Cleveland Play House

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The Cleveland Play House is a regional theater company and also the name of a theater complex in the Fairfax neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. As of 2005, the artistic director of the theater company is Michael Bloom, the eighth since its inception. At 300,000 square feet, the Philip Johnson-designed Cleveland Play House complex houses five performance spaces, making it the largest regional theater complex in the United States.^[1]

Founded in 1915, it is the oldest regional theater in America. An expansion designed by architect Philip Johnson was added in 1983. The complex consists of the 548-seat Bolton Theatre, the 505-seat Drury Theatre, the 138-seat Brooks Theatre (all three proscenium), the 312-seat Baxter stage (black box) that makes use of the Bolton's main stage, and a 120 seat black box theater named Studio One.

In addition to producing new and classic works, the Play House rents its spaces to various Cleveland companies, including Dobama Theater, Ensemble Theater, and Cleveland Signstage Theater.

The Cleveland Play House's mainstage season for 2007-2008 includes the following productions: Man of La Mancha -- September 14-October 7, 2007 Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure -- October 12-November 4, 2007 The Chosen -- November 2-25, 2007 A Christmas Story -- November 29-December 23, 2007 Hershey Felder as George Gershwin Alone -- January 15-February 3, 2008 Gee's Bend -- February 1-24, 2008 Doubt -- February 29-March 23, 2008 Pride and Prejudice -- March 21-April 13, 2008 Humana Festival/Cleveland Play House Premiere -- April 18-May 11, 2008

2005 3rd year graduate students at CWRU perform A Mid Summer Night's Dream at the Cleveland Playhouse in the Brooks Theatre. Costume Designer: Kristine L. Davies.