Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin

I saw Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin at the Cleveland Playhouse.  Amazing show about the history of the man behind the musicals and Christmas songs.  It details his life and his tragedies.   I highly recommend it.  An amazing one man show.

Bent

I saw Bent at the Beck Center this past Sunday.  It so affected me, I was not able to bring myself to write about it until now.   The play is from the 70s, and is about a gay man during World War 2.  He is captured by the Nazis and sent on a train to a concentration camp.   I cried at intermission.  I cried afterwards.  I felt really horrible for several days after viewing the show.   Death and horror.   It also coincided with Pride.  It's sad that the subject matter is relevant again.   It's a good play, but very difficult. 

I am including a link to the Wikipedia article with the whole plot.  I don't usually spoil shows in my write ups, but you need to steel yourself before seeing this one.  Bring tissues.  And have something cheerful planned for afterwards to soothe your aching heart.

The Royale

I went to see the Royale last Saturday performed by Cleveland Playhouse.   It is a historical fiction about boxing during the Jim Crow era.   Our protagonist is the black heavyweight champ and he wants to fight the white champ.  This is agreed to, but at a great financial cost which causes bodily fear and incidents in the black community.

The fighting was accomplished via dance moves, specifically krumping.   Timed claps, stomps, and inner monologue are able to produce an amazing fight.  Go see this.

The Humans

Yesterday afternoon, we saw the play, The Humans at Playhouse Square.   It is about a family Thanksgiving post September 11.   It touches on the reality of the American dream and how things have changed since it emerged.  There is simultaneous conversations between the family members on the first and second levels of the apartment (one of the daughters' places).   It vaguely reminded me of observing characters in the Sims.   Each family member has a secret of his or her own too.   Dreams, anxiety, religion, and family are all touched upon.   I liked it more than I thought I would.   

My First Time

Last Friday, I saw My First Time at the Beck Center.   It is a play with many many stories first time sexual experiences collected from the My First Time blog.   Gay, straight, consensual, and coercion, all are told in the stories by 4 actors, 2 male and 2 female.   It was funny and sometimes very touching.   They also had surveys on the seats.   Those are optional, but they use the answers to show stats on the audience.   It was neat.

This was a good play, but it doesn't follow set people.   Everything is in flux.

The Invisible Hand

Last week we saw the Invisible Hand at Cleveland Playhouse.  An American banker is kidnapped by Pakistani freedom fighters in the near future.   He agrees to make money for the group to pay his own ransom.   It was compelling.   I also learned quite a bit about the stock market and business that I didn't know before.   It asks about faith and what is good for one's people.

Marie and Rosetta

On Sunday we had the pleasure of seeing Marie and Rosetta, the true story of Rose Etta Tharp meeting Marie Knight, and bringing forth the music that would eventually become rock 'n roll.   This play has wonderful music, but I wouldn't call it a musical.   It's more of history featuring music.    It shows the painful realities of what it was like to be a black person traveling back before the Civil Rights movement.   Even though Sister Rosetta was famous, she couldn't stay in proper hotels because of discrimination (relying on the Green Book for safer travels).   In fact, the whole show (90 minutes without intermission) takes place in a funeral parlor. 

Cleveland Playhouse is only the second theater to present this show.  I highly recommend it.

The Baker Street Irregulars

We saw the Baker Street Irregulars last week at Dobama Theater.  I really enjoyed this and it contains more than a bit of the holiday season.  The kids in it are excellent.  You can listen to an interview with the author, Eric Coble, here at WCPN.  You have until December 30 to see it.  I recommend you do.

Marjorie Prime

Steve and I saw Marjorie Prime last week at Dobama Theatre.  It starred Cleveland's amazing Dorothy Silver.   In this world, you can have a simulation of a deceased loved one called a prime.   And there was a lot about grieving.   I really loved this play.  There is a movie version from this year's Sundance Film Festival.   You can actually view it now from various online streaming services.   This show looks realistically at the role of artifical intelligence in our lives.    

Waiting for Godot

We just got out of the Beck Center's production of Waiting for Godot.  It's supposed to be deeply philosophical and represent something.   I see it as two fools with foul smelling breath or feet are waiting for a dude named Godot.  They run into others with poor episodic memory or possibly encounteres with those people from other dimensions.   They contemplate suicide and are not good at it. 

I now want to watch Wonder Woman that has an actual Godot in it.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Net

It's a new theater season!   We saw One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at the Beck Center last Sunday.   There are no matinee showings because of the mature subject and themes of the show.

It really is an excellent production.   Very much like the movie and all the ancillary characters are spot on in displaying the signs of mental illness.   I was particularly impressed with the  guy with tardive diskinesia, a side effect of many drugs to treat mental conditions.  

As a healthcare provider, I can call this one a how not to treat your patients.   But the show is set in the 60's and the practices are thus outdated.   I recommend this show, but don't expect a happy ending.

Really Really

Just got back from the regional premier of Really Really at the Beck Center.   That was some heavy material.   College, rape, money, privilege, and what is the truth.   It pains me to see people use whatever means necessary to get what they want.  There is a lot of selfishness in this play.  It also bothers me that this play reinforces the sterotype that of poor people lying and cheating to get ahead.   It's not happy, but it makes you think.

Hand to God

I got to see Hand to God the other day at Dobama Theater.  I enjoyed it and all of it's dark humor, but it wasn't what I was expecting.   It was advertised as a cross between Avenue Q and the Book of Mormon, two shows that I really love.  This show had puppets and a religious theme, but that's where the similarities ended.

Premise: a widowed woman works for the church and is trying to put on a puppet show.  Her son, Jason has a puppet (Tyrone) that has a very dark streak, eventually leading the group to believe that he is possessed by the devil.   

Tons of dark religious psychology in this show.  Eventually, Tyrone is revealed to be a manifestation of Jason's pain for his father's death.   Also, lots of violence and a gratuitous puppet sex scene.   This show is definitely for the 21 and over crowd.   It's not a musical, so you don't go home with a song in your heart.   Tyrone's last speech actually reminds me of Puck's at the end of A Midsummer Night's Dream.  The effect is eerie and fascinating.   :If you like creepy plays, watch this.  If dolls and puppets scare you, or if the religious overtones hit close to home, I'd advise you to avoid it.   It's not every day you see a guy bludgeon his own hand with a hammer.

Between Riverside and Crazy

This week, we went to Cleveland Play House to see Between Riverside and Crazy.   Wow, that was thought provoking.    CPH never fails to present fascinating material.

So Walter is an ex-cop living in a rent controlled palatial apartment in New York City.   He is recently widowed and his son is helping him around.  The NYPD wants him to take a settlement for his lawsuit 8 years ago.  He was off duty and shot by another cop, and race seems to have been a factor.   He has non-related family going in and out of his place and there have been complaints, and he is threated with eviction notices.

One thing not mentioned in the pre-show conversation are the lies each character tells.   When you see it, watch for the recurring theme.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time

I loved the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time from the first time I read the book in the early 2000's.   Now it's a play that won many Tony Awards!   But, I get ahead of myself.

The story is about Christopher, a young man in Swindon, UK who lives with his father.  He discovers his neighbor's dog dead, speared through with a gardening fork.   He decides to investigate the murder and finds out truths of his own life.  

What makes the story unique is that Christopher is not neurotypical.   He is brilliant and mathematically gifted, with an eye for detail.   The book described life from his point of view, and the play brings it to life further.   You get a real sense of his perceptions through the lights, sounds, and Greek chorus.  The black box encompassing the stage really lets you into our protagonist's head and experience sensory overload.

The post play even features the proof of the Pythagorean theorem which was in the book's appendix.  If the tour is coming to your city, definitely go watch it.  It's not a musical, but it is a very faithful translation of the book with some additional enhancements.

How I Learned to Drive

I saw How I Learned to Drive this week at the Cleveland Play House.  It's a Pulitzer winning play from 1998.  The protagonist, Little Bit, takes us on a non-sequential ride through her memories of how she was groomed for pedophilia by her Uncle Peck with touches of humor and a Greek chorus.  The 1960's driving video clips are used to indicate what direction in time the clips are occurring.

We always go to the pre-show talk.  Our seat neighbors did not, and I overheard them say, "I think I know exactly what this is about!"  I decided to enlighten them a little so the subject wouldn't be a complete shock if they were expecting a light romp about 1960's driving school.  I recommend listening to this interview about the show.  It offers some insight into the second lead.

It's been a year of very emotionally hard hitting theater for me.   A Great Wilderness, Wait Until Dark, Body Awareness, and Fun Home all have deeply intense subjects.   I find myself thinking back of the events of this play.  I wonder how anyone could do such a thing and perpetuate a cycle of abuse.

Wait Until Dark

Last night we saw Wait Until Dark at Great Lakes Theater.  That was thrilling!   Three con men try to pull a fast one on a blind woman.   They use the standard battery of tricks, which our protagonist, Susie, notices because of her acute hearing.   Extremely exciting play that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

A Great Wilderness

I saw A Great Wilderness at the Beck Center this past Sunday.   It's a good play, but not a happy one.   It's about gay conversation therapy camps.   I left feeling angry about the intolerance and lack of empathy in the world.  It's tough, but you should see it.   Good lessons to be learned.  In a way, it reminds me of Thais, in which two characters switch world views.

I feel the most terrible for the women in marriages with "cured" husbands who never loved them.

Ken Ludwig's Baskerville

We were at Playhouse Square last night and saw Ken Ludwig's Baskerville.  That was amazingly fun!  5 actors who play over 40 parts with various costumes, hairpieces, and quick changes.  Only Holmes and Watson do not have other roles.   Quick changes happen so far, in seconds.  And the clothing isn't cheap looking either.  Everything looks convincingly Victorian!   There are 4 dressers to assist with the changes.  This was funny and smart, as well as a delight to watch.  Go see it!

Sex with Strangers

This past Wednesday, we saw the play, "Sex with Strangers" at Cleveland Playhouse.   It was actually about books, the internet, and what is considered public and private.  It was an amazingly moving show.   Not crying emotional, but definitely passionate.  The two actors are incredibly believable.  It's about where generations collide and have their differences, and of course, sex.   It's intelligent and witty, with extreme moments of clarity.