Tipping the Scales

Here's another reason to love the Cleveland Orchestra: Without it, playwright Tom Stoppard's Every Good Boy Deserves Favor likely wouldn't be coming to the Cleveland Play House. First performed in 1977, the play criticizes the Soviet practice of treating political dissidence as a form of mental illness. "You don't see this play done that much because it does require an orchestra," says Michael Bloom, Cleveland Play House artistic director. For that reason, it has rarely been produced, but will run during the New Ground Theatre Festival May 3-5. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime event," Bloom says.