Describe the experience of attending a Kalliope production. Everyone who comes to Kalliope for the first time, by the time intermission comes, they are ecstatic, because most of them have not experienced a musical that close. There is something different in having an actor three feet from you, compared to sitting in the balcony.
Do you perform plays by new composers? We’re always doing one or two new musicals a season. The way the art form is going to thrive is really in regional theaters. That’s where all the new musicals are being done first, and if they’re successful, they can go on to a bigger venue and, eventually, on to Broadway.
Where do you see Kalliope five seasons from now? We do have the availability, if we can raise the money, to expand the theater into the other storefront next to us. It would give us a 180-seat house, which would be perfect. That would be exactly what we’re looking for.
“Kalliope’s Fifth Birthday Celebration,” Sept. 7-9; call (216) 321-0870 or visit www.kalliopestage.com for more information.
