Roy Berko - Page 16

The anti-sexual assault and women's empowerment movements #MeToo and Time's Up have brought new relevance to the public conversation about women's issues surrounding the obstacles women encounter in their personal and professional lives.

As the red-jacket usher guided us to our seats before the opening curtain of 'Chicago' at the Connor Palace she said, 'I love musical theater, especially if the show has a Fosse influence.'

According to the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study, 'roughly 11 percent of veterans who served in Vietnam, approximately 271,000 veterans of the war, continue to suffer from clinically PTSD symptoms.'

What do 'Avenue Q,' 'Spamalot,' 'Something Rotten' and 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum?' have in common? They are all American Musical Theater comedies, meant to entertain and evoke laughter.

As Douglas Turner Ward, the author of 'Day of Absence,' explains it, 'The time is now. The play opens in an unnamed Southern town of medium population on a somnolent cracker morning - meaning no matter the early temperature, it's gonna get hot. The hamlet is just beginning to rouse itself from the sleepy lassitude of night.'

Jeannette Sorrell, Artistic Director of Apollo's Fire, the Cleveland-based Baroque Orchestra, started to study conducting and musical composition at age 16. A trained pianist, the young lady, who has been called a 'wunderkind' by 'Audiophile Audition,' won first prize and the audience choice award in the 1991 Spivey International Harpsichord Competition, competing against 70 uber-talented international musicians.

When one thinks of Stephen Schwartz, the lyricist and composer of theater titles 'Godspell,' 'Pippin,' and 'Wicked,' or the films 'Pocahontas,' 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame,' and 'Enchanted' come to mind. How about 'Children of Eden'? Probably not.

Lynn Nottage, who has been called 'as fine a playwright as America has,' started to craft 'Sweat,' which is now getting a production at Cleveland Play House, in 2011, just before the height of the national malaise, but not before Reading, Pennsylvania and similar areas were hit by layoffs, plant closings, and general angst. The playwright honed in on the national problem and succeeded in writing a raw, disturbing and illuminating script that won the 2017 Pulitzer for Drama.

Annie Baker is the author of 'The Flick,' which had an award-winning production at Dobama last March (e.g., Cleveland Critics Circle and Broadwayworld.com recognitions). That script was clever, thought-provoking and generally mesmerizing.

Edward Albee, author of 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf,' now in production at Beck Center for the Arts, is one of the best known Theatre of the Absurd American writers. This form of theatre, which was at its apex shortly following World War II, is based, in part on philosophical existentialism, which asks 'what is the purpose of existence?'

As Blank Canvas's program notes states, 'Before 'South Park.' Before 'The Book of Mormon. There was 'Cannibal! The Musical!'

Great Lakes Theater has found a perfect combination of scripts to start its 57th season. The fun, escapist juke box musical, 'Mamma Mia!,' had the audience excitedly on its feet for the extended curtain call. 'Pride and Prejudice,' the epic story of class-stratification and misunderstanding feelings in 19th century England, also had the audience on its feet at the end. This time, instead of dancing and singing, it was applause for a well-directed and performed staging.

It was apparent on reviewer's night of 'Hello Dolly,' which is starting its national tour in Cleveland, that many of the audience, which was awash in red clothing, had heard of the 'wear David Merrick red' to productions of this script. David Merrick red?

August Wilson is considered one of the most prolific sources for documenting the twentieth century African-American experience. His ten-play cycle, basically set in Pittsburgh's Hill district, started with 'Gem of the Ocean,' representing the 1900s and ended with 'Radio Golf,' shining the spotlight on the 1990s. 'Fences,' which is now on stage at the newly renovated Jelliffe Theatre at Karamu, was the 1950s representative.

'Mamma Mia!,' now on stage at Great Lakes Theatre, as has been the case on Broadway and in its many local tour stops, is a thoroughly entertaining theatrical experience. The audience was on its feet for the extended curtain call, dancing, clapping, and singing.