'What's On' - Upcoming Shows in Cleveland and Akron - 1/1 to 1/31

A SONG FOR CORETTA
The Ensemble Theatre presents the Cleveland premiere of A SONG FOR CORETTA from January 12th to 29th. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8pm and Sunday afternoons at 2pm.

Written by Pearl Cleage, A SONG FOR CORETTA was inspired by the many mourners that gathered at Ebenezer Baptist Church to pay their respects to Coretta Scott King in early 2006. The play focused on five fictional African-American women waiting in the rain to say their good-byes.

Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and $10 for students. Purchase tickets online at www.ensemble-theatre.com/box-office/panorama 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.

BULLY
The life of Teddy Roosevelt takes center stage in Actors' Summit's production of BULLY at Greystone Hall from January 19th to February 5th. Evening performances are Thursday to Saturday at 8pm with 2pm matinees on Sunday.

This one-man show attempts to explore many of the roles Teddy Roosevelt undertook in his lifetime. During the course of his 60 years, Roosevelt was President, Vice President, Secretary of the Navy, a military hero, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, an author, a police commissioner and a conservationist, among many other things.

Tickets range from $19 to $30 for adults and are $9 for students (with a valid ID). Purchase tickets online at www.actorssummit.org/tickets.htm or by calling the box office at 330.374.7568. The theatre is located on the sixth floor of Greystone Hall, located in downtown Akron across from the John S. Knight Center.

HAIR
PlayhouseSquare presents the Tony-winning production of HAIR for sixteen performances between January 17th and 29th. Evening performances run Tuesday to Sunday, along with weekend matinees. Post-show talkbacks with the cast are scheduled on January 19th and 26th.

HAIR is the classic rock-and-roll musical about peace, love and hippies. The messages of the show are just as relevant today as they were when it originally debuted over forty years ago. Featuring such iconic songs as "Let the Sun Shine In," "Easy To Be Hard," "Good Morning, Starshine" and "Aquarius," audiences are guaranteed to dance in their seats, if not in the aisles.

HAIR is part of PlayhouseSquare's Smart Seats program. Tickets range from $10 to $82.50. Purchase tickets online at www.playhousesquare.org or by calling the box office at 216.241.6000. The Palace theatre is located at 1615 Euclid Avenue, in the heart of Cleveland's theatre district.

TEN CHIMNEYS
TEN CHIMNEYS is the debut play in Cleveland Play House's new Second Stage, running from January 13th to February 5th. Evening performances are at 7pm on Tuesdays and 7:30pm on Wednesdays to Sundays. Saturday and Sunday matinees are at 2:30pm.

Starring Emmy-winning actress Mariette Hartley, TEN CHIMNEYS is a backstage comedy about one of theatre's biggest couples – Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. Lunt, Fontanne and two of their friends spend the summer at their Ten Chimneys retreat in Wisconsin to rehearse Chekov's THE SEA GULL when an unexpected scandal erupts.

Tickets range from $49 to $69 for adults. Purchase tickets online at www.clevelandplayhouse.com or through the PlayhouseSquare box office at 216.241.6000. Second Stage is only one of three fully outfitted, flexible theatre spaces in the country.

Photo credit: HAIR Tribe. Photo by Joan Marcus.