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<DIV><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">Contact:<?xml:namespace
prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">Lisa Craig,
Public Relations Manager, (216) 795-7000 x236,
lcraig@clevelandplayhouse.com<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><U><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 13pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><SPAN
class=680013215-14052009><FONT size=5>Cleveland Play House Fourth Annual
FusionFest a Success</FONT></SPAN></SPAN></U></B></st1:place></st1:City></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT
size=4>Increase in Attendance for 2009 Festival Offering More Variety, Tighter
Schedule<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in; TEXT-INDENT: -1in"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">CLEVELAND,
OH</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"> (<I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">May 13, 2009</I>) – FusionFest, a
multidisciplinary performing arts festival celebrating new works in music, dance
and theatre, has concluded its 4<SUP>th</SUP> year at The Cleveland Play House
with its highest attendance records since its inception in 2006. FusionFest 2009
saw an increase of 22% over last year’s attendance – accomplished with 25% fewer
events – and many events playing to sold-out audiences. FusionFest 2009 also
marked the introduction of a <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Festival</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Pass</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, allowing a patron to sample all
FusionFest events at a substantial savings. The centerpiece of FusionFest 2009,
the world premiere of Thornton Wilder’s <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Heaven’s My Destination</I>, will have
finished its run with a 300% increase in single ticket sales over last year’s
centerpiece, <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">All Hail Hurricane
Gordo</I>. Finally, with its first family-friendly offering, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">One-Man Star Wars Trilogy</I>, FusionFest
had its youngest audience ever, with children as young as 4 years old dressed in
costume attending the show with their parents.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">"This year
marks the coming of age of FusionFest,” says <st1:PersonName w:st="on"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Michael</B> <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Bloom</B></st1:PersonName><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">, FusionFest creator and <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Cleveland</st1:City></st1:place> Play House
Artistic Director</B>. “The level of artistry and the collaborations with such
partners as the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cleveland Orchestra
made <SPAN class=680013215-14052009>this </SPAN>FusionFest one of the
cultural highlights of the 2008-09 season.”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'">Ms. Roe Green has been the Honorary
Producing Sponsor of FusionFest since its inaugural season. The production of <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Heaven’s My Destination</I> was presented in
part by the National Endowment for the Arts.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">Founded
in 1915, <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">The Cleveland Play House</B> is
the first permanently established professional theatre in the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">United
States</st1:country-region></st1:place>. More than 12 million people have
attended over 1,300 productions at The Play House – including more than 130
American and/or World Premieres. Today, under the leadership of Artistic
Director <st1:PersonName w:st="on">Michael Bloom</st1:PersonName> and Managing
Director Kevin Moore, The Cleveland Play House is an artist-driven theatre that
serves the Greater Cleveland community by holding true to its mission: <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">To produce plays of the highest professional
standards that inspire, stimulate, and entertain our diverse audiences, to
conduct training and educational programs that enhance the quality of life for
those we serve and help to insure the future of
theatre.<o:p></o:p></I></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">The
Cleveland Play House is funded through the generosity
of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Cuyahoga</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType> residents through <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Cuyahoga Arts and Culture,</B> and <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">Ohio</st1:State></st1:place> Arts Counci</B>l which helps to fund The
Cleveland Play House with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth,
educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all
Ohioans.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
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style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
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