 
        
        
      
    
    Explore Western Reserve Playhouse news, media features, and official press releases highlighting our productions, artists, and community in Bath, Ohio.
News, & Media Features
Press Releases,
 
      
      Criss-Cross Cabaret
Criss-Cross Cabaret is a joyful, intergenerational showcase where adults perform songs written for kids, and kids perform songs meant for adults. This creative collaboration with WRP’s Young Artists’ Theatre Department turns expectations upside down in an evening of laughter, heart, and musical surprises.
 
      
      Poe is Dead in Akron Beacon Journal
We’re so grateful to Akron Beacon Journal arts writer Kerry Clawson for featuring our recent event “Poe Is Dead” in her coverage of local theatre and arts. Her continued support of Northeast Ohio’s creative community helps spotlight the incredible talent that fills our stage and our region. At Western Reserve Playhouse, our “At the Barn” series celebrates diverse artists and one-of-a-kind performances that bring people together. We’re thrilled to see that spirit recognized in Kerry’s article.
 
      
      Same Time, Next Year
Same Time, Next Year tells the story of Doris and George, two strangers each married to other people, who meet by chance at a California inn in 1951 and begin a love affair that endures through annual meetings over the next quarter century. As the world around them evolves through cultural and political shifts, so too do their lives, marriages, and the deep bond they share.
 
      
      Anton in Show Business in Akron Life Magazine
We’re honored to be featured in Akron Life Magazine’s article, “Giving Direction: All-Female Cast,” highlighting Western Reserve Playhouse’s production of Anton in Show Business.
This story shines a light on the incredible women leading the charge both on and off our stage. It is a reflection of WRP’s ongoing commitment to creating space for diverse voices in theatre.
 
      
      Anton in Show Business
For general audiences, Anton in Show Business delivers sharp wit and laugh-out-loud humor about the quirks and pretensions of the theater world. But for Northeast Ohio's theater community (be it the actors, directors, designers, or passionate patrons who keep the arts alive), the play offers a deeper, more intrinsic look at our artistic ecosystem and the many facets she holds.
 
      
      The Wild Party
Western Reserve Playhouse (WRP), the award-winning historic barn theatre of Summit County, continues its bold 2025–2026 season with Andrew Lippa’s THE WILD PARTY, running July 18 through August 2, 2025. Based on Joseph Moncure March’s 1928 narrative poem, this daring musical explodes with jazz-age glamour, grit, and emotional depth. Beneath the glittering surface of excess and spectacle, The Wild Party reveals a story about silence, survival, and the devastating cost of complicity.
 
      
      Titus Andronicus
Bath, OH—Western Reserve Playhouse (WRP), the award-winning historic barn theatre of Summit County, continues its bold 2025–2026 season with The Lamentable Tragedy of TITUS ANDRONICUS, running May 22 through June 1, 2025. Shakespeare’s most savage tragedy, Titus Andronicus is a revenge story with no brakes. When Roman war hero Titus returns home, he expects honor; but gets betrayal in its place. The new emperor turns against him, the Queen of the Goths sets a plan for revenge in motion, and her lover, Aaron, orchestrates a campaign of cruelty that tears Titus’s world apart. Under their schemes, his daughter is violently silenced, his sons are framed and executed, and the line between justice and vengeance disappears. What follows is a spiral of violence where every act of cruelty demands another, and no one makes it out clean.
 
      
      The Shark is Broken
BATH, OH—Western Reserve Playhouse (WRP), Summit County’s historic barn theatre, proudly launches its 2025-2026 season with the Midwest regional premiere of The Shark is Broken, running from April 4 to April 13, 2025. This critically acclaimed comedy dives into the tumultuous filming of Jaws, offering a hilarious and heartfelt exploration of the strained relationships between the film’s stars as they grapple with delays, clashing egos, and a malfunctioning mechanical shark.
 
      
      Rumors
Western Reserve Playhouse is thrilled to announce its upcoming production of Neil Simon’s uproarious comedy Rumors, running from February 7 to February 22, 2025. Performances will be held every Friday and Saturday at 8:00 PM, with a special matinee on Sunday, February 16, at 2:00 PM. This laugh-out-loud farce will be brought to life in the intimate 97-seat theater housed within our historic 160-year-old barn.
 
      
      Death of a Salesman
Since its debut in 1949, Death of a Salesman has stood as one of the most profound examinations of American life and identity. Willy Loman, a traveling salesman past his prime, grapples with the failures of his life, the strain of his relationships, and the crushing weight of unrealized dreams. His wife Linda, loyal and supportive, and his two sons, Biff and Happy, each face their own battles as the family unravels. Through flashbacks and intimate conversations, Miller weaves a tale of love, loss, and the devastating cost of chasing illusions.
