Cleveland Public Theatre Announces 2016-2017 Season

Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT)'s Executive Artistic Director Raymond Bobgan announces the 2016-2017 season, which delivers on CPT's mission of raising consciousness and nurturing compassion through theatre that is daring, relevant and socially-conscious.

CPT invests in innovation and diversity, and has been recognized regionally and nationwide as a leader in the support and development of new work, the amplification of emerging voices, and for producing and presenting work from artists working outside of the theatrical mainstream.

The theme of CPT's 2016-2017 season is Attention: Tension: Intention.

According to Bobgan: "Attentiveness, the act of being present in the moment, takes effort and sometimes courage. When we look and see, it is often not pleasant at first. This tension, this friction, is the fuel that makes theatre so exciting and interesting-conflict and dynamism wakes us up to this present life and leads us to act with clear intention. We can decide for ourselves.

Cleveland Public Theatre's 2016-2017 season invites us to awaken to the present moment and to ourselves. With theatre we experience the heart and the mind acting as one. The actor asks "what's my intention?" - but it's a question that we can all ask all the time. It's not simple, it's a process - that's the kind of theatre CPT excels at-the layered, the nuanced, the dynamic. Whether it's about celebration and fun, deep reflection, or a fantastical exploration, we are seeking a path from awareness through conflict into action... Attention: Tension: Intention.

CLEVELAND PUBLIC THEATRE's 2016 - 2017 Season

PANDEMONIUM 2016: THE FIRE WITHIN

One Night Only. Saturday, September 10, 2016; Cleveland Public Theatre, various locations; 7:00 pm; Tickets $150 ($85 tax deductible)

Pandemonium '16 tickets to go on sale July 5th.

Cleveland Public Theatre's annual fundraising extravaganza transforms the CPT campus into a labyrinth of theatre, dance, visual and performance art in every corner. Ticket is all-inclusive with fabulous local food and complimentary drinks served all night long. A feast for the eyes, mind, appetite and imagination - proceeds benefit CPT's groundbreaking artistic work and life-changing education programs.

44 PLAYS FOR 44 PRESIDENTS
Previews October 6 - 8 & 13. Runs October 14 - 29, James Levin Theatre

Written by Andy Bayiates, Sean Benjamin, Genevra Gallo-Bayiates, Chloe Johnston and Karen Weinberg. Co-Directed by Dan Kilbane & Caitlin Lewins.

High-energy, absurdity, delight and poignancy drive this chronological, biographical survey of the lives and presidencies of each of the 44 men who have held the office so far - featuring a singing, dancing all-female cast. An exuberant collection of short plays, 44 Plays for 44 Presidents was originally developed and performed by Chicago's Neo-Futurists and features live music, farce, wicked satire and rapid-fire storytelling. Audience members consider their role in shaping the history they've just witnessed, as they are left to ponder where the presidency has gone since its fall from paradise... and where it will go next. "[a] zany, clever, ambitious and often surprisingly moving historical catalogue." - Chicago Sun Times

TEATRO PUBLICO DE CLEVELAND (TITLE TBD)

Previews October 6. Runs October 7 - 15, Gordon Square Theatre

Now in its fourth year, CPT's resident Latin American theatre ensemble returns to the stage with their sixth major production. Performed primarily in English (and some Spanish), and featuring bilingual supertitles.

Y-HAVEN THEATRE PROJECT

Runs November 3 - 6, Gordon Square Theatre

The one-weekend only production at CPT is followed by a community-wide tour.

Cleveland Public Theatre's annual collaboration with Y-Haven, a transitional housing facility for homeless men recovering from substance abuse and mental health challenges. Since 1998, CPT and Y-Haven, a branch of the Greater Cleveland YMCA, have annually collaborated to create an original theatre production, performed by the men and based on their life stories.

LIGHT THE LIGHTS, OL' MOSES CLE! (A Wild Holiday Romp)

Previews November 25 -27 & December 1. Runs December 2 - 17, Gordon Square Theatre

Originated by Raymond Bobgan & Beth Wood. Multiple short works created, directed and performed by Northeast Ohio artists.

Ring in the season CPT-style with a vaudeville-inspired evening of holiday folly, mischief and merry-making. Staged in the round at cabaret tables in CPT's historic Gordon Square Theatre, the show will feature a rollicking evening of holiday-themed sketch comedy, live music and larger-than-life antics by an assorted cast of characters. Originated by Raymond Bobgan (Fire on the Water) and Beth Wood (The Loush Sisters LOVE Dick'ns). World Premiere.

THE SANTALAND DIARIES

December 1 - December 18, Outcalt Theatre at Playhouse Square

Written by David Sedaris, adapted by Joe Mantello. Directed by Cathleen O'Malley.

Join CPT at Playhouse Square for David Sedaris' acclaimed holiday comedy. The Santaland Diaries follows the story of "Crumpet," a jaded and out-of-work actor who takes a job as a Macy's Christmas elf.

ENTRY POINT
January 12 - 21, CPT Campus, multiple venues
Features work by various Northeast Ohio artists.

Entry Point is a new platform for artists to develop their work in the early stages of creation, then share that work with the public in a festival forum. CPT will connect projects to mentors who can help offer feedback and guidance. New Play Development

i Call My Brothers

Previews February 9 - 11 & 16. Runs February 17 - March 4, James Levin Theatre.
By Jonas Hassen Khemiri. Translated by Rachel Willson-Broyles. Directed by Evren Odcikin, National New Play Network 2015 National Director Fellow.

Something has happened. A car. An explosion. And a city is paralyzed with fear. But Amor has an important errand to run. He walks the city streets with his backpack and his cell phone, doing his best to blend in. But what looks normal? In this funny and fierce showdown with paranoia, I Call My Brothers offers an intense 24-hour journey inside one young man's head. What happens when the lines between reality and fantasy, love and fear, criminal and victim, become increasingly blurred? Regional Premiere

Barbecue

Previews February 16 - 18 & 23. Runs February 24 - March 11, Gordon Square Theatre

Written by Robert O'Hara. Directed by Beth Wood.

In this hilarious and devastating dark comedy by Robert O'Hara (Bootycandy, Antebellum), the O'Mallerys have gathered in their local park to share some barbecue and straight talk with their trainwreck of a sister Barbara, whose spiral of drugs and recklessness has forced her siblings to stage an open-air intervention. But the event becomes raucous and unpredictable as familial stereotypes collide with hard realities, and racial politics slam up against the stories we tell-and maybe even believe-about who we were and who we've become. "Fearless" - The New York Times - Regional Premiere

Test Flight
March 23 - April 22, James Levin Theatre.
A new 5-week play development series featuring works-in-progress by local and national artists

Test Flight is the mid-point of CPT's revamped new play development program. An evolution of the popular big box series, Test Flight offers both local and national/international artists the keys to the theater and the opportunity to self-produce works-in-progress, presented as part of a multi-week workshop series at CPT. New Play Development

THE ghosts of lote bravo

Previews March 30. Runs March 31 - April 15, Gordon Square Theatre.

A Spanish Language Production by Cleveland Public Theatre's Teatro Publico de Cleveland. Written by Hilary Bettis. Translated by Eva Tessler. Directed by Dante Fernando Larzabal.

Magical realism and the brutality of real life collide in this landmark premiere. Set in Mexico's Ciudad Juarez, where young girls often disappear-a mother reaches out to the terrify Santa Muerte for help in finding her missing daughter. Her appeal unravels the truth of the young woman's yearning, deceit, and unflinching courage in the face of poverty and violence. The Spanish translation of this play was developed in collaboration with playwright Hilary Bettis, translator Eva Tessler and El Círculo theatre of Mexico City, and Borderlands Theatre from Arizona through the National New Play Network. Performed in Spanish with English Supertitles. National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere/Spanish Language Premiere

danceworks 2017

Runs May 11 - June 3, Gordon Square Theatre.

Featuring Northeast Ohio choreographers.

Each year, Cleveland Public Theatre welcomes Northeast Ohio's most adventurous contemporary dance companies to the Gordon Square Theatre stage for four weeks of single and double bill performances.

RED ASH MOSAIC

Previews May 25 - 27 & June 1. Runs June 2 - June 17, Gordon Square Theatre.
Devised by Raymond Bobgan and Ensemble. Directed by Raymond Bobgan (Cleveland Arts Prize recipient 2014/Theatre, Creative Work Force Fellow 2014/Music Composition and 2010/Theatre).

Red Ash Mosaic is an experiment in theatrical form, with interwoven and contradictory narrative threads, powerful physical action, chanting and poetic texts - designed not to show, but to invoke; not a presentation, but a transmission. Beginning in the daily doldrums of a video game store, Red Ash Mosaic erupts into a fracturing of quotidian realities and parallel lives before launching into an otherworldly land of dreams, spirits and the awakening of one man as he confronts his own death. World Premiere.

NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT AT CLEVELAND PUBLIC THEATRE
The 2016-2017 season will feature the next evolution of CPT's New Play Development program.

In addition to the Entry Point and Test Flight series detailed above, an ongoing fellowship program throughout the 2016-2017 season, Catapult, is intended to help artists move their projects to a "production ready" stage through multiple readings, rehearsal time at CPT, workshop productions and/or invitational showings. Catapult playwrights and creators will be awarded a Nord Family Foundation Fellowship and play an active role in the life of the theatre while they are developing their work.

And, as always, The Dark Room open mic for playwrights continues the second Tuesday of every month (7:30pm at The Church at CPT), pairing playwrights with actors to perform (mostly) cold readings of scripts-in-progress in a fun, low-risk atmosphere.

The Cleveland Public Theatre box office is located at 6415 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, OH 44102 in the heart of the Gordon Square Arts District. Unless otherwise noted, all performances take place in venues inside the CPT campus.

The Cleveland Public Theatre campus is comprised of two primary venues - the historic Gordon Square Theatre and James Levin Theatre. Both mainstage venues are fully ADA-accessible, featuring a newly-installed patron elevator and the addition of gender-neutral, wheelchair-accessible restrooms.

In addition to CPT's primary spaces, the campus includes three auxiliary venues, the Storefront Studio, The Church at CPT and Parish Hall, the latter two of which are located on the east end of the CPT campus. Due to the historic nature of the Church and Parish Hall, these venues are not handicap-accessible at this time.

Unless otherwise noted, shows at the Gordon Square Theatre begin at 7:30 p.m. and shows at the James Levin Theatre and other venues begin at 7 p.m. For special venues and event times, check the website for details.

Single tickets are $12 - 30, with premium pricing for CPT's holiday show and other special events. Student and senior discounts are available for Friday and Saturday nights. For more information, go to cptonline.org or call the CPT box office at 216-631-2727, ext. 501.

Tickets to CPT's annual benefit & theatrical extravaganza Pandemonium 2016: The Fire Within will go on sale July 5th.
General 2016-2017 Season Tickets will go on sale July 11th.

Audience Engagement @ CPT
Cleveland Public Theatre's audience engagement initiatives seek to provide opportunities for our patrons to engage in meaningful pre- and post-show activities, towards enriching the audience experience and to broker connections between audience members and the art presented on our stages.

FREE BEER FRIDAY - Every Friday at CPT is "Free beer Friday." Audience members are invited to mingle with artists after the show to discuss the show and enjoy a drink or two on the house.

AUDIENCE INTERACTION - At CPT we believe everyone is an artist, and our audience interaction installations invite audience members to engage with ideas surrounding the show by participating in hands-on lobby installations that visually and powerfully transform the space for select shows.

POST-SHOW ENGAGEMENT - Curated community panels, artist talks and other post-show enrichment invites CPT audience members to deepen their experience.

For more information on the Cleveland Public Theatre's 2016-2017 season or to schedule an interview, please contact Cathleen O'Malley, Director of Audience Engagement and Media Relations at comalley@cptonline.org or 216-631-2727 x212 or visit www.cptonline.org.

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