Thu 3/17-Sat 3/19 @ 7PM
Cleveland Public Theatre is known for presenting theater works at all stages of development, from readings to fully staged productions. Its series, Test Flight, is one opportunity they offer playwrights with works in development to take them out for a spin and see what needs to be done before they’re ready to be fully staged.
This year’s Test Flight 2022 runs for three weekends. They say “We believe this series is part of a larger story of CPT’s role in the national theatre field, our core membership in the National New Play Network utilized as a platform to launch underrepresented/under-produced playwright-creators (particularly women and people of color), and how this work is raising the profile of Cleveland as far as developing theatre that is outside the mainstream.
To conclude the series, they’re presenting Speak Easy, written and composed by Obediya Jones-Darrell, who also provided music direction for his own original score which combines jazz, soul and Broadway-type music. The play was first developed at a 2019-20 residency at CPT and was inspired by his move to the U.S. and to Cleveland.
The synopsis tells us that, “recently unemployed, Bernard drowns his sorrows at the Speak Easy when a mysterious guest shakes up a normal night at the bar. Bernard is faced with a tough decision; what is he willing to sacrifice to succeed? Set presently in Cleveland, Speak Easy examines the struggles of the average working person, the entrepreneurial spirit, and what success truly means.”
All CPT tickets are pay what you choose. Get them here.
cptonline.org/performances/seasons/2021-2022/week-3-speak-easy