Dear Ensemble Patrons,
It is with a heavy heart that Ensemble Theatre announced that the remaining performances of Kindertransport (through March 27th) have been cancelled. This follows the mandate of city, state and federal agencies in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Ensemble takes the safety and health of our patrons, artists, and staff very seriously. In response to Covid-19 we are being proactive out of an abundance of caution. Please be safe and stay healthy!
Click Here for a link to recommended CDC guidelines on Covid-19.
If you have tickets for Ensemble performances, we will be happy to exchange them for a future performance or ticket voucher. Please also consider your ticket purchase as a donation at this time if you cannot reschedule. Ensemble will be hard hit financially by this current situation. Please be patient as we navigate this situation with a limited staff, for their safety as well.
Please stay tuned to our website and social media for further updates as we continue to assess the situation.
Thank you for your ongoing support at this difficult time for everyone. Stay healthy and cautious!
216.321.2930 or info@ensemble-theatre.org
Directed by Katia Schwarz :: MainStageTheatre ::Cleveland Premiere!
The Kindertransport was a British rescue mission that took place at the beginning of WWII. Over 10,000 Jewish children from various countries were placed in British foster homes. Helga and Werner Schlesinger are parents faced with the difficult choice of keeping their beloved daughter Eva in Germany with them, or letting her become one of the Kindertransport children, who are sent to the UK, alone. 'Kindertransport' depicts the agony of separating a child from her parents and wrestles with the consequences of that choice, an act of sacrifice that also wreaks devastating results. Starring Cleveland's own Dorothy Silver and Laura Perotta * as Eveyln.
"'Kindertransport' is an important play to see whether you know about these children or not. It allows you to see that the result of how we treat any children fleeing persecution spans generations, and that mark, good or bad, reflects our own humanity." -DC Metro Theatre Arts
Click Here for more Information on Ensemble Theatre’s
2020 Colombi New Plays Festival Play.
::Invisible:: By Cynthia Dettelbach
PLEASE NOTE : In response to the pandemic, this production is currently POSTPONED. Please be patient and check back for update as we can provide them.
PLEASE NOTE: Ensemble’s End of Year Benefit has been POSTPONED due to COVID 19.
PLEASE stay tuned for updates on a newly scheduled date as this situation unfolds daily.
Our Final Production of our 2019-2020 Season “Making HER Story”:
Directed by Joanna May Cullinan :: Musical Director Rachel Woods::
MainStage Theatre:: Ensemble Premiere!
When her father dies unexpectedly, graphic novelist Alison dives deep into her past to tell the story of the volatile, brilliant, one-of-a-kind man whose temperament and secrets defined her family and her life. Moving between past and present, Alison relives her unique childhood playing at the family’s Bechdel Funeral Home, her growing understanding of her own sexuality, and the looming, unanswerable questions about her father’s hidden desires. Fun Home is a refreshingly honest, wholly original musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes.
WINNER! Best Musical - 2015 Tony® Awards! :: WINNER! Best Score (Jeanine Tesori & Lisa Kron) - 2015 Tony® Awards! :: WINNER! Best Book of a Musical (Lisa Kron) - 2015 Tony® Awards! :: WINNER! Best Musical - New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, Obie Award, Lucille Lortel Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Off-Broadway Alliance Award! :: FINALIST! Pulitzer Prize for Drama
"A rare beauty, extraordinary and heart-gripping." - Ben Brantley, The New York Times
Ensemble’s production of FUN HOME has been POSTPONED due to COVID 19.
It may be rescheduled, it may be canceled. PLEASE stay tuned for updates as this situation unfolds daily.
Earlier on our Mainstage this season:
Directed by Celeste Cosentino :: MainStage Theatre :: Cleveland Premiere!
Loosely based on Euripides' tragedy Medea, this is the prophetic tale of Hester Swane, an Irish Traveller, who attempts to come to terms with a lifetime of abandonment in a world where all whom she has loved have discarded her. Set on the bleak, ghostly landscape of the Bog of Cats, this provocative drama discloses one woman's courageous attempts to lay claim to that which is hers, as her world is torn in two. Starring Cleveland's own Derdriu Ring* as Hester. *(Member of Actors’ Equity Association)
Cleveland Heights’ Ensemble gets powerhouse performance from Derdriu Ring in excellent ‘By the Bog of Cats’ -News Herald
Production Photos Courtesy of shawnchristopherphoto.com
From the writer of The Handmaid’s Tale :: Directed by Celeste Cosentino :: MainStage Theatre:: Regional Premiere!
Homer's Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus's ten year journey home to Ithaca after the ten year Trojan War, fraught with many perils, mythic creatures, and divine beings. By the time he makes it back to Ithaca, he finds his home overrun with one hundred and eight suitors all vying for his faithful and cunning wife Penelope's hand in marriage. Odysseus, with help from his son Telemachus and his patron goddess Athena, kills all of the suitors and the twelve palace maids found to be disloyal. Told by her twelve maids and herself from beyond the grave, Penelope’s story varies little from the classic tale told by Homer, except in pointing out that there are other explanations for the heroic escapades.
" Without a doubt, this is one of the finest productions to hit Cleveland in quite some time. Although the Greek names remain intact, the contemporary writing style makes this epic work easy to follow. You will find yourself swept along for a wild ride. If you are serious about theater you should seriously consider seeing this wonderful show.” -Mark Horning
Production Photos Courtesy of shawnchristopherphoto.com
Directed by Sarah May :: MainStageTheatre:: Ensemble Premiere!
New York circa 1905 is a time and place where rigid social divides along the lines of race, religion, and class exist alongside a burgeoning population of immigrants from abroad and people from all over the U.S., who have moved to the city to seek their fortunes, bringing diversity, excitement,and change. Esther Mills, a skilled African-American seamstress, is able to navigate this changing, dangerous world with her needle and thread, as her talents are much in demand.
“Intimate Apparel speaks softly at a time when political discourse has become an ear-splitting bellow….. Factor in the superb acting, smart set design, and deft directorial pacing of the current production at Ensemble Theater, and you get a dramatic experience practically dressed for success.” -Cleveland Scene
Production Photos Courtesy of shawnchristopherphoto.com
