Cheap Date
I was able to catch a performance of Charenton Theatre’s Spoon River Anthology at Old Erie Street cemetery, and want to recommend that you pack up the lawn chairs and the herbal bug repellent and try to make it to Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland Heights for one of the final performances next weekend. The show will go on at 8 PM on Friday and Saturday evening, 8/8 and 8/9; admission is free.
Near West Theatre regulars will spot some familiar faces in the cast, with both Andrew Narten (Scrooge!) and Victoria Karnafel Korkosz (Annie and Hello Dolly) reveling in the chance to portray many very different characters from among the dozens of deceased residents of the village of Spoon River, Illinois. There are some uneven places in the production, especially in sound and lighting. But overall, the pacing and selection of the monologues is excellent and Edgar Lee Masters’ poems are greatly enhanced by the use of the cemetery, with its deep views of restless souls wandering among the stones in the twilight.
With a picnic from home and free admission, this can be among the cheapest of cheap dates. But don’t be so stingy that you forget to drop a few bucks in the donation box to keep innovative, accessible theatre coming to the Cleveland public.