Cleveland Play House and Cleveland State Form Alliance: CLE Daily

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🎬 Lili Reinhart Shouts Out Cleveland Magazine on "The Tonight Show": Jimmy Fallon surprised the Bay Village native with her Most Interesting People 2026 honor this week, and she immediately deflected the credit, joking she was "the least interesting person" next to fellow honorees like an NBA cookie mom, a boomerang champion and a meteorologist-slash-ventriloquist. She was on the couch promoting her next movie, "The Love Hypothesis," a rom-com adapted from the bestselling novel that started as Star Wars fanfiction.

🩺 Measles Cases Keep Climbing in Northeast Ohio: Ohio has recorded 122 measles cases this year — up from just 45 in all of 2025 — with most concentrated in Geauga (32), Ashtabula (27) and Trumbull (5) counties, plus three in Cuyahoga. Every case has been in someone unvaccinated, under-vaccinated or of unknown status; a Cleveland Clinic infectious disease specialist notes the MMR vaccine remains 97% effective after two doses. 

🤘 Metallica's 2027 Stadium Show Presale Opens Today: Tickets to the M72 World Tour's Huntington Bank Field stop — Cleveland's first announced 2027 stadium show, with Limp Bizkit and Avatar opening June 15, 2027 — go on presale today. General tickets follow Friday, Sept. 25.

🎶 Colombia Comes to Cleveland: Latin Grammy winner Monsieur Periné makes its Cleveland debut at the CMA on Wednesday. The Bogotá band behind the 2-billion-view viral hit "Nuestra Canción" blends cumbia, bolero and jazz.

ICYMI: Remember Friday's note on gas prices outrunning everything else in your budget? Buehler's is doing its part on the grocery side — the local chain's discount app Flashfood is now live at all 14 stores, and Northeast Ohio shoppers have already saved $2.4 million this year.

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Today's Trivia

What East Tech graduate and track star is the only person to set multiple world records on the same day at the Big Ten meet in 1935?

Arts & Education: Cleveland Play House and Cleveland State University are calling their new alliance "transformational."

By Ken Prendergast, NEOTrans

The century-old regional theater and CSU are deepening a 15-year partnership, giving undergrads across all majors new access to working artists and theater professionals while CPH stays an independent company.

New Leadership: Cleveland Heights native Rachel Fink, CPH's managing director, takes on an expanded role as CEO while also serving as executive-in-residence at CSU.

A Full Season Ahead: CPH's 2026-27 lineup includes "Private Lives," "Annie," "The Da Vinci Code" and "Working: A Musical," alongside CSU Theatre and Dance's own Playhouse Square season.

Read the full story.

Talk of the Town

Baby sturgeon released into the Cuyahoga last year are turning into teenagers. Fish stocked at about 7 inches in 2025 are now nearing 17, an early sign the river's restoration is taking hold.

Cleveland is holding three public hearings on how to regulate data centers. Councilmember Brian Kazy scheduled sessions at Collinwood, City Hall and Gunning rec centers between Sept. 24 and Oct. 7, ahead of the city's moratorium on new projects expiring Oct. 20.

Citizenship ceremonies are quietly disappearing in Cleveland. Thirteen naturalization ceremonies have been canceled this year as USCIS approvals fall nationally. The local field office's quarterly approvals dropped from over 1,000 to 341.

Ohio led the nation in library checkouts last year, more than doubling the national rate. Residents checked out over 13 items per person in fiscal 2024, trailing only Utah, Washington and Colorado among all states.

Cleveland threw its first-ever Activism Awards gala at the Agora. The inaugural Greater Cleveland Activism Awards honored local leaders in recovery, LGBTQ+ advocacy and cultural unity, with civil rights attorney Fred Gray delivering the keynote.

Development: Solon's Swagelok is hiring 1,200 people this year alone.

By Ken Prendergast, NEOTrans

The industrial fluid systems manufacturer is kicking off a major expansion, with employment set to jump 21% in 2026, with more hiring planned for 2027 — most of it concentrated at its Solon and Cochran roads campus.

The Scale: Swagelok currently employs 5,700 worldwide across more than 20 Northeast Ohio production sites, including Solon, Strongsville, Valley City, Willoughby, Highland Heights and Eastlake.

Worth Noting: The 79-year-old company touts a no-layoff philosophy and day-one benefits, on the heels of a nearly $50 million, 200,000-square-foot distribution center it built last year at its Solon campus.

Read the full story.

Things To Do This Week

Akron Art Museum: Art Blooms (Sept. 23): The Akron Garden Club is setting the stage for a one-day-only flower show in the new exhibition and public spaces of the historic 1899 Akron Art Museum building. Floral designs will be paired with art pieces throughout, as guests will be able to walk through and explore more expansive displays and exhibits. $17.85, 12 p.m.-7 p.m., 1 South High St., Akron, eventbrite.com 

Cleveland Italian Film Festival (Sept. 24): This is your chance to see the award-winning films from Italy in your hometown. The Great Lakes Atlas Cinema will be showing Manual of Love for the final show of the festival. Experience Italian culture in a new way with English subtitles to guide you through. $15.71, 7:30 p.m., 7860 Mentor Ave., Mentor, eventbrite.com 

Cleveland Orchestra: Brahms’ Second Symphony (Sept. 24): The magnificent music director Franz Welser-Möst leads the Cleveland Orchestra to bring you Brahms’ Second Symphony. He will pair this with Liszt’s Orpheus and Martinů’s Second Symphony for a charming and mythical night of music. $32-$216, 7:30 p.m., 11001 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, clevelandorchestra.com

Sing Out for Democracy (Sept. 24): A volunteer-led, nonpartisan choral event marks the Declaration of Independence's 250th anniversary — 56 singers, directed by Baldwin Wallace's Dr. Marc Weagraff, perform 13 selections on freedom and community, with voter registration from the League of Women Voters and a community pledge wall. Free (reservation required), 6 p.m. doors, Simon and Rose Mandel Theatre, 4250 Richmond Road, Highland Hills, singoutfordemocracy.com

Dolly Parton 9 to 5 Day (Sept. 25): In memory of the late Dolly Parton, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has dedicated this day to celebrating her legacy. The larger-than-life star deserves nothing less than a larger-than-life day, with live music, trivia, Dolly buttons and videos. Plus, $2 of every ticket sold will be donated to the Cuyahoga County distributor for Dolly’s Imagination Library. Free with admission ($40-$45), 10 a.m.-5 p.m., 1100 Rock & Roll Blvd., Cleveland, rockhall.com

Friday's Trivia Answer 

Although he spent most of his youth in Massillon – and remains a towering figure there – future Browns coach Paul Brown was born in what Northern Ohio city? Norwalk

Check back tomorrow for the answer to today's question.

From the Editor

Election Day is 43 days away. If you're not registered to vote in Ohio, you have until Oct. 5. After that, you're locked out until the next cycle.

Want to vote by mail? You can request an absentee ballot that day, Oct. 5, through Oct. 27, but earlier is always safer. Ballots have to reach your county board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 3, whether mailed or dropped off by hand. Mark the dates now, before life gets in the way.

— Ron Ledgard, Managing Editor

Let us know what is on your mind at conversation@clevelandmagazine.com.

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