EXIT STRATEGY

  • May 22 - June 7, 2026

  • The Marinello Little Theatre @ JCU

    1 John Carroll Boulevard
    University Heights, Ohio 44118
Ticket Price $1.00-$40.00 Buy Tickets
Description

General Admission to Ensemble Theatre's production of EXIT STRATEGY by Ike Holter. 
Cleveland Premiere. Seating is first come, first served with the exception of members, special seating needs, and press.

They bring mouse traps from home, they make the toilet paper last, and they show up for the kids nobody else shows up for. So when the school is slated for closure at the end of the year, and the weight of the inevitable bears down on the community, students and teachers alike discover their breaking points. Ricky, the vice principal, has stayed firmly on the sidelines for all of the teachers’ previous battles, but now in the eleventh hour, he’s compelled to step up with a plan to save the school. Some risk their futures to follow his lead-- But does he actually have any idea what he’s doing? Spiked with humor and brimming with fury, EXIT STRATEGY is an exhilarating call to arms about what we owe each other.

“Each character in EXIT STRATEGY comes quickly into clear focus. And while the play serves as a stinging indictment of the state of public schools in Chicago and, more broadly, the country, Mr. Holter deftly embeds his finger-pointing in the drama itself. We see beyond the surface dysfunction to the toll it takes on the lives, and careers, of the teachers, whose dedication to their students comes across movingly, even when they are complaining about them.” —The New York Times.

Date & Time

May 22 - Jun 7, 2026

Venue Details

The Marinello Little Theatre @ JCU

1 John Carroll Boulevard
University Heights, Ohio 44118 The Marinello Little Theatre @ JCU
Ensemble Theatre of Cleveland

Ensemble Theatre is dedicated to the responsible production of works that celebrate the human spirit drawn from the rich canon of modern American classics as well as other significant contemporary plays.  Ensemble serves greater Cleveland and the Midwest region by reintroducing the classics, examining them with new eyes, and supporting the development of new works for the American theater.

  • Education and outreach activities, engage youth and local community members through on site programming, residencies, and touring performances.
  • Ensemble adheres to a credo with a policy of non-traditional, casting. This is the use of actors of any race, gender identity or orientation, ethnicity, or degree of disabilities in roles for which such factors are not germane to the development of stage characters or the play.
  • Ensemble Theatre believes that the arts are an essential and meaningful part of life. The theatre offers an important forum for stimulating and provoking thought about the issues of contemporary life, and it is a place for communal experience. Introducing future generations to the arts will enlighten them about the human condition and provide them with a resource to nourish them throughout their lives. All art, including theatre, should be a celebration of diversity and human dignity. The theatre provides the highest possible level of professionalism in all areas to nurture new talent, and to be ever mindful of the power of art to entertain and move the audience.  

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