<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16830" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Summer means it’s
time to storm the barn<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></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; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">News-Herald,
Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times
Courier<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Member,
International Association of Theatre Critics <o:p></o:p></SPAN></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','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">This
feature appeared in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">News-Herald
</I>5/31/09</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">For many, a preferred
form of summer entertainment can be found within the comfortable confines of a
charming 19<SUP>th</SUP>-century barn-turned-theater.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>They have been counting the days for the
seasonal opening of Rabbit Run Theater. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Come June 5, ‘tis the
season.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">The barn, located in
the pastoral township of Madison in Lake County, was turned into a 190-seat
theater in 1946, when the horse stalls were removed, one of the hay lofts was
lowered to form a stage, and two icehouses were hauled from the lakeshore to
form the box office and actors’ lounge.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">It soon became a
popular venue on the “Straw Hat” theater circuit, where journeymen actors—many
of them film and TV performers—would come through to do a production or stay in
residence for the summer.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">In 1955, the barn’s
seating capacity was increased to 300, a ramped floor was added for viewing
comfort, and production technology was upgraded.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In the late-1960s the facility closed
for over a decade, as Madison faded as a summer resort.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Since then, Rabbit Run has become a
destination of choice for theatergoers.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">According to Brint
Learned, executive director of the Rabbit Run Community Arts Association, “the
place is enchanting—an open-air theater like no other.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>There is nothing like watching a live
performance while feeling a cool breeze and hearing it gently rustling through
the surrounding countryside.”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Choosing a series of
shows for a summer-only schedule for a place like this is an art form.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-outline-level: 1"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">“We do not try to be
cutting-edge or avant-garde,” notes Learned, “but we focus on quality and the
realization that our patrons are looking for a relaxed summer evening’s
entertainment.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We also want them
thinking about these shows afterward and holding onto the memory on the drive
home.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Even when choosing a comedy,
we want there to be an enjoyable but compelling story being told.”<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">This is clearly the
case with this season’s opener, Neil Simon’s comedy <EM>Broadway Bound</EM>,
which runs from Friday to June 20.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">This is the third of
Simon’s trilogy of autobiographical plays.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>In <EM>Brighton Beach Memoirs</EM>, we are introduced to a 15-year-old
aspiring writer named Eugene Morris Jerome, who struggles to make sense out of
life in 1940s Brooklyn.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In <EM>Biloxi Blues</EM>, World War II
has temporarily disrupted Eugene's plans to become a
writer.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">In <EM>Broadway
Bound</EM>, our hero has returned to his family home in Brighton Beach and is on
the verge of becoming a famous comic genius.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">“Of the three,” says
Learned, “this one has the most depth.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>We are bringing back Ann Hedger (programming coordinator at Fine Arts
Association in Willoughby) to direct, who directed <EM>Brighton Beach Memoirs a
</EM>few years ago and has a real feel for Simon’s work.”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Up next, from June 26
to July 11, is <EM>Les Miserables: The School Edition</EM>. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Performed by Rabbit Run’s young adult
troupe, the musical is based on a novel by French author Victor Hugo.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN></SPAN><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN">follows
the lives of several characters over a twenty-year period, starting in 1815, the
year of Napoleon’s final defeat at Waterloo, and focuses on the struggles of an
ex-convict and his spiritual redemption.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN">The
Tony Award-winning New York production was the third longest running show in
Broadway history.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-outline-level: 1"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><EM>She Loves Me</EM>
will be on stage from July 17 to Aug. 2.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>It is a warm, endearing musical about two feuding shop clerks who are
unknowingly conducting a romantic, anonymous pen pal exchange with each
other.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The musical, which had a
short Broadway run in the 1960s, is an adaptation of a play by Hungarian
playwright Miklos Laszlo. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The play
was turned into several movies, including the 1990s film <EM>You’ve Got Mail
</EM>starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This summer stock production will
be directed by Brendan Sandham and stars Brian Altman and Lindsey Sandham, all
Rabbit Run regulars.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p><FONT face=Calibri> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-outline-level: 1"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Comedic fairy tale
<EM>Educating Rita</EM> will run Aug. 14 to 29.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Written by Willy Russell, the play
explores the life-changing meeting of a disillusioned, middle-aged English tutor
and a young hairdresser thirsting for knowledge.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In the 1980s it became a film starring
Michael Caine and Julie Walters.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It
is a tour-de force for two actors, filled with humor and
pathos.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p><FONT face=Calibri> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Closing the season,
by special request of Rabbit Run patrons, will be a one-man production of the
life and times of Mark Twain. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><EM>Presenting Mark
Twain</EM> is an original compilation of the author’s works by Learned, who also
will portray Twain.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This is a vivid
self-portrait, blending humor, drama and irony into two short acts.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It runs for three performances only,
Sept. 4 to 6.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Come Friday, i<SPAN
class=text1><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">t’s time to get
out the sun block and go see some summer
stock.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN class=text1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Rabbit
Run Theater is located on 5648 W. Chapel Road, Madison Township.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For tickets or information, <SPAN
style="COLOR: black">call </SPAN>440-428-7092 or visit <A href=""><FONT
color=#0000ff>www.rabbitrunonline.tix.com</FONT></A>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN class=text1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 8.5pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>