[NEohioPAL] A look at local professional playhouses that steer themselves toward the road less traveled

[Bob Abelman]

A look at small theaters grabbing the spotlight

 

Bob Abelman

Cleveland Jewish News

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This feature piece will appear in the Cleveland Jewish News on 4/11/14

 

In a recent LA Stage article, respected theater critic and scholar Steven Leigh Morris bemoaned the populist movement taking place in his local arts scene.  

 

He noted that Los Angeles was awash with professional theater companies that embraced the notion that the larger the market a production reaches, the greater its worth.  While all theaters strive to attract an audience, Morris reports that too many are driven by the marketplace at the cost of the work it produces; too many embrace 19th-century French philosopher Alex DeTocqueville's notion of "the tyranny of the majority."

 

Catering to the masses could easily be dismissed as a west coast phenomenon - as if the blockbuster mentality held by Hollywood film studios was contagious to other local art forms.  But Broadway is currently lined with lavish, pop culture-inspired mega musicals like "Mamma Mia!," "Spider-Man" and "Newsies" that find producers sinking more money into fewer, less precarious properties in the hopes of generating a long-running, revenue-generating hit.

 

News of populism in other major cities has been reported as well, as many professional, non-profit regional theaters find themselves dependent on box office sales for most of their income and no longer able to rely on funds donated by supporters or acquired through grants.  This has diminished the tendency to engage in creative risk-taking or the offering of challenging plays with artistic merit but potentially limited audience appeal.  

 

There are certainly theaters in and around our own city that provide a steady diet of popular fare meant to satisfy those whose appetites lean toward what's conventional, comfortable and recognizable.  

 

But there are also professional playhouses that steer themselves toward the road less traveled.

 

Some go to the extreme and push the envelope of avant-garde performance art while others have simply found a distinctive voice and a unique niche all their own.  Here are a few innovative theater companies you may be familiar with and a few whose acquaintance you might want to make.



To continue reading, go to:  http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/
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