<\/p>\n
Jim Kukral was working as a deckhand on the Goodtime III when the idea came to him mid-sunset: Cleveland already had few private charter boats or entertainment cruises; he could easily start his own if he wanted to.<\/p>\n
Why shouldn\u2019t he? He was 54. He had survived five years of cancer and an episode of heart failure. All he wanted to do was leave screen life for the open water.<\/p>\n
Last year, Kukral left a high-paying job in sales to start Cleveland Floaters, a live, interactive entertainment series set on the tip of Scranton Peninsula and along the Cuyahoga River. It\u2019s a three-act show featuring a quirky cast of characters with \u201cdrinks, quests and a bunch of fun stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
One Kukral\u2019s calling the Sink Your Worry Sunset Cruise.<\/a><\/p>\n But \u201cthis is not a comedy show,\u201d Kukral said, standing in front of The Holiday, the boat he\u2019s renting for his summer show.<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal of this isn\u2019t slapstick. It\u2019s not laugh your butt off,\u201d he said. \u201cThe goal is to, at its core, come down, enjoy the views, have a fun, weird experience and get some things off your chest.\u201d<\/p>\n For decades, the 37 acres that is Scranton Peninsula, land often lumped in with the West Bank of the Flats, has sat as mostly industrial wasteland, covered in vacant grass lots, rusty shipyards and brownstone warehouses untouched in more than a century.<\/p>\n But since 2021, when BrewDog opened up on the northwestern edge of the peninsula, the area has shifted. By 2023, The Collins<\/a> apartment complex turned Scranton into a neighborhood, with Tritan at the Flats opening earlier this year. By fall, Ohio\u2019s first outdoor sauna park, Saunagoose<\/a>, is opening across the river from Tower City.<\/p>\n And, by June, so is Kukral\u2019s comedy-slash-catharsis cruise show.\u00a0<\/p>\n What Cleveland Floaters seems to be doing, just like BrewDog and Saunagoose, is gradually removing Scranton Peninsula\u2019s ghost town vibes in place of venues Clevelanders actually want to be. In the summer, that\u2019s on the water.<\/p>\n While the Lady Caroline and the Goodtime III have their own spectacles on the Cuyahoga, Cleveland has very few small boats operating that double as entertainment venues. (And have a bar and bathrooms onboard.)<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, I thought it was a wonderful idea,\u201d Donna, marketing manager for The Holiday\u2019s private charter business, told Scene. \u201cJim\u2019s a go-getter. He\u2019s got a vision. We\u2019ve got the venue and the parking. So, it\u2019s a good match.\u201d<\/p>\n Kukral said he\u2019s hiring comedians and improv actors to fill out his cast of characters: Uncle Robbie, the \u201cForrest Gump of Cleveland\u201d who\u2019s never left the Flats; Lake Keri, the \u201cspiritual soul\u201d of the show; Captain Carl, the retired plumber from Parma; and himself, Admiral Jim.<\/p>\n Ticket prices haven\u2019t been set yet for Sink Your Worry, though Kukral suggested pricing similar to mid-range shows at Playhouse Square. And an interaction level similar to Flanagan\u2019s Wake<\/em>.<\/p>\n It\u2019ll also include some soul purging at sea. By the end of the second act, all partipants will be instructed to write one thing bothering them in their lives on a dissolvable piece of paper.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then everyone\u2019s gonna walk to the side of the boat, gonna throw it in the water,\u201d Kukral said. \u201cAnd then, you\u2019re gonna watch it dissolve.\u201d<\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0Apple News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0| Or sign up for our\u00a0RSS Feed<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \t\t<\/p>\n <\/p>\nRelated<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n