What's On: Upcoming Shows in Cleveland - Sept 2012

LOMBARDI

Football takes center stage when Cleveland Play House presents LOMBARDI from September 14th to October 7th at the Allen Theatre. Weekday evening performances and weekend matinee performances are available. Post-show discussions with the cast are scheduled for Sept. 16th, 18th and 23rd.

This intimate and often humorous portrayal of the man who defined "inspiration" explores the legendary coach through his relationships with those closest to him: his steadfast wife and his dedicated players, and a determined young reporter who attempts to peel away the façade to show what made Lombardi football's eternal "Coach."

Tickets range from $49 to $69. Purchase tickets online at www.clevelandplayhouse.com or through The PlayhouseSquare box office at 216.241.6000. The Allen Theatre is located at 1407 Euclid Avenue, the home of the Cleveland Play House.

THE MOTHERF**KER WITH THE HAT

Dobama Theatre presents the Tony-nominated play THE MOTHERF**KER WITH THE HAT from September 14th to October 7th. Performances are Wednesday to Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons.

Jackie, a petty drug dealer, is just out of prison and trying to stay clean with the help of Ralph, his smooth-talking AA sponsor. He's also still in love with his coke-addicted childhood sweetheart Veronica. Theirs is a crazy love, but it suits their style and everything is fine – until Jackie looks around the crummy room he and Veronica share in a Times Square hotel and spots a hat that doesn't belong to him. This dark comedy by downtown NY playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis is a razor-tongued verbal cage match about love, adultery, and the struggles of addiction.

Tickets are $21 or $26, depending on performance day. Discounts are available to seniors and students. Purchase tickets online dobama.ticketleap.com or by calling the box office at 216.932.3396. The Dobama Theatre is located at 2340 Lee Road, adjacent to the Cleveland Heights/University Heights Library.

THE NORMAL HEART

Larry Kramer's THE NORMAL HEART will play Ensemble Theatre from September 28th to October 21st. Performances are at 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays and at 2pm on Sundays. Post-show talkbacks and panel discussions are scheduled for September 30th and October 5th, 14th and 19th.

The story of a city in denial, THE NORMAL HEART unfolds like a real-life political thriller – as a tight-knit group of friends refuses to let doctors, politicians and the press bury the truth of an unspoken epidemic behind a wall of silence. A quarter-century after it was written, this outrageous, unflinching, and totally unforgettable look at the sexual politics of New York during the AIDS crisis remains one of the theatre's more powerful evenings ever.

Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and $10 for students. Purchase tickets online at www.ensemble-theatre.com/box-office/the-normal-heart or by calling the box office at 216.321.2930. Ensemble performs at the former Coventry School, located at 2843 Washington Blvd. in Cleveland Heights.

THE WINTER'S TALE

Shakespeare's THE WINTER'S TALE opens Great Lakes Theater's season, running for 14 performances between September 28th to November 4th. Evening and matinee performances are available.

A royal family is ripped apart when King Leontes imprisons Queen Hermione on suspicions of infidelity and exiles his newborn daughter. But callous hearts are redeemed, and broken ones mended, when the king's abandoned orphan falls in love with a Bohemian prince. In a surprising Shakespearean twist, this beautiful and bittersweet tale transcends wrath and regret to achieve romance and renewal in a miraculously cathartic conclusion.

Tickets range from $15 to $70. Purchase tickets online at www.greatlakestheater.org or through The PlayhouseSquare box office at 216.241.6000. The Hanna Theatre is located at 2047 E. 14th Street, in downtown Cleveland.

XANADU

The Beck Center for the Arts opens its season with XANADU on the Mackey Main Stage from September 14th to October 14th. Performances are at 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 3pm on Sundays.

XANADU follows the journey of a beautiful Greek muse named Kira who descends from the heavens of Mt. Olympus to Venice Beach, California, on a quest to inspire Sonny, a struggling artist, to build his greatest artistic creation – the first ROLLER DISCO! But, when Kira falls into forbidden love with the mortal Sonny, her jealous sisters are enraged and chaos ensues.

Tickets range from $10 to $28. Purchase tickets online at www.beckcenter.org or by calling the box office at 216.521.2540, ext. 10. The Beck Center is located at 17801 Detroit Ave. in Lakewood, ten minutes west of downtown Cleveland.

Photo Credit: Cleveland Play House