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style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Two-dimensional</SPAN></B><SPAN
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</SPAN><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'">‘Starmites’
gets five-star treatment at Porthouse<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
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class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; 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><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; 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'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Cleveland Jewish
News<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'; 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><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><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This review will
appear in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Cleveland Jewish News
</I>on 7/11/14<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'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
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style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; BACKGROUND: white; COLOR: black; 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">The two-dimensional
world of comic book heroes – with their simply-drawn personas, single-panel
problems and catch-phrase morality – does not fare well when converted from the
printed page to the live stage. Particularly when given a musical make-over.
<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'; BACKGROUND: white; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><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'; BACKGROUND: white; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Case
in point is the 1966 Broadway production of </SPAN><SPAN
class=apple-converted-space><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; BACKGROUND: white; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">“</SPAN></SPAN><EM><SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 1pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; FONT-STYLE: normal; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; BACKGROUND: white; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt; BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 1pt; PADDING-TOP: 0in; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in">It’s
a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s Superman,” </SPAN></EM><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; BACKGROUND: white; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">where
excessive exposition, insipid storytelling and inane lyrics were the kryptonite
that kept audiences and Tony awards from its doors.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>More recently, in 2011,
</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; BACKGROUND: white; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">“Spider-Man:
Turn Off the Dark” got caught up in its own </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">torturous
web of excessive special effects in lieu of an interesting script.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It took itself so seriously that critics
could not.</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; BACKGROUND: white; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><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'; BACKGROUND: white; COLOR: black; 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'; BACKGROUND: white; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">So
it is little wonder that “Starmites,” another musical inspired by comic books,
was met with little fanfare and even less fan base before it closed after only
two months on Broadway in 1989. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It
has rarely surfaced since.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And yet,
here it is on the Porthouse Theatre stage.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; BACKGROUND: white; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN></SPAN> </P><SPAN
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style="mso-spacerun: yes">
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style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; BACKGROUND: white; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes">For more of this review, go to: </SPAN></SPAN></P>
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style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; BACKGROUND: white; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN
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style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; BACKGROUND: white; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"><A
href="http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/features/article_941490ba-0585-11e4-80e8-0019bb2963f4.html">http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/features/article_941490ba-0585-11e4-80e8-0019bb2963f4.html</A></SPAN></SPAN></P>
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