Charlies Big Summer

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7.14-7.21.04
Charlie’s Big Summer

Dear Friend,

In this week’s issue:
* Cool Cleveland Interview with Great Lakes Theater Festival Producing Artistic Director Charlie Fee
* Save 50% on the 7/29 Cool Cleveland party Downtown Living by clicking here
* Love. Moore. Bush suggests Cool Cleveland commentator Lyz Bly in Skirting The Issue
* Tuning In on the area’s best Party in The Park by Cool Cleveland music contributor Daiv Whaley
* Roldo LINK? on former Cleveland Mayor Ralph Locher

Cool Cleveland Interview: Charles Fee

It’s a pretty big deal for Cleveland: professional theatre Downtown in the Summer for the first time in 14 years, thanks to Charlie Fee, who arrived in Cleveland two years ago to serve as the Producing Artistic Director at Great Lakes Theater Festival. Now that GLTF is shifting its schedule to two summer comedies in repertory – The Taming of the Shrew and Compleat Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) previewing on Sat 7/16 thru 8/22 at the Ohio Theatre on Playhouse Square – he’s busier than ever. Read the exclusive Cool Cleveland interview with this theatrical titan by Cool Cleveland theatre correspondent Linda Eisenstein.

Cool Cleveland: It’s been a while since Great Lakes Theater Festival was on a summer schedule. What made you return to it?
Charles Fee: Several reasons. First, I think that the theatre district at Playhouse Square needs a summer event. As the first anchor tenant at Playhouse Square as a resident producer, we played our role for the first 20 years – and now it’s time to expand. Summer is the time of year where there aren’t as many events going on. We were a summer festival until 1990. This is returning to our roots. Second, there’s an awful lot of theater going on during the other parts of the year. We plan to bridge the main theatre season in the fall, with our September-October shows.

I’m hearing rumors about some street theatre you’re doing in relation to the shows. Tell, tell.
We want there to be a larger experience for the community than a play on the stage. The minute you arrive at Playhouse Square, you need to feel like you’re part of an event. We’ve been working with the city, with Playhouse Square, and with local actors to create a street festival feeling at Euclid & 14th. It’s not just that all the restaurants will be open, with café tables on the street. There’ll be performance pieces on the street – musicians, jugglers. Before every performance there’ll be the arrival of Queen Elizabeth I in a horse drawn carriage – “she” will talk about Cleveland and England. And William Shakespeare, our mascot, will be making public appearances all over Cleveland – at an Indians game, walking downtown at lunch, at corporate events…
Read the exclusive Cool Cleveland interview with Charlie Fee here

Miami String Quartet leaves Florida for KSU Looking for more security and the unique opportunity to perform as part of the Kent/Blossom Music Festival, the Miami String Quartet, an ensemble “in the top rank of America’s finest chamber groups,” has left their position as ensemble-in-residence at Florida International University for the “greener groves” of Northeast Ohio, where they will take up their new post as ensemble-in-residence at Kent State University. While a number of universities offered them a longer-term contract, no one could “offer them anything like the Blossom Festival, which was a big deal to them,” according to Frederick Kaufman, former director of the FIU School of Music. It’s nice to be the greener pastures for a change. See South Florida Sun-Sentinel here.

County arts funding deadline 7/16 It’s a groundbreaking first step in the drive for comprehensive public funding for arts and culture in Cleveland. For the first time, the County has instituted the ACE Grant awards using money from the general fund to offer grants for arts and culture programs and projects; any non-profit group is eligible to apply. Now that the County has offered the cash, it is time for the arts and culture community of Cleveland to step up and offer their proposals. Each of the applications will be subject to a rigorous review process, and will be judged against how well they stimulate economic development. Additional bids make the process more competitive, and show the County that there is demand for arts funding, possibly encouraging them to increase the $325K they allotted this year for the program. Have your paperwork delivered by noon on Fri 7/16 to the Cuyahoga County Department of Development, 112 Hamilton Court, Cleveland, OH 44114. For info, contact the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture at 575-0331 or jjgcpac@aol.com

Free The Vote In Ohio, you have the right to vote if you are not currently serving time for a felony. You can vote if you are on probation or parole, or even in jail waiting for a trial. Many people are unaware of the law, and because of it, many people do not vote. To learn more, visit Ohio Free The Vote Coalition at http://www.ohiofreethevote.org. If you’d like to help register voters in the County jail and the City workhouse, find out about training dates and the volunteer calendar for the Racial Fairness Project at http://www.racialfairness.org/voterhelpinghand.htm

How a Mayor helps Short of digging into the city’s empty coffers or their own shallow pockets, what can a Mayor of a major city actually do to help struggling non-profit arts organizations? New York Mayor Michael Bloomburg has hit on an innovative and successful way to help: he connects smaller cultural institutions with potential board members through dinners that he personally sponsors. “He extends the invitation, foots the bill and shows up for the entire evening. His presence lures potential donors and board members whom the museums and theaters have been cultivating for years, or have merely fantasized about. The hope is that the museums walk away with promises of private money.” What’s your Mayor doing? (see “Mozambique Needs Cleveland” below) Read The New York Times here.

Supercharge your 04/05 marketing Our audiences are avid readers who notice how au courant the Cool Cleveland e-letter is. Charismatic and always anticipated, this loaded package is passed around the Internet with multitudes of diligent readers anticipating its arrival each week. When it arrives in their Inbox, they spend an exceptional amount of time reading the Cool Cleveland news, events…and sponsored links. Want to be noticed next week? Contact Cool Cleveland and we’ll sit down and show you how guerrilla marketing works today. Drop us a line, and we’ll be in touch. Info@CoolCleveland.com

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Courting Your Dream House is what you’ll be doing when you check out the new construction townhomes available at Courtland Courts, which are located in the Bridge Square area of the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood on Cleveland’s near west side. These fabulous, tucked-away townhomes feature contemporary designs, open floor plans, 2-3 bedrooms, an optional 1st floor bonus room, 9′ ceilings on the 1st floor, and 1-2 car attached garages. With the reduced interest rates and 15-year tax abatement, it’s simply a steal! While you’re living in the neighborhood, you can re-discover Whiskey Island, Cleveland’s hidden lakefront treasure; mull over some of the edgy shows available at Cleveland Public Theater; and wheel on over to the new lakefront bike path that connects with Edgewater Park! For a complete list of properties and open houses this weekend, please visit www.ProgressiveUrban.com
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TwiFi unwires Tremont Case Western Reserve University has been getting all the press for having the largest contiguous WiFi area in the US, but check out what’s happening in Tremont. During the Taste of Tremont Festival this Sun 7/18 from 1-8PM, the group known as TwiFi (Tremont WiFi) will be onsite in a special tent in front of Tremont Scoops at 2362 Professor, complete with wireless enabled laptops- or you can bring your own- and a live-on-the-Internet webcam. When Mayor Jane Campbell officially opened the newly renovated Lincoln Park last week, it included the basic infrastructure for WiFi, but they still need your support to raise funds for equipment and broadband service. In the meantime, check out the new TwiFi logo decal at the four or so up-and-running hotspots in Tremont. To help, call 272-2937 or visit http://www.TwiFiNeighbor.net

Digital Museum of Modern Art from Cleveland Add another museum to Cleveland’s pantheon. But this one’s just a click away from everyone in the world. The Digital Museum of Modern Art officially launches 7/31 with its roots and founders in Richfield, Ohio. According to their site, the museum “can be accessed from anywhere in the world – from a catfish farm in the outfields of Cleveland to a high rise apartment in Kuala Lumpur.” While its mission intends to encompass “creative experimentation and new forms of visual expression,” it leans towards “adaptation of old techniques and processes to new forms of visual communication” or digitization of other art forms. Predictably, “the immediate focus is digital art, including art in digital format, physical art made by digital process.” http://www.dmoma.org

Lakewood SK8 park in jeopardy Are they trying to move it, or trying to kill it? After more than a year of negotiation, fundraising and wrangling, Lakewood City Council was set to OK a skate park at Lakewood Park. The SK8 park is fully funded, plans are finalized and out to bid, and they were due to break ground next month. Now Council says they want a SK8 park, just not at Lakewood Park. SK8ers are tired of being jerked around, and are organizing a march on City Hall Mon 7/19 at 7:30PM, in time for the Council meeting. Lakewood City Hall, 12650 Detroit, http://www.lkwdskaters.org

Third Thursdays One of the hallmarks of a great region is the number of free arts and cultural events local government and community groups host for the edification of the general public. So we’re pleased to report that University Circle, Incorporated is organizing Third Thursdays on the beautiful, newly renovated Wade Oval in University Circle, featuring well-known restaurants like Hot Sauce Williams, Uptown Grille, and Rascal House selling their signature foods while some of the greatest bands around play on the new outdoor Kulas Stage: This week, on Thu 7/15 at 11:30AM-1:30PM hear Matthew Abelson’s hammered dulcimer, and from 5-7PM, Cats on Holiday perform swamp pop from their new release. Then on Thu 8/19, from 11:30AM- 1:30PM, catch Doug Wood on progressive acoustic guitar, and from 5-7PM see folk rockers Anne E. De Chant (also with a new CD just released), Doug Wood, and Will Cheshier. Finally, on Thu 9/23, (actually the 4th Thursday, rescheduled because of the religious holiday) from 11:30AM- 1:30PM see Moises Borges (Brazilian jazz), and from 5-7PM enjoy Roberto Ocasio’s Latin Jazz Project. Come down for lunch or dinner, and hang out in one of the most unique and lovely spots in the world. http://www.universitycircle.org/Third_Thursdays.html

Some states get it…and then there’s Ohio. This article in the Christian Science Monitor contrasts the efforts of “two states in the industrial heartland- New York and Ohio- that have been struggling to create jobs.” New York state has invested $620 million of a planned $1 billion to create “the Empire State High-Tech Corridor,” featuring centers of excellence in leading edge technologies tying research at their state universities to the private sector: promoting Albany for molecular science, Rochester for photonics, even Buffalo for genetic research. And Ohio? Last year, Issue 1, which would have raised $500 million in bonds to fund hi-tech R&D, was narrowly defeated by the agriculture lobby. “This setback for R&D investment in Ohio seemed sadly consistent with its legislature’s recent record of cutting state support for higher education and shortchanging elementary and secondary education. Ohio’s recent lapses in education and technology investment – which have triggered despair about a “quiet crisis” and a regional “brain drain” of talented young graduates moving out of state – leaves questions about how Ohio expects to create high-skilled jobs for the future. Some states get it. Others don’t.” Welcome to our state. Read it and weep.

B-ware or your favorite store will close next Listen up everyone, B-Ware Video is closing its doors after eight years – they were the only place to get all the best B-movies, underground films and indie flicks. Everything in the store is for sale on a first come, first serve basis. VHSs and DVDs are all ten dollars each, plus you can pick up fixtures and tons of cool stuff, in fact there’s an entire basement full of it. As their press release mentioned, “and remember, please support independent stores or they will ALL be gone.” B-Ware Video is open Mon thru Sat 1-8PM at 13367 Madison Ave. Call 521-2210. http://my.en.com/~chrisa/beware.htm

Do you believe in marriage? As we all know, allowing two people who love each other to get married is one of the biggest problems our society faces today, bigger even than, say, our State’s illegal and unconstitutional school funding tax system. So it’s interesting to note that the group circulating petitions to put an Ohio Constitutional amendment on the ballot banning same-sex marriages is a couple of folks from Cincinnati and Lebanon, Ohio who call themselves the Ohio Campaign to Protect Marriage, which operates out of the offices of the infamous Citizens for Community Values, and aren’t even incorporated in our State. Funny name for a group that’s against marriage. See Gay People’s Chronicle here. And get on the phone this week to lobby Ohio Senators DeWine and Voinovich, who are still (unaccountably) uncommitted on the Federal Marriage Amendment before the Senate. Over 250,000 people are expected to call their Senators this week to let them know we don’t want discrimination written into our Federal Constitution. Get your talking points here, then call your Senators at 800-672-3184.

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Help the Animals Save some of the world’s most rare and endangered animals – and have a great time too! Join the Cleveland Zoological Society’s ZooKeepers’ Circle now and receive an invitation to the Zoo’s favorite attraction, Australian Adventure, for an up-close and personal visit with the kangaroos, wallabies and koalas; you can even take a ride on the Boomerang Line. As a ZooKeepers’ Circle member, your gift will help support more than 50 local and international conservation and research programs; and give you VIP access to other member events throughout the year. Join now and get an exclusive tour of Australian Adventure on Tue 7/20 complete with great food and refreshments. Click here for more information on how to become a Zoo VIP today!
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“County reform” effort submits signatures They said they were going to do it, and by gum, they did. Last week the Committee For Cuyahoga County’s Future submitted 74K petitions to the County Board of Elections to put a plan on the Fall ballot to reorganize County government and reduce the three-Commissioner structure to one County Executive and streamline other functions. The signatures will be validated to see if they reach the 38K they need to make it legal. Backed by area Republican leaders who have been unable to gain a political foothold in Northeast Ohio, the effort hopes to tap into voter antipathy; but County officials point to a stable County system, a $100 million budget surplus and a current process that allows for voters to make changes at regular elections. Read the wording of the charter yourself at http://www.ReformCuyahoga.com

Cinema Trek to Columbus As a reader of Cool Cleveland, you probably know that we focus on Northeast Ohio as a creator and exporter of culture, and we usually don’t spotlight out-of-town events. But we’ll make an exception to recommend you join the Cleveland Cinematheque for their first-ever Cinema Trek to the Wexner Center in Columbus on Thu 7/29 to see a newly-restored 70mm print of Jacques Tati’s Playtime— the Cinematheque calls it, “a wry and spectacular goof on contemporary urban life, with some of the best gags committed to celluloid.” Ticket price includes a luxe bus ride with video and reclining seats, with extra charge for gourmet box lunch. Reserve by Mon 7/19 at 421-7450 or tharry@gate.cia.edu. For more info, visit their site here.

Making Neighborhood Connections Cleveland is strong in non-profit neighborhood groups who serve their communities with programming and technical assistance. But staffing is minimal, budgets are tight, and with normal turnover, these groups can use some assistance themselves. This Thu 7/15 at 6:30PM at the Collinwood Branch of the Cleveland Public Library, 856 East 152nd Street, you can take part in the first of three orientation/information sessions designed to help neighborhood groups design effective proposals for funding neighborhood projects through the Neighborhood Connections program of the Cleveland Foundation. Other sessions in various parts of town are also scheduled before the next application deadline of 8/13. For info on other sessions, call 861-3810 or visit http://www.neighborhoodgrants.org

Cinema At The Square Big screen fun at small town prices. For 5 bucks a head ($4 for students, seniors and kids under 12), from 8/11 thru 8/29, you can see 14 of the best classic films of all time on the largest non-Imax screen in the state of Ohio: the 47-foot wide Hurly-Glo projection screen at Playhouse Square’s Palace Theatre. Not only are they showing traditional family fare such as My Fair Lady, Swiss Family Robinson and Singin’ In The Rain, but you can also see alternative favorites such as Blazing Saddles, Animal House, and The Godfather, for which you can probably leave the kiddies at home. Tix available at the Playhouse Square Ticket Office, http://www.Tickets.com, or by calling 241-6000. See the complete schedule here.

Farm to Table The Botanical Garden brings back one of the coolest events of the year. It’s their annual Farm To Table event, with 16 top Cleveland-area chefs in collaboration with the North Union Farmers Market, celebrating locally grown food, farmers markets and area farmers. Chefs from Cleveland’s top restaurants are asked to prepare early harvest cuisine utilizing fresh and organic local produce, and since this year’s event falls in the middle of the Botanical Garden’s first-ever Chili Pepper Festival, this year’s chefs are asked to offer cuisine inspired by and featuring the chili pepper. Participating chefs are from Parkers New American Bistro, Inter-Continental Hotel, Sun-Luck Garden, Flying Fig, South Market Bistro, Marigold Catering, Les Dames D’escoffier, Luchita’s, Fire, Sweet Mosaic, Ritz Carlton, Inn at Turner Mill Sage Bistro and more. Proceeds benefit Cleveland Botanical Garden’s Green Corps program and local farmers and farmers markets – as well as to the market’s purchase of a chili pepper roaster. Mark your PDA for Mon 8/16 at the Cleveland Botanical Garden, 11030 East Boulevard. Symposium on Eating Seasonally at 5:30PM, then dinner on the Garden’s Terrace from 6:30-9PM. 707-2874 http://www.cbgarden.org

Tremont seeks artists The annual Tremont Arts and Cultural Festival is gearing up for 9/18 and 9/19. And Cool Cleveland is gearing up for an Art/Tech/Dance party to coincide with the Sparx In The City Urban Gallery Hop, just like we did last year. Both the Tremont Arts Festival and Cool Cleveland’s party will be featured stops on the Trolley tour. If you’re a visual artist and would like to apply for a booth at the juried and invitational art show at the Festival in the newly renovated Lincoln Park, call 575-0920 or send e-mail to tremont701@yahoo.com. The Festival features visual and performing artists, music and dance, ethnic foods, community booths of area non-profits, and hands-on art and educational activities for children and youth presented by many area arts and community organizations.

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One Shrew’d Move Cleveland’s got an attitude. And the Great Lakes Theater Festival has got a plan: to reinvent the Downtown Theater District experience and kick off a new Summer Repertory on Fri 7/16 with William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. The repertory shifts into high gear when the same company of actors opens The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) two weeks later and performs through August 22nd at the Ohio Theatre in Playhouse Square Center. Can a theater company engage an entire city? Come discover Shakespeare’s Great Company – Cleveland’s only rotating repertory theater experience. Great Tickets are on sale now at great prices; $20 tickets for any show; plus, $11 student tickets – any show, any seat. For more information, please visit: www.GreatLakesTheater.org
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Hear the Cleveland Orchestra for free You could listen to WCLV or WKSU and probably catch some of the sweet sounds of our favorite local band, or you could volunteer to be an usher, greeter, ticket taker, tour guide or store volunteer for the 04/05 season. Interviews will be held 8/11, 8/12 and 8/17 from 5-7PM, where you can learn about the “opportunities, benefits and responsibilities of volunteering at Severance Hall.” For more info, call 231-7425.

Call for children’s environmental art Here’s one for the kids. The Cleveland-based International Center for Environmental Arts is organizing Coastweeks 2004, a national celebration of the nation’s waterways and shoreline, with special events coordinated by the Ohio Lake Erie Commission Office from 8/21 thru 9/19. One element is an art and essay contest for children portraying important issues about Lake Erie through art, focusing on the natural beauty, history and “future uses” of our fine Lake, with the theme, “I Can Help Lake Erie,” encouraging young Ohioans to “be part of the solution, not the pollution that finds it way into the lake.” Ohio students ages 6-12 can submit posters, collage, fabric or a variety of media up to 8” X 10” with a deadline of 8/15. For more information, call 440-891-8376. The posters and essays will be exhibited at the Great Lakes Historical Society’s Inland Seas Maritime Museum in Vermillion. ICEA2000@aol.com

Mozambique needs Cleveland Here’s the story: about a year ago, friends of Wendy Johnson, MD, the Medical Director for the Cleveland Department of Public Health, began talking to her about taking a job running the in-country field operations for Health Alliance International, an organization working on the front lines of the AIDS epidemic in Africa. The program in Mozambique, a country of 18 million with only 500 doctors and 400K AIDS orphans, was one of 5 initially chosen by the Clinton Foundation for major funding of $350 million over 5 years, because they could develop model programs for scaling up HIV treatment for those who need life-saving anti-retroviral drugs. After Johnson flew to Seattle for an interview and received a job offer, Mayor Campbell had the idea to throw her a fundraiser/farewell party to raise money to buy a truck to help solve the bottleneck of getting patients to treatment and drugs to patients. How can you help? Attend the fundraising party on Thu 8/5, from 5:30 to 8PM at Massimo da Milano, 1400 W. 25th Street, and wish Wendy a bon voyage and send along a little Cleveland spirit (and cash) as she heads to Mozambique to do the good work. For more info, call 621-0766 X 262

Cleveland Haiku Two years ago, Cleveland fireman and poet Michael Ceraolo published Cleveland Haiku, a lavishly illustrated and colorful chapbook designed to rotate on a spindle between acetate covers. Since then, it’s been featured in more than 30 magazines in print and online in Finland, Switzerland, England and all over the United States. The book features photos by Clevelanders Jim Lang, Brian Bodnar and Bree, and it’s published by Green Panda Press, which has also published poet Daniel Thompson’s The Rain Poet and Comforting the Dead, along with anthologies such as The Long March of Cleveland, Ornamental Iron, and Mac’s Turns a New Trick. Ceraolo will read and sign copies of Cleveland Haiku at Nighttown, 12387 Cedar Road in Cleveland Heights on Thu 7/15 at 7PM. All their books are handmade and bound right here in Cleveland. http://www.agentofchaos.com

Welcome Michael Bloom With the departure of Peter Hackett to a tenured position at Dartmouth, the Cleveland Play House has selected multiple Obie award-winner Michael Bloom as their new artistic director, fresh from his stint as Head of Directing at the University of Austin. It remains to be seen if he can stand up to their board and develop a unique voice for the country’s oldest regional theatre, and find the balance between stimulating artistic quality and box office success, both in short supply in recent years. Cool Cleveland welcomes Michael Bloom to the rich cultural community of Northeast Ohio. See Cleveland Play House press release here.

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African Cultural Spectacular Family-friendly entertainment and festivities will abound, as The Cleveland Museum of Natural History hosts their two-day African Cultural Festival. This event, which is held in conjunction with the exhibition Senenkunya: Many Voices, One Family, begins Sat 7/17 from 10AM-5PM and Sun 7/18 from Noon-5PM. On Saturday, featured performers include master drummer and dancer Assane M’Baye and Capoeira expert, Wayne Chandler. Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian artform, that combines dance-like movements and martial-arts. Sunday will feature performances by The Cleveland Tumbadors, who play a variety of Afro-American music and by the amazing, three-member Kombe Acrobatic Troupe. There will be craft activities, authentic African food and so much more. The Festival activities are free with Museum admission. For a complete schedule of events and artists please call 216-231-1177 or 800-317-9155 x3279. Find out and discover the nature of your universe at The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, 1 Wade Oval Drive, 231-4600. http://www.cmnh.org/senenkunya.html
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VIP Night at the Theatre Who says quality art, culture and theatre can’t happen year-round in Cleveland? Why do we find it necessary to travel to Niagara-On-The-Lake for the Shaw Festival and a good play? Now you can get your summer theatre buzz right here in Cleveland, as the Great Lakes Theater Festival reinstates their Summer Repertory with the opening this week of The Taming of the Shrew. And now you can partake in style at a discount price! Catalyst Strategies Night at the Theatre takes place this Fri 7/16 and starts with a preview party at 6PM at STAR’s sidewalk patio including appetizers, a cash bar and a chance to meet GLTF Producing Artistic Director Charlie Fee. At 6:30pm, you can join Charlie and director Drew Barr in the Ohio Theatre lobby for a pre-show discussion. Then at 7PM, watch for the Queen to arrive in her horse-drawn carriage. This VIP package also offers a chance to win a private horse-drawn carriage ride through Downtown Cleveland with the Queen, who will entertain any and all of your questions. To make a reservation, call 241-6000 and use code “Catalyst Strategies CS-1.”

Political Smackdown 2004 Looking to engage those who voted for Ralph Nader in 1996, and have a little fun in the process, The League of Independent Voters (sounds better than their former name: The League of Pissed Off Voters) is hosting Smackdown 2004: League National Convention in Columbus on Fri 7/16 to Sun 7/18. Find out more about organizer William Upski Wilmsatt here, and get more info on the event here.

Hopkins Gallery looking for art photos We’ve always been impressed when a city’s airport hangs local art that reflects the region in an interesting and artistic fashion. Now The Hopkins Gallery, located in the long C Concourse at Hopkins International Airport, is looking for photographs of Cleveland that would be on permanent display. Artists would need to print their work at 30″ X 30″ and pay about $30 to have the work framed. Generally we don’t list calls for artists that don’t include an artist fee, but the traffic and exposure at Hopkins is sick, and the program is run by Michael Parks, co-owner of 1300 Gallery, which has tons of cred. Chosen works will be accompanied by printed info promoting the artist that accompany each piece. If you’re interested, contact Michael at 269-6168 or michael@13hundred.com.

Men’s Chorus goes international Cleveland’s North Coast Men’s Chorus is going on the road for their first international appearance in Montreal on Mon 7/19 to appear “before 5000 of its peers” at the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses (GALA) VII Festival International, with works dealing with issues such as gay marriage, prejudice, bigotry and the gay rights movement. The 8-day Festival begins 7/17 and features over 164 choruses from Canada, England, France, Germany, Australia, and the Republic of South Africa. And Cleveland. http://www.galachoruses.org. Buy a subscription for the NCMC’s 04/05 season by calling 556-0590, or visiting http://www.ncmchorus.org

Imagination collaboration at CSU Here’s a great example of how the arts can work together. Back in February, the Cleveland State University Imagination Writers Workshop sent a call for entries to writers throughout Ohio. They selected 12 works of writing and submitted them to choreographers working in CSU’s Summer Session ’04 Dance Program. Each choreographer chose one written work, and created a dance around it. The result is the free concert Words That Move, taking place Sat 7/17 at 8PM in CSU’s Waetjen Auditorium. For example, choreographer Amie Dowling selected An Old Enough Song by Robert Miltner as narrative support for a video dance created in collaboration with inmates from Hampshire Jail and House of Corrections. Also check workshops on the creative process directed by top-notch artists like Joe Goode and Ohioan Bebe Miller. Contact Lynn Deering at: l.deering@csuohio.edu and call 687-4883 or email Chris DiCello dicello@lec.edu or call 440-375-7470.

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Cool Cleveland This Week
7.14-7.21.04

Send your cool events to: events@coolcleveland.com

Get away from it all Venture out of the office for lunch and get away from it all with a jazz traveloque featuring Cleveland’s premier jazz bassist, Dave Morgan, and pianist Marshall Griffin performing an afternoon musical Wed 7/14 at noon. Call 791-5000. Cleveland Institute of Music, 11021 East Blvd. http://www.cim.edu

Fresh produce, edibles & artistic creations After work, head to outdoor cafés and indulge in sidewalk sales at Coventry Village’s Farmers’ Market. Watch performance art in an outdoor theatre environment with street magicians and artists. Then stroll the sidewalks and listen to the sounds of Blue Lunch, an eight piece band playing 1950’s era swing, jump and Chicago-style blues. The band was founded by Cleveland Heights resident Peter London in 1984 and has performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and Severance Hall. Event begins Thu 7/15 from 6-9PM on Coventry Rd in Cleveland Hts. http://www.HeightsArts.org/projects/party.html#july

Cleveland Shakespeare Festival: Romeo and Juliet A modern translation of the star-crossed lover’s quest for happiness, which they can only achieve by deceit and disobedience to their parents. Mishaps occur, including some corollary deaths before the fated couple meet their own ending in love and in death Thu 7/15 at 7PM. Call 877-280-1646. Shaker Heights Colonnade, 3450 Lee Rd. in Shaker Heights. http://www.cleveshakes.org/onstage/04

3rd Thursdays: Summer Concert Series on Wade Oval’s beautiful new Kulas Stage that’s surrounded by live music, fresh food and a great natural setting. You’ll be serenaded by music and enticed by delectable food sold by your favorite University Circle eateries. If you’ve never heard hammered dulcimer, come out Thu 7/15 from 11:30AM-1:30PM to watch the technique and hear an unforgettable musi genre. Picking up the tempo at 5PM is the swamp pop style of Cats on Holiday playing till sundown. Call 707-5035. Located on Wade Oval Dr. in University Circle. http://www.universitycircle.org/Third_Thursdays.html

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This Friday, do not leave town That’s right…stick around. And if you’re not in town at the end of the day, come Downtown. Because once again, Sparx in the City is serving up a heaping-helping of street entertainment for your enjoyment. On Fri 7/16 head on over to the Arts Mart on Star Plaza at E. 14th and Euclid. From 11AM–2PM see the pride of Baton Rouge, The Brothel Brothers. This dynamic accordion and bass duo mash-up ska, Cajun, Soweto jive, Russian – you get the idea; they’re all mixed up. Plus, on Fridays from 6-8PM, additional performers can be found at the entrance of other Theater District events at PlayhouseSquare all summer long. So come Downtown or just stay after your day’s done. And see how Cleveland’s coming alive again. Besides, we miss you.
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Twentynine Palms A radical new shocker from Bruno Dumont follows a young American and his European girlfriend as they drive through the stark, desolate terrain of California’s Joshua Tree, stopping periodically to make love, explore, take pictures and then make love again. A combination of savagery and tedium, the film explores the feral instincts in humans as they’re exposed to the harsh desert sun. No one under 18 admitted, show happens Fri 7/16 at 9:25PM. Call 421-7450. Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque, 11141 East Blvd. http://www.cia.edu/cinematheque

Homicide Cleveland Style tour Think you’ve got what it takes to walk in the shoes of a Cleveland homicide detective? Haunted Cleveland, currently in its third year, presents a two-hour tour with a dinner and a two-hour slide show presentation on forensics and homicides. Join two Cleveland Police Homicide Detectives as they take you back to the scene of the crime and give a detailed explanation of murders that occurred in the city; hear true stories of tragic events and bone chilling details of disaster. Then break for dinner and jazz; afterwards you’ll see forensic evidence and homicide slides, some graphic in nature which may not be suitable for all viewers Fri 7/16 6-11PM. Tour departs from the parking lot of the West Side Market, W.25th Street and Lorain Ave. Call for reservations: 251-0406 and email HauntedCleveland@aol.com

Puerto Rican Parade & Latino Festival Summer heats up with three days of traditional music, salsa dancing, and authentic spicy foods. Connect with different aspects of Latino culture and the essence of Latino life; this year’s festival is being held in memory of Roberto Ocasio and there’ll be live bands from Puerto Rico Fri 7/16 5PM-12AM, Sat 7/17 noon-12AM, and Sun 7/18 from noon-5PM. Call 631-1081. Cleveland Municipal Parking Lot, South Marginal Rd near E. 9th. http://www.juliadeburgas.org

Ty Tek of Phrunky and Casa Del Soul Recordings If you missed last week’s Headrush Music Summer Series, here’s a chance to redeem yourself. Hear local spinner Deviant and stay on to catch headliner Tek who’s been blazing a trail of funky beats from coast to coast; armed with a killer discography of remixes and original tracks, he’s defined the sound of the future with his style that’s hit dance floors across the globe. Get out and get hit with Tek’s trademark techno Fri 7/16 from 9PM-3AM. Call 566-7278. Abasso Underground Lounge, 1222 Prospect Ave, inside Bottoms Up. http://www.HeadRushMusic.com

24th Annual Party in the Park Explore Northeast Ohio’s biggest outdoor free music festival serving up regional musicians kicking out hot latin, bluegrass, jazz, folk, swamp rockabilly, R&R plus ska and reggae to keep you jamming all weekend long in an open park atmosphere. Dig into eclectic selections of ethnic and American food while getting an earful of Robert Ocasio’s Latin Jazz Project, Lords of the Highway, Buffalo’s Redheaded Step Child, Cleveland’s Cats On Holiday and many more Fri 7/16 from noon to 1AM, running thru Sun 7/18. Food, art and local vibe will also be available. Located on the Square in Painesville. http://www.PainesvillePartyInThePark.com

Wet Oxygen featuring the paintings of Leo Grucza will be shown in Gallery Ü’s main portion of the gallery, along with the recent site specific spirograph ink drawing Becoming by Pittsburgh artist David Pohl on the south wall of the gallery. Grucza’s visceral abstract paintings portray water and aquatic forms as an evocative metaphor, arousing our fantasies. Critics have commented about Grucza’s work, Through the Glistening, “Translucent forms of fish-inspired human surrogates…create life-sustaining realms that both physically press on the body and which are absorbed organically and spiritually into its porous tissues.” See Grucza’s paintings that speak to our most primal connections Fri 7/16 from 5-8PM. Show runs till 9/10. Call 323-0085. Gallery Ü in the Colonial Marketplace ARTcade, 530 Euclid Ave.

Miss Saigon From the authors of Les Miserables, this 20th century take on the classic Puccini opera, Madama Butterfly, has become one of the greatest musicals of its generation. A moving testament to the human spirit and the tragedies of war, Miss Saigon is an international sensation…raw and uncompromising as it deals with controversial and contemporary issues. Opening night hits Fri 7/16 at 8PM until 8/15. Sun shows begin 3PM. Call 521-2540. Beck Center for the Arts, Karl Mackey Main Stage, 17801 Detroit Ave in Lakewood. http://www.lkwdpl.org/beck

Arts community reception & fundraiser: friends of Charlene Coates She’s the Ohio Delegate to the 2004 Democratic National Convention on July 26-29 in Boston, and the community’s helping her raise funds for her expenses to the convention. Artists have donated their poetry books, CDs, photography and services for a blow out party and fund-raising raffle Fri 7/16 from 5-9PM. Reception is free and packed with food and spirits. Raffle tickets will be available and winners will receive prize packages with gift certificates from Halite restaurant, Mac’s Backs Books on Coventry, free business cards, a party sponsored by Kwanzaa 365, poetry by Deep Cleveland Press, photography from Jay Brown and handmade jewelery by Lisa Green. Call 696-1942. At Art Metro Gallery in the Colonial ArtCade, 530 Euclid Ave. http://cmc213.tripod.com/charlenecoates

Taming of the Shrew She’s got an attitude, he’s got a plan when marriage, money and mayhem take center stage in Shakespeare’s uproarious battle of the sexes. It’s a clash of wits and wells as fortune-hunting Petruchio drags quick tempered Kate to the altar to become the wife she never imagined. Will love tame a shrewish woman? See what happens Fri 7/16 at 7:30PM. Get tickets in advance at 241-6000. Great Lakes Theater Festival at Playhouse Square, 1501 Euclid Ave. http://www.GreatLakesTheater.org

The Modern Midwest: Focus Forward is a series of multimedia events at the church property next door to Cleveland Public Theatre recently purchased by founder Jim Levin; he’s named it Orthodox Cleveland, and he hopes to present cutting edge stuff that everyone can believe in. For the debut performance in this unique venue, check out the aesthetic ambience connecting order within the disorder. It’s a night of live electronic music, futuristic hardware sequencers, drum machines, and eclectic D Js?, hosted by Ramzi on computer and dub effects at 11PM. Then he turns it over to Miss Switch at midnight, with cutting edge breaks and familiar remixes. At 1AM, Oozitron will perform live with hardware sequencers, drum machines, synthesizers, effects, and be accompanied by Bongo Chris, who organizes drums circles in Cleveland. Optomas slides in a closing set of techno at 2AM. Do more than dabble in multi-sensory performance Sat 7/17 starting 11PM and running way late. Orthodox Cleveland, 6205 Detroit Ave. For more info surf to http://www.RamzisRareAudioVisualExperience.net

Vintage Art Mart Go on a serious shopping bender with vendors like the Art Department of Lake Erie College and B.K. Smith Gallery’s vintage and collectible art books, one of a kind paintings by Cleveland artists, antique tables, materials for making art and vintage clothes. Uncover more treasures by ten other vendors selling hand made glass bead jewelry, CDs costume jewelry and handknitted fashion scarves. Make way for more art from Cleveland’s hep gallery ArtMetro selling jewels, music and clothing Sat 7/17 from 9AM-3PM. Entertainment by J. Scott Franklin and the irreverant sounds of Minibike will be provided 11AM-1PM. Also happening on the Lake Erie College Campus is Mathews’ House lawn sale beginning 9AM, located between Mentor Ave and Gillett St on West Washington St. (within walking distance of B.K. Smith Gallery). B.K. Smith is on the east side of Lake Erie College on Gillett St. near Phillips Osborne School. For directions and info call 440-375-7461. http://www.lec.edu

WCLVnotes This Sat 7/17 at 2PM, WCLV 104.9 begins a six-week series of broadcasts featuring the Rotterdam Philharmonic. WCLV’s syndicated arm, WCLV Seaway Productions, is also distributing the programs nationwide. On Sun 7/18 at 2PM, WCLV will present the first of two Encore Live broadcasts from the Encore School for Strings in Hudson. The second will be heard on Thu 7/22 at 8PM. Broadcast from the charming chapel on the campus of Western Reserve Academy, these live concerts, sponsored by AudioTechnica U.S., feature students and faculty. Don’t let the term “students” bother you. Many of the kids at Encore are tomorrow’s superstars, and Encore lists a number of name performers among its alums. a Cool Cleveland partner www.wclv.com

Studio West opening It’s not often that we hear about interesting artists doing interesting things in the suburbs, but this week is an exception. Studio West is a group of artists who meet regularly to critique each others’ work, and opening Sat 7/17 from 4-8PM, they are exhibiting the work of Marylin Barnum, Ellen Clark, Sheila Eckstein, Margaret Lewis, Martha Leibert, Audrey Otto, Diane Papay, Rita Schuenemann and Jean Sommer at Molly Gallery, 19483 Lunn Rd. in Strongsville. The show remains up until 8/29.

Solar Energy in Cleveland? Don’t get burned by the next blackout. Learn how to make your own energy by attending a fun two-day workshop. Solar energy basics, system components, permit and installation steps will be covered. Then, participants will get hands-on experience with photovoltaic arrays (solar panels) and workshop training will be led by Cleveland-based experts. Solar energy basics, system components, permit and installation steps will be covered Sat 7/17 and Sun 7/18. Lunch is included in the registration fee. 526-5545. Sign up at http://www.GreenEnergyOhio.org/default.cfm?exec=Page.View&pageID=963 or email Katya@greenenergyohio.org

Halfway to Australia Day Journey to the Land Down Under, and experience an array of Aussi-themed activities including: Mob Rules Boxing (learn about the distinctive way kangaroos interact), Nest Fest (witness the architectural skills of Australia’s native birds), Didgeridoo Performances, Aboriginal Art, Great Barrier Reef game and Gold Panning Shows, all happening Sat 7/17. Call 635-3366. Cleveland Metroparks, 3900 Wildlife Way. http://www.CleMetZoo.com

African Cultural Festival presents the cultures of sub-Saharan Africa with lively entertainment: commanding music, substantial art and an afternoon of high octane flavor. Taste African cuisine and soak up the performance dance and a fashion show; it’s a two day event happening Sat 7/17 from 10AM-5PM and Sun 7/18 from noon-5PM. Call 213-4600. Cleveland Museum of Natural History, 1 Wade Oval Drive in University Circle. http://www.cmnh.org

Karamu Performing Arts Theater announces open call for its upcoming production of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange. Seeking 6 African-American actresses and 1 Latina actress ages 19 years old and up are welcomed, requirements are that all actresses speak and move well. Singing will also be a plus, but not important. Also seeking non-speaking part for one dancer or actress/dancer who is daring, can move well and bring the character to life with seductiveness. Must be of a certain size (5’8″ or taller). Auditions begin Sat 7/17 from 11AM-3PM and Sun 7/18 from 1-4PM. Call 795-7070 x 241. Jelliffe Theatre, 2355 East 89th St. http://www.karamu.com

MidTown Cleveland Summer Clean-Up Be part of their visual quality initiatives that encourage public education, community beautification, and litter abatement programs, designed to engage area stakeholders in the organization’s efforts. Help create an environment that encourages commerce; the organization needs to recruit 100 volunteers from MidTown entities as well as Case Western University and Cleveland State University for their summer event Sat 7/17 from 9AM-12PM. This year, volunteer teams representing MidTown businesses and institutions will focus efforts on East 55th Street, Carnegie and Payne Avenues. For more information and locations of the Clean-Up Drive call 391-5080 extension 101.

In The Slipstream: Words That Move Cleveland State University Summer Session ’04 Dance Program and Imagination Writers Workshop present works inspired by and performed with poetry and prose of northeast Ohio writers featuring CSU dance faculty members. Words That Move is the kick-off concert for Studio Sessions ’04, a yearlong project developed to provide ongoing support for northeast Ohio artists in the creation and production of high quality contemporary work Sat 7/17 at 8PM. Call 687-4883. Cleveland State University’s Waetjen Auditorium, 2001 Euclid Ave. http://www.CSUOhio.edu

Throat-Singers of Tuva Catch the Cleveland debut of the remarkable throat singers of the South Siberian republic of Tuva performing otherworldly and spiritual sounds. Hear the textured voice of a distant culture rich with history that will transport you and hypnotize Sun 7/18 at 7:30PM. Cleveland Museum of Art, 11150 East Blvd. Call 421-7340. http://www.ClevelandArt.org

2nd Annual Taste of Tremont street festival in the heart of Tremont’s restaurant district, get acquainted with the best of Tremont’s food, art and entertainment. Professor Street will be blocked off, inclusive of commercial areas of Literary, College and Jefferson. Bring the family and lawn chairs to enjoy a day of music, shopping and sampling the cuisines of the neighborhood restaurants – dining al fresco without the need of reservations Sun 7/18 from 1-8PM. Located on Professor between Jefferson and Fairfield. Details here.

The 2nd Annual Heat Wave It’s the 12-mile inline skate and 4-mile run for those of you who want to burn it up. A healthy way to get you outside and moving; you’ll fly on skates and on land while getting in shape and seeing nature on the move Sun 7/18 beginning 8AM. Lorain County Community College, 1005 Abbe Rd North in Elyria. For info visit http://www.ncnracing.com

*************** SPONSORED LINK ***************
Cleveland – Walleye Capital of the World The 2004 Lowrance/Lund Pro-Am is coming to Cleveland, thanks to the efforts of local fisherman, Cyril Hill and The Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland. Over 200 professional and amateur anglers from 20 states and Canada will invade Lake Erie to catch the biggest Walleye! This is the first time the Pro-Am has operated in a metro area; come down to the Port Authority Boat Yard on Mon 7/19 from 6-9PM for displays of modern-day electronics, tackle, equipment and boats. There’ll be weigh-in ceremonies on Wed 7/21, Thu 7/22 and Fri 7/23 at Voinovich Park at North Coast Harbor and fans will be able to talk to the pros for tips on how and where they fished and popular trolling and rig set-ups. For more information and a complete schedule of events, please visit Lowrance/Lund Pro-Am.
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Engineering Green Building Conference has the best and brightest of the industry’s presenters in this two day conference. You’ll find product demonstrations, displays, leading green engineering speakers and presenters, plus networking and and practice-project sessions. Mechanical engineers, building owner operators, facility engineers and others will want to be there Tue 7/20 at 7PM thru 7/23. Call 931-9575 for time of events and more details. Marriott Key Center, 127 Public Square. http://www.EngineeringGreenBuildings.com

Send your cool events to: events@coolcleveland.com

Skirting the Issue: Love. Moore. Bush

Cool Cleveland contributing writer Lyz Bly examines politics, current events, art, and popular culture with an unabashedly feminist lens in her Skirting the Issue column, thereby “skirting” contemporary issues. Her latest installment Love.Moore.Bush examines male double standards, the media’s ploy to distract audiences from relevant issues, and American culture’s fixation with the absurd.

On Friday, June 25 as I sat in the waiting room of my doctor’s office, I picked up an issue of People magazine. On the rare occasion that I look at People or any of the other star rags, I find that I’ve never seen most of the people on the pages. This time, however, I was momentarily entertained, or perhaps disgusted, by a two-page spread on Courtney Love’s latest escapades. All of her newest dramas were illustrated with “outrageous” photos of Courtney drinking whiskey with members of her band, Courtney standing on David Letterman’s desk, facing him with her shirt raised, Courtney being passed through a crowd during an impromptu performance at an LA nightclub, and Courtney in court for assault and drug charges.

The editors of People are not the only people who are fixated with the actress/rock star’s lifestyle. Over the past several months, her image has been plastered on web sites, newspapers, and on television news and entertainment programs. And bring up Courtney Love to those outside of the media – particularly average white males – and you will hear a litany of criticisms of her lifestyle and character; most of them say, “She’s a slut,” “She’s a greedy bitch [for suing for rights to Nirvana’s material],” “She killed her husband,” “She abandoned her daughter.” There is no doubt that Courtney Love has led a troubled life, but most of the damage she’s done has been to her self. And if she’s a “slut,” if she’s greedy, so what? Why do these alleged character traits piss people off? Sexual promiscuity and greed are the American way (especially if you are white and male). Tales of the sexual adventures of most male rock, pop, or rap stars – Mike Jagger, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent – are not only de rigueur, they are applauded, glamorized. And in the 1960s, when Jim Morrison exposed himself on stage, the act only added to his status as a cult hero and a “genius….”
Read Skirting The Issue by Cool Cleveland commentator Lyz Bly here

Tuning In: Attack of the Painesville Party in the Park

Riddle me this: What has 60-80,000 arms AND legs, has been growing for 24 years in obscure, warm & sunny conditions, lures passersby siren-like with a variety of musical stylings, and distracts children with inflatable mountains, slides, climbing tubes while intoxicating adults with alcohol and all manner of unnatural treats to eat? And did I mention that the word Pain is involved? The answer is the celebrated, inundated, huge but best-kept-secret Painesville Party in the Park, happening Fri 7/16 from noon to 1AM, running thru Sun 7/18 at Painesville’s downtown square. This entertainment mainstay’s been around for almost two and half decades in a scenic city east of Cleveland.

This event was originally organized to help revitalize the economic and social aspects of the city; it’s a three day marathon that turns out to be a miniature Lalapalooza of sorts with morals…and tons of music. Or to quote Jeffrey Koski, Entertainment Chairman for the past four years, “Where else can you listen to 29 musical acts in a beautiful setting for FREE, eat great food, have a beer or cooler while your kids play in their own supervised area?” Well said, Koski! Jeffrey spends the entire year leading up to each event searching out and listening to local talent performing original and cover music, corresponding with potential acts, and attending a multitude of concerts. Koski strives to promote the original music scene in the region as well as represent the growing cultural climate in the area. As Jeffrey states, “Painesville is a very much a multi-cultural community. It’s important to find music that represents all of our population….Roberto Ocasio’s Latin Jazz Project was signed just weeks prior to Roberto’s untimely death. And Light of Day is a great Motown review band that includes music from Etta James to Outkast to The Funkadelics. I want all segments of our community to feel part of our event.” And the food Jeffrey’s referring to comes from the 20 plus vendors who are on hand throughout the weekend; then there’s the beer–from the beer garden, a veritable promised land where brew drips or bubbles out of the ground (from beer kegs!) And The Kid Zone is an area for kids; remember those giant inflatable domes you could bounce in when you were younger at carnivals? Well, brothers and sisters, the inflatable-toys-for-public-girls-and-boys industry has evolved quite a bit since then, now offering mountains to climb and climbing walls to mount, and slides, tunnels and adventurous good fun afoot for little ones. But it’s the 29 musical acts part that’s pretty inspiring…
Read Tuning In by Cool Cleveland music correspondent Daiv Whaley here

RoldoLINK
Ralph Locher, a Dose of 1960s History
Or Why Cleveland Mayors are Expendable
By Roldo Bartimole
In the mid-1960s former Cleveland Mayor Ralph Locher, who died recently, ran into stormy political times that likely no mayor could survive. He was as much a victim as culpable in a historic Cleveland election in 1967.

The political battle between a white ethnic mayor and an African-American challenger was followed by an election between the victorious challenger, the great grandson of a slave, and a Republican with a historic name, the grandson of a President.

Shrouded in the backdrop of this momentous election were civic machinations by business leaders, desperate to revive Cleveland to its former glory, but caught up in mounting racial conflict. A crisis for the Establishment often means civic and business elites have to take the stage publicly. Events force the “invisible government” of private interests to show their faces, if you look critically enough. That happened in the 1960s, as we shall see.

Having run unopposed in 1963 and having survived re-election barely in 1965, Locher wasn’t able to overcome the charismatic and charming Carl Stokes and hopeless poverty, urban renewal disaster, civil strife and the undermining of the business community. But we get ahead of the story…
Read RoldoLINK here

Instant Karma
Quik reviews of recent events
Going out this weekend? Take along your PDA and your digital camera. Scratch out a few notes to send us with a picture of it for our Instant Karma real-world reviews of what’s really happening. We’d love to hear from you. Send your stuff to Events@CoolCleveland.com

Pete ‘n’ Keely @ Kalliope Stage 7/11

What: A 1968 “television special” reuniting America’s Swinging Sweethearts — a divorced musical couple modeled on Steve & Eydie — goes comically awry.
Reasons to go: Two pitch-perfect performances make this campy musical a pleasure. Both Kathyrn Kendall (Keely) and Christopher Vettel (Pete) have the vocal chops and charisma to make you believe they were once headliners. They expertly show off the mix of quirkily arranged jazz standards and original novelty tunes by Patrick Brady & Mark Waldrop, and do the comic banter proud. Vettel smirking and finger-popping through “Fever” alone is worth the price of admission, and their “Battle Hymn of the Republic” is unforgettable. Costumer Kim Brown adds sequins by the truckload.
Caveats: Pete ‘n’ Keely is as fluffy as cotton candy — but the hilarious performances make it extremely enjoyable.
Backstory: This is the 3rd show of Kalliope’s inaugural all-musical season, and its best yet. The company has figured out how to use its tiny Cedar-Lee space to better advantage in an L-configuration. Artistic Director Paul Gurgol has made his living for 25 years staging industrial spectaculars from NY to LA, and his flair for tongue-in-cheek glitz and campy comedy makes this material shine.
Target audience: Nostalgic enough for the blue-haired crowd and funny enough for everybody else — a perfect summer treat.
Details: Kalliope Stage, 2134 Lee Rd, Cleveland Heights. 216-321-0870. Thru 8/8. http://www.kalliopestage.com from Cool Cleveland contributor Linda Eisenstein Linda@coolcleveland.com

The Mikado @ Cleveland Playhouse 7/7

Opera is so all-encompassing that even if one aspect doesn’t work quite as well as it might, the performance as a whole can still be an enjoyable experience. Such is the case with The Mikado, the second production of Lyric Opera Cleveland’s 31st season. This particular version was devised by stage director Philip Kraus and music dDennis Northway. Mr. Northway also generated the orchestral reduction from fairly large orchestra to rather smallish chamber group. It was a thin sounding on occasion but overall, played well. Visually and musically this was a Mikado guaranteed to send you out of the theater humming some of the most-popular songs. Story-wise, however, you might just as easily had a frown on your face, trying to figure out exactly who was who.
Read the review of The Mikado by Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz here

Mama’s Got a Squeezebox: LynnMarie’s CD release party @ Beachland Ballroom 6/18

This is not your grandfather’s polka. This new hybrid alternative-polka band LynnMarie & the Boxhounds CD release party for Wooden Heart, marked her 7th CD, making it her third appearance at the Beach. The 39 year old Cleveland native along with her 3 bandmembers put on a great show as they polka-rocked out tunes that crossed several genres like c&w, rap, disco. LynnMarie was nominated for a Grammy for her Squeezebox CD released in 2000 and this changed things. It led to an apperarance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno who dubbed her “the Dixie Chick of Polka.” An appearance at the Grand Ole Opry soon followed and her concert scheduled doubled. She was building up a fan base and fellow believers who also wanted to see polka music survive for succeeding generations. Hey–if klezmer music can evolve into cool, why not polka? After one of her concerts, one reviewer remarked that “LynnMarie is undoubtedly the sexiest player to ever strap on an accordion.” Her detractors claim that her music only gets noticed because “she’s a cute and fit blonde.” But listen to her music and decide for yourself. It was a great 3 hours at the Beachland Ballroom that night. And what an apropos spot for a LynnMarie bash. In its former life, the Beach was the former Croatian Home and lets give the new owners credit for keeping up the old folklore paintings. Great touch! from Cool Cleveland reader Ginny Parobek
slovakgirl5@yahoo.com

Yr Turn
Cool Cleveland readers write

Send your letters to: letters@coolcleveland.com

On the Tunick shoot Nice article on the Tunick shoot folks! I didn’t realize there was a photo with me so prominently featured in it! Hehe… not that I’m saying which one… Keep up the good work!
from Cool Cleveland reader Andrew Rothman drew@arothman.com

On how to pay for the arts Thanks for including me in your distribution of your Cool Cleveland newsletter; I enjoy it, despite it being a bit more left-leaning than my own sensibilities. In fact, the item (How to pay for the arts) prompted me to craft this friendly rebuttal: How to pay for hockey Here’s a noble idea: take in the arts, pay for professional hockey. Many in Cleveland love hockey, witness the tremendous high school hockey we enjoy in northeast Ohio. Yet the only professional franchise in the town draws very poorly. Some worry that the team may someday leave for greener pastures (or rather, whiter ice). So, let’s contemplate a statewide 5% tax on admission and donation monies currently given to the arts (especially to local museums, symphonies, zoos, and other cultural groups), which could triple the amount of revenues currently flowing to the Cleveland Barons. Read alternative point-of-view here.
from Cool Cleveland reader Jim Gilmore JimGilmore@aol.com

Thanks Cool Cleveland I wanted to thank you for putting the 2004 Election Kickoff Party, sponsored by the Cuyahoga County Young Democrats and Councilman Joe Cimperman, in the last e-newsletter. The response was overwhelming and I’m very encouraged and excited to see all the young adults who attended and enthusiastic about this election.
from Cool Cleveland reader Jessica Utovich, President, CCYD cuyahoga@ohioyd.org

Send your letters to: letters@coolcleveland.com

Top 5
Cool Cleveland uses Opticast tools to track which articles were clicked the most. Here are the Top 5 from last week’s issue, with one more chance for you to click.

1) David Giffels is an Akron native and co-author of the entertaining Are We Not Men? We Are Devo! Cool Cleveland Interview David Giffels

2) Walk to Coventry…from the Hampshire Condominiums on Hampshire Road in Cleveland Heights. http://www.progressiveurban.com

3) Summertime Downtown party Summer is the best time to party in Cleveland. So mark your calendar for Cool Cleveland‘s next Art/Tech/Dance event from 4-8PM on Thu 7/29 in Downtown Cleveland’s Warehouse District. http://www.corpmeetings.com/register/thomas/atd9/index.html

4) Dictionarians’ fave words for 2004 Merriam-Webster has announced the winners in their poll for the Ten Favorite Words for 2004. http://www.m-w.com/info/favorite.htm

5) Plain Press now online One of the truly independent journalistic voices in all of Cleveland, the Plain Press, emanating from the Near West Side neighborhood. http://www.nhlink.net/plainpress

Creative activism We want to credit our readers for stepping up and interacting with our city’s communities, rich cultures and happening events by reading CoolCleveland.com – way to go! Thanks for referring people you know to CC.com. You can also send folks to register for our e-zine at http://www.coolcleveland.com (and check out the new site) or have ’em send an e-mail to signup@coolcleveland.com

Change the face of your marketing and get your business plan revitalized with edgy internet advertising: CoolCleveland.com. Every week we reach tens of thousands of subscribers who are loving what we do, and prove it by visiting the links to our sponsors. Find out more by emailing us a note to info@coolcleveland.com and let us hear from you.

Hard Corps light it up and fire out Cool Cleveland with massive speed so you can enjoy your favorite in-box content week after week. Our dedicated contributors are a team who hit the city and make CC a reality. Props to Linda Eisenstein, Tisha Nemeth, Lyz Bly, Daiv Whaley, Bill Nagode, George Nemeth, Kelly Ferjutz and all our people who partner with us. Want to volunteer and contribute your writing to Cool Cleveland? Send your reviews, articles, or story ideas to: events@coolcleveland.com

See the Cool Cleveland column each month in Cleveland Magazine. Listen to Cool Cleveland on WCLV-FM 104.9 twice each Friday during drive time. Send your cool events to: events@coolcleveland.com. For your copy of the free weekly Cool Cleveland e-zine, go to http://www.coolcleveland.com

It’s a big summer for Cleveland, too…

–Thomas Mulready
Letters@CoolCleveland.com (:divend:)