Jazz Hands
If you're…read morelooking for a night of entertainment, look no further than CPH and visit this theatre.
This place is the bees knees. We'll start off with the building and facilities.... All the theatres include exquisite architecture. From detailed lobbies, to unique art, they have it all here.
Grooving through the Allen theater for the CPH performance of A Christmas Story, I was throughly impressed with the cast, sets, and audio quality. The show was full of energy and the cast executed the plot wonderfully. I hope all those cats make it big. The only negative to my experience was the two women who drinking wine in front of me. It was quite strong and stimulated my gag reflex during the show. One would get tipsy just by sitting in their section. And they kept purchasing the drinks from the concession stand. Maybe CPH should consider having an "Friends of Bill W" meeting room if they continue to serve alcohol.
Speaking of the concessions, buyer beware, it's cashless. In addition, and most important, they still have the soft pretzels from my childhood . Bottles of water are expensive, so bring your own, or maybe just plan on being dehydrated.
Regarding the comfort of the Allen Theatre, specifically the seats in Allen were much more comfortable than the nasty red tiny velour ones in the large Playhouse Palace Theatre. There's enough room in aisles to stretch your legs and not feel like you need a knee replacement, after sitting through a show. The Allen Theatre is the perfect sized theater, with great angles from all seats, not too small, or too big.
Dancing back to the lobby, you will find some rather tacky white pleather sofas... similar to the pants you may have owned in the 70s. These sofas look clunky & out of place, and I feel these need to be removed immediately to preserve the old time feeling of the building and historic culture of the venue. I understand the importance of providing seating, but these don't match. Whoever approved these sofas, killed the vibe and is trying to eliminate a natural historic element of Cleveland. It's a disgrace to all architects and historians. But with great history, comes great responsibility, and if you review my photos, you'll note each photo is blurry, probably due to the theater ghosts. (Except the photo "Stinky Wine.") personally, I felt a positive theatre ghost presence, but wanted to set the scene. In the lobby, you'll also find various awards, which I'm not sure what they all are, or if they're real, but it's cool. Additionally, there was a family room, located near the Facenmeyer Lobby, but I'll be darned if I could find an entrance. But to be fair, I didn't want to see Uncle Joe or Aunt Millie so I didn't bother to look around too much. I also like to run in the other direction when children are near.
Accessibility wise, Playhouse and CPH are great, with a plethora of elevators, ramps, rails, and seats, making the trek a little easier for folks. I didn't bring my tape measure to ensure all the ramps were 10' and 2' but the incline didn't seem as nuts as other ramps in town. Bathrooms are also plentiful, with vanities and stalls to ensure large intermission crowds.
When I visited, it was Christmas season, thus everything was adorned with holly and most people were jolly. Redcoats are available to guide guests to their viewing throwns and ensure etiquette in the theatre. They were very kind and passionate for theater.
Overall, great night out, but watch out for women obsessed with wine, theatre ghosts and ugly sofas.
