All stories by Andrea Simakis on BroadwayStars

Thursday, April 4, 2019

Review: Chelsea Marcantels' "Tiny Houses" @ Cleveland Playhouse through April 14 builds a solid story for our times! by Andrea Simakis

Now in its world premiere starring KATE EASTMAN & PETER HARGRAVE as "Cath" & "Bohdi" who search for authenticity in a world that seems increasingly starved of it.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 11:31AM
Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Great Lakes Theater finds the emotional core amid the camp and glitter of 'Mama Mia!' (review) by Andrea Simakis

The mother of all jukebox musicals actually has a plot, one powered by female relationships.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 08:00AM
Sunday, September 23, 2018

Betty Buckley on high heels and headlining 'Hello, Dolly!' - 2018 Fall Theater Preview by Andrea Simakis

Playhouse Square kicks off first national tour of "Hello, Dolly!" starring Betty Buckley

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 06:00AM

2018 Fall Theater Preview: Great Lakes Theater's 'Mamma Mia!' and 'Pride and Prejudice' stars having time of their lives by Andrea Simakis

The strange and wonderful paring of Swedish pop and Jane Austen at the Great Lakes Theater.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 06:00AM
Saturday, September 22, 2018

2018 Fall Theater Preview: At Dobama Theatre, season celebrating women's work brings Annie Baker's 'John' and Dorothy Silver to the stage by Andrea Simakis

"John" is Annie Baker's ghost story, with a killer part for the first lady of Cleveland theater.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 08:00AM
Thursday, September 20, 2018

2018 Fall Theater Preview: Beck Center kicks off 85th season with heavenly casting of Mike Polk Jr. in 'An Act of God' by Andrea Simakis

Also playing at the Beck Center for the Arts in 2018-19: 'Once,' 'Shrek' and 'Matilda'

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 08:00AM
Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Dobama Theatre cast digs deep into characters in 'Sunset Baby' -- review by Andrea Simakis

'Sunset Baby' at Dobama Theatre finds the humanity in the hustlers.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 02:30PM
Friday, July 27, 2018

Audra McDonald, the woman who 'can sing anything,' brings Broadway to Blossom (preview) by Andrea Simakis

When choosing a set list, says Audra McDonald, "we want to give someone a full meal - we want to make sure they get the appetizer, the entree and the dessert. All of it."

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 07:06AM
Thursday, July 19, 2018

'Hamilton' brings heart and humanity to story of America (review) by Andrea Simakis

'Hamilton': Why the 11-time Tony Award winning musical is worth the hype.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 02:30PM
Sunday, July 15, 2018

'Hamilton': The revolutionary, boundary-breaking, hip-hop hit musical opens in Playhouse Square by Andrea Simakis

The winner of 11 Tonys, including Best Musical, hits KeyBank State Theatre Tuesday.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 06:00AM
Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Dobama Theatre's 'On the Grill' could use more fire, less smoke (review) by Andrea Simakis

It's Independence Day but those explosions aren't fireworks in the Israeli drama "On the Grill."

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 06:00AM
Monday, June 11, 2018

'The Band's Visit,' the passion of Cleveland native Orin Wolf, wins 10 Tonys, including Best Musical by Andrea Simakis

Orin Wolf spent 10 years fighting to bring the luminous hit to Broadway.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 12:30AM
Sunday, June 10, 2018

Tony Awards: "SpongeBob" and "The Band's Visit" have Cleveland roots by Andrea Simakis

Going into tonight's Tony Awards, if "The Band's Visit" is like a poem, "SpongeBob" is the biggest pop-up book you've ever seen.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 05:55AM
Wednesday, June 6, 2018

'Frozen,' Disney's cool hit musical, headed for Playhouse Square in 2020 by Andrea Simakis

"Frozen" comes to Cleveland as part of the 2019-2020 KeyBank Broadway Series

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 12:07PM
Monday, May 14, 2018

Cuyahoga Arts and Culture board names deputy director Jill Paulsen as acting head of public funding agency by Andrea Simakis

She will replace outgoing CEO and executive director Karen Gahl-Mills

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 02:14PM
Thursday, May 10, 2018

It's a bumpy ride back to the boy-crazy '60s for the 6-woman cast of Great Lakes Theater's 'Beehive' (review) by Andrea Simakis

"Beehive" blows a tire when it sells itself as a journey of women's empowerment.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 02:54PM
Thursday, April 26, 2018

Dobama Theatre's 'Appropriate' is Long Day's Journey Into White (review) by Andrea Simakis

"Appropriate" explores the sins of slavery through one seriously dysfunctional family.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 12:17PM
Friday, April 13, 2018

Loves, losses of Everyfamily exposed in 'The Humans' (reviews) by Andrea Simakis

Stephen Karam's play at Connor Palace turns the dinner-table dramedy on its head with a heaping serving of existential dread.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 03:37PM

60,000 Hamilton tickets sell out in hours at Cleveland's Playhouse Square (photos) by Andrea Simakis

Hamilton tickets for this summer's run at Playhouse Square went on sale to the public at 9 a.m. Friday.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 03:24PM
Saturday, April 7, 2018

Dobama Theatre's 59th season a celebration of women's work, from Annie Baker's 'John' to Jennifer Haley's 'The Nether' by Andrea Simakis

Artistic director says it's time for slate of female playwrights in 2018-19

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 08:45PM
Friday, April 6, 2018

'Hamilton' tickets go on sale Friday April 13: Your indispensable guide to scoring seats in Cleveland by Andrea Simakis

At precisely 9 a.m. Friday, April 13, about 60,000 seats to America's hottest Broadway tour will be up for grabs.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 05:30AM
Saturday, March 10, 2018
Friday, March 9, 2018

'Rent' 20th anniversary tour lacks the heat and heart of Jonathan Larson's groundbreaking epic (review) by Andrea Simakis

Jonathan Larson's glorious musical theater masterpiece deserves a more powerful reprise than this road company gives it.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 12:45PM
Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Ayad Akhtar's hostage drama 'The Invisible Hand' at Cleveland Play House: There will be blood, on all sides (review) by Andrea Simakis

"The Invisible Hand "evokes an amusing elevator pitch: "Think 'The Wolf of Wall Street' meets '24'!" But Ayad Akhtar's play is smarter than that.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 09:00AM
Tuesday, February 27, 2018

2018-19 KeyBank Broadway Series brings Tony-winners 'Dear Evan Hansen' and 'Hello, Dolly!'' to Playhouse Square by Andrea Simakis

"A Bronx Tale," "School of Rock" and a reimagined "Miss Saigon" also coming to Playhouse Square.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 08:04PM
Thursday, February 22, 2018

'American Dreams' at Cleveland Public Theatre uses game-show format to put the immigration debate in our hands (review) by Andrea Simakis

"American Dreams" couldn't be more timely, as Congress debates the fate of some 700,000 Dreamers and how the country will treat legal immigrants and refugees.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 10:00AM

'Misery' at Great Lakes Theater: Despite top-notch cast and a spooky set, it's under rather than over-the-top (review) by Andrea Simakis

Annie Wilkes might talk like a sheltered goody-two-shoes ("cockadoodie" is as vulgar as she gets), but she's hardly benign.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 08:00AM
Friday, February 16, 2018

The redawning of Aquarius: Beck's 'Hair' a shining, gleaming and relevant reflection (review) by Andrea Simakis

"Hair" is no mere time-capsule relic. It still has a lot to say.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 08:00AM
Monday, February 12, 2018

Playhouse Square launches national tour of Tony-winner 'Hello Dolly!' starring Betty Buckley by Andrea Simakis

Betty Buckley will headline the first national tour of "Hello Dolly!" kicking off in Cleveland

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 10:34AM
Sunday, February 11, 2018

Cleveland stage icon Andrew May returns to Great Lakes Theater as a writer in 'Misery' (preview) by Andrea Simakis

The role of Paul Sheldon is deceptively tricky, able to do what Hans Gruber and a slew of other terrorists couldn't in five "Die Hard" movies: It beat Bruce Willis.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 06:00AM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards