More than 100 actors, dancers, musicians, poets and visual artists joined forces to create an overwhelming spectacle throughout Cleveland Public Theatre’s Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood theater complex during the annual Pandemonium fund-raiser.
The dance and multimedia troupe SAFMOD, led by stilt-walker Alexandra Underhill, entertained the crowd in the main theater, while 2% Milk — a keyboardist and DJ on turntables — improvised hip-hop and funk outside. A tall black box stood on the lawn, and a man beckoned guests closer, inviting them to peer through small holes and don headphones. Inside, a shirtless singer and a kneeling guitarist sang and played with claustrophobic abandon.
Paul Volpe of City Architecture was honored with CPT’s Pan Award for supporting the arts and Cleveland’s neighborhoods. Appetizers from more than 30 restaurants, including Snickers Tavern, were later replaced by a sumptuous dessert collection, which included exotic ice cream flavors from Woo City Ice Cream.
About 600 people attended the event, which raised about $160,000 for Cleveland Public Theatre.