Mark Morris is coming to the area and DANCECleveland, a Knight Arts grantee, is bringing him in. The Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Mark Morris Dance Group will perform at the Palace Theatre in Playhouse Square on March 2. There are so many cool things about MMDG, but maybe the top one is that this renowned choreographer makes […]
Article · February 27, 2013 by Roger Durbin
When we were leaving a performance of STOMP at the E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall, we were walking behind a woman whose high heels were clicking steadily on the sidewalk. I started using my playbill as a kind of counter rhythm to her constant beat by tapping it on my wrist and jacket and strumming […]
Article · February 22, 2013 by Roger Durbin
None Too Fragile’s “A Behanding in Spokane” isn’t in the “gotta see” category of one-act dramas, but it certainly is in the “worth seeing” group, especially because of the stellar performances by the cast – Michael Regnier (Carmichael); Nick Yurick (Mervyn); Kelly Strand (Marilyn); and Brian Kenneth Armour (Toby). As an ensemble, the actors bring […]
Article · February 20, 2013 by Roger Durbin
Mardi Gras may be just over with Lent rolling in, but Neos Dance Theatre will be keeping the fun the frivolity going with its production of “Creole Cinderella.” Representatives of the company say that Neos’ version is an “outrageous, silly and often touching retelling of the classical tale.” The ballet follows the basic original storyline of […]
Article · February 15, 2013 by Roger Durbin
Pearl Cleage’s play, “Flyin’ West,” which is being performed at Weathervane Playhouse, a Knight Arts grantee, tells the story about something most of us don’t know – what happened to many southern slaves when they were emancipated by Abraham Lincoln in the Confederate States and freed everywhere else later by the 13th Amendment (which abolished […]
Article · February 13, 2013 by Roger Durbin
Motorcycle riders can conjure up curious images: maybe as a gang of thugs drifting around looking for trouble, or a group of restless spirit young men and women adrift on the open road. The exhibit at the Akron Art Museum, a Knight Arts grantee, kind of sets the record straight, as seen through the eyes […]
Article · February 8, 2013 by Roger Durbin
Word has it that famous playwright Eugene O’Neill had a great first year when he got to Broadway in 1920 with his plays. One of the reasons was his second Broadway production – “The Emperor Jones.” The play tells the tale of Brutus Jones, an African American who kills a man and is imprisoned but then […]
Article · February 6, 2013 by Roger Durbin
Sometimes visual artists – sculptors among them – can come across as slightly vague when talking about their works and what they mean. Take Joe Bartram, who created a large space installation in Summit Artspace, a Knight Arts grantee, for public viewing but especially as part of First Night Akron (the big New Year’s Eve […]
Article · February 1, 2013 by Roger Durbin
Agatha Christie’s “Black Coffee” must be decaf, cause it lacks the jolt and jitters that most audience members and enthusiasts would like. While Coach House Theatre’s production of it cannot compensate for the thinness of the plot materials, it brings robustness through other production values – acting, directing, costumes and set. The narrative dances gingerly […]
Article · January 30, 2013 by Roger Durbin
If you like “talky” dramas, go see “Fiction” that is being put on by Actors’ Summit, a Knight Arts grantee. Unfortunately I don’t, and that’s too bad because the playwright, Steven Dietz, is a gifted scriptwriter. The language, the references and allusions to literary works and philosophical ideas – these are captivating and can keep […]
Article · January 25, 2013 by Roger Durbin
The current exhibit at Summit Artspace, a Knight arts grantee, might seem a little confusing from the handout enumerating and describing the installation. It reads as though the whole show featuring abstract painters/mixed media artists Michael Gable and Natalie Petrosky is called “More Songs about Buildings and Land.” In walking through the exhibit, you notice right […]
Article · January 23, 2013 by Roger Durbin