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<P
style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; mso-outline-level: 1"
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-font-kerning: 18.0pt">CPT’s
‘Monster Play’ is a bit of a monstrosity</SPAN></B></P>
<P
style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; mso-outline-level: 1"
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-font-kerning: 18.0pt"><?xml:namespace
prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
/><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B> </P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; 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><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><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; 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><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,<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></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">The
Morning Journal, 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,
American Theatre Critics Association <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; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This
review will appear in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">News-Herald
</I>on </SPAN><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">10/21/11</SPAN><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; mso-outline-level: 1"
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-font-kerning: 18.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; mso-outline-level: 1"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt">Sometimes
a very creative idea becomes significantly less so when given form and
function.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; mso-outline-level: 1"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; mso-outline-level: 1"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt">Such
is the case with </SPAN><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Monster
Play</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt">,
an evening of scary storytelling conceived by Jeremy Paul but delivered
stillborn on Cleveland Public Theatre/Theater Ninja’s Storefront Studio
stage.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; mso-outline-level: 1"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; mso-outline-level: 1"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt">By
i</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #121212; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">ntertwining
two stories—one about a pious man tempted by demons and the other about a
mythological hero who uses monsters to discover his own humanity—our greatest
and most irrational fears about things that go bump in the night are resurrected
for our consideration and, supposedly, our entertainment.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Guest appearances by a few bogeymen from
medieval literature, contemporary horror films, Russian folklore, and ghost
stories are thrown in for good measure and, occasionally, comic relief. <BR
style="mso-special-character: line-break"><BR
style="mso-special-character: line-break"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; mso-outline-level: 1"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt">Under
Paul’s own direction, his play is a clever attempt to bring to life horrific
figments of our imagination by actively engaging our imagination.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; mso-outline-level: 1"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; mso-outline-level: 1"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #121212; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Rather
than employing monster costuming, elaborate makeup or dry ice, the five
performers in this world premiere production are armed only with baggy hoodies,
an assortment of sound and lighting effects, and their theater training to
channel the horror.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Much like the
presentation of the Elephant Man in the play by the same title, the </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">grotesqueness of the
creatures in </SPAN><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Monster
Play</SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">
is solely in</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #121212; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
the mind’s eye of the beholder. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; mso-outline-level: 1"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #121212; 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; BACKGROUND: white; mso-outline-level: 1"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #121212; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The
performers are wonderful.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Collectively and in isolation, Ray Caspio, Stuart Hoffman, Val Kozlenko,
Jenni Messner and Lauren B. Smith </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">slowly absorb and
painstakingly adopt abominable physical abnormalities and quirky voices specific
to their chosen ghoul or goblin.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Their immense athleticism is impressive and a pleasure to
watch.</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #121212; 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; BACKGROUND: white; mso-outline-level: 1"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #121212; 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; BACKGROUND: white; mso-outline-level: 1"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #121212; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">What
they are presenting is less wonderful and significantly less pleasurable.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The 60-minute, one-act performance comes
across as a compilation of pieces and parts that neither converge, flow, nor
lead to anything in particular.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>No
foggy, surreal dreamscape is clearly established, if that was intended.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>No clear message or moral surfaces,
which is a traditional and expected outcome of scary storytelling from medieval
literature, contemporary horror films and folklore.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; mso-outline-level: 1"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #121212; 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; BACKGROUND: white; mso-outline-level: 1"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #121212; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The
evening ends with a confusing confrontation between a man and a mysterious
stranger with a jar full of pickled demon.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>It is confusing because it is spoken entirely in Russian.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>While fun and even fascinating to watch,
there is no payoff save for the experience of watching this exchange
unfold.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>At $25 a ticket, this is
not payoff enough.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; mso-outline-level: 1"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #121212; 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; BACKGROUND: white; mso-outline-level: 1"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #121212; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The
</SPAN><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Monster
Play</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #121212; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
playbill notes that this is a devised work, meaning that the play was created in
the rehearsal process, rather than having been envisioned in advance as a
script.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The end product reads like
a cross between a theater exercise and a work-in-progress; something developed
in a laboratory that is not yet ready to see the light of day or, in this case,
lurk in the shadow of darkness.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; mso-outline-level: 1"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #121212; 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><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Monster
Play </SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">continues through
October 29 at Cleveland Public Theatre’s Storefront Studio, 6415 Detroit
Avenue.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For tickets, which range
from $10 to $25, call 216-631-2727</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT
face=Calibri> </FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">or visit <A
href=""><FONT
color=#0000ff>www.cptonline.org</FONT></A><B>.<o:p></o:p></B></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>