If summer is the time for festivals and outdoor music, fall is the perfect opportunity to bundle up and enjoy live theater. Northeast Ohio’s stages are alive from Cleveland to Akron, Lorain to Youngstown, Mansfield to Canton.
Classics loom large this season, from Shakespeare and “Death of a Salesman” to adaptations of new classics, such as “The Wedding Singer” and “Peter/Wendy.” Karamu House in Cleveland is mounting “Purlie Victorious,” the 1961 comedy written by alum Ossie Davis.
Autumn also brings Halloween to the stage with two productions each of "Little Shop of Horrors," "Young Frankenstein" and the gothic ghost story "The Woman in Black."
Just as scary for some people, politics come to the stage just ahead of the November election. “POTUS” tackles the subject head-on at Dobama Theatre in Cleveland Heights. Meanwhile, “The Revolutionists” at Twin Masks Performing Arts Center in Twinsburg uses a subtle, historical approach.
Numerous productions by and for youth are also on stage. The North Canton Playhouse presents a teen edition of "Hadestown." Curtain 440 in Chardon does the same for "Six: The Musical," and the Independence Community Theatre presents its take on "Les Misérables."
Most performances are on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, with select shows during the week. Shows are listed alphabetically by the name of the presenting organization.
Academy for Dramatic Arts, Olmsted Falls
"Bye Bye Birdie" Nov. 7-10
Ashtabula Arts Center, Ashtabula
"To Kill a Mockingbird" Sept. 20-29
"Young Frankenstein" Oct. 11-27
Aurora Community Theatre, Aurora
"And Then There Were None" Oct. 25-Nov. 16
Beck Center for the Arts, Lakewood
"The Sunshine Boys" Sept. 13-Oct. 6
"The Monster Bash of Dreadstone Manor" Oct. 24-27
Blank Canvas Theatre, Cleveland
"Little Shop of Horrors" Oct. 18-Nov. 2
Broadview Heights Spotlights, Broadview Heights
"The Wedding Singer" Nov. 8-23
Cesear's Forum, Cleveland
"Ludlow Fair & the Madness of Lady Bright" Sept. 27-Oct. 26
Chagrin Valley Little Theatre, Chagrin Falls
"The Sound of Music" Nov. 15-Dec. 15
"Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End" Sept. 20-29
Clague Playhouse, Westlake
"Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood" Sept. 13-Oct. 6
Cleveland Play House, Cleveland
"Pride and Prejudice" Sept. 7-29
"What the Constitution Means to Me" Oct. 12-Nov. 3
Cleveland Public Theatre, Cleveland
“not-for-profit (or the equity, diversity and inclusion play)” Oct. 24-Nov. 9
"The Outstretched Hand" Nov. 7-10
convergence continuum, Cleveland
"The Pitchforks" Oct. 4-26
Curtain 440, Chardon
"Six: The Musical” (Teen Edition) Oct. 18-27
Dobama Theatre, Cleveland Heights
"POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive" Oct. 4-27
E.J. Thomas Hall (Broadway in Akron), Akron
"Tina: The Tina Turner Musical" Sept. 24-25
"Dear Evan Hansen" Nov. 12-13
Fine Arts Association, Willoughby
"Young Frankenstein" Sept. 27-Oct. 13
French Creek Theatre, Sheffield Village
"Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery" Sept. 13-27
Gates Mills Players, Gates Mills
"Proof" Nov. 1-9
Great Lakes Theater, Cleveland
"Into the Woods" Sept. 27-Nov. 10
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" Oct. 4-27
Hudson Players, Hudson
"The Music Man" Nov. 1-23
Independence Community Theatre, Independence
"Les Misérables: School Edition" Sept. 13-29
Karamu House, Cleveland
"Purlie Victorious" Sept. 27-Oct. 20
Magical Theatre Company, Barberton
"Tuck Everlasting" Oct. 11-20
Medina County Show Biz Company, Medina
"Something Rotten!" Sept. 20-29
Millennial Theatre Project (Akron Civic), Akron
"Rocky Horror Show" Oct. 11-27
Millennial Theatre Company, Youngstown
"Little Shop of Horrors" Oct. 18-27
North Canton Playhouse, North Canton
"Hadestown: Teen Edition” Oct. 11-20
Ohio Shakespeare Festival, Akron
"The Woman in Black" Oct. 3-26
Players Guild Theatre, Canton
"Mary Poppins" Oct. 4-13
Playhouse Square, Cleveland
"Les Misérables" Sept. 18-22
"A Beautiful Noise" Oct. 8-27
"Velveteen: A New Musical" Oct. 22-25
"Mean Girls" Oct. 29-Nov. 3
"Some Like it Hot" Nov. 5-24
Renaissance Theatre/Theatre 166, Mansfield
"South Pacific" Oct. 4-13
"The Producers" Nov. 9-17
Rubber City Theatre, Akron
"The Masque of Night" Sept. 20-29
Seat of the Pants Productions, Cleveland
"Grand Concourse" Oct. 11-27
Stambaugh Auditorium, Youngstown
"The Diary of Black Men: How Do You Love a Black Woman?" Oct. 27
Stow Players, Stow
"God of Carnage" Nov. 15-24
Talespinner Children's Theatre, Cleveland
"Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical" Sept. 27-Oct. 6
The Chameleon Village at Summit Arts Space, Akron
"Freight" Oct. 17-20
The MAD* Factory, Lorain
"The Woman in Black" Oct. 25-27
Theatre Agápe, Cleveland Heights
"Seussical the Musical" Nov. 8-17
Twin Masks Performing Arts Center, Twinsburg
"The Revolutionists" Nov. 1-16
Weathervane Playhouse, Akron
"Cabaret" Oct. 3-20
Western Reserve Playhouse, Richfield
"Death of a Salesman" Oct. 4-19
Wizbang Theatre, Cleveland Heights
"Acts of Clay" Sept. 20-28
Workshop Players, Amherst
"Arsenic and Old Lace" Sept. 19-29
