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CURTAINS RISING Don't look now, but live (!) in-person (!) theater is back in Cleveland. Here's what's happening from now until January on local stages BY CHRISTINE HOWEY

| clevescene.com | July 14-27, 2021

CONTENTS JULY 14-27, 2021 • VOL. 52 No 01

Upfront .......................................8 Feature ..................................... 16 Get Out .....................................20 Arts .......................................... 23

Eat ............................................ 25 Music ........................................28 Savage Love ..............................30

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The Dead Boys made one of their many, many appearances in Scene with new releases from the new wave.

| clevescene.com | July 14-27, 2021

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UPFRONT Basheer Jones speaks at Cleveland mayoral forum at Jefferson Park (Sam Allard / Scene)

WINNERS AND LOSERS FROM CLEVELAND MAYORAL FORUM IN WEST PARK

THE SUN EMERGED OVER Jefferson Park last Thursday evening after a brief hard rain to make way for the most exciting event of the 2021 Cleveland mayoral race to date. All seven candidates, now fully in campaign mode, proved that the race to succeed Mayor Frank Jackson is wide open. Hosted and moderated by west side councilmen Brian Kazy and Charles Slife, the forum covered a range of interrelated topics that largely focused on city services, from street resurfacing to the lapsed recycling program to public safety. The event was held outdoors, with a few dozen residents and supporters gathered in lawn chairs to hear the memorized talking points and extemporized one-liners of the hopefuls. Though it was not billed as a “debate,” the event featured an array of barbs and clapbacks that one would expect on a competitive campaign trail and some of the most pointed individual questions that have yet been posed. The big winner, in this respect, was the City of Cleveland, whose residents can rest assured that their city is, at last, the venue for

a legitimate political contest. The primary elections are Sept. 14, after which the top two vote-getters will square off in the November general. As in previous columns, the below is my best attempt to separate those who performed strongest from those who came up short. Unlike in 2017, where incumbent Frank Jackson didn’t even bother to attend the summer forums, no candidate bombed completely or presented as someone who did not belong. There were moments of coherence and even persuasiveness from virtually all of them. Still, a few performances were notable, and a few themes concretized in my mind by evening’s end. (NB: I hope it’s superfluous to note that these are merely my impressions. The “winners” and “losers” framing is for ease and does not connote any actual victory or defeat. Nor does it connote any enduring preference. A “winner” today could be a “loser” next week.) WINNER: Basheer Jones Far and away the evening’s best showing belonged to Ward 7 Councilman Basheer Jones. I have called Jones the race’s premier

| clevescene.com | July 14-27, 2021

orator, and he quickly earned the tag Thursday, once again distinguishing himself from the pack via his ease and power on the mic. He’s a natural speaker in a way that Justin Bibb and Kevin Kelley, for example, simply are not. (Substance of their comments notwithstanding, those two often sound like they’re reciting scripts.) Whether it’s gleaned from the radio studio or the pulpit, Jones has mastered a way of communicating that feels almost covert, like he’s letting you in on secrets, in this case peeling back the veil of city government. The double-whammy effect, Thursday, was that he could expose incompetence and promote transparency simultaneously, all while remaining upbeat. He had a moment where he invited the crowd to submit public records requests for email correspondence between council members and various city departments, which he said would demonstrate how difficult it was even for them to acquire basic information. Jones was responsible for the evening’s two best and most memorable moments, neither of which were scripted. The first was during a question posed to him about a recent

video which showed him saying, “women are not our leaders.” He explained the context of his remarks — he said he was addressing men in his community about the scourge of violence, trying to empower them to protect the women and children in their midst — but brought the conversation back to public safety. He stressed that hiring more police officers would not magically reduce crime, as others on stage seemed to think. He cut through the unchallenged consensus, in other words, with some real talk. He said that while in some neighborhoods, more officers might make residents feel safer, in other neighborhoods the effect would be the opposite. Without naming names, Jones said that his opponents were using language to stir up fear based on preconceived ideas (ahem, racism), but that the city and its public safety responses were complex. You can’t necessarily apply the same solution in Kamm’s Corners that you can in Glenville. It was a moment of clarity and correction that — at least in my peripheral vision — had a bunch of folks nodding along appreciatively. But the biggest moment, which

UPFRONT represented to me and just about everyone in attendance the event’s climax, was after Zack Reed had whipped out his phone and accused Jones of wanting to defund the police. Reed was referencing Jones’ appearance at the City Club of Cleveland, when he’d responded to a quote by Gov. Mike DeWine that defunding the police was “absurd.” “It’s definitely not absurd,” Jones said then. Reed treated the moment as a gotchya, keen to isolate Jones as either a liar or a flip-flopper after he’d earlier stated that “no one on this stage is talking about defunding the police.” Jones spoke next. These were meant to be the candidates’ closing arguments. “Now if we start Googling Zack,” he quipped, good-naturedly, “you know what’s gonna happen. So we’re not gonna do that right now.” Laughter. Applause. Hooting. Hollering. Etcetera. A clean and sharp retort that made Reed look foolish and Jones look dignified. The crowd was instantly on his side. But then Jones took it one step further. “That’s the issue with our city, by the way,” he said. “You have older Black leadership who attack the new young Black leadership. That’s why you’re not gonna catch me attacking Bibb. He and I have the same mission to make this city better, even if we’re riding in different cars. These old Black leaders tearing down young Black leaders — they’re stepping on caterpillars as if the sky is not big enough for all the butterflies.” My goodness. The Bibb section might have been cheering even louder than the Jones section after that graceful exegesis, so profoundly did the message resonate. When Jones sat down, Ross DiBello, seated at the end of the candidates’ platform, reached behind Kevin Kelley to offer a comradely fist bump. Everyone seemed to recognize that this was the evening’s big moment, and perhaps a pivotal moment in the primary’s early going. LOSER: Dennis Kucinich On the heels of, let’s face it, a successful publicity stunt with the script Cleveland signs, Kucinich asserted himself even more forcefully as the candidate for whom public safety is the preeminent issue. “The noise that people are hearing in Cleveland neighborhoods is not planes,” he said at one point, as an airplane flew low overhead, “but

gunshots.” Kucinich pounced on every question as an opportunity to reiterate that the City of Cleveland had $40 million in a rainy day fund and $30 million in unencumbered general fund dollars that could be used to hire 400 new police officers and 100 new assistants trained as interventionists for mental health calls. Kucinich is a veteran on the campaign trail and has experience behind a mic as well, obviously. But where Jones seemed natural, Kucinich seemed theatrical. The dramatic pauses before every answer became almost ritualistic by the forum’s conclusion. And the welltread stories of his penny-counting parents and his sensitivity to the plight of Black people due to his growing up in Black neighborhoods scanned as stage monologues. (When he quoted Langston Hughes — “life for me ain’t been no crystal stair” — and discussed his impoverished youth, did I detect — gulp — something like a «Black voice»?) Cringy stuff regardless. The former mayor and congressman is at his best when discussing the special interests that control the levers of power. And during a question about “customer service” at City Hall, Kucinich artfully reframed the underlying assumption — “city government isn’t working” — into a more accurate diagnosis: city government is working, just not for you. Yes! That’s the Dennis that so many Clevelanders know and love. And yet his insistence on warping democratic principles into fearmongering about violence is the sort of thing that people detest most about election season. I actually view the Dennis and Kevin Kelley campaigns through roughly the same lens in that sense. Both are cynically deploying campaign rhetoric that people recognize as vast departures from their records and vibes: No one actually believes Kelley cares about listening to residents, for example, or that he’s a trailblazer for racial justice. That’s entirely a curated image for the election. But this is why Kelley talks nonstop about council’s declaration of racism as a public health crisis and its right to counsel for evicted tenants legislation as if Kelley and Kelley alone were responsible for them. (We reported more than a year ago that Kelley would attempt to rehab his image for his mayoral run.) You don’t hear him celebrating the Q Deal or his efforts to quash the Fight for 15, though those are his actual legacies. That’s how elections work. Candidates

say what they think will get them the most votes, regardless of their beliefs. It seems to be much harder for folks to grasp in the case of Kucinich, but this is what he’s up to as well: He is not actually a raving Blue Lives Matter partisan who wants to militarize every city street corner, though that’s how he sounds. His “bold” stance to oppose the Citizens for a Safer Cleveland initiative and his constant references to raining bullets and the terror of violence in the neighborhoods is cold, strategic, cynical electioneering. WINNER: The Young Bucks The evening’s energy was undeniably on the side of Basheer Jones, Justin Bibb and even plucky Ross DiBello, the lone male candidate without a sport coat or suit jacket. Dramatized by Jones’ final speech, the divide between the younger, fresher faces, and the aging (or downright old) hasbeens couldn’t have been starker. The contingents of supporters for Bibb and Jones were the largest, with their yard signs marking the perimeter of Jefferson Park. And while Bibb was handicapped early on by his placement in the line-up — he was the first to introduce himself, the first to answer an individual question and the first to lead off a group question — he recovered with his familiar, easily digestible talking points about the need for modern-day competence at City Hall. The 21st century is calling, Bibb continued to assert, and he was the candidate who was equipped to answer the telephone. The DiBello ethos rocks. People love this guy, even if they might not vote for him. Unlike Bibb and Jones, DiBello arrived solo, with zero identifiable supporters and zero signs, a dynamic that, alongside his broken microphone, reinforced his one-manversus-the-system mentality. DiBello is a guy who’s happy to be there, but who has worked exceedingly hard to do so. When asked why Clevelanders should have confidence in his ability to lead, he said, word for word: “My work ethic, physically, mentally, my cooperation skills. I’ve played in the World Series of Poker.” Hell yes, Ross. But joke candidate DiBello is not. He continually connects the dots between corporate handouts and the city’s poverty and proposes systemic changes to legislative policies that have long insulated established power. His closing argument even had a heroic whiff, animated by his personal quest to gather petition signatures: “I don’t know that any of these six candidates up here could have went

out and collected 3,850 signatures [on their own],” he said. “I’d have gotten 5,000. I’d have gotten 7,500. I was getting on the ballot for anybody in Cleveland who feels unheard, for anybody who’s wondering what the hell they’re getting for their tax dollars, for anybody who wants to stop prioritizing billionaires and how they feel and how many houses they own in Florida. I was getting on the ballot for us, for the public comment people, for the participatory budgeting people, for CLASH — not Council President Kelley’s Lead Safe Initiative — I was getting on the ballot for you guys and I would’ve gotten whatever it took.” LOSER: The Old Farts Sandra Williams and Kevin Kelley failed to make much of an impression. Williams’ strongest answer was about EMS and the ways the city sabotages itself by offering non-competitive wages and makes EMS workers pay for

DIGIT WIDGET $443 million Amount Dan Gilbert lowered his taxes between 2005 and 2018 because of his stake in the Cavs, according to a recent ProPublica story that seems appropriate, in light of a pending new lease agreement with the Cleveland Baseball Team.

3 Cuyahoga County jail officers who have been arrested in the last nine days.

$89 million Total spent by the state of Ohio on contractors to shore up Ohio’s Department of Job and Family Services as it tried to deal with unemployment fraud during the pandemic.

15% Holmes County, OH, residents who have received at least one dose of their Covid vaccine. It’s the lowest rate in the state. | clevescene.com | July 14-27, 2021

at they think will get them the tes, regardless of their beliefs. ems to be much harder for grasp in the case of Kucinich, is what he’s up to as well: ot actually a raving Blue Matter partisan who wants to ze every city street corner, that’s how he sounds. His tance to oppose the Citizens fer Cleveland initiative and stant references to raining and the terror of violence in ghborhoods is cold, strategic, electioneering.

ER: The Young Bucks ning’s energy was undeniably side of Basheer Jones, Justin d even plucky Ross DiBello, e male candidate without a oat or suit jacket. Dramatized s’ final speech, the divide n the younger, fresher faces, aging (or downright old) hasouldn’t have been starker. contingents of supporters b and Jones were the largest, eir yard signs marking the er of Jefferson Park. And ibb was handicapped early on placement in the line-up — he first to introduce himself, t to answer an individual n and the first to lead off a question — he recovered with iliar, easily digestible talking about the need for modern-day ence at City Hall. The 21st y is calling, Bibb continued rt, and he was the candidate s equipped to answer the ne. DiBello ethos rocks. People s guy, even if they might e for him. Unlike Bibb and DiBello arrived solo, with zero able supporters and zero signs, mic that, alongside his broken hone, reinforced his one-manthe-system mentality. ello is a guy who’s happy ere, but who has worked ngly hard to do so. When why Clevelanders should have nce in his ability to lead, he ord for word: “My work ethic, lly, mentally, my cooperation ’ve played in the World Series r.” Hell yes, Ross. joke candidate DiBello is not. inually connects the dots n corporate handouts and the overty and proposes systemic s to legislative policies that ng insulated established His closing argument even eroic whiff, animated by his al quest to gather petition res: n’t know that any of these six ates up here could have went

3 Cuyahoga County jail officers who have been arrested in the last nine days.

$89 million Total spent by the state of Ohio on contractors to shore up Ohio’s Department of Job and Family Services as it tried to deal with unemployment fraud during the pandemic.

15% Holmes County, OH, residents who have received at least one dose of their Covid vaccine. It’s the lowest rate in the state.

| clevescene.com | July 14-27, 2021

their own training. But she didn’t attack (or even critique) any of her competitors or present a vision for the city’s future beyond, “If I say I’m going to do something, I do it.” In response to a (very good) question about her sponsorship of HB6 and her donations from FirstEnergy as a state legislator and why, given this track record, residents should feel confident in the future of Cleveland Public Power, Williams offered a weak deflection. She said that other Democrats voted for HB6 too and that she received donations from all sorts of organizations other than FirstEnergy. CPP would not be sold on her watch, she promised. Kelley promoted his leadership on street resurfacing, which resulted in significant increases in dollars for road repairs citywide, but his opening and closing remarks — about making sure the city’s recovery from Covid included everybody — struck a generic and false note, a distant cousin of Frank Jackson’s endless “least of us” refrain. Kelley was also clearly bothered that his opponents were veering from the questions asked by the moderators. One suspects he is so accustomed to chairing meetings as the head of city council that he feels especially powerless on a level playing field. Reed was on the warpath, exchanging zingers throughout the night with Justin Bibb, whom he accused during closing remarks of actually hailing from Union-Miles, not Mt. Pleasant. (Bibb’s grandmother, who was in attendance, was name dropped more times than any candidate on stage.) Reed reverted to a number of tropes from his 2017 campaign, including the recitation of homicide numbers and his proposal to open City Hall on Saturdays for office hours. To his chagrin, if his performance is remembered at all, it’ll be for the Basheer Jones exchange, in which he served as the joke’s unhappy and unwitting butt. WINNER: Brian Kazy and Charles Slife The city’s press corps is officially on notice. Two councilmen just organized and executed the most substantive and entertaining political forum of the year. Both the format — alternating between round-robin general questions and individual questions — and subject matter invited lively and revealing answers from the candidates. All were given equal opportunities to comment. The event ended precisely on time. Brian Kazy concluded with a warning to candidates not to forget West Park as they continued their campaigns. Given that Ward 17 is

historically one of the two highestvoter-turnout wards in Cleveland elections, there’s little danger of that. -Sam Allard

Great Lakes Brewing Company Workers Take Steps to Unionize with United Steelworkers Production workers for Great Lakes Brewing Company, the oldest and largest craft brewery in Ohio, signed union cards at the United Steelworkers union hall Sunday in a declaration of their intent to unionize. An internal organizing committee had been working through the ebbs and flows of the pandemic to build support for a union. And after talking with a number of local chapters, the committee voted to affiliate with USW for its rich history in Northeast Ohio, its democratic processes and its abundance of resources for local workers. Signing union cards is the first step in the unionization process for the workers who staff the GLBC warehouse, drive the trucks, brew and bottle the product and maintain the facilities. (This does not encompass restaurant workers at the Great Lakes brewpub.) The cards signal to the National Labor Relations Board that the workers want to have a union election. The NLRB will now seek an election agreement between Great Lakes and the union to coordinate next steps. “We feel very good about where we’re at right now,” a member of the Great Lakes Organizing Committee (GLOC), who requested anonymity, told Scene. “The overwhelming majority of workers love working at Great Lakes. We wouldn’t be doing this otherwise. A lot of people think that unions are a referendum on working conditions, but for most of us, it’s about making a good place to work a great place to work.” The GLOC member said that the benefits at Great Lakes were why many workers have elected to stay there, even if they might be able to command higher wages elsewhere. Preserving those benefits in a formal union contract was important for many who signed cards, as was having an actual seat at the table in company decisions. (Great Lakes, which was founded in 1986 in Ohio City, is technically “employee-owned.”) The committee is hopeful that Great Lakes will voluntarily recognize the union and respect the desire to have a fair union election. The committee also believes that the union effort could be a catalyst for unionization at other microbreweries, or even a craft

| clevescene.com | July 14-27, 2021

UPFRONT beer labor movement. Regardless, the committee believes the effort would produce a windfall of good will in the region. “Yes this is about giving us a voice, but we also feel that a union would be good for [Great Lakes’] business,” the GLOC member said. “People are going to love buying union-made craft beer in Cleveland.” -Sam Allard

Consent Decree Monitor Reverses Course on Forced Resignation of Ayesha Bell-Hardaway Following backlash from local organizations including Black Lives Matter Cleveland, the Cleveland chapter of the NAACP and the Norman S. Minor Bar Association over what former deputy monitor Ayesha Bell-Hardaway said was her forced resignation from the team overseeing the DOJ’s consent decree with the city of Cleveland and its police department, head monitor Hassan Aden today said he wants Bell-Hardaway to return to her position. Bell-Hardaway said Aden sought to demote her to a community relations position after she appeared on NPR for an interview to discuss the murder of George Floyd. She resigned instead. Aden, in a statement and letter last week, said he has reversed course due to community outreach that he’s heard “loud and clear” and will not accept her resignation, should she want to return. “This decision comes after my careful consideration and openness to community input,” he wrote. “... Often, in many cities, the community voice is not heard or considered, this is not the case here, I heard you and acted upon that message.” The previously mentioned organizations had said they thought Aden should resign, as his behavior in the incident indicated to them that he was not equipped to lead the team tasked with correcting what the Feds found was a years-long pattern and practice of misconduct by the police department. -Vince Grzegorek

Seven Council Candidates Disqualified by BOE, All from High-Poverty East Side Wards

| clevescene.com | July 14-27, 2021

Until Monday, June 28, Bishop Chui was a candidate for Cleveland City Council in Ward 9. The Glenville resident, who moved back to Cleveland after going to school in

Washington D.C., was running against popular incumbent Kevin Conwell and wanted to prioritize issues, like gentrification and income inequality, that he felt were being overlooked. But the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections determined that Chui, along with six other council candidates, did not gather enough valid signatures to qualify for the primary ballot in September. On June 28, his name was removed from the list of 2021 candidates. Another Ward 9 candidate, Guy Coleman, was also removed from the race based on insufficient signatures, which means that Kevin Conwell will win another council term without a challenger. He joins Blaine Griffin, Anthony Hairston and Brian Kazy as council incumbents running unopposed. Griffin, like Conwell, is the lone remaining candidate in his ward only after the BOE invalidated the signatures of his opponent. Chui is an organizer and activist who got a relatively late start to his campaign this spring. He said he initially paid one canvasser to circulate petitions but gathered the majority of his signatures personally and with volunteers. He said he thinks the BOE’s stringent enforcement makes gathering signatures a challenge in povertystricken wards. That’s borne out by the BOE’s rulings earlier this week. The candidates disqualified for invalid signatures were from Wards 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 12, all of which are on the city’s east side. Ward 12, which includes portions of Tremont, Brooklyn Centre and Old Brooklyn in addition to Slavic Village, is one of only two wards that spans the Cuyahoga River. With a median household income of $26,505, it is also the wealthiest of the wards where candidates were disqualified. In Chui’s Ward 9, more than 8,000 of nearly 21,000 residents live in poverty. “The BOE has a responsibility to confirm that the signatures are genuine,” Chui told Scene, “but they take it a step further. They’ll invalidate the signature of an octogenarian who has suffered a stroke because her handwriting doesn’t look the same as it did when she first registered decades ago.” Chui said that the biggest issue he encountered going door-to-door in Glenville was that residents living in poverty don’t always have stable housing. There were some who signed their names to his petitions who were unregistered — many people don’t know their voter registration status — but even more who were

Bishop Chui wanted to highlight issues of income inequality in Ward 9. (Gary Oliverio)

registered at previous addresses in other communities. People living in financial precarity move around a lot, as a rule. Chui said that, in addition, the BOE’s voter rolls aren’t always up to date and include registered voters at addresses that no longer exist, usually due to demolition. Ward 9 is unique in one other respect: At least one of its precincts is dominated by Case Western Reserve University students, most of whom, if they are registered at all, are registered in their home communities, often out-of-state. “I’m not pointing fingers, but the whole situation is unfortunate,” Chui said. “I think there’s this idea that gathering signatures is supposed to be an arduous process. Like it’s supposed to be this hazing for people

getting into politics. I think that’s the wrong way to look at it. It should be easy and accessible.” Chui said that gathering signatures, which can already be intimidating and confusing for newcomers in any ward and especially challenging for those running in high-poverty wards, is exacerbated by entrenched incumbents who leverage their ward connections to circulate petitions at local institutions — churches, for example — and who publicly promote a narrative that signing a challenger’s petition means “going against” them. Still, the 300 valid signatures required for council candidates is nowhere near the 3,000 required for the mayoral race. Chui mentioned

that at Monday’s meeting, the BOE noted “irregularities” in a small number of mayoral candidate Justin Bibb’s signatures. Addresses attached to about 40 signatures had been crossed out and replaced by new, correct addresses. “They wanted to call out [Bibb’s] campaign,” Chui said. “But they’re so brutal with the way that they invalidate that I can’t fault someone whose job it is to make sure those signatures are correct. You’ve got to have all your Is dotted and Ts crossed.” Chui said, by way of example, that he’d collected the signature of a woman who moved within the same apartment building — from Apt. #412 to #502 — and because she listed the new number, which

didn’t correspond with her voter registration, the signature was invalidated. “This absolutely gives an advantage to established candidates and those who live in wealthier areas with more stable housing,” he said. “What’s sad is that there’s a real energy across Cleveland for new leadership on city council, and you saw a number of first-time candidates who put themselves out there this year. Maybe I could’ve caught more of these errors, but I don’t think you should have to be an attorney or a paralegal to file petitions.” -Sam Allard

scene@clevescene.com @clevelandscene

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Visit www.standupwireless.com or call 1-800-544-4441 Promotional offer subject to eligibility for Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB). Unlimited does not mean unreasonable use; see the Acceptable Use Policy in our Terms and Conditions for details. The EBB is a temporary FCC program that provides non-transferrable discounts on monthly broadband Internet access service. Lifeline is a government assistance program that provides non-transferable discounts on your monthly phone or broadband service. Proof of eligibility is required, and only eligible customers may enroll. An eligible household is limited to one monthly service discount for Lifeline and one monthly service discount for EBB. Eligible consumers may get EBB service from StandUp Wireless or from any participating provider. Benefits may be transferred to another provider at any time. When the FCC announces the end the EBB program or we end our promotional FREE EBB service offer, we will notify you and you will revert to receiving only the standard FREE Lifeline plan if you are eligible, or you may keep your EBB service by paying the applicable undiscounted rate of $40 plus fees and taxes. Lifeline plans may include 1,000 Minutes, Unlimited Text, and 4.5 GB of Data. For more information about EBB eligibility and the program go to standupwireless.com/ebb or call us at 1-800-544-4441. Offers vary by state and service may not be available in all areas. Consumers who willfully make false statements in order to obtain Lifeline and EBB benefits can be punished by fine, imprisonment, or being barred from the program. Visit www.standupwireless.com for a full list of eligibility requirements and complete terms & conditions. Global Connection Inc. of America d/b/a StandUp Wireless. | clevescene.com | July 14-27, 2021

FEATURE

The Choir of Man, Playhouse Square

Photo credit: Jack Blume

DON’T LOOK NOW, BUT LIVE(!) IN-PERSON(!) THEATER IS BACK! Here’s what’s happening from now until January on local stages by Christine Howey AS WE CONTINUE TO SORT out the COVID Vaxxed from the Unvaxxed, while also keeping a wary eye on the Variants (viral and human), the local theater community is slowly but relentlessly pursuing an ample schedule of plays for the second half of Recovery Year 2021. Clearly, the last 15 months have done significant damage to theaters across Northeast Ohio, in terms of finances and personnel. But true to the oldest showbiz maxim of all, the shows must go on!

| clevescene.com | July 14-27, 2021

Here is a round-up of what these theaters are planning from now until bratty little 2022 pops its head into view in six months, plus comments by each theater’s leadership. Please note, the dates and shows listed below are all subject to change due to a...shudder...revived pandemic or any other bizarre cataclysm Mother Nature might devise. So check the theater websites to be sure about show dates. Hey, let’s go to a play!

Beck Center July 23-August 8:

This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing by Finegan Kruckemeyer

Beck is opening their new season with a short run of this one-person (Derdriu Ring) show. It’s a familyfriendly (age 6 and up), modern-day fairytale that explores the struggles and inspirations of three sisters who are left in a forest by their woodsman father to find their way in the world. September 10-October 3:

Broadway Bound by Neil Simon

Renowned actor Austin Pendleton returns to Beck to star in this hilarious and poignant story about two brothers who are both comedy writers and who share a load a family dysfunction. October 8-November 7:

The Exonerated by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen

A docudrama about six people who were falsely accused and sentenced to death. Directed by Colleen Longshaw, the intense piece, developed in partnership with the Innocence Project, examines how they each gained their freedom.

Holiday Show: TBD Scott Spence, Artistic Director: “I think my first curtain speech to the faithful Beck audience, after all this time away, will be pretty emotional. But we’ve kept busy upgrading key elements such as the ventilation in the theater, to create a safer space. We can’t wait to get going again!”

More information at beckcenter.org

Blank Canvas Theatre

on stage because this is our Tenth Anniversary season-- it means a lot to us.”

More information at blankcanvastheatre.com

Cleveland Play House October 23-November 14:

Where Did We Sit on the Bus? by Brian Quijada

An autobiographical journey utilizing rap, hip-hop, spoken word and live looping as a young student learns what it means to be Latino in America. A hopeful, uplifting and innovative tribute to the power of community and belonging. November 27-December 22:

Light It Up by Jason Michael Webb and Lelund Durond Thompson

Set in Cleveland, this World Premiere musical features rock, gospel and jazz to explore the importance of family and being connected. Laura Kepley, Artistic Director: “This is ‘Homecoming Season’ for the Cleveland Play House. It’s a time of change and transformation for our theatre, and for everyone. After such a long stretch in isolation, it’s important that we experience new stories that replenish our hearts and minds and restore our spirits.”

More information at clevelandplayhouse.com

Cleveland Public Theatre Now through August 7:

2021 Free Summer Season

In a first for CPT, they are offering a docket of summer shows, performed outdoors, in person and free of charge!

Panther Women: An Army for the Liberation

• A September show • A Halloween show (probably

Saturday, July 10 | The Dark Room | Tuesday, July 13; Tuesday, July 27

• A holiday show Patrick Ciamacco, Artistic Director: “During the shutdown Blank Canvas produced a series of concert shows, with the audience in their cars. Now we’re ready to get back

Student Theatre Enrichment Program (STEP)

Thursday, July 29; Saturday, August 7

Black Women & Femmes: A Lineage Of Language by Siaara Freeman Friday, July 30

First Indoor Performance (Date TBD)

Breakout Session (or Frogorse) by Nikkole Salter

This is a play, dealing with police bias and anti-racism work, that closed CPT’s 2019-2020 season. It is now being revised and updated by the playwright. Raymond Bobgan, Executive Artistic Director: “During the pandemic, there was a lot of talk about ‘essential businesses.’ With all due respect to first responders and others, at Cleveland Public Theatre we believe art is also an essential business. To that end, we are sharing our stages with other theatrical groups in our community, to help us all come together again.”

70 min | Thursday, July 1; Friday, July 2; Saturday, July 3; Thursday, July 8; Friday, July 9

The Kardiac Kid by Eric Schmiedl

Teatro Público de Cleveland (TPC)

(performance with Papo Ruiz y la Dulzura de la Salsa) | Friday, July 16

CPT’s 2021/2022 Season Announcement Saturday, July 17

Masrah Cleveland Al-Arabi

‫ | يبرعلا دنالفيلك حرسم‬Friday, July 23

White by James Ijames

Black playwright Ijames takes razorsharp satiric aim at white privilege. The play spins out of control as it audaciously explores issues of white privilege, racial and gender politics, and the fine line between appropriation and opportunity. December 2-18:

The Twentieth Century Way by Tom Jacobson

A two-man show about clandestine gay life 100 years ago in Los Angeles. It raises many issues in an entertaining and thought-provoking manner. Cory Molner, Interim Artistic Director: “Clyde Simon has eased into a well-deserved retirement. But at convergence-continuum we will continue to offer plays you won’t see anywhere else, including works about LGBTQ people as well as other marginalized individuals and groups.”

More information at convergencecontinuum.org

Dobama Theatre October 29-November 20:

Airness by Chelsea Marcantel

Cleveland Shakespeare Festival

When Nina enters her first air guitar competition, she thinks winning will be easy. Following her mission to shred or be shredded, Airness is an exuberant reminder that everything we need to rock is already inside us.

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

No Holiday Show this year, but three more full productions are scheduled for the winter and spring of 2022.

More information at cptonline.org

July 23-August 14:

There are no specific shows selected yet, and no dates. But according to artistic director Patrick Ciamacco, there will be three shows this calendar year, comprised of three of the favorite shows in the theater’s ten-year history:

an encore presentation of their hit musical, the blood spurting and squirting Texas Chainsaw Massacre).

Twelve Literary Arts | Saturday, July 24

Touring ten different outdoor locations in northeast Ohio, check website for details. Dusten A. Welch, Artistic Director: “Since we’re just doing one show this summer, we decided on Romeo and Juliet, because it hits home in ways that are unique this year. Plus, it celebrates love in all its forms. Next summer, we plan on going back to our two-show summer schedule.”

More information at cleveshakes.com

convergencecontinuum

August 20-September 11:

Oliver Parker! by Elizabeth Merriweather

An unlikely and uncomfortable friendship exists between oldman alcoholic Jasper and socially awkward 17-year-old Oliver Parker. This is anything but a typical coming-of-age story. October 8-30:

Nathan Motta, Artistic Director: “During the pandemic we reorganized the Dobama staff with the objective of being more inclusive and we doubled the size of the Board of Directors to assure wider representation from the community. We also redesigned the audience seating to improve sightlines while making it more comfortable and ADA-compliant. We are refreshed and ready to go!”

More information at dobama.org

Ensemble Theatre

Ensemble Theatre is currently active in virtual theater, with their monthly reading of Ten-Minute Play Readings, presented by their Stagewrights Unit. Also, on July 24 they will offer a virtual benefit reading of The

Gospel According to James by Charles Smith. October 22-(closing night TBD):

Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris

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A spin-off of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun and spanning 50 years, this play involves fictional events loosely based on the history of Chicago at that time. Celeste Cosentino, Artistic Director: “The pandemic inspired all of us at Ensemble to broaden our horizons. We are focused on being more nimble, and we’re looking into producing work with people in other cities and states, using both live and virtual performances in combination.”

More information at ensembletheatrecle.org

Mercury Theatre Company July 16-August 8:

Amelie

Ameile is a young woman, an imaginative dreamer who finds her voice, discovers the power of connection, and sees possibility around every corner. In these uncertain times, Amelie is someone to believe in. July 29 and August 1:

Me & My Girl — Staged Concert

The Tempest by William Shakespeare

A concert version of the play by L. Arthur Rose and Douglas Furber (book and lyrics), and Noel Gay (music). It tells the story of an unapologetically unrefined cockney fellow who learns that he is the 14th heir to the Earl of Hareford.

November 26-December 23:

Pierre-Jacques Brault, Artistic Director: “I really hope Zoom musicals and plays are a thing of the past! Still, we’ve learned some new techniques from the digital world that we look forward to using with our live productions.”

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

More information at mercurytheatrecompany.org

Great Lakes Theater October 15-November 7:

Tempted by spirits, teased by sprites, and tormented by a monster, a shipwrecked king and his party face the wrath of the betrayed conjurer, Prospero - a man they marooned on the enchanted island years ago.

Charles Dickens’ classic tale of one man’s ultimate redemption. One of northeast Ohio’s favorite holiday traditions, A Christmas Carol is a perfect gift of theater for children and adults of all ages. Kacey Shapiro, Director of Marketing Communications: “We can’t wait to welcome our audience back to Great Lakes Theater, and we will be ready with a safe environment and high-quality productions. Many thanks to our donors and subscribers for staying with us!”

More information at greatlakestheater.org

Karamu House

Fall Schedule:. Check website for details. Tony F. Sias, President and CEO: “We are proud that, during the pandemic, we produced 13 (yes, I said 13!) video programs featuring Karamu artists, and offered them online at no charge. We are committed to using our platform to engage and move the needle on critical issues such as health disparities in the black community and generational trauma. We seek to educate people about many issues and help them activate for change.”

More information at karamuhouse.org

None Too Fragile September 3-18:

Small Engine Repair by John Pollono

Three friends gather one night under a mysterious premise at a repair shop in Manchester, New Hampshire, where they explore the ideas of regret, fraternity and masculinity October 15-30:

The Butcher of Baraboo by Maria Wegrzyn

Skewed family values and the deep and dark secrets they create become a life force for Valerie, the infamous butcher of Baraboo, Wisconsin. Once her husband has gone missing everyone suspects she played a hand, especially her nosy sister-in-law who just happens to be the town sheriff. December 3-18:

Year of the Rooster by Olivia Dufault A fiercely comic play about cockfighting, connections, and clawing your way to the top.

Alanna Romansky, Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director: “We’ve used our time off — we called it ‘active hibernation’ — to upgrade our space by improving the plumbing and lighting. And we’ve scheduled three unique plays to kick off our

2021-2022 season, so come see us in Akron!”

More information at nonetoofragile.com

Ohio Shakespeare Festival July 15-August 15:

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s magical comedy, set in the equally-magical outdoor stage at Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens in Akron. All seats reserved, to accommodate social distancing. October 7-24:

Miss Holmes by Christopher M. Walsh Inspired by the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, this theatrical fan fiction shines a new light on favorite characters from the canon, reexamining the Victorian world of Holmes and Watson by exploring the added obstacles faced by these two iconic characters if they were women. Holiday Show (date TBD):

Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella

This edition of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s classic musical is based on the 1997 teleplay featuring Whitney Houston and Brandy, filled with unforgettable musical numbers. Nancy Cates, Artistic Director: “We’re ecstatic to be back! It was so confusing to have no rehearsals or performances to go to for so long. But we’re grateful to all our donors and granting organizations for their support of the Ohio Shakespeare Festival.”

More information at ohioshakespearefestival.com

Playhouse Square Theater Now through August 8:

The Choir of Man

An enjoyable, no-holds-barred jukebox musical fed through an Irish pub complete with real Irish dudes doing the songs. And maybe you can score a free beer served by the cast! October 1-15:

Disney’s The Lion King

The “Circle of Life” show has circled back to the State Theatre once more, and it never fails to amaze and delight. November 2-21:

The Prom by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin (book and lyrics), and Matthew Sklar (music). It’s a new musical comedy about

big Broadway stars on a mission to change the world and the love they discover that unites them all. A joyous, funny and sweet show. Holiday Show: TBD Gina Vernaci, President and CEO: “We are so grateful for the kindness and generosity of northeast Ohio and the philanthropic community for their support. This is our centennial season and while the silence was deafening for a while, we look forward to the happy sound of actors, musicians and audiences coming back together.”

More information at playhousesquare.org

Porthouse Theatre July 8- 24:

BKLYN The Musical, by Mark Schoenfeld and Barri McPherson

BKLYN is a play within a play, as a group of street performers weaves together stories from their lives to tell the tale of a young woman arriving in Brooklyn to find the father she never knew. July 29-August 15:

Altar Boyz, by Kevin Del Aguina, Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker A foot-stomping, rafter-raising musical comedy about a fictional Christian boy band on the last night of their national “Raise the Praise” tour. The Boyz are five all-singing, all-dancing heartthrobs from Ohio named, wait for it: Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan and Abraham. Terri Kent, Artistic Director: “We are welcoming everyone back to our gorgeous open-air theater. In the last year, my key word became “pivot,” and we’ve done just that — changing and adapting to keep our season on track. As I always say, our work is only complete when the audience is here, so we can’t wait to see everyone!.”

More information at kent.edu/ porthouse

Theatre in the Circle

Sadly, Theatre in the Circle has decided to cease operations due to conditions unrelated to the pandemic. So, we offer a parting Huzzah! to Mark Corcoran and Bill Corcoran, the talented and dynamic founders and partners who operated the theater on the premises of a downtown retirement community. It was a wonderful musical theater venue featuring top professional performers from the area. They will be missed! | clevescene.com | July 14-27, 2021

GET OUT

The hard-rocking local group LILIEAE performs at the Rock Hall. See: Thursday.

WED 07/14 FRI Supercats Mewow! Kickstarter Launch From 5 to 9 p.m. today at the Lakewood comic book store Superscript, local comic creator Caleb Thusat of Village Comics will launch his Kickstarter campaign for Supercats Mewow! The store will have copies of Supercats for sale, and Thusat will be available to sign your purchase. A press release describes the comic book as a “whimsical comic about a superhero cat and a clumsy, tailless cat who wants to be a hero too. It’s a delight to read and a wonderful way to help your little ones begin their journey into reading.” 13361 Madison Ave., Lakewood, 216712-6231, superscriptohio.com.

THU

07/15

LILIEAE/Public Squares Formed in 2018, the local group LILIEAE (pronounced lil-ee-ay) describes itself as “an angsty, honest alt-rock band that plays highenergy music with plenty of slightly sarcastic themes.” The band’s 2018 EP veers from Pixies-like tunes such as “My Pretty Rainboots” to more melodic numbers like “Pound.” The band plans to release a second EP this year. It plays tonight at 8 at the Rock Hall with locals Public Squares. It’s a free show, but admission to the Rock Hall exhibits will still cost you. 1100 Rock and Roll Blvd., 216-5158444, rockhall.com.

07/16

Dave Attell Known as the host of Comedy Central’s Insomniac with Dave Attell and The Gong Show, Dave Attell is also a great standup comedian, writer and actor. A New York native, he graduated from NYU in 1987 with a degree in communications. During the day, he worked crappy jobs and did standup at night. After getting national exposure courtesy of David Letterman, his career took off. The caffeinated comic has a rapid-fire delivery that suggests he has trouble turning his mind off. He performs tonight at 6 and 8:15 at Hilarities, where he has shows scheduled through Sunday. Consult the Hilarities website for ticket prices. 2035 East Fourth St., 216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com.

SAT

07/17

Fourth Coast Vintage Fashion Market The Fourth Coast Market began more than a decade ago as a pop up art and fashion event. Founder Rochelle, who owns and curates Gypsy Moth Vintage, revived the market two years ago with a focus on vintage fashion, offering Cleveland an ongoing shopping event that brings together some of the best vintage fashion dealers in the Midwest. Today’s show at West of Venus Vintage will showcase sellers from Cleveland, Columbus, Youngstown and Detroit. The event

| clevescene.com | July 14-27, 2021

Courtesy of LILIEAE

takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will include 10 vintage fashion vendors, live music and DJs. Admission is free. 10024 Lorain Ave., 440-728-5959, instagram.com/westofvenusvintage.

SUN 07/18 The Great American Songbook Broadway star Capathia Jenkins joins the Cleveland Orchestra tonight at Blossom as it revisits the Great American Songbook and performs selections from Gershwin, Ellington and Hammerstein. Lucas Waldin conducts. The concert begins at 7 p.m. Check the orchestra’s website for ticket prices. 1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.

MON 07/19 Yoga on the Plaza Every Monday this summer, the Rock Hall and Inner Bliss Yoga Studios present a special Outdoor Monday Night Yoga at the Rock Hall. The class fee is $20, and preregistration is required. Registration closes at 4 p.m. on the day of the event. In case of a weather-related cancellation (if it’s too cold or raining), the class would be cancelled by 4 p.m. on the day of the event. 1100 Rock and Roll Blvd., 216-5158444, rockhall.com.

TUE

07/20

Open Turntable Tuesday Tonight from 6 to 9, the Winchester hosts its weekly Open Turntable Tuesday. Jason Gokorsch will book guest DJs and offer slots to people who want to bring their own vinyl and spin their favorite songs or deep tracks. First time DJs are encouraged, and equipment is provided. Patrons can also bring records for the night’s DJ to add to their set. Sign up on Northeast Ohio Vinyl Club’s Facebook page. (Niesel) 12112 Madison Ave., Lakewood, 216-600-5338, facebook.com/ TheWinchesterMusicTavern.

WED 07/21 Enormous: The Gorge Story This film tells the story of the Gorge, a concert venue in Eastern Washington became “a lifechanging mecca for artist and fans.” Enormous: The Gorge Story chronicles the evolution of a familyowned Washington winery — with a makeshift plywood stage — that eventually became an internationally renowned concert venue that has attracted over 7 million fans, and the world’s biggest musicians, to a patch of rural farmland 150 miles from nowhere,” reads a press release about the documents. Acts such as singer-songwriter Jason Mraz, who first played at the amphitheater in its parking lot during one of Dave Matthews’ three-day shows, testify

GET OUT about the venue’s magic powers. The film screens at 7:30 tonight at the Cedar Lee Theatre. Check the website for ticket prices. 2163 Lee Rd., Cleveland Heights, 440-528-0355, clevelandcinemas.com.

headline tomorrow. Other notable acts slated to perform include Lennon Stella, Trombone Shorty and Noah Cyrus. Local acts such as Brent Kirby, Jack Harris and the Vindys will perform as well. Check the WonderStruck in Cleveland website for a complete schedule and ticket prices., wonderstruckfest.com. 7700 Clocktower Dr., Kirtland, 440525-7000, lakelandcc.edu.

THU 07/22 SUN 07/25 This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing Produced by Scott Spence, This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing centers on “the struggles and aspirations of three sisters as one walks the globe to find her purpose, one searches for adventure, and the third grows where she is planted,” as it’s put in a press release. The play opens tonight at 7:30 with a preview at Beck Center for the Arts, where it continues through Aug. 8. Consult the Beck Center website for performance times and ticket prices. 17801 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, 216-521-2540, beckcenter.org.

FRI

07/23

Tenet Released during the pandemic, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet didn’t generate the massive box office receipts the studio would’ve hoped. And yet, the ambitious movie that follows a CIA agent as he tries to alter the space-time continuum to save the world from a world oligarch is a cinematic marvel. At 9 tonight and at 7 tomorrow night, the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque will screen a 35mm print of the movie. Tickets cost $13, $10 for Cinematheque members, CIA and CSU I.D. holders and those aged 25 and under. 11610 Euclid Ave,, 216-421-7450, cia.edu.

SAT 07/24 WonderStruck in Cleveland Earlier this spring, locally based Elevation Group, the concert promoter behind the WonderStruck in Cleveland music festival that was postponed last year due to the pandemic, announced plans to proceed with this summer’s festival, which takes place today and tomorrow at Lakeland Community College. Walk the Moon and Third Eye Blind will headline today, and Portugal. The Man and AJR will

From the New World Antonin Dvorák reportedly admired African-American spirituals and was fascinated by Native American traditions. When describing his New World symphony, he has said, “I tried to write only in the spirit of those national American melodies.” Tonight at Blossom in a program dubbed From the New World, the Cleveland Orchestra will perform the piece along with Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2. Rafael Payare conducts, and Stefan Jackiw guests on violin. The concert begins at 7. Check the orchestra website for ticket prices. 1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.

MON 07/26 Movie Mondays Every Monday, Cleveland Cinemas hosts $5 Movie Mondays, where film fans can catch up on the latest Hollywood flicks for significantly reduced prices. Bring your friends and family and make Movie Mondays a weekly tradition — many theaters even offer discounted concession stand items. Participating theaters include Apollo Theatre, Cedar Lee Theatre and Chagrin Cinemas. Additional charges apply for 3-D movies., clevelandcinemas.com.

TUE

07/27

Indians vs. St. Louis Cardinals When the Indians and St. Louis Cardinals met earlier this year, the two teams split a two-game series in St. Louis. Coping with numerous injuries, the Cardinals weren’t at full-strength. Expect them to be more competetive as they come to town for a two-game interleague series that begins with tonight’s game at Progressive Field. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m.; tickets start at $15. 2401 Ontario St., 216-420-4487, clevelandindians.com.

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| clevescene.com | July 14-27, 2021

CLEVELAND SCENE

Cover illustration courtesy Jake Kelly

ARTS SLEAZETOWN

Jake Kelly’s latest comic, “In The New Era,” digs into Cleveland’s burlesque underground of the 1970s By Shawn Mishak THE THIRD INSTALLMENT OF Cleveland artist and illustrator Jake Kelly’s comic ‘Death, Destruction, Vice & Sleaze’ series is out now. “In The New Era” follows the enigmatic and scandalous story of Cleveland’s burlesque underground with the star act Fifi Fondue and her pet gorilla. Kelly highlights The New Era Burlesk, Copenhagen Modeling Studio and Stage Door Johnnies, three real clubs in Cleveland’s history that were among the 25 porn theaters operating in the early 1970s. The environment is perfect for Kelly’s series, what with nefarious undertakings and underhand dealings all around. “The series is called death, destruction, vice, and sleaze, and there is an abundance of vice and sleaze out there,” says Kelly. “It’s a huge part of the story I’m telling. This is the first issue to deal in that area directly, and the story of the New Era Burlesk is as good a place as any to start. This was a crazy place, the ‘wild west’ as one interview subject put it, and I’m aiming to let the modern reader know just how crazy it was.” The issue is illustrated in mostly black and white with well-crafted line work and lettering with all the detail and meticulous precision we’ve come to expect from Kelly’s work. The cover art is colored and the layout for the comic is by another well-respected Cleveland illustrator, John G. This is the third addition to this saga after “Doomsday Map” and “Shadows Will Fall.” In this issue, the reader is exposed to a brief historical outline of Cleveland’s seedy ‘Short Vincent’ neighborhood, where clips of peep shows could be seen by dropping some ‘scratch’ into a coin machine in the early 20th century, and follows through the progression into lewd acts of degradation as we move into the early 1970s when films like “Deep Throat,” “Behind the Green Door,” and “The Devil in Miss Jones” were a new titillating experience

growing in popular acceptance. The narrator sarcastically toys with the reader about the growing popularity of these types of films and pornography in general by commenting three times in the book, “Couple’s went, it was a night out.” It’s interesting to note that this is the first issue where Kelly was able to track down people who worked at these places to get a firsthand account of what it was like, and the stories these subjects reveal to us in the comic are certainly crude. To sum it up, it’s pretty dark. It is important to remember, however, that although Kelly is forced to take some liberties as far how the scenes and characters are portrayed, for the most part this is a historical account brought to life and sewn together from thorough research. “Look, there was prostitution and who knows what else going on on this block, and they were clearly operating an underground economy outside of the law,” says Kelly. “When you’re on the fringes, on the margins, outside of the law, violence is definitely present. Add to that, you’ve got people coming from the outside world into this world, this underbelly, and conflict might be inevitable, between these people from the outside world who believe there are rules and people who know there aren’t.” Someone who could not have been more immersed in this underground economy is Fifi Fondue. It seems she was a Czech woman who made it over to the States and became a fairly popular act in these types of clubs, touring around the country and developing a following much like an underground punk bands. Kelly uses lines from a 1970s song from Cleveland underground band The Wild Giraffes called “New Era” to illustrate the scenery. “I couldn’t believe it when I walked in The lady up there with a pasty grin Struttin’ her stuff up on the red

platform Stroking her parts to keep the young hearts warm…” “I mean, the song is actually about The New Era, explicitly, so it’s sort of a no brainer,” says Kelly. “I really like that punk bands would write songs about things that were happening, in their towns, at the time. Almost has the quality of folk-history, and there’s something really cool about that. They wrote the song in the days of mayor Perk’s campaigns against obscenity, and Perk pokes his head up for the first time in the series this issue, and he will most certainly be back.” Kelly’s research informed him that after the release of King Kong, two varieties of gorilla burlesque performances manifested: In one, a man in a suit would jump around, capture the dancer, and carry her off stage; in the second version, a solo woman danced around with a stuffed puppet. “Fifi’s act was from the latter school of gorilla burlesque,” says

Kelly. This version with the stuffed gorilla had a financial benefit as Fondue wouldn’t have to share her spoils with the puppet. According to a man by the name of David Klein who saw Fondue perform, she did things to the gorilla which one will have to read the comic to discover. “I’m happy with the way things are progressing,” says Kelly. “You know, writing and drawing a comic is a huge undertaking, and adding massive amounts of historical research into the equation just ups the amount of time it takes… The next issue is a pretty wideranging, swirling vortex of things. It involves LSD, the Brotherhood of Eternal Love, biker gangs, and a double murder. I’m finishing up the research and writing it now, and hope to have it out in the fall. It’s gonna be a crazy, trippy, far out story.”

scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene | clevescene.com | July 14-27, 2021

| clevescene.com | July 14-27, 2021

EAT

Photo by Doug Trattner

QUEUED UP

Joe’s Barbecue in Kent is serving some of the best smoked meat in Ohio By Douglas Trattner A LITTLE BEFORE NOON ON Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, a small gravel parking lot in rural Brimfield Township begins to fill up with cars. Gradually, a line forms in front of a rust-colored food truck with a handwritten paper menu taped to the front of it. At 12:30, the window goes up, signaling the start of another busy lunchtime rush. By 3 or 4 p.m., that little red trailer on a dusty corner parcel will have dispensed 600 to 800 pounds of barbecue. “We’re out in the sticks,” says Joe Menendez of Joe’s Barbecue. “All our advertising is word of mouth. The quality speaks for itself. I think I make the best brisket in the state.” A few yards away from the boxy food truck is where the magic happens. Shoehorned inside a wood-sided trailer on wheels is a 1,000-pound offset smoker that leaves little room for anything except Menendez. The cooker, fabricated from a discarded propane tank, is

the design favored by many of the country’s best pitmasters. The entire experience is as close as a diner around here can get to enjoying Central Texas barbecue. From the roadside trailer and openair cooker to the slow-smoked meats, long lines and daily sell-outs, Joe’s

consistent basis is another. Menendez has been working this corner since late 2017, when he started selling ribs from beneath a pop-up tent. His parents own the property, so he was able to invest in new equipment and expand the offerings. Along the way he added brisket, pulled pork, half

JOE’S BARBECUE 1293 TALLMADGE RD., KENT 330-552-8295

Barbecue would feel right at home in Austin. That’s no coincidence given that Menendez developed his appreciation for the craft while attending school in that city. “I wanted to be a video editor, but that didn’t work out,” he says. “I ate at all the great barbecue spots, so I knew what the good stuff was.” Identifying great barbecue is one thing; mastering it in quantity on a

chickens and turkey breast to the mix. He upgraded to a 500-gallon smoker and purchased the food truck, allowing him to move sales and prep out of the cooking trailer. “By the time I built this trailer we were selling out of all our food in an hour,” he says without a hint of ego. “Selling out every day is a good thing and a bad thing. The reason we sell out is because all of the food

is made fresh every day. We don’t reuse stuff; we don’t freeze stuff. If I’m not selling out, the food goes to waste. If it goes to waste, we have to pay for it and that gets really expensive.” Menendez really is making some of the best brisket in Ohio – or in Texas for that matter. Like his Central Texas brethren, he is a purist, using nothing but salt, pepper and smoke from a carefully tended fire to transform an unforgiving cut of beef into succulent, drippy, bendy meat gilded with jet-black bark. Those cook for about 14 hours, joined in the pit at various times by the other meats, all of which achieve peak flavor and texture. A typical day for Menendez and his small team begins at 6:30 a.m. when he ignites the fire and ends around midnight when the last of tomorrow’s briskets are lifted out of the smoker. The menu features meats like brisket ($20), pulled pork ($14) and sliced turkey ($12) by the pound, whole racks of ribs ($22) and half chickens ($8). Sandwiches are stuffed with a half-pound of brisket ($9) or pulled pork ($7). At prices like those for quality like this, it’s no wonder Joe’s flies through product. Menendez’ sides are no mere wallflowers, starring smoked macaroni and cheese ($3, $5), buttermilk bacon potato salad ($3, $5) and charro beans ($3, $5), a thinner version of baked beans larded with brisket. Two housemade desserts, a creamy banana pudding with shortbread cookie ($5) and cheesecake topped with graham cracker dust and seasonal fruit, round out the offerings. The obvious question one poses to Menendez is if and when and how he plans to expand his red-hot business. His quick-fire answer is that it will happen when he is able to do it without sacrificing control and quality. He intends to add Thursday hours sometime this summer, with Wednesday likely to follow. Is a casual Texas-style BBQ joint in his future plans? “We’ve done this coming up on four years and the growth has all been organic,” he says. “We sell food, we use the money to improve the business. We buy new smokers, we build new smokers, we build new trailers. We try to expand as smoothly as we can. In my wildest dreams we would have something going next year, but that’s a wild one.”

dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner | clevescene.com | July 14-27, 2021

| clevescene.com | July 14-27, 2021

Photo by Doug Trattner

EAT BITES

Cilantro Taqueria to expand to North Olmsted with fourth location By Douglas Trattner IT HAS BEEN ONLY TWO and a half years since Cilantro Taqueria arrived on the scene, taking over a former Chipotle location on Coventry and making a splash with its fresh CalMex offerings. Back then, owners Raul Carrillo and Alex Galindo told Scene that they had big plans, with hopes of expanding not just around Northeast Ohio, but even out of state. True to their word, the owners have gone on to open stores in Shaker Heights (20090 Van Aken Blvd., 216-465-2002) and Lakewood (18260 Detroit Ave., 440-857-0024). Next stop for this quickly expanding brand will be North Olmsted. Cilantro Taqueria number 4 will open in a former Starbucks building at 24950 Lorain Rd. As at other locations, this new spot will offer excellent tacos, tortas, burritos and bowls, but also appetizers like chips and salsa and queso fundido. “I think our food has a more authentic taste to it,” spokesperson Rey Galindo told Scene. “We do have the tacos that people load up, but also if you just want it the Mexican way with the tortilla, meat, cilantro, onion and salsa, you can.”

Popular Breakfast Pop-Up Roaming Biscuit Opens Cafe at Tyler Village “Finally, we have a home,” says Shawnda Moye of the Roaming Biscuit. Since launching her popular breakfast biscuit business in 2019, Moye says that she literally has been on the move. Not only has she operated solely as a pop-up venture, setting up shop at various farmers markets and cafes around town, but her bake shop has been itinerant as well. As opposed to working out of a dedicated kitchen, Moye had been utilizing restaurant kitchens during off hours. In June, Moye put down roots at the Tyler Village complex (3615 Superior Ave.), in the former home of Byte Café. The Bake Shop and Café will serve as a home base for the Roaming Biscuit, while offering weekday service during which it

will sell prepared foods like biscuits, pastries, breakfast and lunch sandwiches and pimento cheese. The Roaming Biscuit will still pop up on weekends, like this Saturday’s visit to the North Union Farmers Market at Crocker Park and Sunday’s at Rising Star Coffee in Cleveland Heights. Most require advance pre-order, but Moye that she’s experimenting with phasing out that process at busy markets. Moye states that she was born in Ohio, but a corporate job took her to cities throughout the southern United States. “In those states, there were always biscuits on the menu,” she explains. “But when I moved back to Cleveland, it was hard to find a homemade breakfast sandwich during the week. On weekends you could always go to a restaurant and find a wonderful breakfast sandwich. I didn’t see anyone doing biscuits Monday through Friday, so I decided to start this.” Now, thanks to the new spot, Moye and her enthusiastic team of “biscuit slingers” can feed Southern food fans all week long. In the future, she hopes to be able to offer her “little taste of home” beyond Northeast Ohio. “I want to grow this outside of Cleveland,” she says. “I want to be able to roam into Akron, Columbus and Cincinnati. Even outside of Ohio.”

1330 on the River, Compass Lounge to Open This Summer in Former East End Space in the Flats Last year, chef Zaman Khan took over the former East End property in the Flats and reopened the restaurant in late 2020 as 1330 on the River. One week later, a fire forced the restaurant to close its doors. “It was an amazing week,” Khan says. “We were busy as heck. Honestly, as a chef and a restaurant owner, that was one of the best, easiest, happiest weeks of my life.” Instead of brooding, Khan and his partners used the down time to redesign the interior, rebuild the riverside patio and gear up for a fresh start. That will take place in

mid to late August. When the work is completed, the building will house two separate but complementary concepts, the restaurant on the main floor and Compass Lounge, “a speakeasy with bites, cocktails and cigars” on the lower level. Both will enjoy views of the Cuyahoga River. “It’s going to be extravagant,” he says. “It will be a two-story patio with garage doors on the lower level and a pergola up top. There will be room for four boats to dock up on the new patio.” Khan, who goes by the name Zeek, opened his first restaurant, Zeeks on Sixth, in Austin. He prides himself not only on the food he prepares, but the atmosphere he creates and provides for his guests. “I like liveliness,” he says. “I come from the City of Music, so I want to provide an electric feel with music and neon-vibrant vibes throughout the restaurant at night, but during the day it’s more moderate, rustic and homey. The moods and atmosphere that we provide will change throughout the day and night.” Khan says that he was attracted to the project because of the location, which fits into his overall concept, something he describes as “Southern hospitality with a West Coast cuisine.” “First things first was the incredible waterfront view, and being right next to the park kind of pulled it all in together for the type of cuisine that I do,” he explains. “We’re a scratch kitchen, we don’t use any frozen meats.” 1330 on the River (1330 Old River Rd.) will serve dinner and weekend brunch. Those who managed to dine there during that one glorious week last October will be familiar with the menu. Items featured back then include meat and cheese boards, Rueben sliders, bacon-wrapped figs, seasonal salads, BBQ burger with onion rings, grilled salmon with jasmine rice and grilled lamb chops with asparagus. Guests headed for the cocktail

bar will pass through a pair of large wooden doors on the front of the building that lead to an elevator, where an operator will take them down to the lower level. Diners will also be able to venture downstairs from inside the restaurant.

Kyler Smith of Sauce Boiling Seafood and Filter to Open Lightroom in Former Brasa Grill Space Downtown If you thought Kyler Smith would be slowing down these days given the amount of work on his plate, you’d be wrong. In addition to his quickly expanding Sauce Boiling Seafood Express brand, which has locations in University Heights, Downtown and Akron, and another on the way in Columbus, he currently is kneedeep in construction on Filter in the Warehouse District. That restaurant and bar, located in the former Take 5 Rhthym and Jazz space, is on pace to open in late July or early August. On deck for the active entrepreneur is Lightroom, which will debut in the former Brasa (and Cello’s) Grill space (1300 W 9th St.) downtown. The spacious 8,000-square-foot property in the Warehouse District will be transformed into a snazzy lounge and restaurant with upscale furniture, fixtures and finishes. The freshly renovated interior will join a spacious and equally appointed front patio. “This will be one of downtown’s premier dining and entertainment venues,” Smith says. “If you don’t want to go out to the club, but you still want that environment, we’re going to provide that.” The menu is still developing, but guests likely can look forward to Asian-fusion cuisine. Look for Lightroom to open in late fall or early winter.

dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner

| clevescene.com | July 14-27, 2021

MUSIC ONE DAMN GOOD SHOW

Singer-songwriters Austin Walkin’ Cane and Chris Allen team up for dual release party

Photo by Severn Sanders/Molly Allen

By Jeff Niesel

FRIENDS FOR YEARS, LOCAL singer-songwriters Austin Walkin’ Cane Charanghat and Chris Allen regularly write songs together and play on each other’s albums. One thing they haven’t done, however, is play a joint release party. But since they both have new albums out, Allen and Charanghat decided to team up for what they’re calling “one damn good show” that takes place on 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 17, at the Music Box Supper Club. Charanghat released his first album in 1994 and has steadily put out new material and played locally, nationally and internationally since then. His new album, Muso, represents his seventh effort. The title comes from a slang term for musician that he first heard in Australia. A song like “20 Years Forgotten, 20 Years Gone” comes off as a good grunge-y number with echoing vocals, and the track “Delilah” has a swinging zydeco feel to it. Allen’s been a part of the local scene for just as long. His new

| clevescene.com | July 14-27, 2021

album, Last Trip Around the Sun, commences with the hard-rocking title track but then veers into R.E.M. territory with the moody “Your Summer Skin” and the horndriven, Dylanesque “Sometimes a Heart.” Each song features Allen,

of us finishes an album, we start on another album. Allen: This only worked out because the pandemic slowed down Austin’s release. Charanghat: It canceled because it was March 20 of last year. It took a

pandemic for this to happen.

house and record it. He would split, and I would figure out my part and I would mix it. Allen: “Hard Road to Cleveland” was one of them. We started writing for his records, and then we got into a regular songwriting habit. We would get together on Mondays. It just became a fun ritual. We would treat it like a job and go to work. Charanghat: Chris would have a song and run it by me, and then we’d finish that, and I think with [Allen’s] Acetate, Chris said we needed to focus on the record and get it done. That started the pattern.

You’ve known each other forever. Talk about what made you want to write songs together in the first place? Charanghat: For me, it was Chris. He was writing songs first. Chris would write songs and come over and start recording on my fourtrack. He’d record a tune, and I’d play guitar on it. It would be random. We would sit in my parents’

Can you each talk about when and where you recorded your new album? Charanghat: I recorded mine at GAR Hall. It started in 2016. I was going to use four tunes from the 2014 session and eight tunes from what became Muso. They didn’t jibe at all and were two totally different records. I used a few for Muso. The first eight tunes were written in one

AUSTIN WALKIN’ CANE CHARANGHAT AND CHRIS ALLEN 8 P.M. SATURDAY, JULY 17, MUSIC BOX SUPPER CLUB 1148 MAIN ST., 216-242-1250 TICKETS: $18 ADV, $25 DOS

Charanghat, bassist Don Dixon and drummer Jim Brock. One recent afternoon over beers at the Harp, Allen and Charanghat both spoke about their respective albums. Have you guys co-hosted a release party in the past? Allen: No. Usually, we’re always writing on each other’s records. We get done with one and start the other one. Charanghat: Usually, as soon as one

night. I think we wrote one song between 9 and midnight. Then, I hit a lick and Chris had a look that he gives me. An eyebrow goes up. Then, we started working, and it turned into this whole thing, and we never ate except for pretzel rods. I had two bags of pretzel rods, and we just attacked them. Allen: I recorded in Charlotte at [drummer] Jim Brock’s studio. I wanted him to play drums. He played drums on my first solo album. He’s a legendary drummer. He was on a James McMurtry record. I thought it’d be kick ass to get him and [bassist] Don Dixon on the record. They’ve worked together for decades. Jim said we could go to his studio, and we recorded for two days. Austin came with me to the studio for the album. He’s guested on things before, but he was in the band for this album, and we did most of the tracks live. We recorded June 7 and 8. Back in April was when the idea came up. I had been collecting songs, and I wanted to do a record. Most of the songs were written recently, and one of them we wrote the night before in the hotel. We wrote it at midnight and recorded it at 10 the next morning. Jim was not pleased. He likes to be prepared, but it was a straightforward rocker. Austin, what music influenced you for this particular record? Charanghat: Muso was just that one night. I had sketches and ideas and things like that, but we were just rolling. It was one of those things. Every lick that we came up worked pretty well. Originally, it was going to be more acoustic. My friend David Morrison is a great harmonica player, and he’s a great singer and overall great guy. I wanted to do something with him. I was listening to it and thought if it just had a little electric, it would be better. Now, the whole thing is mostly electric. Chris ended up doing cool tremolo sounds on it. Allen: I brought some of my Rosavelt tricks to it. Charanghat: It’s so unique to the blues. And what about you, Chris. Allen: We knew what rhythm section we’d have and we knew everything had to have a good groove to it. We had a song that was more alt-country, but anything that reeked of that got thrown out. I was using my voice a little more than I have in the past. I’ve been playing so many dates for so long, I wanted something I could play live. Charanghat: I think it’s some of the best singing you’ve ever done.

Allen: Austin had all of his guitar parts written down. We had those songs down cold when we got to the studio. COVID made me appreciate the people that I know, and I now longer think about my next record because there might be no getting together again. You don’t know. We just wanted to do something for art’s sake in the moment. You both used to play locally on a regular basis. The pandemic has really hurt local musicians and local venues. Talk about the impact it’s had on you. Charanghat: I’m doing okay. There were a lot of weird gigs last year. My friends have a Dairy Queen in North Ridgeville. They asked me play in the parking lot. I said, “Sure. I had nothing going on.” I was going to do a release gig and then go to Europe. I was going to come back with a little chunk of money and was excited about it. Instead of going to Europe, I was playing the Dairy Queen. I was dreading it, and then, I did it, and it was the greatest thing ever. I might even do it again this year. It was fun, and it was a saving grace in a lot of ways. Facebook Live was great too. Allen: I had regular gigs every Tuesday and Wednesday and always promised myself that if I didn’t play those nights, I would write. I had a Tuesday night music club with members of the Ohio City Singers, and me and Austin were writing all the time. We got a ton of Christmas songs written, and I wrote a Falling Stars album, and Rosavelt wrote a bunch of songs. I’m not going to lie. It was nice to have nights off. I needed it. My daughter and I spent a lot of that time together, and I did a lot of cooking. What can we expect from this release show? Allen: We’ll trade songs. The backing band will know both records, so we’ll play songs from both records and some of our older tunes. Me and Austin will do some songs as a duo. [Local musicians] Kelly Wright and Meredith Pangrace will join us as part of the band. We’ll mix it up a little bit all night. Charanghat: It’s a release party, but we’ll do a bit of everything. Allen: Austin wanted to make it a storyteller session, but I told him no. I said, “Boring!” Charanghat: I think only Ray Davies could pull that off.

jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel | clevescene.com | July 14-27, 2021

SAVAGE LOVE EMOTIONAL ARSONISTS By Dan Savage Hey, Dan: I’m a 19-year-old girl who was dumped a few months ago. My partner found out he didn’t like my body when we were having sex for the first time, and he told me right after. We were actually still in bed naked when he told me. He kept cuddling me to make me feel a bit better but it still hurt to hear. Other than slight doubts about genitals and my face (I have Asian features and having my face and living in a western country isn’t always easy), I didn’t go into that experience expecting to be rejected. We had talked about all the sexual stuff we wanted to do, and he had previously told me I was attractive and thicc and paid me other compliments. Undressing for someone and then being rejected was devastating, and I don’t have other experiences to weigh this one against and take reassurance from. My self-esteem dropped. I know his tastes and preferences shouldn’t be a problem for me now, since we are no longer together, but I can’t stop thinking about them. I’ve known him for five years. He means a lot to me, and we want to continue to be friends. I wish someone had told me that having sex with someone isn’t a guarantee that everything will always work out. (Having sex with them, being sexually open and generous, and having nice tits, too!) I started therapy, but I also wanted some advice from you. —Babe Only Desires Intuitive Emotional Support “People who are brutally honest generally enjoy the brutality more than the honesty.” The late Canadian humorist and newspaper columnist Richard Needham wasn’t talking about your ex-whatever-he-was when he made that observation, BODIES, but he could’ve been. Yeah, yeah, sometimes we only realize we aren’t as attracted to someone as we thought until after we’ve slept with that person. That’s sadly the case sometimes. But your ex-whatever’s comments were so gratuitously cruel, BODIES, that it’s hard to avoid concluding (if I may borrow a phrase) that cruelty was the point. He could’ve and should’ve given you a million other reasons why he

didn’t want to sleep with you again — this may be one of those rare instances where ghosting would’ve been kinder. At the very least, he should’ve given you a chance to get dressed before he let you know he wasn’t interested in having sex with you again. That your very first sex partner chose to brutalize you like this — that he didn’t make the slightest effort to spare your feelings — is an almost unforgivable betrayal. Unless this boy is somewhere on the spectrum and has difficulty anticipating how a direct statement might hurt another person’s feelings, BODIES, there’s no excuse for what he did. Sticking around to cuddle after saying that shit isn’t proof he’s a good person. The arsonist who sticks around to piss on your house after setting it on fire isn’t being kind, BODIES, he’s warming his dick by the fire and enjoying the blaze. Please know that being rejected by someone doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with your body, BODIES, or with your genitals or your face or your race or your features. Swiping right on someone who didn’t swipe right on you or sleeping with someone who doesn’t want to sleep with you again isn’t proof you’re flawed or unattractive. It just means you’re not right for that particular person, BODIES, and for reasons particular to that person. Rejection sucks and it always hurts, and for that reason we should strive to be as considerate as possible when we have to reject someone. Considerate but clear, considerate but unambiguous, but always considerate. And what this guy did to you — not even letting you get dressed first — was as inconsiderate as possible, and you have every right to be angry with him. If you had to get a therapist after sleeping with someone, it’s a pretty good indication that person should have no place in your life — as a lover or a friend — going forward. Keep seeing your shrink, BODIES, and stop talking to this asshole.

Hey, Dan: I’ve gone through many variations of relationships, from monogamous to open. My new partner is incredibly smart,

| clevescene.com | July 14-27, 2021

open-minded, loving, GGG — all the things, right? So I find myself a bit perplexed and troubled by a statement she made. She was in a relationship prior to the one with me, and the person she was with wanted to be free to do as he wished sexually. She told him that was “fine” so long as he used protection and she didn’t know about it. Apparently that worked so well for her that she made me the same offer after we decided to become sexually exclusive: She told me to use protection if I should ever cheat and not to tell her about it. At first I was like, “Cool, but I’m not going to cheat,” but now I find myself thinking about it. And if I do cheat, I will use protection and keep it to myself, per her request. So why am I writing to you? I have a high sex drive and a history of parental neglect and abuse. I find that I seek validation from women, and I have a fairly good idea that it’s due to what I endured from my mother. We’ve only been seeing each other for a few months since we have been dating, and I do love her. I know people often get caught — even with a hall pass — and I don’t want to lose her because of this. I want to make peace with never being with another person or with using the “hall pass” I’ve been given. How do I do that? —Hesitant About Lying Lest Partner’s Anger Sabotages Situation You can make all the peace you want with being monogamous, HALLPASS, but that won’t make being monogamous any easier for you. Zooming out for a second: Your desire to have sex with more than one person might have something to do with the trauma you suffered in childhood … or it might not. A lot of people have high sex drives and risktaking personalities and a desire for variety and not all of them were neglected or abused as children. But the culture encourages people who don’t wanna be monogamous (that’s a lot of people) or who find monogamy difficult (that’s everybody else) to see themselves as damaged. And yet we’re told that monogamy is always easy for people who are emotionally healthy — which is a lie — and then

we waste time digging through our childhood histories for something that might explain why this thing that’s Joe Newton supposed to be easy — monogamy — is so hard for us. (Spoiler: It’s hard for almost everyone.) It’s a waste of time, HALLPASS. You can and should see a therapist to help you work through the trauma you suffered as a child, of course, but don’t waste your time with a therapist who pathologizes your relatively normal desires or seeks to assign blame for them. So what do you do about your girlfriend? How about you … maybe … talk to her? Your new girlfriend has been perfectly clear — she doesn’t care if you cheat so long as you use protection and she doesn’t find out about it — but you need additional clarity. If you were to sleep with someone else and she found out about it despite your best efforts to prevent her from finding out about it … what then? If finding out you used the hall pass she gave you is something she couldn’t forgive, HALLPASS, then you obviously can’t use it without risking the relationship. (You’re right: people get caught.) Additionally, if that’s really how she feels, then your girlfriend shouldn’t be handing out hall passes in the first place. But if cheating is something she could tolerate — so long as protection was used and some consideration was shown for her feelings, i.e., you at least attempted to be discreet/keep it from her — then you don’t have to hand in that hall pass.

Questions? mail@savagelove. net. Follow Dan on Twitter @ FakeDanSavage or savagelovecast. com.

mail@savagelove.net t@fakedansavage www.savagelovecast.com

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| clevescene.com | July 14-27, 2021