CLEVELAND, Ohio - It seems to be the year for revelations - from a White House leaking like the Titanic to long-buried stories of people of consequence who never got their due muscling their way to the surface of our consciousness.
Even the multiplexes have gotten the memo. The irresistible "Hidden Figures," inspired by a real-life trio of black women - a computer whiz, an engineer and a mathematician - who helped put Americans in space in the early 1960s, is now the year's highest-grossing Oscar nominee for best picture ($120 million and counting), surpassing the seemingly unstoppable "La La Land."
That same impulse - to celebrate those sidelined by bigotry or history or some combination of both - inspired Cleveland Play House artistic director Laura Kepley as she built the theater's 2017-18 lineup.
"The season," she says, "is really about stories that have been hidden coming into the light."
The shows, peopled with "characters who come from historically marginalized communities," says Kepley, are about what happens when those who have been pushed aside finally make their way to center stage - literally in the case of Viola, the plucky heroine who dresses as a man so she can tread the boards in "Shakespeare in Love," and symbolically, too.
When a black champion boxer challenges the reigning white titleholder to a bout in "The Royale" in 1910, how does Jim Crow America react?
"In all of the plays in the season, there's a lot of courage, bravery and generosity," Kepley says. That's true even in the face of unspeakable evil, in the case of "The Diary of Anne Frank," returning to the Cleveland Play House stage for the first time since 1997.
"My hope is that this season will remind us that diversity and multiculturalism and pluralism are our strengths," says Kepley.
Dramas that spoke to those American ideals quickly rose to the top of Kepley's list.
"We really looked at plays and asked, 'What are the plays that call on our best selves? What are the plays that inspire us to see each other and to make room for each other and to celebrate each other?'
"And," she adds, "to stand up for each other?"
What they found were a half-dozen works, three set in the United States and the rest abroad, filled with "rebels and renegades and misfits and geniuses," and, says Kepley, "joy in unexpected places."
Times, tickets and more
All CPH performances are in the venues of the Allen Theatre complex, Playhouse Square, Cleveland. Unless otherwise noted, shows preview the first week (Saturday through Thursday), open at 7:30 p.m. the first Friday, and close on a Sunday. There is one Thursday matinee performance at 1:30 p.m. for each production. Subscriptions are on sale now; single-show tickets go on sale in August.
Subscriptions: Full and flexible season packages are $262-$440. Go to clevelandplayhouse.org or call 216-400-7096.
Single-show tickets: $25-$95; $15 rush tickets for currently enrolled students under age 25 with valid student ID. Call 216-241-6000 or go to the website.
The 2016-17 Mainstage Season
Friday, Sept. 15-Sunday, Oct. 1, Allen Theatre: "Shakespeare in Love." Adapted for the stage by Lee Hall; based on the screenplay by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard. (In previews Saturday, Sept. 9-Thursday, Sept. 14.)
In the Academy Award-winning romantic comedy, young playwright Will Shakespeare is short on inspiration until he encounters the beguiling Viola, and their star-crossed love inspires a masterpiece.
Premiering in London in 2014, the screen-to-stage adaptation has all the swashbuckling action of the beloved Oscar-winning flick, says Kepley.
"This is just a great opportunity for us to get to do something epic," says Kepley. And by that she means a production that is "lush, lavish and lusty!"
"It really, truly is a love letter to theater. It's a romantic comedy; it's an adventurous romp. It is a sweeping romantic story. And it has sword fights!"
Friday, Oct. 27-Sunday, Nov. 12, Outcalt Theatre: "The Diary of Anne Frank." Written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. Adapted by Wendy Kesselman. (In previews Saturday, Oct. 21-Thursday, Oct 26.)
Staged in the intimate Outcalt Theatre, this adaptation brings audiences into the secret annex where 13-year-old Anne and seven other Jews evade Nazi deportation. For over two years, all that stands between them and the concentration camps is their trust in one another and the bravery of those harboring them.
"This felt like an incredibly urgent piece right now," says Kepley. (The play made its Broadway premiere in the fall of 1955.)
" 'Anne Frank' is a story we all need to return to and hear afresh. Her words compel us to stand up against fear, hate and intolerance. We hear her message in a way right now that I think is especially necessary."
That message has particular resonance today, says Kepley, in light of the Syrian refugee crisis; parallels to the Frank family, denied refugee status to enter the United States, have been noted by historians and journalists alike.
"Otto Frank's efforts to get his family to the United States ran afoul of restrictive American immigration policies designed to protect national security and guard against an influx of foreigners during time of war," wrote American University history professor Richard Breitman in 2007.
Adds Kepley: "Think about how many Anne Franks are being turned away . . ."
Friday, Jan. 26-Sunday, Feb. 11, Allen: "Marie and Rosetta." Written by George Brant. (In previews Saturday, Jan. 20-Thursday, Jan. 25.)
Sister Rosetta Tharpe, "The Godmother of Rock 'n' Roll" who influenced performers from Elvis to Hendrix, plucks prim and proper Marie Knight from a rival gospel show, and the two challenge one another on music, life and the Almighty.
The play by "Grounded" author George Brant premiered off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theater Company this fall and introduces audiences to the real-life, hip-swaying Sister Rosetta - a criminally under-recognized performer who could fill a baseball stadium in her day - on the electric guitar.
"The play takes place right as they've come together," says Kepley, "and this is the 90 minutes before their first show where they are rehearsing together and basically falling into a lifelong friendship and collaboration."
The show features high-energy performances from the duo - including riffs on that electrified ax.
"It's this really joyful piece about two strong women who have a strong faith in God." And, in one another.
"What I love about it so much is that it's a story about two women supporting each other and being generous with each other. It's not that old trope - 'Younger woman, older woman. Jealousy! Rivalry!' "
Friday, Feb. 23-Sunday, March 11, 2018, Outcalt: "The Invisible Hand." Written by Ayad Akhtar. (In previews Saturday, Feb. 17-Thursday, Feb. 22.)
In this geopolitical thriller from Pulitzer Prize-winner Ayad Akhtar, American investment banker Nick Bright risks everything to return to his family. Held hostage in Pakistan by Islamic jihadists, his last chance for freedom depends on his ability to play the stock market to benefit his captors.
Just as Akhtar's "Disgraced" forced audiences to think about identity and radicalism in a new way, his "Invisible Hand" takes a hard look at the intersection of terrorism and capitalism.
"It is suspenseful and so intelligent," says Kepley. The play, she adds, asks some provocative questions, namely, what sorts of conditions breed terrorism? And, what role might we be playing in the creation of those conditions?
Expect to engage in spirited debates after the show. "It's definitely one of those pieces that switches our perspective and lets us think about things in a way we haven't."
Friday, April 20- Sunday, May 6, 2018, Allen: "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." Music and lyrics by William Finn. Book by Rachel Sheinkin. (In previews Saturday, April 14-Thursday, April 19.)
Six middle-school misfits are thrown into a cutthroat, high-stakes competition, and it's P-A-N-D-E-M-O-N-I-U-M at the county spelling bee, where eccentric adolescents get their chance to shine as they vie for a shot at nationals.
The Tony Award-winning musical offers up a glorious collection of oddballs and outliers crooning toe-tapping ditties such as "My Friend, The Dictionary," "I Speak Six Languages" and "Chip's Lament," also known as "My Unfortunate Erection."
"There's something so delightful about just letting your weirdness be your strength and letting yourself be who you are," says Kepley.
Friday, May 11-Sunday, May 27, 2018, Allen: "The Royale." Written by Marco Ramirez. Anchor production of the 2018 New Ground Theatre Festival. (In previews Saturday, May 5-Thursday, May 10.)
It's 1910, and Negro Heavyweight Champion Jay "The Sport" Jackson is determined to prove he is equal to his white counterpart - in the ring and in life. Challenging his rival to "The Fight of the Century," Jay knows that even if he wins the bout, the battle for acceptance won't end. Inspired by groundbreaking sports legend Jack Johnson, the play takes audiences inside the ring.
"The Royale" made its New York premiere last year at Lincoln Center Theater, clocking in at a taut 80 minutes and featuring five actors.
Kepley was drawn to its spare physicality and psychological reality. "You get inside the fighters' heads in this really extraordinary way," she says.
Special non-subscription Holiday Engagement
Friday, Dec. 1- Saturday, Dec. 23, 2017, Allen: "A Christmas Story." Written by Philip Grecian. Based on the motion picture written by Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown and Bob Clark. (In previews Friday, Nov. 24-Thursday, Nov. 30.)
The record-breaking show returns to the Allen Theatre stage in all its pink-bunny-suit, glowing-leg-lamp, triple-dog-daring glory. (And let's not forget Ralphie's turkey-loving, frickin'-frackin' Old Man.)
The play, fast becoming a Playhouse Square holiday tradition, is one of the best ways to get newcomers to come to America's first regional theater, says Kepley.
"We ask the question during live curtain speeches - 'How many of you are here at Cleveland Play House for the first time?' - and more than half the hands go up.
"I think it's a point of Cleveland pride. It's a Cleveland story, and it's an American story."
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
