Girls Day Out at PlayhouseSquare’s SPANK! (at Hanna Theatre now-Jan. 27)

This weekend was spent loading new furniture into our house. After more than a few speedbumps (like half our couch arriving in the wrong shape and color), I was clamoring to escape for a couple hours.

SPANK! The Fifty Shades Parody at PlayhouseSquare was to the rescue.

I’ll be honest. Before the curtain went up on Sunday’s performance, I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into. I never had any huge desire to read Fifty Shades of Grey, but having worked backstage on another parody musical for two years, I have a soft spot for them.

And the one thing I learned while working on Menopause the Musical is when you stage a spoof, you have to completely give yourself over to the source material.

If the crowd at Sunday’s show was any indication, the cast of SPANK! did just that.

As soon as the house lights went down in the Hanna Theatre, the production jumped right in with a strip-tease from the male lead, Hugh Hanson (played by Gabe Bowling). There was no turning back.

Full house at the Hanna Theatre for SPANK!

Shakespeare this isn’t. But when you go to a show based on Fifty Shades of Grey, you’re not expecting that. What you can expect is plenty of sex and laughs – SPANK! didn’t disappoint with many a’ double entendre plus some not as subtle visuals.

SPANK! also mined its fair share of humor from the book’s ridiculous characters and moments. It helps if you’ve read the book (or in my case, Wikipedia’s plot summary). Otherwise, you may not believe some of the parody’s references were actually written.

The sight gags were well-complemented by audience interaction and song parodies (this theatre nerd liked the unexpected choice of Into the Woods’ I Know Things Now for one of the melodies).

The only complaint I had was a handful of offbeat light and sound cues throwing off the show’s pacing. In particular, there were a few moments right at the end of scenes where a late light cue kept a joke from popping as much.

However, the performances from Bowling, Alice Moran as the story’s innocent Tasha and Suzanne Sole as the Chardonnay-fueled writer E.B. Janet were spot-on, broad and hilarious, which more than made up for a couple of missed tech beats.

Come early and stay late for SPANK’s pre and post-show festivities

Drinks beforehand at the Hanna Theatre’s bar didn’t hurt either – especially the aptly named Whips and Cuffs cocktail.  After the show, grab your friends for a photo with Hugh Hanson himself.

SPANK! The Fifty Shades Parody is onstage at PlayhouseSquare through January 27 (this week’s performances run the 24th-27th).

Tickets range $10.00 – $45.00 and can be purchased here: http://www.playhousesquare.org/default.asp?playhousesquare=58&objid=3661

Disclosure: Photos provided (in order) by WhyCLE, Poise in Parma and my giveaway winner Ali. PlayhouseSquare offered me 2 tickets for myself and 2 to give away in exchange for sharing my opinions about the production.  The opinions expressed here are my own.

One of my favorite Girls Days Out from last year at Jen’s wedding

UPDATE: In addition to entering my giveaway below for SPANK! at PlayhouseSquare, you can increase your chances of winning by checking out Smitten in Cleveland’s, WhyCLE’s and Life in the CLE’s giveaways going on now.

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I find that when I need to blow off steam, a Girls’ Night (or Day) Out is the best remedy – whether it’s yoga with Poise in Parma or @CLEYogi, or a Sunday of Les Mis, crafting and Downton Abbey.

If you want to make like Cyndi Lauper and have fun, I have 2 upcoming girls’ nights and a giveaway for you:

While these events are primarily geared towards women, anyone is encouraged to attend.

Battle of the Bombshells Happy Hour Kickoff
Jan. 11, 8-10pm at Around the Corner

The Battle of the Bombshells is back! Last summer the Blondes vs. Brunettes flag football fundraiser came to Cleveland for the first time and raised $41,253.00 to tackle Alzheimer’s disease.

This year’s goal is to raise $50,000, which will benefit the Alzheimer’s Association’s research, support and care efforts for more than 56,000 affected in Northeast Ohio.

And BvBCLE wants YOU!

Join them this Friday, Jan. 11 from 8-10pm at Around the Corner.  $20 gets you all you can eat and drink at their Happy Hour Kickoff.

While you’re there, learn more and sign up to participate in this year’s game. Women and men are both being recruited.

Ladies play ball (red-heads are free agents), but anyone can coach or join an event committee.

Teams Blonde and Brunette will also be competing to raise funds by raffling off a booze basket and other prizes until 10pm.

RSVP on Facebook or email sberman@alz.org. And learn more about BVBCLE’s other going ons by visiting bvbcle.org, @bvbcle and facebook.com/bvbcleveland.

SPANK! The Fifty Shades Parody and Giveaway
Jan. 17-27 at the Hanna Theatre

While Fifty Shades of Grey hasn’t made it on my reading list yet, I’m a sucker for a good spoof.

SPANK! The Fifty Shades Parody arrives at Cleveland’s Hanna Theatre January 17 through 27.

Described as: “the hilarious unauthorized musical satire that brings the naughty fun of the saucy best-selling book to life in one laugh-filled high-energy show. Part Chippendales, part Second City…all in one delicious package.”

On Jan. 20, you can join me, WhyCLE, Smitten in Cleveland and Life in the CLE for a special Sunday Funday at SPANK. The show starts at 3pm with pre-show cocktails beforehand.

Because I’m a firm believer in the more the merrier, I have 2 tickets and drink tickets to give away to the show:

There are 5 Easy Ways to Enter the Giveaway!
Leave a separate comment on this post for each entry.

1) For one entry, leave a comment on this post sharing what your favorite girls night out activity is. (You can just get me a bottle of wine and sushi and I’m happy.)

2) Follow @ADHicken on Twitter and leave one comment here letting me know you did.

3) If you’re a fan of Clue Into Cleveland on Facebook, leave a comment on this blog post letting me know. If you’re not yet a fan, you can become one here.

4) Twitter users can also get an extra entry each day for tweeting: “I want to see SPANK! The Fifty Shades Parody. Enter @ADHicken’s Girls Day Out giveaway for your chance to win: http://wp.me/p2Ukr0-1L7”  (Each day you do this, you must leave a new comment.)

5) Subscribe to receive Clue Into Cleveland blog posts by email or via the RSS feed and leave a comment letting me know you did. This can include signing up to receive email notifications in the top-right “Subscribe” section of this page.

You have until Sunday, Jan. 13 at 11:59PM to enter. On Monday, Jan. 14, I will select a winner using Random.org and will announce their name on my blog.  Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry.

Disclosure: I was invited to host a giveaway and blog about SPANK! at PlayhouseSquare in exchange for 2 tickets to see the show. Opinions here are my own.