'What's On' - Upcoming Shows in Cleveland and Akron - 3/1 to 3/31

DARWINII: THE COMEUPPANCE OF MAN
Back by popular demand, The Cleveland Public Theatre presents DARWINII: THE COMEUPPANCE OF MAN for 11 performances between March 1st and 17th in the Storefront Studio. All shows are at 7pm.

Argentine Cristobal has stolen the original Charles Darwin manuscripts from rare book libraries around the world. Why? Because he's convinced he's the great-great-great-great-bastard-grandson of the father of Natural Selection. As part of his sentence he must deliver a public apology, during which he digresses into a fresh and outrageous take on the evolution of man and the inherent human need to understand his place in society.

Tickets to Friday and Saturday performances are $25, while tickets to Monday and Thursday performances are only $10. Purchase tickets online at boxoffice.printtixusa.com/cpt/eventcalendar or by calling the box office at 216.631.2727, ext. 501. The Cleveland Public Theatre is located in Cleveland's near west side at 6415 Detroit Avenue, just minutes from downtown.

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
The national tour of FIDDER ON THE ROOF stops at Akron's E.J. Thomas Hall for two performances only. The curtain rises at 7:30pm on Thursday, March 1st and at 8pm on Friday, March 2nd.

The place is Anatevka, a village in Tsarist Russia. The time is 1905, the eve of the revolution. Tevye is attempting to maintain his family and Jewish traditions while other influences, including his oldest daughters' suitors and the Tsar pushing the villagers from their homes, act against him.

Tickets range from $32.50 to $52.50. Purchase tickets online at www.ejthomashall.com, by calling the box office at 330.972.7570 or by visiting a Ticketmaster outlet. E.J. Thomas Hall is located at 198 Hill Street, on the campus of The University of Akron.

GOD'S TROMBONES
Karamu House presents GOD'S TROMBONES from March 16th to April 5th. Evening performances are at 8pm Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with matinee performances at 3pm on Sundays. There are no shows on Good Friday or Easter.

James WelDon Johnson's poetic classic of biblical verses, "The Creation," "Let My People Go," "The Prodigal Son" and "Judgment Day" are dramatized through the fire and brimstone of seven galvanizing preachers with soul-stirring singing and powerful dancing.

Tickets range from $15 to $30, with discounts for students and seniors. Purchase tickets online at www.karamuhouse.org/tour-ticket.php?id=3 or by calling the box office at 216.795.7077. The Arena Theatre is located at 2355 East 89th Street in the Karamu Performing Arts Center.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
Actors' Summit's THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST will take center stage Greystone Hall from March 29th to April 22nd. Evening performances are Thursday to Saturday at 8pm and matinee performances are Sunday at 2pm.

In the 112 years since its premiere, this "trivial comedy for serious people" play has probably generated more laughter than any other piece of dramatic literature. Jack is Jack in town, but Ernest in the country. His ward, Cecily, is deeply in love with Ernest's ne'er-do-well brother who doesn't exist. Lady Bracknel rules all and is certainly not going to allow her daughter to "form an alliance with a handbag." Naturally everything works out perfectly and everyone lives happily ever after.

Tickets range from $19 to $30 for adults and are $9 for students (with a valid ID). Purchase tickets online at www.actorssummit.org/tickets.htm or by calling the box office at 330.374.7568. The theatre is located on the sixth floor of Greystone Hall, located in downtown Akron across from the John S. Knight Center.

THE MOUSETRAP
In celebration of its 60th anniversary, Great Lakes Theatre presents Agatha Christie's mystery masterpiece THE MOUSETRAP from March 9th to 25th. Weekday evening and weekend matinee performances are available.

Mysterious twists and thrilling turns abound when a group of strangers stranded in a guest house during a snowstorm discover that a murderer is in their midst. Whodunnit? Is it one of the suspicious newlyweds or the spinster with the curious background? Perhaps it's the architect, the retired Army major or the strange man running from his past. Enjoy an evening of exhilarating intrigue as Agatha Christie's greatest mystery unfolds to its surprising conclusion.

Tickets range from $15 to $70 for adults and are $13 for students. Purchase tickets online at www.greatlakestheater.org or through The PlayhouseSquare box office at 216.241.6000. The Ohio Theatre is located at 1511 Euclid Avenue, in the midst of PlayhouseSquare.

RED
RED comes to the Cleveland Play House March 16th to April 8th as a co-production with George Street Playhouse. Starring in this Tony Award-winning play are Bob Ari as artist Mark Rothko and Randy Harrison as his assistant Ken. Evening performances are at 7pm or 7:30pm and matinee performances are at 2:30pm.

Master American painter Mark Rothko has just landed the biggest commission in the history of modern art. But when his young assistant gains the confidence to challenge him, Rothko faces the possibility that his crowning achievement could also be his undoing.

Tickets range from $49 to $69. Purchase tickets online at www.clevelandplayhouse.com or through The PlayhouseSquare box office at 216.241.6000. The Allen Theatre is located at 1407 Euclid Avenue, the new home of the Cleveland Play House.

THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMN
THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMN, by Cleveland-based playwright Eric Coble, will run at The Beck Center for the Arts from March 23rd to April 29th. This regional premiere stars Dorothy Silver, the grand dame of Cleveland theatre. Evening shows are at 8pm and matinees are at 3pm.

Dorothy Silver, portrays Lillian, an elderly woman with a wicked sense of humor. Despite her children's attempts to move her into a retirement home, this aging artist is determined to spend her final years in her Brooklyn brownstone. Her estranged son, Tom, is forced back into her life after years of separation when Lillian threatens to burn down her home. THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMN is a delicate tale that walks a tightrope between sadness and joy, fear and hope, and love and frustration.

Tickets are range from $17 to $28. Purchase tickets online at www.beckcenter.org or by calling the box office at 216.521.2540, ext. 10. The Beck Center is located at 17801 Detroit Ave. in Lakewood, ten minutes west of downtown Cleveland.

THE WINTER'S TALE
The final performance of the 2012 graduate ensemble from the Case Western Reserve/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program is THE WINTER'S TALE. Running March 7th to 17th, there are eight evening performances and two matinee performances available.

King Leontes is consumed with jealousy, believing his pregnant wife Hermione has been having an affair with his childhood friend King Polixenes. He orders one be poisoned, another imprisoned and the baby exiled. What will become of the child as her true origins are revealed?

Tickets are $15 for adults and $7.50 for students (with a valid ID). Purchase tickets online at www.clevelandplayhouse.com or through The PlayhouseSquare box office at 216.241.6000. The Helen Rosenfeld Lewis Bialosky Lab Theatre is part of the new Allen Theatre complex at PlayhouseSquare.

Photo credit: Randy Harrison in RED. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

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