All stories by Andrea Simakis on BroadwayStars

Saturday, November 7, 2015

Winning performances add heat, light and laughter to 'The Call,' Tanya Barfield's adoption drama at Dobama by Andrea Simakis

Tanya Barfield is a smart, funny playwright with a gift for spinning current, global events into the stuff of living-room drama. And in "The Call," she doesn't let anyone - white o…

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 09:55AM
Friday, November 6, 2015

'A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder' at Playhouse Square is a madcap rush of cheeky fun by Andrea Simakis

The score of "A Gent's Guide" by Robert L Freedman and Steven Lutvak is terrifically clever, its lyrics fast and fun, written by people who love the dexterity of language.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 01:30PM
Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Theater Ninjas' 'Tall Skinny Cruel Cruel Boys,' the tale of a woman far along the road to ruin, is a bruising triumph by Andrea Simakis

Theater Ninjas' mesmerizing production of 'Tall Skinny Cruel Cruel Boys' by Cleveland native Caroline V. McGraw marks the first professional debut of her work in her hometown. The marriage o…

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 01:16PM

Terrence McNally's 'Mothers and Sons' at the Beck Center strands good actors in a preachy, earnest cul-de-sac by Andrea Simakis

That the sort of polarizing discussion at the center of "Mothers and Sons" already feels passe is good news for the culture wars, if not such great news for the stage.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 06:05AM
Monday, November 2, 2015

'Kinky Boots' to stomp back into Playhouse Square in summer of 2016 by Andrea Simakis

"Kinky Boots" will return to Playhouse Square's Connor Palace for a six-day run beginning Tuesday, Aug. 23.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 10:30PM

'A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder' headlines Cleveland theater openings for the week of Nov. 2: On the Boards by Andrea Simakis

A charming serial killer ("A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder") and a series of chillers ("Bash: Latterday Plays") headline this week's theater openings.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 02:44PM
Monday, October 26, 2015

'Tall Skinny Cruel Cruel Boys' headlines Cleveland theater openings for the week of Oct 26: On the Boards by Andrea Simakis

New York City playwright (and graduate of the Playwriting MFA program at the Yale School of Drama) comes home with "Tall Skinny Cruel Cruel Boys" in a Theater Ninja's production th…

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 11:34AM
Saturday, October 24, 2015

John Kander, Mr. 'Cabaret,' on Robert De Niro's hunch, iPhones and the mysterious chemistry of writing (preview) by Andrea Simakis

"You put the ideas out there, and he gets very excited - he has a kind of childlike enthusiasm - and that legendary status totally disappears. He's just a fun guy to work with." --…

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 09:35AM
Thursday, October 22, 2015

Joel Grey recalls his youthful Cleveland Play House debut as he readies a show to help the theater mark its big birthday by Andrea Simakis

"I have great, important and dear feelings for the city. It gave me my career." -- Joel Grey

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 12:46PM

100 years and counting: Your guide to the Cleveland Play House's Centennial Weekend Celebration by Andrea Simakis

With so many things to see and do, we've put together a handy highlight guide to help you navigate the fun.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 12:46PM
Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Cleveland Play House anchors its centennial celebrations with a haunting, masterful revival of 'The Crucible' by Andrea Simakis

Arthur Miller won the Pulitzer Prize for "Death of a Salesman," and there's no doubt it packs a wallop. Miller's trenchant critique of the American Dream - you can climb the corpor…

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 08:14PM
Monday, October 19, 2015

'Joel Grey: Up Close and Personal' headlines Cleveland theater openings for the week of Oct 19: On the Boards by Andrea Simakis

See Joel Grey, David Sedaris and the Midwest premiere of "The Call" at Dobama this weekend.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 05:34PM
Thursday, October 15, 2015

'Bullets Over Broadway' at Playhouse Square hits the bullseye with a frothy mix of top-shelf acting, singing and dancing by Andrea Simakis

Pop the cork on the champagne. The effervescent "Bullets Over Broadway" is in town.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 11:25AM

'The Secret Garden' at Great Lakes Theater cultivates the beauty of live performance by Andrea Simakis

A beautifully spare production of "The Secret Garden," in repertory with "King Lear," kicks off Great Lakes Theater's 54th season.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 10:52AM

'Bullets Over Broadway' headlines Cleveland theater openings for week of Oct. 5: On the Boards by Andrea Simakis

KeyBank Broadway series at Playhouse Square kicks off its 2015-16 season with "Bullets Over Broadway."

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 10:52AM

'The Crucible' headlines Cleveland theater openings for week of Oct. 12: On the Boards by Andrea Simakis

Possessed teens and one very misunderstood bat boy haunts Cleveland's stages this week.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 10:52AM
Monday, September 28, 2015

From 'Bat Boy' to Neil LaBute, smaller professional companies have surprises in store: 2015 Fall Theater Preview by Andrea Simakis

Bat boys, sad clowns, singing ice fishermen and more populate Cleveland's small stages this fall.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 12:58PM
Tuesday, September 8, 2015

'Ken Ludwig's A Comedy of Tenors' headlines Cleveland theater openings for the week of Sept. 7: On the Boards by Andrea Simakis

Clevelanders romp in a hotel suite in Paris in Ken Ludwig's world-premiere farce "A Comedy of Tenors," opening at the Allen Theatre this weekend.

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 07:07PM
Friday, September 4, 2015

Producer Cameron Mackintosh joins friends and colleagues of Kyle Jean-Baptiste in raising $130,000-plus for a memorial scholarship by Andrea Simakis

BEREA, Ohio - On Aug. 29, after learning that their friend and classmate, Broadway phenom Kyle Jean-Baptiste, had died in an accidental fall from a Brooklyn, New York fire escape, the 10 you…

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 09:19AM
Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Kyle Jean-Baptiste: Rising star remembered with tears and song in Playhouse Square by Andrea Simakis

Coming as though from the very air, his voice, a rich tenor filled with ineffable passion, rolled out over Euclid Ave., silencing the dozens there to pay tribute to the rising star who died …

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 06:07AM
Monday, August 31, 2015

Playhouse Square to dim lights Tuesday to honor Kyle Jean-Baptiste by Andrea Simakis

At 21, the Baldwin Wallace grad became the youngest actor and the first African-American to take the Broadway stage in the lead role of Jean Valjean in the mega hit musical "Les Miserab…

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 10:45PM

Broadway gathers today to celebrate the life of rising star Kyle Jean-Baptiste by Andrea Simakis

Friends and fans of Kyle Jean-Baptiste are planning a memorial to remember him at 2 p.m. Monday in New York's Central Park. The rising star died in what police are calling an accidental fall…

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 05:50PM
Sunday, August 30, 2015

Baldwin Wallace University to hold vigil for Broadway's Kyle Jean-Baptiste Sunday night by Andrea Simakis

BEREA, Ohio - Students, faculty and friends of Baldwin Wallace University will gather Sunday night to mourn the untimely death and celebrate the life of BW grad and Broadway talent Kyle Jean…

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 04:47PM
Saturday, August 29, 2015

For the mega talent behind the Cleveland Play House's 'A Comedy of Tenors,' laughs are serious business by Andrea Simakis

CLEVELAND, Ohio - You know you're in for a good time when you enter the rehearsal room at the Cleveland Play House just as Bobby Conte Thornton, an actor with John Stamos eyebrows and bedroo…

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 03:56PM
Friday, August 28, 2015

Playhouse Square wins $100,000 grant from Disney to fund theater education program by Andrea Simakis

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Eight area elementary schools will be sprinkled with a little of Tinker Bell's pixie dust over the next two years, thanks to a $100,000 grant awarded to Playhouse Square fr…

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 01:06PM
Monday, August 24, 2015

'The Book of Mormon' headlines Cleveland theater openings for the week of Aug. 24: On the Boards by Andrea Simakis

Mormons and politicians descend on Cleveland to ring bells and kiss babies this week

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 06:02PM
Thursday, August 20, 2015

'Hamilton's' Lin-Manuel Miranda faces off with 'Les Miz's' Kyle Jean-Baptiste on Broadway (video) by Andrea Simakis

How hot is Baldwin Wallace University grad Kyle Jean-Baptiste? Judging by this clip, he's as molten as the Earth's core about now. Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator and star of "Hamilton,&quo…

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 05:32PM

Blank Canvas Theatre's spare production of 'Our Town' captures the quiet dignity of an American classic by Andrea Simakis

If Thornton Wilder were still kicking up his heels on our hot little third rock from the sun, I'm thinking he'd appreciate the purity of the Blank Canvas Theatre production of "Our Town…

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 10:29AM
Monday, August 17, 2015

Idina Menzel headlines Cleveland theater openings for the week of Aug. 17: On the Boards by Andrea Simakis

Friday, Aug. 21, Blossom Music Center: Idina Menzel World Tour. If you missed the religious experience of her live performances on Broadway, your chance for redemption is nigh. The "Wic…

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 02:51PM
Friday, August 14, 2015

Near West Theatre celebrates success in its new Gordon Square home by the numbers by Andrea Simakis

People whose kids had grown up participating in the shows in the theater's old space – the stuffy third-floor ballroom of the St. Patrick Church Social Hall in Ohio City – entered the ne…

SOURCE: Cleveland.com at 01:02PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic