Creepy, Campy, and Completely Entertaining: ‘Heebie Jeebies’ at Theatre Lab

Creepy, Campy, and Completely Entertaining: ‘Heebie Jeebies’ at Theatre Lab

Morgan Sophia Photography Cast members execute campy acting in Theatre Lab’s world premiere production of Heebie Jeebies: Tales from the Midnight Campfire   By AARON KRAUSE In one of the delightfully twisted moments from Gina Montet’s creepy-and-comic play, Heebie Jeebies: Tales from the Midnight Campfire, an educator administers a biology...

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GableStage Honored, Arts Leaders Shift, and Theater Season Kicks Off

GableStage Honored, Arts Leaders Shift, and Theater Season Kicks Off

Photo by Lindsey Walters Isabel Lee Roden as Juliet, Angela Iannone as Friar Lawrence, and Nick Ericksen as Romeo in American Shakespeare Center’s professional production of Romeo & Juliet   By AARON KRAUSE Bill von Maurer Award to GableStage GableStage will receive the Bill von Maurer Award at this year’s...

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New City Players’ Confederates: A Fierce, Funny Look at Slavery’s Lingering Shadows

New City Players’ Confederates: A Fierce, Funny Look at Slavery’s Lingering Shadows

Photo by Kevin Ondarza Sara (Nai Fairweather) is unafraid of battle in Dominique Morisseau’s powerful play Confederates. By AARON KRAUSE Slavery’s chains still bind in unexpected ways, and Dominique Morisseau’s bold, nuanced dramedy Confederates urges us to unshackle ourselves—and one another—from their lingering grip. New City Players’ (NCP) riveting professional...

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PBD’s ‘The Cancellation of Lauren Fein’ is must-experience theater

PBD’s ‘The Cancellation of Lauren Fein’ is must-experience theater

Photo by Alicia Donelan (From left) Lindsey Corey, Diana Garle, Niki Fridh, Barbara Sloan (with gavel), and Karen Stephens in The Cancellation of Lauren Fein.    By AARON KRAUSE “We don’t need you to tell us about (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion). We live it,” the title character says in Christopher...

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Help Santa save Broadway via upcoming escape room

Help Santa save Broadway via upcoming escape room

Stuart Brown   By AARON KRAUSE The Grinch plans to steal Broadway by kidnapping its stars. But, the good news is that you and Santa have a chance to stop him. Are you up to the task? The above might sound like an immersive, participatory theatrical experience. However, that is...

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ICS’ ‘The Niceties’ neatly captures the zeitgeist

ICS’ ‘The Niceties’ neatly captures the zeitgeist

Photo by Matthew Tippins Zoe (Rachel Michelle Bryant) is clearly unhappy with her professor (Lisa Kay King) in Island City Stage’s production of The Niceties.   By AARON KRAUSE “What are you doing to promote equality?” a black college student demands of her white professor in Eleanor Burgess’s taut, intense,...

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Playwright peels away ‘The Niceties’ from her piece

Playwright peels away ‘The Niceties’ from her piece

  “We spend so much of our time berating the far right for being racist,” Island City Stage (ICS) Associate Artistic Director Michael Leeds says. However, “we don’t often look to ourselves to see how we might be perpetuating the system. We’re always the ‘nice’ guys. But what happens when...

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Watch the world premieres of five short musicals

Watch the world premieres of five short musicals

  Could the next Hamilton or Dear Evan Hansen emerge from a musical theater partnership in the Cleveland area? A collaboration between the Beck Center for the Arts and the Baldwin Wallace University Music Theatre Program has existed for 10 years. And this month, the collaborating partners will present five...

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Forget Alexa; “Sounds of Broadway” likely plays the theater song you wish to hear

Forget Alexa; “Sounds of Broadway” likely plays the theater song you wish to hear

  Photo from www.soundsofbroadway.com Stuart Brown has no shortage of material when it comes to musical theater     By AARON KRAUSE If people listening to the online radio station “Sounds of Broadway” wanted to hear songs from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, they were in luck. Although the legendary 1976 Broadway...

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‘It’s theater in your living room’ — and it’s live

‘It’s theater in your living room’ — and it’s live

      Photo by Brian Love Jason Weiss, founder and artistic director of No Pants Theatre Company.   By AARON KRAUSE “Shhhhhh! It’s about to start!,” someone commented in eager anticipation of No Pants Theatre Company’s production of Samuel Garza Bernstein’s drama, If You Are Reading This. Most likely,...

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