Browns Rule!

November 19th through December 13th, 2009

Cleveland Public Theatre is proud to present Browns Rules by Eric Schmiedl Directed by Bill Hoffman Original songs written and composed by Hoffman and Schmiedl

Don't miss the world-premiere of this cabaret style musical by nationally recognized local playwright Eric Schmiedl. Browns Rules is both a send-up and a love-letter to The Cleveland Browns. Three performer musicians and the audience are on a mission - successfully name the 29 rules of being a Cleveland Browns Fan and the Browns will win the Superbowl in 2010.



Part vaudeville, part sideshow, part variety show Browns Rules is an interactive exploration of the relationship between Cleveland and our beloved football team. With a rock band on stage, three performers combine storytelling and drama as they rip apart myths, celebrate heroes, and try to understand what makes the Cleveland Browns so important to our culture. What was the All-America Football Conference and who destroyed it? How did Paul Brown inspire his famous 1949 all-star team? Art Modell, friend or foe? Who called "Red Right 88?" Who wrote the song "Bernie, Bernie?" Cleveland Browns Stadium, asset or financial disaster? These questions and more are examined as Browns Rules looks at our dear Brownies and the city that loves and hates them.

Showtimes: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:00pm
Monday, November 30 at 7:00pm (Tickets only $10!)
Sunday, December 13 at 3:00pm (Browns have a bye week!)

Tickets: $30 Reserved Seating at Cabaret Table (includes corkage, reserved seats and tableside bar service during the show) | $24 General Admission | $22 Online Advance Purchase | $2 Discount for Students and Seniors | Special Thursday night pricing: $10 General Admission, $16 Cabaret Table Seating

Dane Cook (5/14)

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

Named a "comedian phenom and icon" by Entertainment Weekly, Dane Cook has maintained his reputation as one of today's most prolific stand-up comedians while simultaneously distinguishing himself as a charismatic and versatile actor in a variety of film and television projects. Last fall, Cook starred in his first leading role as the likable slacker Zack in Lionsgate's Employee of the Month, leading the romantic comedy to a box office gross of over $30 million and DVD sales that topped the charts.

A samples of Dane..."The Friend Nobody Likes." (Rated R...Adult language)



Don't miss comedian, funny man, Mr. Cook, this week at the Q, 8pm.
For tickets call 216.241.5555, $33.

David Pogue, tech guru (3/09)

Monday, March 9th, 2009

David Pogue grew up in Shaker Heights. Hi Mom's the Welcome Wagon lady and his dad's a lawyer. He was a music/theatre geek from Day 1, starring in, composing, playing piano for, or conducting musicals and choirs from elementary school through high school. He was also a language jock, winning the Ohio Spelling Bee in 1977, and a magician, performing over 400 magic shows during his teen years.

Today, David Pogue is the personal-technology columnist for the New York Times. Each week, he contributes a print column, an online column, an online video and a popular daily blog, “Pogue’s Posts.”David is also an Emmy award-winning tech correspondent for CBS News, and he appears each week on CNBC with his trademark comic tech videos.

With over 3 million books in print, David is one of the world’s bestselling how-to authors. He wrote or co-wrote seven books in the “for Dummies” series (including Macs, Magic, Opera, and Classical Music); in 1999, he launched his own series of complete, funny computer books called the Missing Manual series, which now includes over 100 titles.

David graduated summa cum laude from Yale in 1985, with distinction in Music, and he spent ten years conducting and arranging Broadway musicals in New York. In 2007, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in music from Shenandoah Conservatory. He’s been profiled on both “48 Hours” and “60 Minutes.” He lives with his wife and three young children in Connecticut. His web site is www.davidpogue.com.



Join Playhouse Square as they welcome Mr. Pogue as part of their Town Hall Series. The mission of Town Hall Cleveland is to educate and to inform, through an annual series of public lectures, an audience of attentive and active citizenry in northern Ohio, promoting no particular social or political agenda other than to enrich the depth and quality of the public discourse essential to a free society.

The meetings of Town Hall of Cleveland are open to everyone with a ticket. Among those who attend are persons from a wide range of business professions, civic activists, religious, social and labor leaders, artists, politicians, teachers and students.

For more information on David Pogue and the Town Hall of Cleveland visit www.townhallofcleveland.org. For tickets call 216.241.1919

Symon Says

Hello fellow Clevelanders,
As most of you know, I usually write about things happening in the future, not ones that have already occurred. For this I MUST make an exception.

Yesterday I had the honor of attending the 2008 COSE Small Business Conference. After the morning keynote speaker, I knew the day would be a treat...and therefore I had to share.

Michael Symon, born & raised Clevelander, Restauranteur, Hipster & Food Network Big Shot Iron Chef wowed the audience with the stories of starting a small business (Symon now manages over 140 employees..hardly small?) “Nothing is more frightening than owning your own business” proclaimed Symon.

As the morning continued Chef Symon filled our eager minds with the top 5 most important pieces of advice he could give to any small business owner. (This is where I started to get giddy with excitement...six pages of notes later) Since many of you have entrepreneurial minds, I thought I would pass along his wise words.

#1 : HAVE PASSION
Be passionate. Start with passion. Figure out what drives you..and THEN how you possibly could make money through your passions.

#2 : HAVE A MISSION
When Symon first opened Lola’s, the mission was to create a restaurant where Clevelanders could get good food at a reasonable cost...casually!
What is your mission?

#3 : HIRE AMAZING PEOPLE
Whomever you hire is a reflection of you, the owner. Treat every employee like family. “Let them drink the Kool-Aid!”

#4 : BE YOURSELF
What you see is what you get. Build your business around yourself, around your personality (“Unless you’re an asshole,” Symon chuckled his infamous giggle).

#5 : SUPPORT OTHER SMALL BUSINESSES
You want good faithful clients. You want people to believe in you and support you..then in turn you MUST support your peers. Shop locally. Drive the extra 2 miles for your hardware. Choose Heinens over Giant Eagle. Eat at Lola (he says it shamelessly) vs. Applebee's...although he now calls his restaurant Lolita the Applebee's of Tremont (the place where neighbors go to get a good affordable meal...“a nosh.”)

As Symon’s talk drew to a close he mentioned that while the state of the nation’s economy is plummeting...the income at Lola & Lolita is skyrocketing. (GO CLEVELAND!) His theory? “When we have less, or make less, we want–we need something we know is a definite GOOD THING; something we trust, something that will make you feel good all over.”



Although early yesterday morning, as the clouds parted and I was on my way to the conference I was dreading the usual small talk, business card passing crowd. Now after reflecting on the day, I am pleased to have put my conference stereotypes away and am still glowing in the excitement of hearing Mr. Michael Symon speak of his success, his experiences and his passion for what he loves in a city that supports him.

For the entire podcast of Chef Symons talk visit www.cosemindspring.com (it should be available next week)