* READING BENEFITS ENSEMBLE THEATRE
Small theaters could definitely use you help in getting them through the pandemic. That’s why Ensemble Theatre in Cleveland Heights is presenting a benefit Zoom reading of Cease Not to think of Me by Molly McFadden on Thursday October 29 @ 7pm
Erin E. Dolan directs a cast of local actors including Samantha Cocco, John Busser, Agnes Herrman, Liz Huff and Paul Slimak in this drama about a pair of siblings who are each other’s only remaining family. With Bill’s alcoholism and manic depression spiraling out of control, Beth struggles with how to cope with his issues in a way that is compassionate for both of them.
Tickets are $10, although donations of any amount are very welcome. Purchase them here; you will be emailed a Zoom link. All proceeds benefit Ensemble Theatre.
* FRANKENSTEIN’S WAKE RETURNS TO CLEVELAND PUBLIC THEATRE
In my 2016 review of FRANKENSTEIN’S WAKE, I stated: “Holly Holsinger, in a tour de force performance, is captivating. Alone on stage during the entire performance, she transforms herself from a crazy sister of a wandering explorer/sailor into an ambitious scientist, to an abandoned soul desperate for companionship. Changes are highlighted by costume, makeup and lighting alterations. As characters die, thus increasing the character’s longing, they are wrapped in shrouds of white and piled at the top end of the runway stage, building a mound of isolation. The script and Holsinger restore Shelley’s original supernatural quality, rather than the sensationalized film’s interpretation.”
I went on to award her the Broadwayworld.com-Cleveland Honorable Mention: 2016 Outstanding Performance by A Female in Drama.
The show, as performed by Holsinger, will be streamed on October 30 and 31, November 8, 14 and 20 @ 7pm and October 31 @ 10pm.
Suggested donation of $1-$99.
* MAD FACTORY THEATRE STAGES RAGTIME
Oberlin’s Mad Factor Theatre Co. is streaming its version the 1998 Broadway musical Ragtime, with a book by Terence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Aherns and music Stephen Flaherty November 6-15. It runs Fridays and Saturdays at 7pm and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets are $10; they’re timed and one-time use. Email themadfactorytheatreco@gmail.com for more information.
*UNIVERSITY OF AKRON PRESENTS THE WAVES
The University of Akron theatre program presents The Waves, based on a novel by Virginia Woolf which follows six friends at various points throughout their lives with lush and vibrant stream-of-consciousness monologues.
Online showings of The Waves will be hosted November 5, 6 and 7 @ 7pm and November 8 @ 2pm. Tickets are free for all audiences with registration in advance, but seating is limited. To reserve tickets online, visit theWavesUA.eventbrite.com or make reservations by calling the ticket office at 330-972-7895 or emailing administration.arts@gmail.com.
* BALDWIN WALLACE’S MUSIC THEATRE PROGRAM TAKES ON SPRING AWAKENING
Baldwin Wallace University’s nationally acclaimed music theatre program will stage a virtual production of the Broadway rock musical Spring Awakening. Set in late 19th-century Germany, Spring Awakening explores the turmoil of adolescent sexuality, with themes of isolation, control, trauma, identity and enlightenment as timely today as they were when the musical premiered on Broadway in 2006.
Two casts will perform the show. The Wendla performs on Thursday November 19 @ 8pm and Saturday November 21 @ 8pm the Moritz cast performs on Friday November 20 @ 8pm and Sunday November 22 @ 2pm.
Get more information and ticket links at www.bw.edu/springawakening.