Bang and Clatter Shuts its Doors
It was upsetting to read in the Plain Dealer this morning that Bang and Clatter was shutting its doors–and not just in Cleveland, but also the Akron location: their last performance (Lady, by Craig Wright) is scheduled for September 25 – October 17 in Akron.
At times like these my guilt at not being able to see more theater hits dreadfully hard. I get to convergence regularly and CPT when I can. We’re lucky in Cleveland to be able to say that there’s plenty of theater to choose from–and good theater. Not crappy stuff like “Death in the Wings” a murder comedy or some shit like that, but real, heart-thumping, brain-splitting, in-your-face theater. And that’s what’s hard to swallow about this, especially knowing that these two guys put everything they had into it. Sean McConaha words are especially cutting: “Not only was this our dream, but now we’re penniless.”
The weight of carrying debt from two locations (one on East 4th) took its toll according to the article and the economy, as most of us know, did it’s part too.
Being attached as I am to convergence, as well as having a spot in my heart for CPT, I was always watchful of what Bang and Clatter was doing and was wary of what they could do. Their schedule was relentless, the plays they brought in were excellent, the location they had downtown was perfect, and the ambition of their founders was like their schedule–and I took it for granted that they would be a rising powerhouse in Cleveland theater. I was at once exhilarated and frightened for the other theaters.
At the same time, though, as I mentioned above, we should never look a gift horse in the mouth and think that we have too much theater–we’re lucky here and bits of our luck have been running out recently. It is never welcome news to hear that a theater closed its doors, especially one driven by two men who put everything on the line to see it succeed.
