July 29 - August 20, 2023, Outcalt Theatre
Suburban Outlaw® Productions presents
written by Allison Engel and Margaret Engel
Run time: 62 minutes, no intermission
Erma Bombeck, one of America’s most beloved humorists, captured the frustrations of her generation by asking, “If life is a bowl of cherries, what am I doing in the pits?” Equal parts wife, mother, daughter, and “domestic demigoddess”, she gave voice to the everyday joys and struggles faced by women of all ages. Starring nationally-syndicated columnist Suburban Outlaw® Pam Sherman, Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End celebrates a remarkable woman who reminded us all how to embrace whatever life throws at us with grace, grit, and good humor.
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Pam Sherman in "Erma Bombeck: At Wit's End". Photo by Roger Mastroianni.
- Pre-Show Conversations: Lift Them Up!: Ways that Cleveland is Championing Women
August 16, 2023 @ 6:30pm - 7:15pm - TalkBacks
August 8, 2023 @ 8:00pm - 8:45pm
August 13, 2023 @ 3:30pm - 4:15pm - Open Caption Performances
August 13, 2023 @ 2:30pm - 4:00pm
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Welcome to Inside CPH for Erma Bombeck: At Wit's End. Click the icons and verbs below for some ideas on how you can engage more deeply with the themes and ideas of the play beyond the performance.
Special THANKS to our Productions Partners for our 2023-24 Season!
Our partners include:
- Future Ink Graphics
- Women In History
- ACLU Cleveland
- The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland
- Windsong Cleveland's Feminist Chorus
- Buckland Museum of Witchcraft and Magick
- MedWish International
- Upcycle Parts Shop
- Ingenuity Cleveland
- Cleveland Whiskey
- Stunt Predators USA
- Aurora Community Theatre
- Chagrin Valley Little Theatre
- Benedictine High School
- Solon High School
- Medina High School
- Imposters Theatre
- Donauschwaben German Cultural Center
- The Cleveland Orchestra
- Northeast Ohio Hispanic Center for Economic Development
- Inlet Dance Theatre
- LatinUs Theatre
- Community Arts Center (Cleveland Art Museum)
view
discuss
- Bombeck recounts the family’s ability to recite (and mock) her husband’s staple dinner-table-lectures word for word. What were the lectures that made frequent appearances in your household?
- “My idea of housework was to sweep the room with a glance.” What is the chore you least desire and why? What were the circ*mstances that prompted you to do that chore, and what would it take to have you do it again?
- Bombeck was passionate about speaking her truth, even if it wasn’t what people wanted to hear. When was a time you shared a hard truth? How did you handle it and how did it make you feel?
learn
The University of Dayton has done so much to preserve the legacy of their famous alum. Not only do they maintain a robust collection of Bombeck-related materials in their library archives, but they've digitized many of them in an online collection that Bombeck fans can read and enjoy. Take some time to peruse the riches they've gathered - and then maybe take a day trip to explore more deeply!
visit
Love museums? Interested in how other pioneering women have shaped our country? Feel like you've already seen everything Cleveland has to offer?
Then check out this little known gem - The International Women's Air & Space Museum. Located in the terminal of Burke Lakefront Airport, the Museum collects, preserves, and showcases the history and culture of women in all areas of aviation & aerospace, educates visitors about their contributions, and inspires young women to make their own marks upon the world.
And admission is free!
experience
Erma Bombeck: At Wit's End is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to solo shows about influential and inspiring women! Did you know that there's an organization here in Ohio, specifically dedicated to theatrical performances about women who have changed the world?
Women in History Ohio is dedicated to educating audiences through the dramatic recreation of the lives of notable women. Actors pick someone in whom they're interested, do research, and then write, costume, and stage a solo performance that can be performed live or virtually for different groups around our state. And several of our Cleveland theatre luminaries are part of the organization.
Check out their website for details on upcoming performances, and make some time to experience one live!
Artists
Pam Sherman
(Erma Bombeck) is an actor, writer, leadership consultant and recovering lawyer who was profiled in People Magazine about her career transition from attorney to actor. She has appeared in numerous productions in D.C. at Source Theater, Theatre J, Arena Stage, Ford’s Theater, and the long-running show Shear Madness at more
Allison Engel
(Playwright) Allison Engel has been a reporter for the Des Moines Tribune, San Jose Mercury and Pacific News Service, and a Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University. She was a speechwriter for former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack and lieutenant governor Sally Pederson and president of the Des Moines Playhouse. more
Margaret Engel
(Playwright) Margaret Engel directs the Alicia Patterson Journalism Foundation and was the managing editor of the Newseum. She was a reporter for the Washington Post, Des Moines Register and Lorain Journal, and was a Nieman fellow at Harvard. She and her twin wrote the play Red Hot Patriot: The more
Mark Cuddy
(Director) has directed over one hundred plays and musicals across the country including At Wit’s End starring Pam Sherman at Geva Theatre where he served as Artistic Director for twenty-seven years. Among many others, his recent directing work at Geva includes Constellations, Ring of Fire, Once, The Humans, To more
Laura Carlson Tarantowski
(Scenic Designer) is the resident Scenic Designer and Lecturer at Oberlin College. Recent work at Oberlin includes Stonewallin, Or, and The Moors. Other local design work includes Everybody for the Case Western Reserve - Cleveland Playhouse MFA Acting Program, Stew, Kill Move Paradise, and Stupid F*cking Bird for more
Jeremy Paul
(Lighting Designer) is a director, designer, and interdisciplinary artist. Recent designs include lighting for Head Over Heels, Near West Theater, and The Thin Place, Dobama Theater, and projections for The Other Place, Dobama Theater. He has directed the world/regional premieres of My Barking Dog (Eric Coble), Black Cat Lost more
Suburban Outlaw® Productions
() Suburban Outlaw® Productions was formed to support all creative content of Pam Sherman, AKA The Suburban Outlaw®, including columns on the USA Today Network in over 50 Gannett newspapers for 15 years, as well as podcasts, keynotes, and programs presented globally. Managed by Neal Sherman, AKA “the husband”, more
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