking back to experience the “good” old days?  Do you like to escape from the stressful world and just “yak” at comedy shticks and revel in the ridiculous?   Then the place for you to be is Beck Center where Cleveland’s multi-award winning choreographer, Martin Céspedes, has added “creative director” to his résumé.

“Forever Plaid” is a quirky, …more…

Roy Berko

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

Dobama may be entering its 55th year (I was present the moment founding artistic director Don Bianchi declared its existence), but it is actually in its first season.  What?   Late last season, the Dobama board voted to change the status of venue to that of a full professional theatre.  This makes Dobama, like Great Lakes Theatre and Cleveland Play House, a stage …more…

Roy Berko

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

Theatre is representative of the era from which it comes.  Seeing a play that reflects a specific time period can reveal the cultural attitudes of the people and society of that period.

Seeing HAIR, “The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical,” can give a film clip of the 1960s and early 70s in the U.S.  It was the era of the anti-war movement and rebellion …more…

It’s a choppy RIDE with some interesting people @ none too fragile and avoid using the valet parking

Roy Berko

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

Eric Lane is a prolific and prize winning playwright.  His plays include “Times of War,” “Filming O’Keefe,” “Floating,” and “Dancing on Checkers’ Grave.”  Never heard of them?  You are not alone.  In spite of his recognition for writing some episodes for TV’s “Ryan’s Hope,” …more…

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

In 1932, Leni Riefenstahl attended a rally where Adolf Hitler spoke.  She was so mesmerized by his public speaking ability that she reported that she had an apocalyptic vision that included a stream of water touching the sky and shaking the earth.

She became a National Socialist, commenting about Hitler, “I felt very happy that such a man had come.”  She requested and …more…

“The Frogs” fails to create much excitement at Cain Park

Roy Berko

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

“The Frogs,” Stephen Sondheim and Burt Shevelove’s musical adaptation of Aristophanes’ ancient Greek comedy, had a novel introduction to the stage.  In 1974 it was produced in Yale University’s Swimming Pool by the Yale Repertory Theatre.

The fact that the show closed in 8 performances should have been an omen of what was to …more…