Performance
When I was four years old, every week my mother drove me to Suzuki violin with Mr. Flanick. And every week he used to say: “If you don’t practice this week I’ll suck your blood out.” At four years old, this seemed a viable threat. At some point, complaints about Mr. Flanick’s methods became too much for the nuns, and mom had to find me another teacher. She was getting tired of my screeching, but giving up was not an option. Heck, I was already a hit with the cafeteria ladies at school because I could play Twinkle Twinkle standing on my head. So the basement became my new practice spot. Eventually, I made good and joined up with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. But for years when people asked why I was so thin, I’d say my mom locked me in the basement and wouldn’t feed me until I practiced my violin. She really hates that.
Every role tells a story, and it's been my privilege to spin some great tales up on stage. I got my Masters in acting from Case Western Reserve University, but my favorite practice to bring life up on the stage in all its messy glory is living a little myself (just for practice of course).
- "Also worth noting is John Paul Boukis (in the tough two-accent Pirelli role)."
- –Brian Patrick Thornton, Sparkle Magazine
- "In featured roles, John Paul Boukis humorously feasts on the scenery as rival barber Pirelli...There are no higher compliments."
- –Christine Howey, Cleveland Scene
- "The ensemble shows its vocal chops, especially in the 'Wigmaker Sequence,' a difficult piece to master. Every last prostitute, thief and street urchin in Cain Park's SWEENEY TODD leaves it all on stage at the end of the night. Notable performances also include John Paul Boukis as the campy shyster Pirelli."
- –Marjorie Preston, Sun News
- "I was both surprised and delighted by John Paul Boukis' performance of 'The Contest'."
- –Kate Mill, Cleveland Performing Arts Examiner
- “In particular, John Paul Boukis, as the Prospector and Dash Combs, as the mute, are masterful and an absolute pleasure to watch.” DEAR WORLD
- –Bob Abelman, Chagrin Valley Times
- “Another standout is John Paul Boukis as the Prospector, his face and body twisted in a permanent scowl. He looks like Margaret Hamilton in a bowler hat.” DEAR WORLD
- –Christine Howey, Cleveland Scene
- “Fittingly, the emotional climax comes at the end, when Kalliope co-founder John Paul Boukis sings Susan Werner's "May I Suggest." This gently rueful song posits that this instant is the best moment of our lives.” TINIEST GIFT
- –Christine Howey, Cleveland Scene
- “Among the more esoteric pleasures is the doe-eyed intensity that John Paul Boukis brings to the lilting ballad "Winter's on the Wing." TINIEST GIFT
- –Keith Joseph, Cleveland Free Times
- “A few voices rise to the top of the list…John Paul Boukis’s instrument is lighter and crisper, perfect for the comic “It’s Better With a Union Man” and “Little List…” A TO Z
- –Zachary Lewis, Cleveland Plain Dealer
- “John Paul Boukis is perfectly insane as the Emcee, the linchpin who holds this whole seedy show together. Boukis, co-founder of Kalliope Stage with Gurgol, is born for this role: He's a feacrless actor and a powerful singer. The multitalented Boukis also plays the violin at times…” CABARET
- —Kerry Clawson, Akron Beacon Journal
- “Dressed as a satyr, Boukis is completely mesmerizing, flashing his raccoon-lined eyes and wielding a rancid charm to pull you into his lair. Boukis is a prancing, pouty, and perfectly depraved conduit for John Kander and Fred Ebb's inspired tunes.” CABARET
- Christine Howey, Cleveland Scene
- “Boukis’s song, dance and character work, in versatile numbers from a kickline to softshoe to a ballad, is done with attitude.” CABARET
- –Marjorie Preston, The Sun News
- “John Paul Boukis’s droll impersonation of a doctor more preoccupied with his new contact lenses than his patients is extremely funny.” BABY
- –Frank Heller, Cleveland Jewish News
- “Another show highlight was a very funny scene in which Boukis, portraying a doctor with new contact lenses…. Normally this wouldn’t be perceived as a funny scene, but Boukis took the concept and worked it to perfection.” BABY
- –Roy Berko, The Times Newspapers
- “Executive Director Boukis said that at a bare minimum, Kalliope Stage's singers must `be able to sing the hell out of a role.' That they do, from Berg's tearfully impassioned Send in the Clowns to the full-sounded operatics of five ensemble singers, including Boukis.” A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC
- –Kerry Clawson, Akron Beacon Journal
- “As is to be expected in any madcap experiment, the evening is fueled by a galloping insanity that deliciously defies all mundane logic…Even more outrageous—if possible—is the theater’s co-founder, John Paul Boukis’ herringboned Bob Cratchit doing a popeyed Eddie Cantor take on “Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland”. CHRISTMAS CAROL RAG
- –Keith Joseph, Cleveland Free Times
- “Boukis leads the crowd with the dark, tousled, slightly brooding look of a poet, setting just the right tone of relaxed, let's-sing-a- few-numbers, casually crooning about his "Surrey With the Fringe on Top" as if it were a shiny 1967 Pontiac GTO.” A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING
- –Tony Brown, Cleveland Plain Dealer
- “Lord Byron is captured by John Paul Boukis in his impressive portrayal of the romantic poet. In features, costume, roguishness and characterization, Byron himself seems to emerge…John Paul Boukis IS Lord Byron in all aspects.” CHILDE BYRON
- –Marily Jean Enlow, In the Neighborhood
