Shakespeare in Love

I saw the Cleveland Playhouse show, Shakespeare in Love yesterday.  I liked it so much better than the movie.  It had a wonderful plot and truly likable characters.   Also, the costuming was very rock 'n roll Ren faire.   I really recommend that you see it.  The last day is Sunday.

City of Angels

Got back from City of Angels at the Beck Center.  Interesting musical, the last of all our subscriptions for the season.   The story alternates between the detective story from an author (Stine) and the author's life as he writes his book into a screen play.  He has a micromanaging producer and this leads to conflict and metatheater situations.    Not my favorite genre, but a decent show.

Mr. Burns: A Post Electric Play

 Last Monday we got to see Mr. Burns: A Post Electric play at Cleveland Public Theatre.   That was fun.   I didn't know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised at the blend of drama and metatheater based around the Simpsons.

The premise: some kind of nuclear disaster has ruined the world and people are brought together culturally by remembering episodes of the Simpsons.  Particularly, the episode where the Simpsons become the Thompsons in order to escape Sideshow Bob in the witness protection program.

The show is in three acts.   Act one is shortly after things go sideways with society.   No one has electricity and people gather in camps defending their possessions with their guns.

The second act is 10 years later.   The Simpsons are now a set of plays performed by different drama troupes.  The dark edge of survival in a post-apocalyptic society persists.

The last act is 75 years into the future and the Simpsons have turned into a kabuki-esque drama.    It was amazing to watch.   I think I liked the final act best.

Evil Dead: The Musical

Steve and I saw Evil Dead:the Musical last night.   I love this show!   It's wonderful mix of camp and horror, and of course gratuitous stage blood that douses the audience members.  It was the first musical we saw together at the Beck Center.  The one we saw last night was the North American touring company.

The music is really fun.  I found myself singing along to the lyrics.   The high point of the show is the epic zombie fight.  They do a Thriller type of dance followed by a chainsaw battle with Ash.  Each of the zombies is wearing a prosthetic that sprays blood out into the audience.  

We came right from work, so I made sure to get seats outside of the splash zone.  I really recommend this show.  It's one of my all time favorites!

[title of show]

We saw [title of show] at the Beck Center, and I loved it!   It's pretty unusual for two musicals to be going on at the Beck Center.  I definitely enjoyed this one much more than Forever Plaid.  

It's witty metatheater about the creation of a musical, namely, this one.   Two guys, Hunter and Jeff, decide to write a musical in three weeks and submit it to a festival.  Their friends Heidi and Susan help.  It's really quite clever.  There are lots of references to other shows within it.  There are even several quotations from other musicals.  

The show runs 90 minutes without intermission and is funny and self referential.   It never takes itself too seriously, but there are serious moments that don't kill the light bubbly fun.   If you are a fan of Broadway, this is definitely a show for you!

Deathtrap

We watched the final performance of Deathtrap this afternoon!  I can see why this is the longest running play on Broadway.  It's very meta.  Lots of surprising twists and turns.   I was genuinely shocked multiple times throughout the show.  It's a play about a play about writing plays.  With murder.  I thought I knew where the plot was going, but I was wrong!  I was glad to be wrong too!  

Venus in Fur

I saw Venus in Fur tonight tonight at the Cleveland Playhouse.  It was absolutely amazing!   The play has just two characters, and is about casting for a play, specifically, Venus in Fur, whose author is where we get the term masochism from.  It was intellectual.  You really had to think about the exchanges between the characters, which can be extremely quick.

You have a playwright (Thomas), who is adapting Venus in Fur, and extremely frustrated searching for a lead actress for his production.  Enter Vanda, an actress who just happens to share the name of the character from the play.  There is a lot of shifting of balance in the show, between male and female, fantasy and reality, and power and submission. 

The play twists in and over itself so many times!   You have to go see this!    It's smart and sexy, with superb acting.