Cleveland State University Summer Stages, downtown Cleveland's only professional summer theatre company, is proud to announce its third season, returning with another three shows this summer, operating in rotating repertory with a five week run.
Our flagship musical is Return to the Forbidden Planet, written by Bob Carlton, directed by Program Chair Dr. Michael L. Mauldin, a 50’s/60’s jukebox musical which combines the science fiction movie Forbidden Planet with Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Dr. Mauldin was previously seen as Captain Hook in the Beck Center's production of Peter Pan and in CSU Summer Stages' Rough Crossing.
We will also be presenting the farcical Chekhov in Yalta, by Jeffrey Haddow and John Driver, directed by Cleveland Playhouse Education Director Cathy Hartenstein, full of low comedy and high tragedy, this historically-informed comedy features famed playwright Anton Chekhov and Stanislavsky’s Moscow Art Theatre.
Rounding out the season is the 1977 Pulitzer and Tony Award winning drama The Shadow Box, by Michael Cristofer, directed by Everett Quinton. The Shadow Box, full of hope and heartbreak, tells the story of three very different families each facing an impending death in their own unique way. New York legend Everett Quinton is a founding member of CSU Summer Stages and has been seen in every CSU Summer Stages production except for last year's hit Dark of the Moon, which he directed.
Being the resident theatre company of CSU, much of the cast and crew is composed of CSU Dramatic Arts students and alumni. After bringing in actors, directors and choreographers from New York and California for two seasons, we have refocused our efforts on local growth, and we are proud to announce that we are the biggest summer employer of union actors in the region. A significant presence in the downtown arts scene, CSU Summer Stages presence will only expand when CSU’s Dramatic Arts’ proposed move to Playhouse Square Center’s Allen Theatre.
The shows run in rotating repertory from July 9th through August 9th, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets are $15 each, and discounts are available for season tickets and groups of ten or more. Free street parking is available, and parking in CSU lot S1 (East 24th Street between Chester & Payne) is only $4, with a coupon available at www.csuohio.edu/theater.
Box office: 216.687.2109
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CSU Summer Stages 2010 season officially began rehearsals on Tuesday. Our student Apprentice Company begins every day with vigorous warmups, including yoga with company member Geoff Knox and intense cardio. As I write this, director Scott Spence is in the rehearsal studio with apprentice Eric Perusek (Jonathan) and Everett Quinton (Jonathan's mother, Madame Rosepettle) working on Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad. Later this afternoon, Eric will be rehearsing The Elephant Man with Everett before he goes off to the gym to continue preparing himself for the physically demanding role of the grotesquely misshapen John Merrick. At that time (and until long after I've gone home), Dr. Michael Mauldin, the producer of CSU Summer Stages and director of Curtains, steps in with music director John Kroll to continue music rehearsals with the cast. In the meantime, shop supervisor Aaron Benson works with his team of carpenters and electricians to build new CSU faculty member Russ Borski's elaborate set and lighting design, while costume shop supervisor Terry Pieritz and costume designer Ali Garrigan continue sewing, ordering, measuring and altering.
In the coming weeks, you'll get to meet the cast, directors, designers and crew and see three amazing shows come together for a truly spectacular summer of theatre. Until next time...
