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The entrance to the Cleveland Play House and the Allen Theatre complex, where the company utilizes three stages for its productions, including the New Ground Theatre Festival, an annual showcase of new theatrical works by some of the nation's hottest playwrights.

((Joshua Gunter/ The Plain Dealer))

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Fodor's Travel has a crush on Cleveland. (Really, it's kinda getting outta hand. But keep those Valentines coming.) For the second time in two months, the Northeast Ohio burg has made it into the go-to-guide for those who wanna get up and go.

On the coattails of landing on the publication's December "Go List 2015" (which also included the Arctic, Barbados and Paris among the year's top destinations), this week Fodor's dubbed the Cleveland Play House one of the "10 Best Regional Theaters in the U.S."

In the blurb singing the Play House's praises, Fodor's cited the theater's 100th anniversary in 2015, its 1,300 productions seen by more than 12 million people, and its historic move to Playhouse Square's Allen Theatre complex in 2011.

Cleveland's famous alums didn't hurt. "Paul Newman, Alan Alda, and Margaret Hamilton all started their careers at the Ohio-based playhouse, which launched America's first community-based theater education initiatives and currently features a Playwrights' Unit to nurture new work."

(We'll forgive the good folks at one of the nation's top travel publications for failing to mention Eric Coble, one of the unit's most well-known members, who took his play "The Velocity of Autumn" to Broadway last spring.)

"We are thrilled that Fodor's has recognized Cleveland Play House as one of the top regional theaters, alongside the other distinguished theaters on the list," said Cleveland Play House managing director Kevin Moore.

"Cleveland's reputation as a theater destination has been skyrocketing, including its selection to host this year's Theatre Communications Group (TCG) national conference. We hope this recognition from Fodor's will encourage people from all over to make Cleveland Play House – and Cleveland's many entertainment options – part of their travel plans."

As for the other houses on the list, the Play House is in good company. Named among the best in the nation is Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage, currently sharing producing credits with CPH for the musical revue "Five Guys Named Moe" (opening at the Allen Wednesday) and home to Coble's "Velocity" in a well-received pre-Broadway run in October 2013.

Also making the cut are hit factories Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, host to "This Is Our Youth," starring Michael Cera, before its Broadway run this fall; Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey, where Disney's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" is slated to make its U.S. premiere in March before hitting the Great White Way (with Baldwin Wallace University grad Ciara Renée as Esmeralda, the apple of Quasimodo's squinty eye); and the American Repertory Theater, the Cambridge, Massachusetts creator of Tony-winning fare "The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess" and "Pippin."

For the rest of the best, visit Fodor's Travel, 10 Best Regional Theaters in the U.S.

