Cleveland's Classic Theater Company Announces Ambitious 2014-15 Season to Headline Hanna Theatre Home

The new lineup features a pair of Shakespearean classics, a Tony Award-winning musical epic, and a vintage thriller.

CLEVELAND, OH – Charles Fee, Producing Artistic Director of Great Lakes Theater (GLT), unveiled an ambitious, five-production array of classics to headline the company’s 2014-15 season. Great Lakes Theater’s fifty-third year is scheduled to run from September 2014 through April 2015 at PlayhouseSquare’s Hanna and Ohio Theatres.

GLT will commence its 2014-15 season with Shakespeare’s battle of the sexes, The Merry Wives of Windsor, presented in rotating repertory with Boublil and Schönberg’s Tony Award-winning musical epic, Les Misérables (September 26 - November 9, 2013). The company’s annual production of Dickens’ holiday classic, A Christmas Carol (November 29- December 23, 2014) will bisect the season. In the spring, GLT will present the classic thriller, Dial “M” for Murder by Frederick Knott (February 27 – March 22, 2015) followed by Shakespeare’s magical romance, The Tempest (April 4 – 19, 2014).

Tracy Young, who most recently directed Great Lakes Theater’s acclaimed production of The Taming of the Shrew, will return to direct the company’s season-opening production of The Merry Wives of Windsor. Conversely, a decorated Great Lakes Theater veteran and resident artist, Victoria Bussertwill celebrate her 28th year at GLT when she helms the company’s production of Les Misérables. During the holiday season, longtime artistic company member Sara Bruner will return to stage GLT’s annual production of A Christmas Carol. The directors of Dial“M” for Murder and The Tempestwill be named at a later date.

Great Lakes Theater’s 2014-15 season is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. Generous season support is also provided by The Cleveland Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council.

Four of the company’s 2014-15 season offerings (The Merry Wives of Windsor, Les Misérables, Dial “M” for Murder and The Tempest), will take place in GLT’s revolutionary, audience-friendly home at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare, while A Christmas Carol will remain in its traditional Ohio Theatre setting.

Great Lakes Theater’s award-winning home at the Hanna Theatre features a unique thrust stage configuration where the audience surrounds the performance - affording attendees a uniquely intimate theater experience in which no seat is further than 12 rows from the stage.At the Hanna, patrons select from a variety of seating opportunities that include traditional seats, club chairs, lounge/bar seats, banquette couches and private box seating. Boasting a fully flexible hydraulic stage, state-of-the-art theatrical systems and a visionary“Great Room” inspired design concept that integrates the artist and audience into a single unified environment, Great Lakes Theater’s Hanna home isone of the most innovative theaters in the country.
Great Lakes Theater will continue to afford patrons extraordinary access to its production process at every Hanna Theatre performance in 2014-15. The Hanna’s doors always open ninety minutes before each show allowing patrons to observe the complete pre-show preparation process of GLT’s actors and technical staff. Elements such as stage combat rehearsals, dance calls, prop/scenic pre-sets, technical cue rehearsals and actor warm-ups will be conducted in full view of patrons, offering GLT audiences an unprecedented glimpse into the theatrical process. A complete list of pre-/post-show enhancement programming is available at.

Subscriptions to Great Lakes Theater’s 2014-15 season are on sale now. An adult subscription to Great Lakes Theater starts as low as $138. Student subscriptions begin at $39. For complete information, patrons should call (216) 664-6064 or visit.

Single tickets will go on sale in August.Regular priced adult single tickets will range from $15 - $70. Regular priced student/youth tickets for the Hanna Theatre are $13 ($26 for A Christmas Carol in the Ohio Theatre) and will be available for all performances. Further details and pricing specifics for single performance tickets will be announced in August.

Great Lakes Theater, Cleveland’s classic company, has brought the pleasure, power and relevance of classic theater to the widest possible audience since 1962. The first resident company of PlayhouseSquare, GLT will celebrate its 33rd year in downtown Cleveland this season. On its main stage and through its extensive education programming, Great Lakes Theater positively impacts 100,000 adults and students annually.

Posted on: February 08, 2014

Category: Press Releases