[NEohioPAL] Berko review: DREAM/HOME (Dobama)

[Roy Berko]

‘DREAM/HOME,’  must see engaging, thought-provoking
powerhouse at Dobama
 
Roy Berko
 
(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)
 
--THE TIMES
NEWSPAPERS--
 
Lorain
County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times  
 
Hook up the
focused directing of Sonya Robbins, a compelling script by Sarah Morton, add a
high quality cast, place them in Todd Krispinsky’s creative set and the result
is one heck of a great evening of theatre.  An evening that not only holds your attention, but makes
real life and theatre one and the same!
 
Cleveland is
in the midst of a major crisis.  In
the past decade the city has lost about one-third of its population.  Many homes are boarded up and
abandoned.  The same fate is
attacking many of the rim suburbs and the filthy hands of predatory lenders,
aided by a weak economy, are making the march of recession/depression spread
further east, south and west.  Over
60,000 foreclosures have taken place.  The county has an estimated 35,000 vacant homes.   Beautiful and family friendly
streets have given way to drug houses, sites for the stealing of aluminum
siding and copper pipes for profit, and danger and fear.
 
A school
teacher, wanting the security of home ownership and safety for her family, goes
to a bank to get a loan.  Even
though educated, she is naïve about finance matters and is talked into a
predatory ARM loan by a sleazy agent only interested in his personal financial
gain.  Not only does this spell
disaster for her, but for many others and the community as a whole.  Such is the story which unravels in
Sarah Morton’s meticulously written ‘DREAM/HOME.’  
 
Director
Robbins wrings every emotion out of the script.  Under her watchful eye, we meet the teacher, her daughter, a
banker, the loan officer, two neighbors, a realtor, and  the wife of a policeman.  All are people who are either catalysts
or victims of the problem.
 
The
production is added to by a talk back following many of the stagings.  The night I attended, Jim Rokakis,
Cuyahoga County Treasurer, shared his observations of how the entire collapse
of the housing market in the county happened and pointed fingers at who helped
in the march down hill.  He focused
on The Plain Dealerfor not alerting the community to the problem, abd the role of the Taft
administration and his Attorney General in allowing and encouraging bad
legislative actions.  He pointed a
finger at National City Bank as a major culprit in inner city green
lining.  He also held out hope, the
hope of the success of the Land Bank, which he helped persuaded the Ohio
Legislature to authorize.  It will
lead to the destruction of many empty and abandoned houses, leaving them as
green spaces or open to new types of use, thus eliminating settings for drug
houses and making neighboring homes worthless.   There is hope that the Obama administration’s plan to
help those who were caught in the march of greed and false dreams, might be
able to see some sunlight.
 
Morton has
pulled no stops.  She engages us in
a series of solo pieces, which she has woven together to give a
multi-dimensional view of what happened and is still going on.  Wow!
 
The cast,
George Roth, Fabio Polanco, Alexis Floyd, Anne McEvoy, Tom White, Rodney
Freeman, Kristi Little, Cathy Albers and Lisa Langford are all top notch.  There is not a weak link in the acting
chain.  Wow!
 
CAPSULE
JUDGEMENT:   ‘DREAM/HOME’ is
MUST SEE production for everyone who wants to understand, to realize the
horrible outcomes of financial  and
personal greed that has attacked our city, our county, our country and our
lives.  Wow!
 For tickets, which are $8-$22, call 216-932-3396 and leave a message or
go on-line at  www.ticketleap.com.   The production is being performed at the Cleveland Play House. 

 Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 2009, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info

His reviews can also be found on www.coolcleveland.com and NeOHIOpal (to subscribe visit http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/neohiopal.)