Peter Van Dijk

As PlayhouseSquare celebrates its first 90 years, “Staging Success: The PlayhouseSquare Story” pays tribute to the people who were instrumental in saving the theaters and shows how the community worked together to create a cultural showplace in the heart of downtown Cleveland. This new documentary, a production of WVIZ/PBS, in collaboration with Think Media Studios, reveals a Cleveland rags-to-riches tale as dramatic as any on Broadway.

A day in the life of a young student, Paul, who commits suicide with his girl friend. We follow him in theschoolroom, where he fantasizes about space travel while the instructor goes over the dates of WW2 and his companions read "Playboy". He walks in a city covered with postcards for coming elections. Discusses life and death with a friend, Harald, meets a pretty acquaintance, Mara, with whom he makes love, and finally turns on the gas in his study.