Mystery, Magic, and Mayhem come to the Stage for CPH 2022-2023 Season
Posted March 25, 2022 in Press Releases
CPH’s 107th season will include world premieres by Charly Evon Simpson and Ken Ludwig, regional premieres by Lauren Yee and José Cruz González, and an uplifting solo show about Dr. Ruth.
(Cleveland, OH) Cleveland Play House is proud to announce its 2022-2023 Season, which includes a dynamic and diverse lineup of new American plays. The Tony Award recipient will continue its commitment to producing thoughtful, entertaining, and relevant plays through an eclectic five-play season beginning in September 2022. The schedule includes two world premieres, one inspiring solo show, one darkly funny sports drama, and one contemporary play with exhilarating music. CPH’s 2022-23 mainstage selections will include uplifting works from José Cruz González, Ken Ludwig, Charly Evon Simpson, Mark St. Germain, and Lauren Yee.
CPH Artistic Director Laura Kepley says CPH’s 107th season is about discovery, growth, and overcoming impossible odds. “Our 106th season saw the return of live theatre in our performances spaces – from Where Did We Sit on the Bus? and Light It Up! in the fall, to finally being able to produce the reimagined Greek tragedy, Antigone this March – we were thrilled to gather with you for our ‘Homecoming’ season at CPH. Today, we are elated to share with you our incredible 2022-2023 mainstage season!”
Kepley says, “At the heart of each play is a mystery — a missing piece that characters must find through unexpected partnerships, surprising reunions, and daring adventures. You’ll experience live music and theatrical magic, travel from the 1860s to 1980s to the present day, and engage with cultures close to home and spread across the globe. And our compelling new season also continues our commitment to telling stories by and featuring artists of color.”
The season begins in the Allen Theatre with the heart-warming comedy, American Mariachi, a jubilant, new play with music by José Cruz González that follows one woman’s quest to start an all-female mariachi band. In October, cultures clash on the basketball court in the comic sports drama, The Great Leap by Lauren Yee in the intimate Outcalt Theatre. Inspired by Cleveland’s past, present, and future, the world premiere of the family drama, I’m Back Now by Charly Evon Simpson comes to life on the Allen stage in February. In April, the Outcalt will become the home of Theater J’s production of Becoming Dr. Ruth, a heartfelt solo play by Mark St. Germain chronicling the surprising life of the iconic sex therapist. And the season concludes in the spring with another world premiere that features the triumphant return of a legendary detective, Ken Ludwig’s Moriarty: A New Sherlock Holmes Mystery.
To learn more about Cleveland Play House’s captivating 2022-23 mainstage season, please visit www.clevelandplayhouse.com.
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CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE
2022-2023 MAINSTAGE SEASON
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American Mariachi
By José Cruz González
September 17-October 9, 2022
Allen Theatre
“Familia. Amor. Tradición.” These values are at the heart of mariachi music and the community where Lucha cares for her mother battling dementia. So when an old mariachi recording reawakens her mother’s memory, Lucha vows to learn and perform the song live. Join Lucha as she recruits band members, tracks down instruments, and stands up to long-held traditions to make her dream a reality. Set in the 1970s and performed with live music and plenty of humor, American Mariachi is a joyous, heartwarming story of family, memory, and the power of song.
“It tells a universal story as it also celebrates a community often marginalized in the arts, and for that, American Mariachi deserves enduring respect.” – Chicago Sun Times
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The Great Leap
By Lauren Yee
October 29- November 20, 2022
Outcalt Theatre
1989. An American college basketball team travels from San Francisco to Beijing for a “friendship game” against a Chinese squad. Far from friendly, the matchup quickly becomes a high-stakes battle, as the American coach fights for his reputation and his Chinese counterpart fights for his life. Caught in the middle, a young Chinese American player must prove his mettle on the court while unravelling a long-kept secret. Cultures and generations clash in this kinetic, darkly comic sports drama.
“…a delectable opportunity to spend time with Yee's vivid, idiosyncratic, scarred and funny characters…” – Washington Post
“The Great Leap lures us in with its humorous focus on ordinary characters - basketball players and coaches - then pans out to locate them in a cataclysmic moment in history, the Tiananmen Square uprising. The effect is dizzying.” – Los Angeles Times
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I’m Back Now
By Charly Evon Simpson
February 4-26, 2023
Allen Theatre
A world premiere commissioned by the Roe Green Fund for American New Plays. Inspired by Cleveland’s past, present, and future, I’m Back Now is a poignant family drama that transcends time and space. At 19, Sara travels to Cleveland to meet her birth mother Elle. As she strives to reconcile the legacy she thought she knew with her actual origins, Sara discovers that she is a descendant of Sara Lucy Bagby, the last woman ever prosecuted under the Fugitive Slave Act. Traveling through time from the 1860s to today, the play weaves together three generations of one Black family in a deeply felt meditation on the histories we carry.
“Simpson's writing percolates in a counterpoint of humorous delights and profound epiphanies.” – The Utah Review
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Theater J’s Production of
Becoming Dr. Ruth
By Mark St. Germain
April 1-23, 2023
Outcalt Theatre
The triumphant true story of America’s Favorite Sex Therapist! Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer changed the way we talk about sex and relationships with her hit ‘80s radio call-in show, Sexually Speaking. Now, she welcomes us into her home to share the unlikely path she took to becoming “Dr. Ruth.” With her trademark wry humor, warmth, and candor, Dr. Ruth recounts her life’s many roles: a child escaping Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport; an Israeli sharpshooter in the 1940s; a single mother in America; and finally, the global celebrity sought out by presidents. This life-affirming solo show is a testament to resilience, forging your own path, and the joy of human connection.
“...an inspiring look at an intriguing personality who has lived an extraordinary life.” – MD Theatre Guide
“...Germain’s script facilitates our getting to know Dr. Ruth in the service of our getting to know ourselves more...” – DC Metro Theatre Arts
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Ken Ludwig’s
Moriarty: A New Sherlock Holmes Mystery
April 29-May 21, 2023
Allen Theatre
A World Premiere Mystery! Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are back on the case! An investigation into the Bohemian king’s stolen letters cascades into an international mystery filled with spies, blackmail, and intrigue. With world peace at stake, Holmes and Watson join forces with American actress Irene Adler to take down cunning criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty and his network of devious henchmen. Five actors play over 40 roles in this brand new adventure that has danger—and laughter!—around every corner.
“Baskerville is a celebration of theater itself, a madcap homage to the artifice and inventiveness - and sheer unflagging energy - required to bring a play to life." – The Plain Dealer
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For the holidays! Back by popular demand!
Light It Up!
By Jason Michael Webb & Lelund Durond Thompson
December 3-22, 2022
Allen Theatre
Welcome to Tinselville, USA! It’s this holly-jolly town’s world-famous annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, and you are invited to join in the fun! This family-friendly, one-of-kind musical variety show features original pop, rock, gospel, and jazz holiday tunes as well as new arrangements of your favorite Christmas carols. With sing-a-longs, kicklines, and cameos from beloved characters, Light It Up! is a celebration of family, friends, community, and each person’s ability to make every day brighter.
“…hats off to the Cleveland Play House and the playwright/composers Jason Michael Webb and Lelund Durond Thompson for attempting to fashion a new holiday musical, Light It Up!, that clearly wants to celebrate love, togetherness and joy.” – Cleveland Scene
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Additional programming and events to be announced in the fall.
TICKETING & PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
Performances for the 2022-23 mainstage season run Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm, Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30 pm, and select Tuesdays at 7:00 pm. (Titles, dates, and times are subject to change.) Accessibility programing will include ASL-interpreted performances, open captioned performances, audio described performances, and more.
To guarantee seats to all productions, audiences are encouraged to join CPH’s new Membership Program and become a season ticket holder. Members save up to 30% off individual ticket prices and receive benefits, discounts, incentives, and perks throughout the season. Membership packages begin at $200 and are on sale now.
For more information about CPH’s membership plan or to receive more information about CPH’s accessibility programming, please visitwww.clevelandplayhouse.com.
COMMITMENT TO ANTI-RACISM & INCLUSION
For more than a century, Cleveland Play House has served the Northeast Ohio community and has addressed urgent social issues through artistic and educational programming. CPH acknowledges several events within the past have prompted CPH staff and Board to take a closer look at institutional systems, policies, and procedures as they pertain to anti-racism and equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). CPH is committed to developing and implementing comprehensive EDI action plans that better reflect and serve the CPH family and the diverse communities the institution serves.
In 2021, CPH Artistic Director Laura Kepley created a cross-departmental Equitable Artistic Practices Team to promote and maintain a joyful, collaborative, inclusive, and anti-racist culture for artistic processes. Since then, inclusive casting processes have been instituted for local artists of color with a commitment to allow the racial demographics of performers onstage be reflective of the Greater Cleveland community.
HEALTH & SAFETY MEASURES
As arts institutions across the country continue to navigate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, CPH will continue to follow the most up-to-date guidelines stipulated by the CDC and adhere to all protocols set forth by the arts unions. Kepley says, “We are committed to producing live, in-person theatre next season. Although COVID will be with us for the foreseeable future, we will make the best decisions with the information we currently have and will remain flexible as situations evolve.”
CPH staff will continue to work closely with partners at Playhouse Square to update audiences on any health and safety measures that are in place before, during, and after CPH performances.
ABOUT CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE
CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE, founded in 1915 and recipient of the 2015 Regional Theatre Tony Award, is America's first professional regional theatre. Throughout its rich history, CPH has remained dedicated to its mission to inspire, stimulate, and entertain diverse audiences across Northeast Ohio by producing plays and theatre education programs of the highest professional standards. CPH has produced more than 100 world and/or American premieres, and over its long history more than 12 million people have attended over 1,600 productions. Today, Cleveland Play House celebrates the beginning of its second century of service while performing in three state-of-the art venues at Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland. Cleveland Play House is made possible in part by state tax dollars allocated by the Ohio Legislature to the Ohio Arts Council (OAC). The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. Cleveland Play House is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. To learn more, visit: www.clevelandplayhouse.com.
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