CLEVELAND: Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT) has announced its 2016-17 season, which is titled “Attention: Tension: Intention.”
“With theatre, we experience the heart and the mind acting as one,” said artistic director Raymond Bobgan in a statement. “The actor asks, ‘What’s my intention?’—but it’s a question that we can all ask all the time. It’s not simple, it’s a process—that’s the kind of theatre CPT excels at—the layered, the nuanced, the dynamic. Whether it’s about celebration and fun, deep reflection, or a fantastical exploration, we are seeking a path from awareness through conflict into action.”
The season will kick off with Pandemonium 2016: The Fire Within (Sept. 10), the theatre’s annual fundraising event showcasing theatre, dance, visual, and performance art at CPT.
First up will be 44 Plays for 44 Presidents (Oct. 14-29), by Andy Bayiates, Sean Benjamin, Genevra Gallo-Bayiates, Chloe Johnston, and Karen Weinberg, a chronological survey of the lives and presidencies of the 44 men who have held the office so far. Dan Kilbane and Caitlin Lewins will codirect.
Next up will be a production yet to be announced (Oct. 7-15) by the resident Latin American theatre ensemble, Teatro Publico de Cleveland.
Following will be the Y-Haven Theatre Project (Nov. 3-6), a collaboration with a transitional housing facility for homeless men recovering from substance abuse and mental health challenges. For the project, the men will create and perform stories based on their lives.
The season will continue with the world premiere of Light the Lights, ‘Ol Moses Cle (A Wild Holiday) (Dec. 2-17), originated by Bobgan and Beth Wood, a vaudeville-inspired show of holiday folly and merrymaking. The Northeast Ohio artists will create, perform, and direct.
Next up will be The SantaLand Diaries (Dec. 1-18), adapted by Joe Mantello from David Sedaris, about an elf working with Santa at Macy’s during the holidays. Cathleen O’Malley will direct at the Outcalt Theatre at Playhouse Square.
Also part of the season will be Entry Point (Jan. 12-21, 2017), a new-play development program for artists in the early stages of new work.
Following will be Jonas Hassen Khemiri’s I Call My Brothers (Feb. 17-March 4, 2017), a journey inside a young man’s head as he attempts to run an errand in a city paralyzed with fear. Evren Odcikin will direct.
Next up will be Robert O’Hara’s Barbecue (Feb. 24-March 11, 2017), a dark comedy about a family who gathers in a park to barbecue and stage an intervention with their reckless sister. Wood will direct.
Also part of the programming will be Test Flight (March 23-April 22, 2017), a new-play development program featuring original work by local and non-local artists.
Following will be The Ghosts of Lote Bravo (March 31-April 15, 2017), by Hilary Bettis, about a mother in search of her daughter who is missing in Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez. The production is a National New Play Network rolling world premiere. Dante Fernando Larzabal will direct.
Next will be DanceWorks 2017 (May 11-June 3, 2017), featuring the work of Northeast Ohio choreographers.
The season will close with the world premiere of Red Ash Mosaic (June 2-17, 2017), devised by Bobgan and the CPT ensemble, an experimental show that begins in the world of a video store and launches into an otherworldly land of dreams. Bobgan will direct.
Cleveland Public Theatre, founded in 1981, serves both local and non-local artists and community members with new-play development and outreach programs.
