Roy Berko
(Member, American Theatre Critics Association and Cleveland Critics Circle)
The Cleveland area has a full schedule of summer theatre entertainment. Here are some of the upcoming stagings:
THEATRE OFFERINGS
PORTHOUSE THEATRE Kent State University’s summer theatre, performed on the grounds of Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, will present
•MY FAIR LADY, June 18-28 (two-piano musical adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s PYGMALION),
•STARMITES, July 3-19 (musical adventure fantasy in which humans and heroes conquer the sinister inhabitants of Innerspace),
•OLIVER, July 24-August 10 (musical classic, based on Charles Dickens’ novel). Curtain time is 8 PM Tuesdays through Saturdays and 2 PM Sundays. The picnic grounds open 90 minutes prior to curtain time.
For tickets call 330-672-3884 or go online to http://dept.kent.edu/theatre/porthouse/index.html
CAIN PARK Cain Park, located in Cleveland Heights offers
•FROGS, July 31-August 17, Alma Theater, (a comedy written in 405 B.C. by Aristophanes, freely adapted by Nathan Lane, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.)
For tickets call 216-371-3000 or go to http://www.cainpark.com
BLANK CANVAS Pat Ciamacco’s little theatre that “could and does” presents •LAUGHS OF FUTURE PAST, May 30-31, June 6-7 (A 90-minute sketch comedy and improv with beer, wine and humor),
•ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST, July 18-August 2 (captures the radical and anti-establishment mood of the 1960s),
•HAIR, August 29-September 13 (the 1960s Love-Rock musical)
For tickets and directions go to http://www.blankcanvastheatre.com
MAMAI THEATRE COMPANY The area’s newest equity agreement theatre, now in residence at The Pilgrim Church in Tremont, presents
•STRANDED ON EARTH, June 5-22 (Clevelander Eric Coble’s script contemplates the exchange between personal freedom and putting down roots against the backdrop of personal tragedy.
•James Joyces’s ULYSSES IN NIGHTGOWN, benefit for Mamai (for details go to the website)
•ARCADIA, July 17-August 3 (Tom Stoppard explores the way the past is interpreted through the lens of the present.)
For tickets go to http://www.mamaitheatreco.org/home/buy-tickets-subscribe
CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE
Allen Theatre in PlayhouseSquare—Allen Theatre
•MAURICE HINES IS TAPPIN’ THROUGH LIFE, May 30-June 29 (Tap dance legend Maurice Hines stars in this explosive world premiere production.)
• MAD MEN, MUSIC & MARTINIS, CPH Annual Benefit
June 7 @ 5:30pm – 11:00pm
For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to www.clevelandplayhouse.com
BECK CENTER
•SEMINAR, May 30-June 29 (a comedy in which four aspiring young novelists sign up for private writing classes taught with recklessly unorthodox instruction. Tensions arise, romances develop, and the wordplay is not the only thing that turns vicious.)
•YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, July 11-August 17 (a musical re-imagining of the Frankenstein legend based on Mel Brooks’ parody of classic horror films, the story follows bright young Dr. Frankenstein as he attempts to complete his grandfather’s scientific work and bring a corpse to life.)
For tickets: 216-521-2540 or http://www.beckcenter.org
THEATER NINJAS
•STRANDED ON EARTH, June 5-22 (This is Eric Coble’s one-woman show, starring Derdriu Ring. Co-produced with Mamai Theatre Company.
For tickets and information: http://theaterninjas.com
ACTORS’ SUMMIT
•BACK TO BACHARACH AND DAVID, JUNE 12-JULY 20 (The hits of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, including “Alfie,” “Walk on By,” “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” and twenty more.
For tickets: 330-374-7568 or go to www.actorssummit.org
convergence continuum
A MAN OF VIRTUE, June 20-July 12 (An unlikely friendship that derails into a quiet, pitiless nightmare.)
AMAZONS AND THEIR MEN, August 8-20 (Inspired by the life and work of Leni Riefenstahl (Hitler’s cinematographer) who recruits a Jewish man to play her lover in acting out a scene in the Trojan war.)
For tickets: convergence-continiuum.org or 216-687-0074
OBERLIN SUMMER THEATER FESTIVAL
For information about the summer offerings call 440-775-8169
DANCE OFFERINGS
(All presented at Cain Park. For program details and tickets call 216-371-3000 or go to: http://www.cainpark.com
GROUNDWORKS DANCETHEATER
Thursday-Saturday, June 12-14, 7pm, Alma Theater
$25 advance, $28 day of show
GroundWorks will reprise two audience favorites from its extensive repertory, “Hindsight” by Lynn Taylor-Corbett, a tribute to Akron-born rock legend Chrissie Hynde, and “All I Do” by David Parker, a whimsical and intricate invention set to music from the American film classic “Singin’ in the Rain. ” The series will also feature a World Premiere by GroundWorks’ Artistic Director David Shimotakahara.
INLET DANCE
Wednesday, July 30, Kids Matinee, 1-2pm. Evening performance Thursday, July 31, 8pm, Evans Amphitheater. FREE
VERB BALLETS
Friday, July 25, Kids Matinee, 1-2pm. Evening performance Saturday, July 26, 8pm, Evans Amphitheater
Kids Matinee: $5/child, $8/adult general admission
Evening: $25/20 advance, $28/23 day of show
