[NEohioPAL]Berko: theatre and dance preview for the New Year

Sun Dec 25 07:07:19 PST 2005

LOOKING AHEAD TO THE NEW YEAR!

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	

Has holiday burnout set in?  Nothing better to perk
you up than looking ahead to a new year filled with
lots of theatre and dance.  Here’s what’s coming up:

‘A NUMBER,’ Caryl Churchill’s new one-hour play, which
is a cautionary tale and an invitation to ponder the
unknowable future of human society, will be presented
by Dobama Theatre at The Cleveland Play House, January
12th through 22nd and at Pilgrim Congregational
Church, January 22nd-February 5th.  Directed by Sonya
Robbins, the production stars Joel Hammer and Todd
Krispinsky.  Thursday and Sunday productions are at
7:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday’s are at 8.  The
Sunday, January 15 staging is a “Pay What You Can
Performance.”   For tickets call 216-932 3396. 

‘A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE,’ Tennessee Williams
explosive and emotionally textured drama, is the first
show to be directed by Michael Bloom since becoming
Artistic Director of the Cleveland Play House.  It
will run from January 13 through February 5.  For
tickets call 216-795-7000.  Order tickets on-line and
use code “web5” and you’ll receive $5 off every ticket
ordered.

‘A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE,’ Arthur Miller’s poignant
play, will be presented by Ensemble Theatre in the
Brooks Theatre at Cleveland Play House on Fridays,
Saturdays and Sundays from January 7-22.   For tickets
call 216-321-2930.

‘ANNIE,’ the story of the comic strip redheaded moppet
and her dog Sandy, will be performed at Playhouse
Square from February 14-19.   Billed as a “brand new
production,” I don’t know if this is one of the
non-union productions that have floated through town,
or the real thing.   The online information doesn’t
clarify this other than to say the sets are great and
a new song has been added for Daddy Warbucks.  For
tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to
playhousesquare.com.

‘DIARY OF ANNE FRANK,’ will be staged at the Beck
Center and directed by Sarah May.  The show opens
February 3.  For tickets or additional information
call 216-521 2540.

‘EVITA,’ the play loosely based on the life of Eva
Peron, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by
Tim Rice, with the entire production supervised by
Harold Prince, will be staged at Playhouse Square from
January 10-22.  For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to
playhousesquare.com.

‘I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE,’ opens
January 11 and runs through February 25 at Carousel
Dinner Theatre.  The musical review covers the scope
to today’s  mating game from the crazy singles scene
to pre-wedding cold feet to the 30 year marriage with
segments like “Men Who Talk and the Women Who Pretend
They are Listening,” “And Now the Parents,’” “I’ll
Call You Soon (Yeah, Right),” and “The Family that
Drives Together.”For tickets to the show, with or
without dinner, or to get a 2006 brochure, call
330-724-9855 or 800-362-4100, or go online to
www.carouseldinnertheatre.com.

‘LOVE, JANIS,’ THE ROCK AND ROLL MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO
JANIS JOPLIN continues at the Hanna Theatre through
February 12.  For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to
playhousesquare.com.

‘MENOPAUSE, THE MUSICAL,’ which celebrates women and
the “change” continues at the 14th Street Theatre in
an open-ended run.  Performances are Wednesday and
Sunday at 2, Thursday and Friday at 8 and Saturday at
4 and 8.  On Saturday nights buy one ticket and get
your “man’s” for 1/2 price.  For tickets call
216-241-6000 or go to playhousesquare.com.

‘MASTERPIECES OF RUSSIAN DRAMA” is a program featuring
Anton Chekhov’s ‘SWAN SONG’ and Nikolai Gogol’s
‘CONFESSIONS.’  The Chekhov play, which is the story
of an aging actor who ruminates on his checkered past
and uncertain future, stars Cleveland’s first couple
of theatre, Dorothy and Reuben Silver.  Terence
Cranendonk stars in the Gogol piece which centers on a
clerk’s dreary existence and his developing a romantic
obsession with his boss’s daughter..  Sponsored by the
Cleveland Museum of Art, the production will run
Thursday through Sundays from January 5-22 at 7:30
p.m. in Kennedy’s Down Under in Playhouse Square.  For
tickets call 1-888-CMA-0033 or go to
www.cma.org/perform.

‘NAT KING COLE AND FRIENDS, A NEW YEAR’S EVE CABARET,’
will be presented by Actor’s Summit Theatre.  It’s a
New Year’s party on December 31 from 9 PM to 1 AM at
the theatre located in downtown Hudson.  MaryJo
Alexander, Tricia Bestic and Jason Brown will sing and
Michael Flohr will be on the keyboard.  The stage
becomes a dance floor between sets.  In addition, Kent
LeMart will present a dozen of the songs recorded by
Nat King Cole.   Appetizers, snacks and desserts will
be served throughout the evening and at midnight there
will be a champagne toast.  To reserve your $40 ticket
call 330-342-0800.

NATIONAL BALLET OF CANADA, one of the world’s finest
international ballet companies,  will appear for the
first time ever in Cleveland as part of The Rainbow
Babies & Children’s Hospital Ballet Series from 
January 27-29.  The company,  under the Artistic
Directorship of Karen Kain, will present a program
consisting of-’THE FIREBIRD’ and ‘THE FOUR SEASONS.’  
For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to
playhousesquare.com.

‘RENT’ returns once again to Playhouse Square from
February 7-12.   This is a live production, not the
movie version.  To read about the production go to
www.rentthetour.com.  For tickets call 216-241-6000 or
go to playhousesquare.com.

VERB BALLETS presents ‘CAN THE WEST BE WON?’ their new
pops program which includes Ian Horvath’s blues
ballet, ‘LAURA’S WOMEN,’ a rock ‘n roll tribute,
‘MOONDOGG’ and the world premiere of Artistic Director
Hernando Cortez’s ‘SUPER FRIENDS,’ a madcap dance
sitcom featuring members of the Westside community.
For tickets call 216-521-2540 or visit
www.beckcenter.org.

Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.

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