Northeast Ohio theatre scene remains vibrant, offering virtual events while stages remain dark
Updated Mar 16, 2021;
Posted Feb 22, 2021
Valet parking sits empty in front of Playhouse Square on March 12, 2020, the day the performing arts center closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The Plain Dealer
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CLEVELAND, Ohio Had it not been for the pandemic, theatergoers in Northeast Ohio might be talking about that performance of “The Cher Show” they just saw at Playhouse Square, or making plans to see the Great Lakes Theater’s production of “Agatha Christie’s Black Coffee” at the Hanna this weekend.
Instead, theatres across the region remain dark for the 49th consecutive week. But there is light at the end of the tunnel.
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.