Cleveland, Ohio — Activities
Cleveland Culture
The cultural heart of the city is Playhouse Square Center, 1501 Euclid Avenue (tel: (216) 771 4444; website: www.playhousesquare.org), a cultural complex consisting of five restored landmark theaters - the Ohio, State, Palace, Hanna and the Allen Theaters. Playhouse Square is the second largest performing arts center in the USA, and now attracts over one million patrons every year. Tickets for Playhouse Square productions can be purchased in person from their box office, online from their website, or from Tickets.com (tel: (216) 241 6000; website: www.tickets.com).
Ticketmaster (tel: (216) 241 5555; website: www.ticketmaster.com) also sells tickets for most cultural events in Cleveland.
Entertainment listings can be found in Friday!, the weekly magazine accompanying Cleveland's local newspaper, The Plain Dealer, which is also available online (website: www.plaindealer.com) . The following magazines and newspapers all provide listings: the weekly Scene (website: www.clevescene.com) and Free Times Magazine (website: www.freetimes.com), and the monthly Northern Ohio Live (website: www.northernohiolive.com) and Cleveland Magazine (website: www.clevelandmagazine.com).
Music: The Cleveland Chamber Symphony (tel: (216) 687 9243; website: www.clevelandchambersymphony.org) performs free concerts of musical works by present-day composers. Cleveland Opera (website: www.clevelandopera.org) finds its home at Playhouse Square (see above), performing grand operatic works, such as The Barber of Seville and La Bohème, in the renovated State Theater. The Cleveland Orchestra (tel: (216) 231 1111 or 1 800 686 1141; website: www.clevelandorch.com) performs at Severance Hall, 11001 Euclid Avenue. It offers a popular outdoor concert series during the summer at the Blossom Music Center, 1145 West Steels Corners Road, Cuyahoga Falls.
Theater: The Cleveland Play House, 8500 Euclid Avenue (tel: (216) 795 7000; website: www.clevelandplayhouse.com), was founded in 1915 and is the longest running regional theater in the country, presenting critically acclaimed major theatrical productions alongside works by more obscure writers. The Cleveland Public Theater, 6415 Detroit Avenue (tel: (216) 631 2727; website: www.cptonline.org), is the city's best-known alternative theater, presenting local, national and international avant-garde works.
The Great Lakes Theater Festival (tel: (216) 241 5490; website: www.greatlakestheater.org) puts on the classics from October to May at the Ohio Theater at Playhouse Square (see above). Karamu House, 2355 East 89th Street (tel: (216) 795 7070; website: www.karamu.com), is an African-American cultural institution, which has been putting on performances and working with the community for more than 75 years.
Dance: The Ohio Ballet (website: www.ohioballet.org) was formed in 1968 and finds its home near Cleveland in Akron, Ohio. When in Cleveland, the company performs at the Ohio Theater, 1511 Euclid Avenue, at Playhouse Square (see above). DanceCleveland (tel: (440) 516 7837/STEP; website: www.dancecleveland.org) hosts different contemporary/modern dance troupes from around the world at various Playhouse Square venues (see above).
Film: Fairly recent films, including Rain Man (1988) and Air Force One (1997), show off Cleveland, but one of the most memorable is Major League (1989), a comedy about baseball, directed by David S Ward and starring Charlie Sheen.
Mainstream cinemas worth visiting in Cleveland include Shaker Square Cinemas, 13116 Shaker Square (tel: (440) 349 3306), and Tower City Cinemas, Tower City Center (tel: (440) 349 3306), the only multiplex in downtown Cleveland. The Cedar Lee Theater, 2163 Lee Road (tel: (440) 349 3306), screens independent and foreign films, plus limited-run Hollywood movies.
Literary Notes: Toni Morrison, author of Beloved (1987), The Bluest Eye (1969) and Paradise (1998), was raised in Cleveland. Langston Hughes (1902-1967), the prolific African-American poet, novelist and essayist, spent his high-school years in Cleveland, where much of his early poetry was written. He was part of the Harlem Renaissance movement of black artists. Cleveland was also home to another of America's early 20th-century poets: Hart Crane (1899-1932). Crane spent his youth here and was expected to follow in the footsteps of his father's business, but instead he gave it all up to move to New York and become a writer.
Cleveland Tours
Walking Tours
Guided tours are provided by Walking Tours of Cleveland (tel: (216) 575 1189; website: www.clevelandwalkingtours.com), which last two hours. Reservations are required. The Downtown is compact enough that it can easily be explored on foot without the aid of a tour guide. It can be easily accessed from Public Square at Ontario Street and Superior Avenue.
Bus Tours
Trolley Tours of Cleveland (tel: (216) 771 4484 or 1 800 848 0173; website: www.lollytrolley.com) operates tours of the city on trolley buses covering over 100 points of interest, such as Warehouse District, the Flats Entertainment District and the Northcoast harbor.
Other Tours
North Coast Ghost Tour (tel: (330) 225 1519) operates a three-hour narrated bus tour to 10 haunted sites and places of intrigue. Those wishing to explore the scenic country surroundings of Cleveland can ride the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad (tel: (330) 657 2000 or 1 800 468 4070; website: www.cvsr.com), which departs from the city of Independence, south of Cleveland. The trip takes you through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park before heading to Hale Farm and Village and Downtown Akron.
