CLEVELAND: Cleveland Play House (CPH) has announced its 2018-19 season, featuring eight productions.
“This season will inspire and invigorate our loyal patron base and introduce new audiences to what CPH does best: tell stories that matter in productions that are imaginative, thrilling, and entertaining,” said artistic director Laura Kepley in a statement.
The season will start with Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black (Sept. 15-Oct. 7), adapted by Stephen Mallatratt, about a man telling a supernatural tale in order to exorcise his demons. The production will be the launch of a North American tour, directed by Robin Herford.
Next up will be Sweat (Oct. 13-Nov. 4), by Lynn Nottage, about a group of friends who work together at a factory in Reading, Pa., as layoffs begin to chip away at their trust. Kepley will direct.
Next up will be A Christmas Story (Nov. 23-Dec. 23), by Philip Grecian based on the film by Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown, and Bob Clark, about a young boy wishing for a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas.
Following will be An Iliad (Jan. 12-Feb. 10, 2019), by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare, a retelling of Homer’s classic, translated by Robert Fagles, which features two women and a live cellist onstage. Tarah Flanagan and Andrew Carlson will codirect.
The season will continue with Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood (Feb. 2-24, 2018), about Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men as they fight the greedy prince of England for justice.
The next selection (March 23-April 14, 2019) will be announced at a later date.
Following will be Native Gardens (April 27-May 19, 2019), by Karen Zacarías, about the clash of cultures that occurs when a Latino couple moves next door to a well-established family and their prize-winning garden in Washington, D.C. Robert Barry Fleming will direct.
The season will conclude with Sarah DeLappe’s The Wolves (May), about the teammates of a high school girl’s indoor soccer league, and the challenges they face on and off the field.
Founded in 1915, the Cleveland Play House produces musicals and plays in additional to providing educational programming.
