Laugh with Chekhov from Western Reserve, listen to ‘Lady Molly’ with Ohio Shakespeare
Anton Chekhov is most famous for his dramas, including "The Seagull." Western Reserve Playhouse, which produced that show virtually in October, is now jumping into the turn-of-the-century playwright's comedies with the three shorts "On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco," "The Bear" and "The Swan Song."
The night of Russian comedic sketches, dubbed "Fragments of Farce," will run at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Stories about human foibles include a man whose speech about the evils of tobacco turns into a complaint about his overbearing wife; a man and a widow whose argument over money turns into a duel to the death, and possibly love; and a finale with a stage actor and servant discussing a life of theater.
August Scarpelli will direct and Lauren Koleszar will assistant direct. The cast features Dayshawnda Ash, Robert Haag, Megan Kern, Arcale Peace, Abigail Stevenson and Lana Sugarman.
The show, which runs about an hour, will be livestreamed. Cost is $10. See the theater's attractive, newly redesigned website at www.thewrp.org.
‘Lady Molly‘
Ohio Shakespeare Festival is continuing its quarantine radio plays with "Lady Molly: The Murder at Mathis Cafe." The Edwardian detective mystery featuring the brilliant Lady Molly is a sequel to last month's "Molly of Scotland Yard."
The company's latest radio play, to premiere on Facebook at 7 p.m. Saturday, weaves a tale of poisoned hot chocolate, fancy hats and secret lovers. It stars Madelyn Hayes and Rachel Maria Inés, along with Allison Osborne-Nurse, Tess Burgler, Natalie Steen, DeLee Cooper, Tim Keo, James Rankin and John Peters.
The radio play is adapted by local playwright Julia Fisher from the 1910 stories by Emma Orczy. It may be heard after Saturday on Facebook or at www.ohioshakespeare.com/quarantine-radio-plays.
‘Shuffle Along‘
Karamu House and The Musical Theater Project are celebrating Black History Month with the free streaming of "The Impact of 'Shuffle Along,' " a musical documentary and broadcast of the 2019 concert performance that marked the Cleveland organizations' first collaboration.
The streamed concert event celebrates the centennial anniversary of "Shuffle Along," one of the first Broadway productions created and performed entirely by Black artists. Streaming is available on demand through the rest of the month at www.karamuhouse.org.
Karamu President and CEO Tony Sias and project Founding Director Bill Rudman co-host. The show delves into the genius of composer Eubie Blake (1887-1983) and lyricist Noble Sissle (1889-1975), his longtime partner. Blake, the son of slaves, composed his first ragtime piano piece, "The Charleston Rag," in 1899 and was still going strong at age 90.
The trailblazing "Shuffle Along," considered the first jazz musical, launched the careers of Black artists including Josephine Baker and Paul Robeson. Karamu and The Musical Theater Project's multimedia concert includes a 1973 clip of Blake playing "(I'm Just Wild) About Harry" from the hit musical and segues into "I'm Just Simply Full of Jazz" at Karamu, which includes vocals by Sias.
The musical, a satire on small-town politics, was so popular when it premiered in 1921 at Daly's 63rd Street Theatre, 63rd Street was changed to one way to accommodate the traffic.
Sissle and Blake, who had worked together as a vaudeville act, incorporated vaudevillian elements into "Shuffle Along." Blake played piano in the orchestra and Sissle played Tom Sharper on stage.
"The Impact of Shuffle Along" also features background on the 2016 Broadway show "Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed," including commentary from librettist/director George C. Wolfe as well as star Audra McDonald.
Karamu and The Musical Theater Project's concert event also features the Joe Hunter Trio with guest pianist George Foley and vocalists Evelyn Wright, Treva Offutt and Justin Woody.
‘Going Solo’
Verb Ballets will premiere the virtual performance "Going Solo," which features each of its dancers in a solo role, at 7 p.m. Feb. 26. The show will include Jose Limon's "Dances for Isadora" to commemorate the Limon company's 75th anniversary.
The dance, which was first performed at the Cleveland Museum of Art in 1971, is a series of solos that evoke different periods of the artistic and personal life of Isadora Duncan, whom Limon regarded as his dance mother. Natalie Desch, who was a dancer with the Limon company, was the reconstructor for "Dances for Isadora" for the women of Verb Ballets, working with them via Zoom from Utah.
Other pieces on the Feb. 26 program will be folk dances staged by Inna Stabrova, including a Spanish "Hota" for the Verb men and a Ukrainian folk dance for the full company. The Verb women also will be featured in a suite of solo variations from the full-length ballet "Paquita" and Verb Associate Artistic Director Richard Dickinson will premiere his contemporary ballet "Sometimes, Always" for the all-male ballet ensemble.
Cost is $25 or $10 for students. See https://verbballets.org/going-solo/.
In more Verb news, Sikhumbuzo Hlahleni has joined the company from Capetown, South Africa as part of the 2021 International Cultural Exchange Program. He will be sharing South Africa's dance traditions with the company.
‘Jump Back Together’
Playhouse Square Partners is celebrating its 30th anniversary with the virtual cabaret "Party Apart to Jump Back Together," a benefit for education programs at 7 p.m. Feb. 27. Broadway Sings will perform an evening of Broadway show tunes by six actors who have Cleveland connections.
All have performed on Broadway and/or national tour. They are Max Chernin of Shaker Heights, who performed in "Sunday in the Park with George" on Broadway; Warren Egypt Franklin of Cleveland, a Baldwin Wallace graduate who made his national tour debut as Lafayette/Jefferson in "Hamilton;" and Keri Rene Fuller, a BW grad who appeared in "Waitress" and "Jagged Little Pill" on Broadway and as Grizabella in the national tour of "Cats."
Rounding out the cast are Baldwin Wallace grad Corey Mach, who grew up in Strongsville and appeared in "Kinky Boots," "Hands on a Hardbody" and "Godspell on Broadway; Dee Roscioli, known for her role as Elphaba in "Wicked" who sang "Defying Gravity" as Playhouse Square's GE Chandelier was first lit on Euclid Avenue in 2014; and BW grad Nyla Watson of Cleveland, who toured with "Wicked" and "The Color Purple."
Cost is $25 for Playhouse Square Partners or annual donors, and $30 for the public. VIP admission of $75-$100 includes a Zoom Q&A session with performers. See https://www.playhousesquare.org/ for reservations.
Jazz with Diehl
Jazz pianist Aaron Diehl, a Columbus native, will be featured in a free virtual concert at 2 p.m. Sunday as the Tri-C Classical Piano Series honors Black History Month. Diehl, 35, is a classically trained pianist and composer who's known as a preeminent interpreter of the Great American Songbook.
Diehl — whom I was delighted to see perform George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" with the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom in 2019 — on Sunday will honor the musical legacies of famous Black composers including Fats Waller, Willie "The Lion" Smith, Mary Lou Williams, John Lewis and William Grant Still.
See tri-c.edu/performingarts Sunday to view the recital, which was pre-recorded in the auditorium at the Tri-C Metropolitan Campus.
Get a ‘Clue'
This weekend, Cassidy Theatre will stream the farcical murder mystery "Clue: Stay At Home Edition," directed by Chris Bizub.
The show, based on the 1985 Paramount movie and inspired by the classic Hasbro game, will stream Friday through Sunday. Cost is $15; see www.cassidytheatre.com/clue.
In other "Clue" news, University of Akron Theatre's cast is rehearsing for its production of the whodunit, directed by associate lecturer Dane Leasure and running March 4-13. More information TBA.
Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Laugh with Chekhov, listen to 'Lady Molly' in shows this weekend
