<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.18999">
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>
<H1 style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">2010 in
review:<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
/><o:p></o:p></SPAN></H1>
<H1 style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Great theater
performances, productions were<o:p></o:p></SPAN></H1>
<H1 style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">peppered around
Northeast Ohio<o:p></o:p></SPAN></H1>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">News-Herald,
Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times
Courier<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Member,
International Association of Theatre Critics <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This
review appeared in the <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">News-Herald</I></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> on 12/31/10<B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><o:p></o:p></B></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">I regularly review
and critique the unique artistic merits of individual performances of specific
productions at theaters in the greater Cleveland area. This week, however, I
will compare and contrast productions, and offer for your consideration the
“best” theater from the past year.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">As with all
competitions, there are small print disclaimers:<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; TEXT-INDENT: -13.5pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 13.5pt"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">1. </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it
make a sound?</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Who knows, but if a brilliant production
is performed in a theater and I don’t see it, it is not subject to consideration
for a “best of” award.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; TEXT-INDENT: -13.5pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 13.5pt"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; TEXT-INDENT: -13.5pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 13.5pt"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">2.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>All productions get better with age, but all
reviews were conducted during opening weekend performances.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Thus, “best-of” awards are issued for
productions that are great out of the gate.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; TEXT-INDENT: -13.5pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 13.5pt"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">3. Equity,
professional non-Equity and amateur productions are in consideration for the
same awards.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Truly superb work is
immediately recognizable, no matter the pay and no matter the
palace.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; TEXT-INDENT: -13.5pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 13.5pt"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; TEXT-INDENT: -13.5pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 13.5pt"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">4. National touring
company productions are purposefully barred from consideration; they get enough
attention.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Many community theater
productions are unfortunately excluded as well, the result of logistics,
scheduling constraints and the inability to put Einstein’s Theory of Relativity
to practical use.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Best
Comedy<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The
Foreigner</SPAN></I></B><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">, Porthouse
Theatre<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Charlie
Baker (Eric van Baars) is an unassuming Brit who takes a brief holiday at a
fishing lodge in rural Georgia.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The
reason for the holiday is ludicrous.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>The rationale for being in a lodge in the Deep South is far-fetched.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The lodge owner is told that timid
Charlie is foreign and does not speak English so he can avoid unwanted contact
with others, which is absurd.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Some
productions of Larry Shue’s farce accentuate the sitcom scenario or the more
disturbing, darker aspects of the play.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>The Porthouse Theatre production, under the meticulous direction of Rohn
Thomas, perfectly balanced the silly with the sinister and was thoroughly
delightful.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Best
Comedy/Revival<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">A Midsummer Night's
Dream</SPAN></I></B><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">, </SPAN></B><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Great
Lakes Theater Festival</SPAN></B><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white" class=plotpar><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Shakespeare's <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">A Midsummer Night's Dream</I> is a
delightful diversion about two young couples in love with the wrong partners,
who venture into woods populated by mischievous fairies and fall prey to their
manipulations of the human heart.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>The playwright’s pretense is that all this is but a dream; a pretense
that was fully embraced and re-envisioned in the Great Lakes Theater Festival
reprisal of its 2003 production.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>This 1590s reverie was transported to the 1960s, where the dream was more
hallucination, complete with surreal landscapes, period costuming and an
interweaving of Beatle’s music to facilitate the storytelling.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Directed by Charlie Fee, this year’s
version did not lose its charm or unabashed playfulness, despite changes in its
venue and casting.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Best
Drama<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Emma</SPAN></I></B><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">, Cleveland Play
House<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The Cleveland Play
House understands Jane Austen.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It
understands that her romantic early-19<SUP>th</SUP> century novels-turned-plays
need to unfold at a steady pace to keep modern audiences onboard, they need to
be saturated with extravagant scenery to best embellish the rich and colorful
wordplay, and they require fine and polished performances to bring life to
Austen’s delightfully textured characters.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Michael Bloom’s world premiere
adaptation of <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Emma</I>, under the
direction of Peter Amster and featuring Sarah Nealis in the title role, did
these things and did them brilliantly.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Best
Musical<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The 25<SUP>th</SUP>
Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee</SPAN></I></B><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">, Beck Center for the
Arts<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">If you’ve ever
watched ESPN’s coverage of the </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>Scripps National Spelling Bee, it’s probably not because of the
high-stakes competition between left-brained gladiators. You </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">watch it because
there is something disturbingly entertaining about seeing physically, socially
and emotionally awkward adolescents perform within this annual
survival-of-the-smartest pressure cooker.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Such was the pleasure derived from the Beck Center for the Arts’
production of <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The 25<SUP>th</SUP> Annual
Putnam County Spelling Bee</I>.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Under the direction of Scott Spence and musical direction of Larry
Goodpaster, this stellar local cast (enriched with a former Broadway company
member) offered immediate g-r-a-t-i-f-i-c-a-t-i-o-n. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Best Director of a
Comedy<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Peter Amster, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The 39 Steps</I><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Theater has the
potential to create a conscience in self-absorbed audiences sheltered from the
hardship of others.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Theater
can inspire social revolution, propagate political upheaval and call into
question religious dogma. Theater can change the world.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Thankfully the Cleveland Play House
production of <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The 39 Steps</I>,
spearheaded by d</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">irector
Peter Amster, </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">did none of these
things.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This rendering of
</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Patrick
Barlow’s aerobic stage adaptation of the classic, 1935 Alfred Hitchcock spy
movie was a romp from beginning to end—a parody of film noir romantic thrillers,
where every </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>cloak-and-dagger </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">genre
convention and every Hitchcockian quirk was built for laughs and got each and
every one of them.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Amster made it
happen.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Best Director of a
Drama<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Jeremy
Paul, </SPAN></B><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Anna
Bella Eema</SPAN></I></B><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><FONT size=3>The one-act
<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Anna Bella Eema</I> by Lisa D’Amour is a
simple story of a reclusive mother and her 10-year-old daughter, who occupy the
one remaining mobile home in a trailer park earmarked for destruction.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Through a series of soliloquies, they
offer insight into their lives and their perception of the world that awaits
them outside the protective confines of their run-down domain.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>These characters are so socially
isolated, psychologically damaged and thoroughly disoriented that memory merges
with fantasy, experience is inseparable from imagination, and linear thinking
becomes discombobulated.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In the
collaborative Cleveland Public Theatre and Theater Ninja production of this
play, director Jeremy Paul somehow pulled all this together so that it not only
made sense but was a brilliant, intriguing piece of storytelling.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Best Director of a
Musical<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Pierre-Jacques
Brault, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Annie</I><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>The musical <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Annie</I>, based on the Depression-era comic
strip about an optimistic redheaded ragamuffin, is performed often but it is not
often performed well.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Many local
theatres believe that a sold out run is the goal and not the reward, and the
means to that end is a parade of adorable little girls who can belt, a handful
of well-intended community players to repeat cartoon captioned dialogue,
cardboard sets and a dog.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Director
Pierre-Jacques Brault brought an authentic, artful <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Annie</I> to the Fine Arts Association in
Willoughby, complete with artistic vision, attention to detail and the intent to
genuinely entertain its audience rather than placate them.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And the run completely sold out after
its preview performance.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Best Performance by
an Actress in a Comedy<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Tracee Patterson, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Dead Man’s Cell
Phone</I><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Sarah Ruhl’s
absurdist comedy <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Dead Man’s Cell
Phone</I> demonstrates how social media instantly connect us with, but
simultaneously remove us from, one another.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Jean, an unassuming stranger with no
life of her own, picks up a dead man’s ringing cell phone and, by doing so,
picks up his life where it left off.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Tracee Patterson, as Jean, was so profoundly unassuming in this Dobama
Theatre production that she nearly collapsed in on herself.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Jean is pathologically plain, yet
everything Patterson did to create this timid character was complex and
captivating.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Best Performance by a
Supporting Actress in a Comedy<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Kate Tonti, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="COLOR: #191919">The Dixie Swim
Club</SPAN></I><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The
Dixie Swim Club</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">
explores the lives of five girlfriends who met in college and now meet each year
at the same beach cottage to drink, swim, drink and support each other through
life’s unpredictable twists and turns.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>All five actresses in the Chagrin Valley Little Theater production of
this sentimental comedy were wonderful, but Kate Tonti was exceptional.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>She played Vernadette, a human accident
waiting to happen.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Every entrance
came accompanied with increasingly improbable injuries and personal
tribulations, and her comic timing was flawless.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Best Performance by
an Actress in a Drama<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Dorothy Silver, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Wings</I><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Don’t just take my word for it.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Fran Heller, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Cleveland Jewish News</I>:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>“<SPAN style="COLOR: black">Dorothy
Silver, the doyenne of Cleveland theater, gives a bravura performance as stroke
victim Mrs. Emily Stilson, a woman in her late 70s who in her youth was an
aviatrix and wing-walker….<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The
demanding role is the latest in a star-studded career of brilliant performances
by this gifted actor.”<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Christine
Howey, <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Scene Magazine</I>:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>Dorothy Silver, in what is basically a solo with backup, is surpassingly
brilliant.”<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Tony Brown, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Plain Dealer</I>:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>“This is a performance of great economy
that portrays a lifetime in delicate detail.”<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Roy Berko, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Cool Cleveland</I>:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>“<STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Every
once in a while a theatre-goer gets to experience</SPAN></STRONG><SPAN
style="COLOR: black"> a great actress in a great role. Such is the case with
Dorothy Silver in <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Wings</I>, on stage at
the Beck Center.”<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Best Performance by a
Supporting Actress in a Drama<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Ursula Cataan, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Elephant
Man</I><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Bernard Pomerance's
Dickensian drama <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Elephant Man</I> is
based on the true life story of a young man who, in the late-19<SUP>th</SUP>
century, goes from being a freak show attraction to the protected ward of a
London Hospital.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The most touching
moment in the play—a play saturated with such moments—comes when a theater diva
beauty who befriends the beast dares to touch his hands, introducing John
Merrick to his first taste of gentility and femininity.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Ursula Cataan was marvelous in this
engrossing CSU Summer Stages production.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Best Performance by
an Actress in a Musical<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Jennifer Myor, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Scarlet
Pimpernel</I><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The hero in <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Scarlet Pimpernel</I>, a British
aristocrat named Percy Blakeney, risks losing his wife and card carrying
privileges to the Heterosexual Man’s Club by assuming effeminate airs so as not
to let on that he is actually the swashbuckling Scarlet Pimpernel.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The romance in this quirky Mercury
Summer Stock musical, such as it is, was left to Jennifer Myor as Percy’s French
wife, Marguerite, who does not know about her husband’s heroics.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Myor was featured in 13 songs and had
the lungs, charisma and skill to make each song and each performance
memorable.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Best Performance by a
Supporting Actress in a Musical<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Sandra Emerick, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Bye Bye Birdie</I><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Aspiring song writer
Albert is convinced he can make his fortune and marry his girlfriend Rosie if he
gets rock and roll idol Conrad Birdie, soon to be inducted into the army, to
sing one of his songs on TV’s <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Ed
Sullivan Show</I>. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Sandra Emerick
brought what Chita Rivera brought to the role of Rosie in the original 1960
Broadway production of <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Bye Bye
Birdie</I>.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>She was passionate,
peppery, and possessed the wherewithal of an accomplished singer/dancer.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Emerick was a pleasure to watch and
listen to in this Porthouse Theatre summer production.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Best Performance by
an Actress (as played by an actor)<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Everett Quinton, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Oh Dad…</I><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Behind every good man
is a good woman and, sometimes, behind a good portrayal of a woman is a
man.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Such is the case with Everett
Quinton as Madame Rosepettle in the</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN">
<SPAN lang=EN>CSU Summer Stages production of the wildly gothic, avant garde <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the
Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad</I> by Arthur Kopit.</SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Quinton sauntered onto the stage the way
larger-than-life, aging and insane film star Norma Desmond strides toward the
movie camera and says </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>"All right Mr. De Mille, I'm ready for my close-up" in the film
</SPAN><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Sunset
Boulevard</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">.</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>His eyes were
ablaze, his curled lips revealed a toothy madwoman’s snarl, and his body
dramatically entered the room ten minutes before the rest of him did.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This was a production with lots to look
at, but you couldn’t take your eyes off of Quinton. Not for a
second.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Best Performance by
an Actor in a Drama<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Anthony
Elfonzia Nickerson-El, <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Great White
Hope</I><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Howard Sackler's <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Great White Hope</I> revolves around
Jack Jefferson, a heroic figure based loosely on the first black heavyweight
champion of the world, Jack Johnson.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>It depicts the blind hatred this prizefighter endures by being a
successful black man in pre-World War I America, exacerbated by his bold
self-assuredness, his outlandishness, and his love for a white woman.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The play follows his tumultuous career
and puts on display the tragedy of a proud man cheated by his handlers, degraded
by the press, and beaten by racism.</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>As Jack Jefferson in the Karamu
House production, Anthony Elfonzia Nickerson-El was marvelous.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>His intimidating physical presence was
wonderfully off-set by intelligence and playfulness, resulting in a very
powerful, moving and compelling performance.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Best Performance by a
Supporting Actor in a Drama<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Michael McArthur, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">It’s A Wonderful
Life</I><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<H2 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Sometimes
the best performances surface in the most unlikely of places. In this case it’s
on a community theater stage in Chardon, in a rather modest Geauga Lyric Theater
Guild holiday production of a rather mediocre adaptation of Frank Capra’s film
<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">It’s a Wonderful Life</I>.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Because the film is so well-known and
cherished, stage productions often embrace the film’s iconic
characterizations.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Michael
McArthur—a</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">diminutive
J</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>iminy Cricket-of-a-performer—did this in his </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">portrayal
of </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"
lang=EN-GB>benign</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"
lang=EN-GB> </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">angel
Clarence, and did this well.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>However, he added a humanity and humor that was all his own.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The lines he spoke were familiar, yet
his performance was astoundingly fresh.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></H2>
<H2 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></H2>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Best Performance by
an Actor in a Musical<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Mitch
McCarrell, <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Bat
Boy</I><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Bat Boy: The
Musical</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> is a modern-day
gothic tale about a half-boy/half-bat struggling to find a place in the
world.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Set to music.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Everything about this play and the Great
Lakes Theater Festival production of it—from its outlandish characters to the
quirky lyrics and campy production values—is fully intended for laughs.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The
title role was handled brilliantly by Mitch McCarrell.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Behind his bat-ears, pointy teeth, sonic
screeches and cave-dweller physique resided incredible athleticism, stage
presence and a true song-and-dance man.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>McCarrell’s energy, charisma and his own buy-in to this production
carried this show and the audience along with it.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Best Performance by a
Supporting Actor in a Musical<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">George Roth, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">My Fair Lady</I><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Director
Paul Gurgol’s approach to his Beck Center production of <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">My Fair Lady</I> was that it is a George
Bernard Shaw play with songs.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>As
such, the musical’s literary heritage and the power of the English language it
employs so brilliantly were paramount in its presentation. Actor George Roth,
who donned the tattered wardrobe of Alfred Doolittle, Eliza’s ne’er-do-well
father, was on the same page with Gurgol.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Roth’s cockney-laced words were spoken as if they were poetry and
showcased the Shaw-manship in this production.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>His very presence on stage added a
warmth that immediately altered the show’s climate. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Best Performance by
an Actor in a Comedy<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Nick Sandys, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The 39 Steps</I><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The
storyline in the Cleveland Play House’s parody of film noire murder mysteries,
<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The 39 Steps</I>, followed the adventures
of dashing Richard Hannay as he inadvertently gets mixed up with double agents,
accidently </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>uncovers a plot to steal vital British military secrets, gets
</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">framed
for murder and, of course, takes it on the lam.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>All this was </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">performed brilliantly
by Nick Sandys as our square jawed and thin-mustached hero.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Sandys
captured every aspect of the archetypical good guy sucked into a foul
situation.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>His clipped diction,
perpetually cocked eyebrow and cavalier approach to danger were spot on and the
physicality he brought to the role—particularly during the mock chase scenes—was
a delight to watch.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Best Performance by a
Supporting Actor in a Comedy<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>Andrew Cruse, </SPAN></B><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">“The
Walworth Farce”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Because
the family unit was such an integral part of Dobama Theatre’s dark comedy <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Walworth Farce</I>, each actor supported
the others.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In the play,
</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>Dinny (</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Bob
Goddard) </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>fled Ireland for England with his two young sons.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Now grown men, Sean (Andrew Cruse) and
Blake (Daniel McElhaney) share a crowded, dilapidated flat with their father,
which they never leave and where, at their father’s insistence, they
compulsively and repeatedly retell Dinny’s distorted and broadly stylized take
on the family history.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Cruse’s portrayal was wonderfully textured, tender and, yes,
humorous.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He effectively
communicated Sean’s social retardation while simultaneously showing us a small
spark of self-realization.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align=center><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Best
Choreography<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align=center><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>John Crawford, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Bye Bye
Birdie</I><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align=center><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The Porthouse Theatre
production of <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Bye Bye Birdie</I>, under
the direction of Terri Kent, embraced all that is light, buoyant and comedic in
this musical.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>These qualities were
particularly evident in John Crawford’s choreography, which celebrated the
energy and innocence of early-1960s youth by having the small town teens
spontaneously burst into exuberant and clever dance routines with no provocation
whatsoever.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The dancing was
performed by a superb ensemble of mostly Kent State University musical theater
majors.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><o:p></o:p></B></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Best Scenic
Design<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Robert Mark Morgan,
<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Emma</I><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Robert Mark Morgan’s
scenic design in the Cleveland Play House production of <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Emma</I> not only captured the time and
temperament of Emma’s rural early-19<SUP>th</SUP> century England existence, but
painted marvelous portraits with set pieces that rose from the flooring and
gorgeous scenery that dropped from the ceiling.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Each scene was seamlessly constructed
and added to the fluidity of Jane Austen’s storytelling.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Congratulations
to all those recognized and to all those others who have delivered wonderful
work that enrich our lives.</SPAN></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>