Cool Cleveland talks with Stephanie Morrison-Hrbek, executive director, and Bob Navis, artistic director of Near West Theatre about their impending move, after 35 years at St. Patrick’s in Ohio City, to a new theatre facility in the Gordon Square Arts District Fall of 2014.
Listen as the two creative forces behind NWT talk about their intensive process with young community members, engaging for weeks in advance of the production, embodying the themes of each musical they produce, creating trust and building self-esteem. Exhibiting how art can literally change and save lives, the alumni of NWT continue to return as they grow, creating multi-generational productions that reinforce the fabric of their community, expressing universal truths while entertaining.
Stephanie & Bob discuss their upcoming production Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, and considering the wide range of themes (war, death, loss, aging, loneliness, love), ask whether Brel is an idealist or a realist. In fact, he’s both, and the show, transformed from a 4-person cabaret act to a cast of 34, is a powerful expression of the human condition. Runs May 3-19, 2013.
http://www.NearWestTheatre.org