Show #383 Airing Sunday, 4/8/07
We’ve got a gem right here in Cleveland. For 91 years, The Cleveland Play House has entertained us with its creative productions. Today we’ve saved front row seats for you as we get a sneak preview of both a unique festival that’s coming up, and the theater’s 92nd season. Joining us is the man behind the curtain, artistic director Michael Bloom.
Question: The Play House is not the same as Playhouse Square. What's the difference?
Answer: We’re a professional Cleveland based Theater Company, located on Carnegie. Playhouse Square has no actors on staff; they bring in outside actors.
Question: The Play House has a distinction among American theatres, right?
Answer: Yes, we're the oldest continuously operating theatre in the country. Next year we will celebrate our 92nd year of bring the highest quality professional theatre to Ohio.
Question: Your season runs from September to May. What will we still be able to catch this year?
Answer: We have two more weeks of Ella, a one-woman show starring Broadway musical star Tina Fabrique as Ella Fitzgerald. We co-produced this show with 4 other theatres around the country.
Our last show this season is a new political comedy called "Lincolnesque." It runs from April 27th to May 20th and is connected with this year's Fusion Fest.
Question: Can you tell us more about Fusion Fest?
Answer: It's a festival for theatre, music, and dance that celebrates new work. Last year, it was all Cleveland-based. This year, we are expanding it to include national works, though many still have a Cleveland connection. This year will include:
- Trumbo: Red, White, and Blacklisted, starring Robert Vaughn (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) as Dalton Trumbo, a blacklisted screenwriter who won 2 Oscars under assumed names during the time of the Black List. Robert Vaughn has written a book (and has a Ph.D.) called Only Victims that recounts the show business black listing practices, so he is passionate on the matter.
- A one-woman play written by and starring Iona Morris called For You. The play is about her father, Cleveland native Greg Morris, who was the first black actor on the Mission: Impossible series. She plays him in this production.
- The reading of a new play called The Free and the Brave that is written by native Clevelander Richard Brooks (who was an original cast member of Law and Order).
Fusion Fest, which runs from May 4 through May 13, is the only multi-disciplinary arts festival held by a regional theatre in this country.
Question: You are the Play House's 8th artistic director. How long have you been with the Play House, and what drew you to Cleveland?
Answer: This is my third season. The cultural resources Cleveland has are remarkable for a city its size, and that's a big reason why I came here.
We will be giving away a pair of tickets to see Ella. Call our Kitchen Conversation Line (1-877-765-1543) and leave your name and phone number. If you're our tenth caller, you'll be our winner, and someone will call you back. And if you'd like to learn about upcoming events at one of Cleveland's cultural gems, give The Cleveland Play House a call. My thanks to Michael Bloom.
