CPH Announces 2014-15 Season
Posted March 15, 2014 in Press Releases
Cleveland Play House Announces 2014-15 Season
99th Season First Selected By Artistic Director Laura Kepley
CLEVELAND, OH (March 16, 2014) - Artistic Director Laura Kepley announces the lineup for the 99th consecutive season of Cleveland Play House, the first she has programmed. A classic American drama, a variety of new work including a world premiere, comedies and music highlight the 2014-15 Season. “The theme of our 99th season is Legacy,” reflects Kepley. “Many of the stories this season involve a changing of the guard. As one era ends, a new, sometimes shaky, sometimes confident world sprouts up, the future of which might be doomed or might be glorious– but it will always be theatrically thrilling.”
Opening the season is Lillian Hellman’s delicious drama of family and greed, The Little Foxes. Kepley, who will direct this classic, states that, “This well-made play asks the question ‘How far will you go to get what you think you deserve?’” Kepley moves us from the scheming world of the season opener to one that celebrates loyalty, friendship and the pursuit of joy in Idris Goodwin’s How We Got On. Remarks Kepley, “This is one of the most joyous and uplifting plays I’ve ever read.” Hot music is in store for the cold winter when Olivier Award winner Five Guys Named Moe, featuring the exhilarating music of Louis Jordan, burns up the Allen stage in January. Music is again the central force for sustaining the human spirit in The Pianist of Willesden Lane, adapted by noted composer, playwright and actor Hershey Felder and starring Mona Golabek. Two distinct comedies round out the final slots in the season: Christopher Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best New Play. Through a modern-day Chekhovian family, Kepley states, “Durang pokes fun at our culture’s obsession with youth, celebrities and instant gratification.” Closing the season is a world premiere by Cleveland-based and Broadway-produced playwright Eric Coble. Fairfield, a razor-sharp comedy that shows what can happen when the elephant in the room refuses to be ignored, is also the anchor production of the 2015 New Ground Theatre Festival. For the holidays, CPH brings Ralphie Parker and his dream of an “official Red Ryder 200-Shot Carbine Action Range Model Air Rifle with a compass and this thing which tells time built right into the stock!” back to the stage in the record-breaking production of A Christmas Story.
CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE
2014-15 SUBSCRIPTION MAINSTAGE SEASON
The Little Foxes
Sept 12 – Oct 5, 2014 - Allen Theatre
Written by Lillian Hellman
When the Hubbard siblings have the chance to strike it rich, not even the ties of blood or marriage are safe from their cold calculations and elaborate schemes. Artistic Director Laura Kepley launches CPH’s 99th season with Lillian Hellman’s delicious drama of ambition and greed in the Deep South that warns us to keep our friends close—and our relatives closer.
How We Got On
Oct 24 – Nov 16, 2014 - Outcalt Theatre
Written by Idris Goodwin
It’s 1988 in an upper-class Midwest suburb. Teens Hank and Julian live and breathe hip-hop while their peers would rather rock. Determined to create the ultimate suburban rap song, the duo forges ahead through unconvinced parents and the highs and lows of friendship. With a ‘theatre DJ’ looping, spinning and remixing the action on stage, How We Got On takes us on an uplifting lyrical journey of dreaming big and discovering your voice.
Five Guys Named Moe
Jan 23 – Feb 15, 2015 - Allen Theatre
Book by Clarke Peters • music and lyrics by Louis Jordan
His woman left him, he’s broke, and it’s almost five o’clock in the morning. But don’t worry about our hero. All he needs is the right music—and the right guys—to get him through. Enter five guys named Moe, stepping out through his radio to cajole, comfort and jazz him with dozens of whimsical hit songs from the extraordinary Louis Jordan. An international sensation, Five Guys Named Moe is an exhilarating, all-embracing musical experience.
Mona Golabek in
The Pianist of Willesden Lane
Feb 27 – Mar 22, 2015 - Allen Theatre
Based on the book The Children of Willesden Lane by Mona Golabek & Lee Cohen
Adapted and directed by Hershey Felder
At age 14, pianist Lisa Jura was separated from everything and everyone she knew and loved. In The Pianist of Willesden Lane, Jura’s daughter, renowned pianist Mona Golabek, brings her mother’s true tale of survival and triumph to the stage. Featuring live performances of classics by Chopin, Beethoven, and Debussy, Pianist is a deeply moving story infused with hope and the life-affirming power of music.
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Apr 3–26, 2015 - Allen Theatre
Written by Christopher Durang
Siblings Vanya and Sonia are contentedly discontent to pass into their twilight years sipping coffee and watching for blue herons. However, their unremarkable but stable lives are about to be upended when their fading B-movie-star sister descends upon their quiet country home with a revelation—and sexy boy toy Spike—in tow. Existential, Chekhovian despair and family-squabbling has never been as funny as in Christopher Durang’s zany, Tony Award-winning comedy that questions our ability to age gracefully in an era of iPods and Twitter.
Fairfield World Premiere and Anchor Production of 2015 New Ground Theatre Festival!
May 1–24, 2015 - Outcalt Theatre
Written by Eric Coble
“Peace. Love. Respect for all.” So goes the motto of Fairfield Elementary, a public school located in a diverse, liberal district. But when a young teacher’s misguided attempts at celebrating Black History Month take a hilariously dark turn, chaos erupts and it seems it may be impossible to safely reach the ‘CelebrEthnic Potluck.’ Fairfield is a razor-sharp, insightful comedy from Cleveland playwright Eric Coble that examines how we each determine what’s appropriate and inappropriate, and whether “We Shall Overcome.”
Special Non-subscription Holiday Engagement!
A Christmas Story
Nov 28 – Dec 21, 2014 - Allen Theatre
Written by Philip Grecian
Based on the motion picture written by Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown & Bob Clark
One boy. One holiday wish. And a world that seems to be conspiring to make certain it doesn’t come true. The record-breaking show returns to the CPH stage in all its pink-bunny-suit, glowing-leg-lamp, triple-dog-daring glory. The perfect holiday treat for the whole family.
Subscriptions for all six (6) plays are available now at prices ranging from $90 (for currently enrolled students under age 25 with valid ID) to $377, with extra discounts for Educators. Additional pricing will be available for a number of flexible partial season packages. To purchase subscriptions or receive more information, call 216-400-7096 or go to www.clevelandplayhouse.com. Group tickets (10 or more) are available now at savings up to 40%. Tickets for A Christmas Story will go on sale July 1st, with all other individual performances going on sale August 3, 2014.
Founded in 1915, Cleveland Play House is America’s first professional regional theatre. Throughout its rich history, Cleveland Play House has remained dedicated to its mission to inspire, stimulate and entertain diverse audiences in Northeast Ohio by producing plays and theatre education programs of the highest professional standards. It has produced more than 100 world and/or American premieres, and over its long history more than 12 million people have attended over 1,300 CPH productions. Cleveland Play House looks toward its centennial while performing in three state-of-the art venues at PlayhouseSquare in downtown Cleveland.
The Ohio Arts Council helped fund Cleveland Play House with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. We also thank the residents of Cuyahoga County for supporting Cleveland Play House through Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.
