Clague Playhouse is a charming, little barn that once upon a time was converted into a community theater. I think the first show I ever saw there was The Mikado. Might have been Pinafore. The thing is, the place features a dinky stage with about eighty seats on three sides. And once upon a time they showed my light opera, and I really, really liked it.
My freshman year in high school, they produced You Can't Take It With You. The place is so small, you really couldn't help feeling you were sitting in that absurdly overstuffed living room.
The tour always visits Clague. Most years we are close to full. This year we were at capacity by a quarter 'til curtain and had to turn a large number of folks away. I was excited about playing to a full house. If you are reading this and could not get in, please try to join us at Fairview or Lakewood Public Libraries.
Now most years, they are usually in the middle of a run, or about to open something. Due to the thrust stage, there may be some platforms or other large set items screwed or painted to the floor. We checked with local set design legend Ron Newell (it's always Ron's set) and fortunately they were between productions, and he would make sure the stage were clear.
True to his word, the stage was not only entirely clear, but he had painted the floor! And our magnificent set was just shy of the proscenium arch, and just about as wide. It was the most perfect fit for a tour set I have ever seen at Clague!
Honestly. I wish we could have just left the set there. We could have played all of the rest of our dates there, bussing folks from Summit and Lorain counties to see us. Really, it would have been worth it. They even had an area rug for us.
That rug really tied the room together.
Thank you.
My family was in attendance. My kids are nine and six (going on seven.) They were both intrigued by the show, though it is challenging to get an opinion out of them. The boy found it very interesting that the show had a "main theme." So that's a compliment, Richard, a six year-old noticed your chosen Poirot Theme and thought that was really cool.
The afternoon performance gave me a chance this evening to tint my temples a little, as well as the mustache.
Tomorrow night we join the folks at Kendal at Oberlin. Curtain is at 7:15 PM and the performance is free and open to the public.
Note to anyone who reads the Lorain Journal: on Friday they incorrectly published that this touring play would be at LCCC on Wednesday, 2/22. They were off by a week. They are supposed to run a retraction, but please tell your friends that there is no show at LCCC, that performance was 2/15. If you had your heart set on it, consider Olde Town Hall Theatre in North Ridgeville on 2/21. Workshop Players on 2/27 is already sold out.
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