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align=center><FONT face=Georgia><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ">Beck Center offers a well-acted but ill-conceived
‘King Lear’ </SPAN></B><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
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style="mso-spacerun: yes"><FONT
color=#333333> </FONT></SPAN></SPAN></B></FONT><SPAN
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align=center><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
color=#333333 face=Georgia></FONT></SPAN> </P>
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align=center><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
face=Georgia>Bob Abelman</FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'></SPAN></P>
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align=center><I><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
face=Georgia>Cleveland Jewish News, The News Herald, The Morning
Journal</FONT></SPAN></I><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
face=Georgia> </FONT></SPAN></B><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'></SPAN></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Georgia><SPAN
class=s1><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial">“Nothing will come
</SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=s2><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial">of nothing,” says
Lear, </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat; BACKGROUND-ATTACHMENT: scroll; BACKGROUND-POSITION: 0% 0%; COLOR: "><FONT
color=#333333>the elderly king of England, </FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=s2><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial">when his favorite
daughter refuses to dote on him the way her opportunistic, two-faced older
sisters do. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And so, upon the
honorable but undemonstrative Cordelia’s disinheritance and exile, Lear’s great
tragedy – </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat; BACKGROUND-ATTACHMENT: scroll; BACKGROUND-POSITION: 0% 0%; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial">triggered
by his own blind vanity and</SPAN><SPAN class=s2><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial"> arguably the
greatest in Shakespeare’s canon – is set into motion.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN class=s2><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial"><FONT
face=Georgia></FONT></SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Georgia><SPAN
class=s2><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial">Also
set into motion by this declaration are creative, often </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat; BACKGROUND-ATTACHMENT: scroll; BACKGROUND-POSITION: 0% 0%; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial">audacious</SPAN><SPAN
class=s2><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial">
choices made by modern-day directors of “King Lear” who feel challenged to do
something more with this remarkable play than what the Bard’s limited stage
directions suggest. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT face=Georgia></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Georgia><SPAN
class=s2><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial">The
current Beck Center for the Arts production, under </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat; BACKGROUND-ATTACHMENT: scroll; BACKGROUND-POSITION: 0% 0%; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial"><FONT
color=#2c2c2c>Eric Schmeidl’s direction, </FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=s2><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial">has made innovations
</SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=s2><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial">that do not seem to match the
universe “King Lear’s” characters inhabit or add much value to this
play.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: "><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT><FONT face=Georgia>But the acting is
superb.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat; BACKGROUND-ATTACHMENT: scroll; BACKGROUND-POSITION: 0% 0%; mso-bidi-font-family: arial"><FONT
face=Georgia></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face=Georgia><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"'>For
more of this review, go to: </SPAN><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
color=#0000ff>www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/bob_abelman/</FONT></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>