Cleveland Play House Announces 2019-2020 Season

Cleveland Play House (CPH) is proud to announce its 2019-2020 Subscription Season, inviting audiences to "Seize the Play!" This will be CPH's 104th consecutive season of serving our community with stories that matter in productions that are engaging, surprising, and always entertaining.

"CPH's 2019-20 season is a celebration of people coming together to make a more inclusive, joyous, and compassionate world. In the plays we will see people come together to create, to fight injustice, to honor family, to lift each other up and to blaze trails for future generations. There are also plays that focus on the forces that drive people apart. We look at the dangerous consequences of polarization and isolation that can drive us to dehumanize those on "the other side." We invite Northeast Ohio to come together at Cleveland Play House for a thrilling, mind-expanding and emotionally moving season full of comedy, drama, mystery and more!," said CPH Artistic Director Kepley.

The 2019-2020 Season Subscriber Series begins by welcoming back a favorite CPH playwright George Brant with his hilarious Into the Breeches!, a vibrant and big-hearted comedy. Obie-winning Playwright Dominique Morisseau's Pipeline provides a look at the school-to-prison pipeline in this compelling portrait directed by Associate Artistic Director Robert Barry Fleming. Following that will be Every Brilliant Thing, an intensely personal and uplifting story about the little things that make life worth living. Next is a wildly funny murder mystery based on the cult classic film Clue, A New Comedy, a Northeast Ohio premiere featuring everyone's favorite board game characters and a mysterious whodunit scenario. The spring brings a famed Greek tragedy with an urgent, contemporary take on the epic story Antigone. The Subscriber Season comes to a conclusion with the Northeast Ohio premiere of A Doll's House, Part 2, a play of fierce intellect and fiery wit, which will also be the anchor production of the 2020 New Ground Theatre Festival. From witty comedies to Cleveland favorites, every show features inspirational, thought provoking stories and strong characters.

In addition to the six-play Subscriber Series, CPH is proud to announce the return of family holiday favorite A Christmas Story in November and December, 2019.

Subscriptions to the 2019-20 Season at Cleveland Play House are on sale now. Subscribers save up to 30% off individual ticket prices and receive many great benefits throughout the season. Full and flexible season packages begin at just $99. To purchase subscriptions or to receive more information, call 216-400-7096 or visit clevelandplayhouse.com.

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2019-2020 Subscription Season

INTO THE BREECHES!
September 14 - October 6
By George Brant
Directed by Laura Kepley

Allen Theatre

We Can Do It! So said Rosie the Riveter. And so say the women of Cleveland, Ohio in this vibrant new comedy. It's1942, and the leading men of the Oberon Play House are fighting overseas. With, "The Show Must Go On!" as their battle cry, a band of passionate, if inexperienced, performers rally together to produce the Oberon's season opener: An all-female version of Shakespeare's ambitious Henry IV and Henry V. Will their production be a victory on the home front? Or, a target for rotten tomatoes? A hilarious and moving story about what happens when we're all in it together.

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PIPELINE

October 12 - November 3

By Dominique Morisseau

Directed by Robert Barry Fleming

Outcalt Theatre

A mother and son fight against the systemic forces of the school-to-prison pipeline in this timely, lyrical drama by acclaimed playwright Dominique Morisseau. Nya, a dedicated inner-city school teacher, sends her own son to private school. But, when he gets into an altercation with a teacher, will her efforts be lost? Pipeline is a compelling, must-see portrait of parenthood, education, and the experience of young black men in America.

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EVERY BRILLIANT THING

November 23- December 22

By Duncan MacMillan with Jonny Donahoe

Directed by TBA

Outcalt Theatre

1) Ice cream. 2) Water fights... 6) Rollercoasters 317) The even numbered Star Trek films....

A child combats his mother's suicide attempts by creating a list of all the genuinely wonderful things that make life worth living. Every Brilliant Thing is an imaginative and uplifting solo performance that takes us on a journey through grief, healing, falling in love, and (re) discovering all that life has to give. An irreverent and unexpected theatrical experience that asks: What is on your list?

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CLUE, A New Comedy

JANUARY 25-FEBRUARY 23

Adapted from the screenplay by Jonathan Lynn

Written by Sandy Rustin

Additional material by Hunter Foster & Eric Price

Adapted from the Paramount Pictures Film written by Jonathan Lynn and the Board Game from Hasbro, Inc.

Produced in Association with Work Light Productions

Directed by Casey Hushion

Allen Theatre

Clue is the uproarious new play based on the popular 1985 Paramount movie and inspired by the classic Hasbro board game. Murder and blackmail are on the menu when six mysterious guests assemble for a dinner party. Was it Mrs. Peacock in the Study with the Knife or, perhaps, Colonel Mustard in the Library with the Wrench? It's the whodunit that will leave both cult-fans and newcomers 'dying' of laughter.

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ANTIGONE
MARCH 28 - APRIL 19

Directed by TBD

Outcalt Theatre

A polarized country is being torn apart.

The Leader, Creon, stands for law and order.

His niece, Antigone, kneels for justice.

Both crave peace and unity but neither will yield.

Pushed to extremes, will their nation bend or break?

This 80 minute ancient tale burns with contemporary relevance as age and youth clash over the future of their country.

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A DOLL'S HOUSE, PART 2

APRIL 25 - MAY 17

By Lucas Hnath

Directed by TBA

Allen Theatre

Part One: Nora Helmer slams the door on her life and disappears. Is she a runaway wife and mother, or a heroine?

Part Two: It's 15 years later, and Nora returns. Uninvited. An on an urgent mission...

Fed up with Playing by 19th century rules, Nora is blazing a path for women's rights. But, the family she left behind is not willing to easily forgive, forget, and join the cause. Crackling with fierce intellect and fiery wit, this Broadway hit is a gripping showdown that pits what we owe others against what we owe ourselves.

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A CHRISTMAS STORY
November 29 - December 23

By Philip Grecian.

Directed by John McCluggage

Based on the motion picture written by Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown and Bob Clark

Allen Theatre

He's back! One boy. One holiday wish. And a world that seems to be conspiring to make certain it doesn't come true. The record-breaking show returns to the CPH stage in all its pink-bunny-suit, glowing-leg-lamp, triple-dog-daring glory. The perfect holiday treat for the entire family.

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All CPH performances are in the Allen or Outcalt Theatres at Playhouse Square, Cleveland. Shows preview at 7:30 p.m. the first Saturday, 6:30 p.m. the first Sunday, 7 p.m. the first Tuesday and 7:30 p.m. the first Wednesday and Thursday, with 2:30 p.m. matinees most Saturdays and Sundays. They open at 7:30 p.m. the first Friday and close on a Sunday.

Subscriptions are on sale now. Subscribers save up to 30% off individual ticket prices and receive many great benefits throughout the season. Full and flexible season packages begin at just $99. To purchase subscriptions or to receive more information, call 216-400-7096 or visit clevelandplayhouse.com

Single show tickets: On sale this summer

Prices for single tickets begin at $20 with special discounts available:

$15 rush tickets for currently enrolled students with valid student ID, and Young Professional discounts available with YP-CPH Membership. Groups of 10+ save up to 50% off single ticket prices; call 216-400-7044.

$5 for Ohio Directions Cardholders

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WORK LIGHT PRODUCTIONS

Clue, A New Comedy is produced in association with Work Light Productions

Dedicated to creating and producing live entertainment. Current touring productions: Jesus Christ Superstar, Rent 20th Anniversary Tour, Something Rotten!, Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, Irving Berlin's White Christmas and Bandstand. Broadway: Ain't Too Proud, Jagged Little Pill. Produced Julie Andrews, The Gift of Music at The Hollywood Bowl and London's O2 Arena. Other recent touring productions include the Tony Award-winners American Idiot, In the Heights, and Avenue Q, Motown, and Mamma Mia!. WLP is led by founding partner and President Stephen Gabriel and Vice President Nancy Gabriel. www.worklightproductions.com

Cleveland Play House, founded in 1915 and recipient of the 2015 Regional Theatre Tony Award, is America's first professional regional theatre. Throughout its rich history, CPH has remained dedicated to its mission to inspire, stimulate, and entertain diverse audiences across Northeast Ohio by producing plays and theatre education programs of the highest professional standards. CPH has produced more than 100 world and/or American premieres, and over its long history more than 12 million people have attended over 1,600 productions. Today, Cleveland Play House celebrates the beginning of its second century of service while performing in three state-of-the art venues at Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland. clevelandplayhouse.com

Cleveland Play House is made possible in part by state tax dollars allocated by the Ohio Legislature to the Ohio Arts Council (OAC). The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. Cleveland Play House is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.