BUFFALO THEATER REVIEWS

When a cast list calls for grave diggers and props list call for skulls you may think you’re planning a production of HAMLET. But in this  case we have Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy A SKULL IN CONNEMARA, now playing in a winning production at Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre Company....

One of the highest grossing movie musicals of all time just happens to be that wonder hit MAMMA MIA based on the 2001  Broadway stage musical . Thought to be the most successful jukebox musical ever, the story of a young bride-to-be's quest to find out who here real dad is on the eve of her wedding...

A heartfelt holiday story based on a beloved Christmas film sprinkled with iconic Irving Berlin tunes just about sums up the delightful stage musical WHITE CHRISTMAS now on stage at Shea’s 710 Theatre. Musicalfare has settled into their  new digs after a record breaking production of COME FROM A...

Niagara on the Lake will always be known for it's quaint lakeside charm, full of shops, restaurants, and tourists. So it's seems perfectly fitting that the Shaw Festival presents it's last incarnation of their beloved version of Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL. This fresh adaptation by Festival A...

Never trust a wolf is sheep's clothing, as the saying goes. But in this case Mr Wolf is a college professor who harbors dark secrets, delusions and young girls in his home. This disturbing plot makes for a gripping evening of theatre in Rajiv Joseph's play MR. WOLF, now playing at Road Less Traveled...

Everything Oz continues to enchant and enamor. The national touring production of WICKED landed at Shea's Buffalo Theatre this week. And like that infamous house that dropped from the sky, WICKED has an impact that rivals any of even the most famous Disney musicals. The 2003 Broadway musical was mad...

Broadway now has 'OH, MARY,' exploring Mary Todd Lincoln's life ( sort of!).  Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre is now presenting a fascinatingly wonderful play THIRST by Ronan Noone, where we meet the downstairs staff of Eugene O'Neill's masterpiece A LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT.   ...

The days when old fashioned musical comedies were drawn  from classic  love stories, silly high school antics and farces will always be tried and true. But more heady topics like mental illness, Alzheimers, race relations, big business, and corrupt governments also have found a place into the uniq...

Part romance novel, part heartbreak story of the ravages of Alzheimer's, Nicholas Sparks' novel THE NOTEBOOK is now a Broadway musical. No, not of  the glitzy  singing and dancing stage spectacular variety, but moreso a stage drama with music. The excellent National Touring production opened at Sh...

A modern day Restoration Comedy with a contemporary gender fluid  slant takes to the stage in  Liz Duffy Adams' play OR, now playing at Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre. This polished production brings a modern day sensibility to a 17th century comedy of sorts. Adams pens a play that while set in...

A renaissance of Buffalo born theatre productions at the former Studio Arena Theatre in Buffalo continues to burnish brightly. As I sat in the crowded, newly renovated Shea's 710 Theatre, thinking how the facility had been mothballed a decade ago, Buffalo's hometown pride burst through. On afternoon...

'Tale as old as time,' the lyric goes in the heart warming production of Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST now playing at Shea's Buffalo Theatre. I knew I was in good hands when the sparkling new production of the beloved classic begins with Angela Lansbury's voice reciting the story that has captured c...

Heightened senses, a world of darkness and a band of conniving criminals all make up the fabric of the 1960's thriller WAIT UNTIL DARK. The Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake is presenting Frederick Knott's suspenseful drama in a new adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher that slowly builds to a nail-bitin...

Some classic musicals will live on forever thanks to that perfect blend of book, musical score,and dance. Cole Porter's ANYTHING GOES continues to enchant audiences 90 years after it's Broadway debut. Multiple versions have taken to the stage and silver screen, cementing such classics as 'You're The...

The 1980’s were a great era for blockbuster movies..TOOTSIE, MRS DOUBTFIRE, PRETTY WOMAN, and DIRTY DANCING, to name a few. And who doesn't want to capitalize on a beloved classic. Broadway producers love a familiar title and composers have taken a shining to transform these gems of yesteryear�...

Living a lifestyle beyond one's means and being prone to excesses in all aspects of life often may catch up with you (especially if there is no money in the family vault) . That is unless a long lost relative leaves you everything in their will, and they day is saved. Therein gives just a glimpse in...

Fasten your seat belts and prepare for a theatrical ride that no one could truly predict. A new play in the style of Grand Guignol takes to the stage in Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre's gripping production of CROCODILE FEVER by Meghan Tyler....

LEGALLY BLONDE:THE MUSICAL has everyone shouting “Omigod You Guys” in true Valley-girl fashion as it takes to the Shea’s 710 Theatre stage. Presented in it’s new home, Musicalfare seems like to have found the perfect sized theatre  for all of it’s future productions....

Grief, love and personal life challenges are all examined with fascinating detail in the engrossing production of  Lanford Wilson's  play BURN THIS now on stage at Road Less Traveled Theatre....

That brilliant murder mystery author Agatha Christie is universally praised and beloved, but one of her first successes is not  well known to American readers. Happily the the stage adaptation by Heidi Armbruster of  that early work, THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD, now playing at Buffalo's Alleyway T...

The trend continues of bringing a musical superstar's life to the Broadway stage in a jukebox bio-musical style. We've had Cher, Tina Turner, Gloria Estefan, Michael Jackson, and now Neil Diamond in THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL: A BEAUTIFUL NOISE. The flashy and often heartfelt Broadway tour settled ont...

The personal life and writings of Oscar Wilde have been so inextricably linked that the new play DORIAN has woven  Wilde's journey into that of one of his best known characters, Dorian Gray. In an everything old is new again fashion, Wilde's' 1891 play  THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY has been freely a...

Every now and then there is a musical that is near universally loved for it score, treasured by cast recording collectors, and infamous to many,  BUT is rarely ever produced. Most were failures soon after theirs debuts. My personal desert island treasured flop  from that category is Jerry Herman's...

Murder, greed, blackmail, love affairs and a potential hanging are just some of the many dark subjects that form the fabric of the fabulous production of DIAL M FOR MURDER now playing at Shea's 710 Theatre. Who doesn't love a good old fashioned murder mystery? Alfred Hitchcock turned this nail biter...

Broadway's great leading lady  Elaine Stritch once corrected herself when talking about musicals, when she was describing a Broadway show as a 'musical comedy.'  'Every musical was called a musical comedy in my day,' she quipped. Well, times have changed, and the Pultizer Prize winning musical NEX...