A & E News

The Cleveland Arts Prize has announced that Peggy Spaeth, executive director of Heights Arts, is a 2013 winner of the Martha Joseph Prize for Distinguished Service to the Arts.

Spaeth, who plans to retire from her position as Heights Arts director in July, is one of three winners of this year’s Martha Joseph Prize. The other 2013 winners are Jill Snyder, executive director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland; and Fred and Laura Bidwell, art collectors and philanthropists, who opened the Transformer Station, a new exhibition space for contemporary art, in Ohio City in January.

Following the success of its inaugural season last year, aptly themed “Big Bang,” ChamberFest Cleveland is expanding its 2013 schedule to include more concerts and new venues.

ChamberFest’s 2013 season, “(IT’S) ABOUT TIME,” begins on Thursday, June 20, and runs through Sunday, June 30. In addition to a concert, the opening night festivities will feature an after-party at L’Albatros in University Circle as well as a free pre-concert recital showcasing this season’s resident young artist, cellist Gabriel Cabezas.

ChamberFest Cleveland is an intensive chamber music festival, featuring world-class musicians and innovative classical music performances in unique venues. Diana Cohen, a Cleveland Heights native, founded ChamberFest in an effort to bring an international-level chamber music festival to the Cleveland area. Despite its rich cultural and musical traditions, Greater Cleveland had never hosted a festival of this caliber. Cohen and her father, Cleveland Orchestra principal clarinetist and Heights resident, Franklin Cohen, are co-artistic directors of the festival.

The Heights Arts Board of Trustees announced on April 18 that that it has selected Rachel Bernstein, arts administrator, educator and musician, to become Heights Arts' next executive director.

Bernstein will take over as director of the community arts organization on July 2. She steps into the position filled since 2000 by Peggy Spaeth, Heights Arts founding director.

Every spring, the anniversary of my grandfather's death returns, alongside the blooming of leaves and flowers and the rising choruses of birdsong, awakening us before dawn. This poem recalls a visit to my grandfather, who suffered from Alzheimer's at the end of his life. -- Philip Metres

The recently appointed Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate, Kathleen Cerveny, manages major arts initiatives at the Cleveland Foundation and has never been afraid to venture into new territory. One of the founders of the Coventry Village arts festival, Cerveny initiated arts and culture programming on WCPN, was the first winner of the famed Heights Arts “Haiku Death Match,” and last year embarked on a low-residency M.F.A. program in creative writing at the University of Southern Maine.  

The 37th annual Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) is now history—but what an exciting time it was! What follows may be old news for the thousands who attended the closing night celebration, but for those who missed the festival, here is what it was all about. 
      
CIFF, presented by Dollar Bank, hosted record-breaking crowds during the 12-day event held in downtown Cleveland. The festival welcomed 93,235 attendees (a 9.7-percent increase over last year’s record attendance). One of the most exciting moments came on the second Saturday when it was announced that festival fans had contributed more than $140,000 to the annual fund that Cuyahoga Arts & Culture will match. The festival’s goal had been to raise $100,000. The final amount on Sunday was $154,138 in Challenge Match donations.

The Heights Arts Board of Trustees announced on April 18 that that it has selected Rachel Bernstein, arts administrator, educator and musician, to become Heights Arts' new executive director.

Bernstein will take over as executive director on July 2. She steps into the position long filled by Peggy Spaeth, the founding director of Heights Arts. Spaeth announced in January that she planned to retire, and said she would stay on until a new director was selected by the board.

This year’s FRIENDS of Heights Libraries Spring Mega Book Sale, May 2–5 at the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Lee Road Library, 2345 Lee Road, will feature an exciting addition to its usualy collection of used books and AV materials. In partnership with Heights Arts, FRIENDS of Heights Libraries is selling a collection of more than 1,200 prints, including maps and illustrations from the Atlas of Cuyahoga County (1874); wood engravings from Harper’s Weekly and other 19th-century news publications, including images by Thomas Nast, the first political cartoonist; mezzotints; Cadart prints; reproductions of famous paintings; and sheet music. Proceeds from the sale of the prints will benefit FRIENDS of Heights Libraries and Heights Arts. 

Summer in the Heights. What could be better? How about dance, music and theater under the stars at Cain Park with the best seats in the house? The Friends of Cain Park (FOCP) has been supporting Cain Park for more than 20 years. “A $30 membership, or $40 for a family, gets you preferred and discount seating for most shows,” said David Budin, president of the FOCP board. “And you’ll get your name in the season program.”

Jeremy Tugeau, a Cleveland Heights resident, is an artist and children's book illustrator. March 22 through May 19, the Howson Gallery at Judson Park, 1801 Chestnut Hills Drive, Cleveland Heights, presents "Peaceful Places," an exhibit of Tugeau's oil paintings.

Tugeau has illustrated 23 picture books and published hundreds of illustrations for the educational publishing market. His fine art appears in galleries in Cleveland and Nantucket, Mass.

“How do you get to Wonderland? Over the hill or underland or just behind the tree?” No, silly; you will find Wonderland at Communion of Saints. That’s how the question goes in the musical production of Disney’s "Alice in Wonderland Jr.," this year’s selection for the Communion of Saints School drama program.

The show follows Alice in her madcap adventures as she meets the White Rabbit, Dodo Bird, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, the tyrannical Queen of Hearts and the fabulous ladies of the golden afternoon. This fast-paced stage adaptation of Alice in Wonderland features new arrangements of such classic Disney songs as “I’m Late” and “The Unbirthday Song,” along with costumes and set design that promise to delight audiences.

As the end of Dobama Theatre’s 2012–13 season approaches, the company is rehearsing “The Lyons” by Nicky Silver as the final show of its 53rd consecutive season. This production marks the regional premiere of Silver’s play. “The Lyons,” which will run from April 19 to May 19, is directed by Dobama’s artistic director Nathan Motta.

“The Lyons” is a dark comedy, in which the characters are allowed to speak their private thoughts aloud, and in doing so, Rita, the indomitable matriarch of this dysfunctional family, is both ferocious and surprisingly touching as she anticipates the lonely life she sees as her future. Her husband is dying from cancer, her son is in a dubious relationship, her daughter is struggling to stay sober . . . and on top of it all, Rita can't settle on a new design for the living room.

Change can bring challenges—and opportunities. People in the Heights are particularly creative in adapting to challenging changes, turning lemons into lemonade. A case in point is the Heights Youth Club: a vacant church repurposed into a vibrant after-school program by a visionary group of residents. 

Heights Arts created a special opportunity for the club by applying to the Ohio Arts Council to sponsor a five-week artist residency with Cuban-born Cleveland artist Augusto Bordelois. The result is an exterior mosaic mural that creates a window into the current life of the former church.

Beaumont School’s drama department presents “Steel Magnolias” by Robert Harling on March 14, at 7 p.m., and March 15 and 16, at 7:30 p.m., in the Beaumont Spiritual Life Center.

“Steel Magnolias” explores the powerful relationships between women and the quiet strength that all women possess.

Beaumont’s production features the talents of six smart, funny, sensitive young women: sophomore Molly Cogan (Annelle), juniors Delany Clark (Truvy), Anastasia Fiala (Clairee), and Caity Cook (Shelby); and seniors Megan Jones (M’Lynn) and Sam Graf (Ouiser).

Bert Stratton, the leader of the klezmer band Yiddishe Cup, performs "Klezmer Guy," an original prose-and-music show, at Nighttown in Cleveland Heights, on Tuesday, April 23, at 7 p.m.

Stratton reads comedic prose sketches and plays clarinet, accompanied by Alan Douglass on vocals and piano, and Tamar Gray on vocals. In addition to klezmer music, the group will play Tin Pan Alley tunes, swing and Motown.

Expect an evening of social commentary, plumbing tips and song—as if Garrison Keillor were raised on pastrami!

Tickets are $10. For information, visit www.nighttowncleveland.com or call 216-797-0550.

Back in 1977, Jon Forman, a recent graduate of Case Western Reserve University, purchased the Cedar Lee Theatre in Cleveland Heights. Forman, then 24 years old, had majored in speech communications at Case and had taken classes in journalism, radio and film. Louis Giannetti, author of a textbook called Understanding Movies, had been one of his teachers. It was what Forman had learned in Giannetti’s classes that inspired him to enter the theater business and organize the first Cleveland International Film Festival, which was held at the Cedar Lee in the festival’s early years.

Forman had a specific idea in mind when he took over the Cedar Lee. “I wanted to make it a home for specialized films, which were called art films back then,” he said. One of the first movies he presented at the Cedar Lee was “Madame Rosa,” a French film that was an adaptation of the novel The Life Before Us. The film won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. As it turned out, Forman’s plan succeeded, and, as he said, “It instantly put the Cedar Lee back on the map.”

Picture a sea of black and gold T-shirts with “Forever a Tiger” emblazoned across the front. That’s what you’ll see in the stands at any given Cleveland Heights High School sporting event.

That “Tiger Pride” is something that lasts forever, according to Mai Moore and Traci Easley-Williams, both Heights High alumnae and co-producers of a new documentary called “The Heights Movie.” Jeff Johnson ('91) is co-executive producer.

The two women have set out to create a documentary about growing up at Cleveland Heights High, which they describe as “one of the city’s most assorted box of cultures, all in one educational dwelling.”

Ensemble Theatre’s Colombi New Plays Festival may be a young tradition, but it is one that’s sure to become a local favorite. Dedicated to the memory of Christopher, Lucia, and Licia Colombi, all of whom were integral parts of the Cleveland theater community, the festival gives local playwrights an opportunity to stage their works for a local audience. The scripts are developed in Ensemble’s Stage Wrights workshops, which meet weekly.

The three plays in this year’s festival are all world premieres, and all written by talented local playwrights. The 2013 Colombi Festival opened March 1 with performances of 10-minute workshop plays about Cleveland and Ohio historical events.

Each of the “world premiere” performances will be presented on Ensemble’s main stage for one weekend—Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. (The final performance of “Lizard” will be at 4 p.m.)

“Side Effects May Include” explores the idea that sometimes it’s not the disease that changes us, but the side effects. Based on writer Marc Jaffe’s own experiences with his wife Karen’s early-onset Parkinson’s disease, the play explores how their life together took an unexpected turn—in some ways for the better.

“When Karen was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease several years ago,” said Eric Coble, the play’s co-writer, “she and Marc went through a host of experiences—some awful, but some surprisingly hilarious. Marc approached me about turning these stories into a play, and we co-wrote the script as a one-man comedy-drama.”

A generous donation of small, limited-edition prints from the husband and wife team of K.C. Pearce and Bob Bates has been given to the Cedar Fairmount Special Improvement District (SID) by Grant and Ellen Kloppman of the former Vixseboxse Art Galleries.

These prints represent every phase of the Pearce-Bates handiwork. Each hand-cut or etched impression was inked and printed one-at-a-time. This exacting hand process left slight variations from print to print, an indication of value for print collectors.

Dig that crazy beat, man! The elephants are marching and the jungle is jumping with jazz. Raised by wolves, Mowgli must decide between the jungle he has always known and the village just beyond. To be totally wild or civilized—that is the question! This zany adventure, directed by Treva Offutt, with music directed by Joanna Li, goes way beyond “The Bare Necessities,” to bring this crowd-pleasing musical to life for audiences of all ages. 

"Disney’s Jungle Book" features a talented cast of 90 local students in grades 1 through 12, about 50 of whom are Cleveland Heights and University Heights residents. Professional musicians will play the familiar score.

On March 9 and 10, Cleveland Heights’s Park Synagogue will present “Under Mendelsohn’s Dome: Visions of Park Synagogue.” This two-day celebration honors world-renowned German expressionist architect Eric Mendelsohn, who designed the synagogue—one of Greater Cleveland’s architecturally significant mid-century modern buildings.

Dobama Theatre’s Board of Directors has announced the appointment of Nathan Motta as its new artistic director, effective Feb. 15. Motta succeeds Joel Hammer, who will become artistic director emeritus.

Motta will be the fifth artistic leader in the theater’s 54-year history, transitioning from associate artistic director there. Dianne Boduszek, Dobama’s current associate artistic director, will remain on staff as artistic associate for production.

"We are delighted to have Nathan Motta step into this role," said Joel Hammer. "It is rare to find a new artistic director with such energy and credentials, as well as a commitment to Dobama’s mission and the greater theater community.”

Cuyahoga Arts & Culture invites residents of Cuyahoga County to help decide which two large-scale arts or culture projects will receive up to $150,000 each through its new Creative Culture Grants program. 

Cast your vote now at www.cacgrants.org/vote.

“We launched this program to both bring new, creative projects to our community and to let our community have a say in which projects would receive public funds,” said Karen Gahl-Mills, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture’s executive director. “The six finalist projects embody the great creativity of our region’s arts and culture organizations and artists, and we encourage all county residents to get involved in the public vote.”

Apollo’s Fire, described by the Plain Dealer as having “joy on stage that generates joy in the audience,” will perform at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (2747 Fairmount Blvd., Cleveland Heights) on Feb. 1 and 2. The concerts begin at 8 p.m., and an hour-long pre-concert talk will precede each performance.

Peggy Spaeth, founding director of Heights Arts, has announced plans to retire. “It’s a good time for transition—both for Heights Arts and for me personally,” said Spaeth. “I feel a sense of mission accomplished.”

“Heights Arts made the case that creative residents can enliven community life,” Spaeth observed, “and today our community knows exactly how indispensable visual artists, musicians, writers and others are to our daily lives. As [art critic] Michael Kimmelman said, “Art is never necessary. It is merely indispensable.’”

Spaeth said that she plans to stay on until a new director is selected by the board—“hopefully by spring!”

As part of its program to promote the arts, Cathedral at Church of the Saviour invites the community to attend a performance of the Inlet Dance Theatre on Sunday, Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. in the Great Hall.  

Recognized as one of the region's most exciting professional contemporary dance companies, Inlet Dance Theatre is dedicated to performing high quality programs with uncommon skill, innovation and purpose.

Pursuing literary immortality illuminates how the mind works, according to Michael Clune, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) researcher and assistant professor of English.

The initial excitement of hearing a new song fades as it’s replayed to death. That’s because the brain naturally functions as a kind of ticking time bomb, obliterating the thrill for artistic sounds, images and words by making them familiar over time. So the artist, musician or author’s challenge is to create a work that retains a freshness, writes Clune in his new book, Writing Against Time (Stanford University Press).

Continuing its critically acclaimed 33rd season, Ensemble Theatre presents “The Gospel According to James” by Charles Smith. The play, which runs from Jan. 25 through Feb. 17, is directed by Celeste Cosentino, with assistance from Aaron Elersich.

Eyewitness accounts, as we know, are often less than accurate, and that is the premise of this play. James Cameron and Mary Ball survived history, but whose history? The play, commissioned by The Indiana Repertory Theatre, examines the past and present lives of these two people. 

Set in Indiana in 1930, five young people are eager to break out of their small town. They need a car; they have a gun. Based on an actual double lynching, playwright Charles Smith has created a fictional meeting between a man who survived the event and the only woman who was with them that night.

At the midpoint of its 53rd successful season in the Heights, Dobama Theatre announces its next main stage production—the regional premiere of “Sons of the Prophet” by Stephen Karam. The play runs Feb. 22 through Mar. 17.

The play is about the Douaihy family, living in a run-down section of Nazareth, Penn. Although the fictional Douaihys of the play share some characteristics with Karam’s own family—they are Lebanese-American Maronite Catholics from eastern Pennsylvania—he insists that this is not his family play.

The Instrumental Music Department of Cleveland Heights High School will begin its mid-winter concert series on Wednesday, Jan. 30, with a second concert on Friday, Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m. in the school’s Dina Rees Evans Performing Arts Center.

On Wednesday evening, the concert orchestra, symphonic and concert bands, and percussion ensemble will perform. The Friday concert features Shoshana Klein and Carolyn Holt, two of the music department’s most gifted senior musicians.

The Howson Gallery at Judson Park presents "Capturing Essence," an exhibit of portraits of Judson residents painted by Cleveland Heights artist Debbie Vail. The paintings will be on view through Jan. 6 at Judson Park, 1801 Chestnut Hills Drive in Cleveland Heights.

Vail didn't explore her interest in art until after completing a 20-year nursing career and teaching. She discovered her love of portraiture and color at the Cleveland Institute of Art, Cuyahoga Community College, the Cleveland Museum of Art and through private instruction.

Committed to producing new works by new and established playwrights, Dobama Theatre offers the Playwrights’ GYM, a special program for local dramatists. The GYM provides playwrights with the opportunity to workshop new plays and collaborate with a director. The GYM aims to nurture new work, with the goals of growing a new crop of directors and developing plays for future Dobama productions.

This season’s GYM production is “Ghosts of War” by Christopher Johnston. The play, based on interviews with a retired Marine officer who served in Vietnam, is about Jim Kyle’s 40-year search to learn what happened to his friend Danny, who was killed at Khe Sanh in 1967.

If you happen to go past Phoenix Coffee on Coventry on a Monday night, chances are the place will be packed with people listening to great music emanating from the shop. The reason? Monday night is open-mic night at Phoenix. Musicians and singers can come into the coffee shop to perform up to three songs for the gathered crowd. The same event takes place on Wednesday nights at the Phoenix Coffee on Lee Road.

Cleveland singer-songwriter Charlie Mosbrook, honored as the city’s best singer-songwriter in 2011 by Scene Magazine, organizes these great musical evenings. Son of Joe Mosbrook, a former reporter on Channel 5 in Cleveland and author of a book about the history of jazz in Cleveland, Charlie is a Cleveland Heights native who grew up on Coleridge Road and attended Fairfax Elementary, Roxboro, and Heights High.

This year’s Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library photography contest drew an eclectic mix of images. Jenny Greene, adult services librarian and coordinator of the annual photo contest, thinks the variety is result of the contest's theme, “Public Places, Sacred Spaces.”

“What strikes me about the photos people submitted is that they prove that just about any place can hold a special, sacred meaning for someone,” said Greene. “Our winning photos include landscapes, cityscapes and buildings.”  

A case in point is the winning photo, “Indoor Skeeball Range and Amusement Center,” by Mark Cargile. The image, said Cargile, is important to him because it captures the wonder and excitement his grandchildren experience when he takes them to amusement park arcades, places they love.

It’s grey and cold outside, but bright and welcoming within the storefront at 2174 Lee Road, where 12 Hessler Street artists have set up shop for the holidays.

The Hessler for the Holidays Pop-up Shop opened Nov. 30, and will remain open seven days a week through Dec. 24.

Marci Zabell, one of the participating artists, describes the group as a “loose aggregation of Hessler artists,” all of whom have shown at Cleveland’s annual Hessler Street Fair “at one time or another.” Zabell described Michelle Sokol Kalafat, who creates hand-dyed clothing for children and adults, as the “driving force—the energy and spirit behind the endeavor.”

Directed by Pierre-Jacques Brault, with music direction by Joanna Li, Heights Youth Theatre’s production of "A Little Princess" debuts on Jan. 11.

The cast features local students in first through twelfth grades, many of whom live in Cleveland Heights and University Heights. 

"A Little Princess" tells the story of Sara Crewe, the young daughter of a wealthy adventurer who is sent to a boarding school in Victorian England, but soon finds adventure is also in her blood. When Sara hears reports of her father’s death, her life takes an unexpected turn as she is forced to become a servant.

In 2010, four working mothers—theater artists, colleagues and friends—decided it was time to create their own opportunities. “Don’t wait to create” became their inspiration, and producing celebrated plays that had not been seen in Northeast Ohio in recent years became their vision. From that, Mamaí Theatre was born.

The four co-founders—Bernadette Clemens, Wendy Kriss, Christine McBurney and Derdriu Ring—will serve the company in several capacities.

The River Valley Ringers will present “Holiday Traditions . . . With a Twist,” at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 16, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 3740 Mayfield Road, Cleveland Heights. Joseph Fox, percussionist, will join the group for its annual holiday program.

The concert will feature unique arrangements of such holiday classics as “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and “O Come All Ye Faithful.” It will also include a medley from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and an audience sing-a-long.

The concert is free and open to the public. A free-will offering will be taken.

Corey Herynk created art with his painting machine at the Wine Spot on Nov. 17.

Herynk, a painting major who will graduate from the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) in December, installed the painting as part of the ‘Hardware’ exhibition at the Art Spot at the Wine Spot.

The exhibit, featuring the work of CIA students, is on view through January 2013.

CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra announces its annual Holiday Concert program. The free, opening concert is scheduled for Dec. 12, 7:30 p.m. at Fairmount Presbyterian Church, 2757 Fairmount Blvd., Cleveland Heights. The orchestra will be led by Stefan Willich, a German conductor making his American debut.

Rebecca Schweigert Mayhew, oboist and one of CityMusic’s founding musicians, will perform Mozart’s "Oboe Concerto in C." To welcome the holiday season, Mt. Zion Choir and CityMusic Cleveland (CMC) will present a medley of holiday favorites written or arranged by African-America composers.

On Nov. 19 Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) announced that it will invest $28,959,218 in grants to 175 arts and culture organizations in Cuyahoga County, including $424,823 in grants to 14 Heights-based groups.

“In 2006, the residents of Cuyahoga County expressed great pride and extraordinary support for our county’s arts and cultural heritage by approving a dedicated source of public funds to support creative activity in our community,” said Sari Feldman, president of CAC’s board of trustees. “CAC continues to invest these public dollars to work in our community to support arts and cultural organizations of all sizes and to help strengthen an arts and cultural ecosystem that is a key asset to our regional economy.”

CAC made the grants through its two primary grant programs, 2013–14 General Operating Support and 2013 Project Support (PSI and PSII).

Heights Arts is again shining a light on superb artists who call Northeast Ohio home with its 11th annual Holiday Store. This group show—featuring more than 85 artists this year—originated in 2002 as a pop-up holiday gallery in the historic Cedar Lee building. People so loved the opportunity to shop for high-quality art by local artists that Heights Arts established a nonprofit storefront gallery year-round.

Our region has a particularly strong glass community, and currently the gallery windows are sparkling with pieces by internationally known local glass artist Brent Kee Young as well as Creative Workforce Fellows Mark Sudduth and Michael Mikula. New for 2012 is work by Young’s studio mate Robert Coby, whose classic shapes have intricate textured surfaces. Other blown glass items include unique hanging lamps by Chadd Lacy; ornaments, tumblers, birds and hearts by Sue Berry (each only $20); colorful functional bowls by newcomer Steve Hagan; bowls by Earl James; vases and small bowls by Todd Anderson; and vases and paperweights by Shayna Roth Pentecost. Glass objects range in price from $20 to $6,000.

Cleveland Heights resident Eric J. Price has published his first book, On Broken Wings, a candid account of his growing up in foster homes, his adoption at the age of nine, and his struggle with alcohol. He shares his battles and victories with raw humor, vulnerability and conviction. 

A Heights High graduate, Price has always had a desire to help others. He is a life coach and personal trainer at All About U Fitness in Cleveland Heights. Price started Soaring Higher, a nonprofit geared toward personal empowerment. He hopes his book will help others overcome the obstacles that life puts in front of them. He said that he believes God challenged him and gave him the tools, education and understanding to help others mend their own broken wings.

The Year of the Dragon is one of the most revered of the Chinese calendar, and those born under this sign are regarded as having many wonderful traits. They are innovative, colorful, confident and passionate. These are the very qualities for which Cleveland Heights resident Jeannette Sorrell (a dragon-year baby) and her ensemble, Apollo’s Fire, are known.

Imagine that you are in a Chinese restaurant and the day’s special is Happiness Two Ways. Given a choice between that and only one kind of happiness, why would you not opt for the special? Given the choice between Handel’s “Messiah” and “Sacrum Mysterium: A Celtic Christmas,” why would you not choose to hear both? Sorrell and Apollo’s Fire are offering a two-week holiday extravaganza featuring these two programs for Heights audiences.

“Hardware,” a new exhibition that celebrates the history of 2271 Lee Road, will open at The Wine Spot this Friday, Nov. 16, from 7-9 p.m.

The Wine Spot, a retailer of beer and wine, hosts shows by Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) students. Barbara Stanczak, a sculptor and CIA professor, and Joel Borwick, former owner of Seitz-Agin Hardware, which had occupied the Wine Spot’s current location for more than forty years, judged student submissions and selected the artwork which will appear in the show.

For those of us in the Heights who enjoy live theater, we are fortunate, indeed. We have not one, but two fine theater companies: Ensemble Theatre, in the former Coventry School at 2843 Washington Blvd., and Dobama, at 2340 Lee Road, both in Cleveland Heights. As you begin to fill your calendar with holiday events, be sure to leave some time for two new theatrical productions.

Imagine you're living in a city in 1976 . . . or maybe you actually remember where you were and what you were doing back then. 

A blast from the past—David Mamet's early play “Sexual Perversity in Chicago”—is coming to Ensemble Theatre's brand-new intimate Second Stage in the former Coventry elementary school for a limited run, Nov. 1–3. 

In “Sexual Perversity,” the award-winning playwright of "Glengarry Glen Ross" explores the intricacies of human relationships and the oddly perverse actions we take in our struggle to obtain happiness. In Mamet's famous vernacular you'll hear words of wisdom from Bernie, who encourages his friend Dan not to "sell his soul for . . . (you get the idea)." Joan advises Deborah that men are "all after only one thing . . . but it's never the same thing."

“What’s old is new,” is a phrase that is easily applied to the local group of musicians known as Oldboy.  The band is gearing up to release its first album, “Covered in Sound,” Nov. 3. Members of the roots-rock group have been playing together for the past three years, culminating in their first full-length album, recorded at Whiteout Audio in Cleveland.  The album consists of 12 lyric-driven and meticulously crafted songs.

Oldboy will perform a record release concert with Family of the Year from Los Angeles. The local Cleveland band Dan Miraldi & the Albino Winos will also perform. The concert will be an all-ages show on Saturday, Nov. 3 at the Beachland Tavern in North Collinwood. Doors open at 8 p.m., and tickets are $10.

The current lineup for Oldboy is Shawn Brewster (songwriter, guitar, and vocals), Mike Kinsella (bass, backing vocals), Greg Hyland (drums), Pete Simon (guitar), Chris Volpe (banjo), and David Jenkins (percussion). While the band regularly rotates its lineup for different types of events, the release concert will feature six members who were involved in the recording.

In 2000, The City of Cleveland Heights held neighborhood-visioning meetings to create a citizen-driven future. At one of those meetings, resident Tom Gibson stood up and suggested gateway signs that would read “Music City” because of the many talented musicians living here. Today the city claims a broader title, “Home to the Arts,” and the nonprofit Heights Arts is a major presenter of local arts and culture.

One of the most popular Heights Arts programs is the chamber music series, newly named Close Encounters. This series, now in its seventh year, presents intimate performances by world-class musicians who live in Northeast Ohio. Isabel Trautwein, Cleveland Orchestra violinist and Close Encounters artistic director, collaborates with her colleagues and other professional musicians to present programs of their choice in unique venues.

The City Ballet of Cleveland (formerly Cleveland City Dance Company), a nonprofit dance company based in studio at Shaker Square, has announced its annual "Winter Wonderland and The Nutcracker (Act II)" performance.

An original production of the traditional holiday ballet will include performances by guest artists Mark Otloski, formerly of Cleveland San Jose Ballet; Gary Lenington, currently with GroundWorks Dance Theater; and Theresa Bonvissuto. 

Performances are Saturday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 2 at 2 p.m. at Tri-C’s Eastern Campus. Advance reserve tickets sold at the studio, at 13108 Shaker Square, are $15 for adults and $10 for seniors and children under 12. Tickets purchased at the theater the day of the shows are all $20. For information, call 216-295-2222.

The City Ballet of Cleveland (formerly the Cleveland City Dance Company), directed by Courtney Laves-Mearini and operating from a base at Shaker Square, will host a benefit on Saturday, Nov. 3 at the Cleveland Skating Club in support of its upcoming “Nutcracker and Winter Wonderland” performances.

The evening will include fine food and spirits, interspersed with ballet as members of the company perform divertissements from "The Nutcracker Suite," Act II. There will also be a silent auction featuring many of Cleveland’s finest shops and restaurants.

This year, Cleveland’s West Side Market celebrates its 100-year anniversary. To mark the occasion, Cleveland Heights resident Laura Taxel, along with Lakewood native and Vermilion resident Marilou Suszko, co-authored a book about the market’s history.

The book, Cleveland’s West Side Market: 100 Years and Still Cooking, published by University of Akron press, is available in local bookstores. Taxel will participate in a Cleveland history discussion and book signing at Mac's Backs at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18. She will also sign books at an event hosted by Appletree Books at Nighttown from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 21.

Family events take center stage at the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes this fall as the center celebrates autumn and invites nature lovers, young and old, to enjoy s’mores, hikes and birding.

On Friday, Oct. 12, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., the Nature Center presents Family Campfire Night. The evening includes guided night hikes on the All People’s and Stearns Trails with night vision activities, owl calling and searching for nocturnal animals. There will be games and stories and songs around the campfire and plenty of marshmallows to roast for s’mores. New this year is the Night Hike Challenge for individuals to navigate the All People’s Trail by themselves in the dark. Registration is required, and participants are encouraged to bring their own camp chairs and marshmallow sticks. Cost of Family Campfire Night is $5 per person, with a $25 maximum per family up to six people.

The Cleveland Chamber Music Society will present its 2012–13 season at Plymouth Church, 2860 Coventry Road, Shaker Heights. The new season begins Oct. 9, with a performance by the Jerusalem Quartet, and ends May 5, with a free Young Artists Showcase, featuring the Omer String Quartet.

According to David Richardson, director and chair of communications of the Cleveland Chamber Music Society, “Plymouth Church offers an intimate and acoustically superb space, perfect for chamber music.” Parking is free in the church lot and on adjacent streets. All concerts begin at 7:30 p.m.

“The Normal Heart,” the largely autobiographical play by Larry Kramer that opens Ensemble Theatre’s 2012–13 season, is anything but normal. More than 25 years after it was written, this unflinching look at the sexual politics of New York during the AIDS crisis remains as relevant today as it was when it premiered in New Your City in 1985. Debates are still raging over human rights, marriage equality and access to healthcare, to name just a few of the issues the play examines.
 
Because of its continued importance, playwright Larry Kramer will do a radio interview about his play and Ensemble Theatre’s production with Dee Perry on “Around Noon” on Wednesday Sept. 26, at noon—just two days before its Cleveland opening at Ensemble’s home in the former Coventry School, on Washington Boulevard in Cleveland Heights.
“Around Noon” is heard Monday through Friday on 90.3 WCPN.

CityMusic Cleveland has been a significant force since 2004, when it began presenting free concerts in local churches. The price of admission is only part of the chamber orchestra’s appeal. Equally crucial is the high level of the music making.

CityMusic Cleveland will open its ninth season with a program featuring De Falla’s “Ritual Fire Dance,” Bruch’s “First Violin Concerto,” and Beethoven’s “Fourth Symphony.” The program will be led by acclaimed conductor Ryan McAdams. The internationally known violinist Rachel Barton Pine will perform the Bruch concerto.

The Fairfax Elementary School PTA will hold a Fall Harvest Festival on Saturday, Oct. 20 from 12–5 p.m.  The community is welcome and encouraged to attend this family-friendly event and fundraiser.

The festival will feature face painting, bounce houses, cake walks, a 50/50 raffle, local craft vendors, food and drink, music, crafts and activities. In the event of rain, the festival will be held inside the school.

Fairfax Elementary School is at 3150 Fairfax Road, Cleveland Heights.

Dobama Theatre announces the second show of its 53rd season—the regional premiere of “A Bright New Boise” by Samuel D. Hunter. The play opens on Oct. 26 and runs through Nov. 18.
 
The setting for “A Bright New Boise” is the bleak employee break room of a fictional big-box craft store in Idaho. Will, the play’s central character, is a deeply religious man who has fled his rural hometown where his “end of days” church was embroiled in a scandal. He comes to the Hobby Lobby not only for employment, but also to rekindle a relationship with Alex, the brooding teenage son he had given up for adoption. He joins the ranks of the blue-vested employees, a comedic set of misfits, struggling to find their way.

The City of Cleveland Heights Division of Parks and Recreation and the Recreation Advisory Board announces the Inaugural Chili Cook-Off at the Cleveland Heights Community Center on Saturday, Nov. 3, 5–7 p.m.

The event will benefit the Heights Youth Recreation Fund, which provides scholarships and reduced rates for Cleveland Heights youth to participate in Cleveland Heights recreation programs and leagues.