Even before the first pitch of the first game of the American League Championship Series, let us again gather under the archway of the path of pleasant memories, raise our voices to the heavens, and cry out:

"W-A-H-O-O-O-O-O-O"

Ah, yes!!!

It is the whoop of dismissal for those Big Apple Boys, who now are the ones saying, "Wait until next year."

It is the cry of congratulations for Cleveland's Boys of Summer who still are playing into the autumn, despite the negativism of naysayers and non-believers! (Hey! At least, the term "nattering nabobs" wasn't used, there.)

It is the sound of satisfaction that one gets when one listens to the somewhat somnambulistic walk of The Bombers, now again home-bound in the Bronx (or wherever home really is).

And, we say again:

"W-A-H-O-O-O-O-O-O"

Anyway, it has been quite a season!

Of course, it's been quite a season for those birds in Baltimore, too....no; not the Ravens birds, the Orioles birds.

Even the Baltimore writers are bashing the football birds for their collapse to the Steelers after blowing a 21-point lead. Sports columnist John Eisenberg in the Baltimore Sun called it "...the championship class the Steelers have and the Ravens don't."

But that's another story. (And the Ravens have won more games than a lot of people expected; of course, many didn't expect them to win any).

The story of the moment is the battle that will shift back and forth from Camden Yards to Jacobs Field.

And that story will tell itself over the next few days.

Other stuff in no particular order:

Cleveland's newest oldest theater is back in business. "All Night Strut" (good reviews) has "re-opened" (well: give Ray Shepardson a lot of the credit) the Hanna Theater. It closed in 1988 after 76 seasons. Shepardson saw a future in that past. Now, it's Hanna Theater Cabaret and "Strut" plays through Nov. 26 (tickets: 216-241-6000 or at the box office, 2067 E. 14th Street; $24.50 for Wednesday and Sunday shows, $29.50 for Friday and Saturday programs; two shows on each of the playdates).

Another re-birth is in the making on Playhouse Square: work has begun toward restoration of the Allen Theatre.

"The Tempest" (Ohio Theatre through Oct. 19), mixed reviews, is called a "different" and "imaginative" interpretation of the Shakespeare work, by the Great Lakes Theater cast. (Tickets: $28-$37 at the box office or through Advantix, 241-6000).

Another adventure with Shakespeare is Cleveland Signstage Theatre's production of "The Comedy of Errors" (through Oct. 26 at The Cleveland Play House...tickets: $16; $10 for seniors and students; 795-7000). The company of hearing and non-hearing actors presents the program in spoken English and in American Sign Language at the same time! Quite a feat! And this adaptation of Shakespeare is performed by only six -- count 'em, 6 -- actors doing 15 roles. Whew!

"Dracula" (mixed reviews) is in the Bolton Theatre of the Cleveland Play House through Nov. 8 (tickets: $29-$36; call 795-7000 for information on tickets and show times and dates).

"Ain't Misbehavin" (good reviews) closes Oct. 12 at Beck Center in Lakewood (tickets and information: 521-2540).

After a lengthy berthing in the show-biz waters of the Ohio Theatre, the "Show Boat" has hauled anchor in Cleveland and returned to where it first set sail (or whatever sailing device The Show Boat uses) in Toronto.

"Show Boat" got good reviews and some rave notices, but some who saw it wondered if it got the audiences it deserved. One who saw it wrote a "letter to the editor," complaining that the house was only "...about half to three-quarters full." She said that "If it were 'Phantom of the Opera,' there would not be an empty seat."

(Footnote to that: "Phantom" sells out all/nearly all performances in Toronto and is in its eighth year there. Of course, "Phantom" seems to sell out everywhere, doesn't it?)

David Bamberger, the general director of Cleveland Opera, has written, "You will be thrilled with our new season, featuring some of the very best artists and productions the world of opera has to offer."

Mozart's "Masterpiece" plays the State Theatre, Oct. 17-18-19 (tickets from $17.50; call, 241-6000, or at the box office).

The Cleveland San Jose Ballet (that's the official name of it now) goes into the State Theatre Oct. 24. In five weeks, there are 25 performances of seven ballets. Things can get confusing as to what is playing when, so call for tickets at 241-6000 or 621-2260 for information. (The Ballet also has a web site at www.csjballet.org)

Next door, at the Palace Theatre, Hayley Mills comes to Playhouse Square in "The King and I" (Oct. 14-26; tickets, 241-6000) to open the "Broadway Series."

At Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds, Oct. 11-12: the "Ghoulardi Convention." It honors Ernie Anderson ("Ghoulardi") who died last February.

The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus plays the Gund Arena, Oct. 22-Nov. 2.

And, then, the biggie:

The Changing of the Foliage!

The "experts" are saying it should be a great autumn for watching the changing of colors in the trees.

In Ohio: 1-800-BUCKEYE, or the Division of Forestry, at 1-614-265-7000 for information on where to go to see what.

Peak time: a guess is about Oct. 23 in Ohio.

Another site to check on the Web for a broader scope of information:

http://www.weather.com (that's the Weather Channel).

The states also have their own Web sites, if you want to do some traveling to see the colors change.

And finally, a headline not to be overlooked:

"U.S. Post Office selects

Madonna for Yule stamp"

That does get one's attention.

No; it is not "the material girl."

The stamp will feature a "Madonna and Child" artwork of Sano di Pietro and will be released in late October.

"W-A-H-O-O-O-O-O-O" ad infinitum.