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Arts, Music, Movie Reviews, Celebrity News & Events from Cleveland, OH

Roger MastroianniBehind her hag's mask, Jessica L. Cope gives the Witch human qualities with her outsized gestures, her cutting stares and her big voice in Great Lakes Theater Festival's "Into the Woods."

Into the Woods

What: Great Lakes Theater Festival presents the musical by Stephen Sondheim, directed by Victoria Bussert.

When: Runs in repertory with "Macbeth" through Saturday, Nov. 8. For performance times, click here.

Where: Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare, Cleveland.

Tickets: $15-$89. Call 216-241-6000.

It's a good, solid production of "Into the Woods" that Great Lakes Theater Festival opened Saturday, to go along with an even better "Macbeth."

But we'll just have to wait a little longer to see what the high-tech goodies at Great Lakes' new, $14.7 million renovated Hanna Theatre can do.

In fact, the one cool stage trick that was supposed to happen at Friday's press preview and Saturday's opening -- the disappearance of the Witch -- didn't.

The hydraulic system that makes the Hanna's stage go up and down in a matter of seconds -- which performs so admirably and so often in "Macbeth" -- leaked fluid and was inoperable until repairs were made Sunday.

Great Lakes recovered admirably, and director Victoria Bussert and her company of actors deliver up a decently sung and well-acted "Into the Woods."

Associated Press File PhotoHolly

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is partnering with the Surf Ballroom and Museum in Clear Lake, Iowa, to mark the 50th anniversary of the final concert by Buddy Holly, J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson and Ritchie Valens. The rock 'n' roll pioneers were killed in a plane crash following their Feb. 2, 1959, performance at the ballroom's Winter Dance Party. As part of the commemoration, the venue will be added to the Rock Hall's registry of rock 'n' roll landmarks. A weeklong series of anniversary events at the Surf Ballroom and Museum is set to culminate Monday, Feb. 2, with a tribute concert, to be shown on PBS next year.

Shiho Fukada/Associated Press File Photograph

Choreographer Baayork Lee and director Bob Avian stand outside New York's Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, where their revival of "A Chorus Line" opened in October 2006 and closed in August. The show's national touring company begins performances Tuesday at the Palace Theatre in PlayhouseSquare.

PREVIEW
"A Chorus Line"
What: The national touring company of the 2006 revival performs the show with music by Marvin Hamlisch, book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, and lyrics by Edward Kleban.
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, with performances at various times through Sunday, Oct. 26.
Where: Palace Theatre, PlayhouseSquare, Cleveland.
Tickets: $10-$65. Call 216-241-6000.

It was, briefly, until it moved to Broadway and skyrocketed to the status of musical legend. The show won the Tony and the Pulitzer Prize, spawned a terrible movie version and received a 2006 Broadway revival directed by Avian with the original choreography re-created by "Chorus Line" founding cast member Baayork Lee.

The revival's national touring production begins a two-week run Tuesday night at the Palace Theatre in PlayhouseSquare.

After Dark Bar Guide

2020 Martini Cafe & Lounge
2020 Center St., Cleveland, 216-776-0202

Call it ambitious. Over-the-top. Outrageous. Call it all those things, and it still doesn't do justice to the layout of this fantasy bar. Opened this year, 2020 shoehorns cocktail nation, Carnival and ultramod aesthetics into one place. The ceiling is gold and adorned with martini glasses. The masks look like something out of Brazil or Venice, or maybe even New Orleans, and they're huge; one covers an entire wall. The couches are neo-mod. To top it off, the drinks are retro-cool. Once in a while you can find a place with a decent Zombie or Mai Tai, but when's the last time you had a Planter's Punch that tasted this good? I don't know about you, but I can't remember one better than the one I had here. With its bright red hue, glowing cherry, yellow umbrella and orange wedge, it ALMOST looked as colorful as the place. -- John Petkovic

Find reviews of 168 bars online with our searchable After Dark Bar Guide: www.cleveland.com/afterdark

Lisa Marie Presley adds to the King's lineage.

Click "continue reading" to find out about the latest battle between Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook, the "Saturday Night Live" skit that didn't make Mark Wahlberg laugh and the debut of Britney Spears' "Womanizer" video.

Fox Searchlight"The Secret Life of Bees" features an outstanding ensemble, from left: Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, and Dakota Fanning.

Online Extra
Learn more about the real men of the 92nd Infantry

In the South during World War II, German prisoners of war were treated better than America's black soldiers. Stopping to eat during a transfer trip, the Germans could sit at tables in a restaurant. The black men were not allowed inside. Whites only.

It happens in the movie "Miracle at St. Anna." Absurd and infuriating, it's also accurate.

Devo!

1. 'Crusoe'
A shipwrecked castaway uses his wits to survive on an island populated by cannibals and mutineers. If he makes it through that, the second season he goes up against the cannibals on Wall Street. Third season? He has to run for president. Premieres 9 p.m. Friday, NBC.

2. 'My Own Worst Enemy'
Starring Christian Slater. Surprisingly, it's not a reality show about his many run-ins with the law and spectacular fall from the A-list. It's a spy thriller about a man programmed by a shadowy government agent to have a split personality -- part family guy, part superspy. Premieres 10 p.m. Monday, NBC.

3. Are They Not Men?
They are Devo! And they're coming home to Akron to whip it good at the Akron Civic Theatre at 8 p.m. Friday. The devolution is coming. Prepare yourself by ordering your own red plastic energy dome at www.clubdevo.com.

It is easy to appreciate the durability of the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company from the performance aesthetic alone. The troupe's dancers are exemplars of controlled physicality, combining poise, strength and a fearless command of intricate movement ideas.

As part of its 40th anniversary season, the Dayton company made a stop at the Ohio Theatre in PlayhouseSquare on Friday under the auspices of Cuyahoga Community College Performing Arts. The evening contained three works that reflect various aspects of African-American experience.

The theme of the 40th anniversary season is "Engraving Our Legacy," which summons the vital contributions that Jeraldyne Blunden, the company's late founder, and her creative and performance successors have made to dance in Dayton and beyond. Their repertoire comprises creations by African-American choreographers with a bold grasp of contemporary and African dance styles.

The Black Keys, Akron, 10.11.08 from John Soeder on Vimeo.

Hard times call for even harder music, and it's hard to think of a better house band for this war-torn, economically free-falling point in our history than Akron's Black Keys.

The no-frills duo returned to its hometown Saturday night to headline its largest Northeast Ohio gig to date, transforming the august E.J. Thomas Hall into one big juke joint. The 2,955-seat venue was packed nearly to capacity.

Little Honey
Lucinda Williams
Lost Highway
The belle of the Americana ball's ninth studio effort delivers a windfall of wonderful songs, ranging from the rough-around-the-edges rocker "Real Love" to the soulful ballad "Tears of Joy" to the eight-minute epic "Rarity," an ode to an unsung hero. The best of the bunch is "Jailhouse Tears," a twangy duet with Elvis Costello. It doesn't get any better than hearing Williams tell him off -- "You're so full of [expletive]," she pricelessly drawls -- although her remake of AC/DC's "It's a Long Way to the Top" comes dang close. In stores Tuesday, Oct. 14. Grade: A