The quest to achieve the American dream is not a foreign concept, especially in today's society. But everyone's idea of what that dream entails can vary by sex, socioeconomic status and ethnicity. Clifford Odet's 1937 play GOLDEN BOY examines one family's quest to dodge stereotypes and social statu... (more...)
How do you dust off an old classic and make it engaging and fresh for a 21st Century audience. The Shaw Festival has done just that in its gem of production THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES. Many have heard the title but may not be familiar with the details of the intriguingly convoluted case that Sher... (more...)
An eye-popping event that only Disney could produce...That is the spectacle ALADDIN that is completing it's run at Shea's Buffalo Theatre. This stage adaptation of the family favorite film is packed with more visual effects and glorious costumes than one is likely to see in 3 other Broadway shows c... (more...)
When the stage directions in a script indicate 'to kiss' any good actor knows it will be 'stage kiss.' That is, kind of awkward at first attempt in the rehearsal hall, but hopefully with practice becomes convincing enough to the audience without the actors actually becoming emotionally involved wit... (more...)
'People come, people go,' 'some have, some have not.' Simple lyrics that can expose a myriad of stories and wounds. Just what one would expect in a busy hotel. No one is ever quite sure what happens behind the closed doors of a grand hotel, but outward appearances are often just that, appearances t... (more...)
The Phantom of the Opera has returned to town, but there will be no familiar 'Music of the Night.' Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber has been penning a sequel to his blockbuster for years, and it has been performed in many versions, as LOVE NEVER DIES. Buffalonians may remember being titillated with the annou... (more...)
A modern take on an old classic can be risky business, and morphing a murder mystery into a comical farce sounds intriguing on the page. Micro sized casts have done wonders with Hitchcock's 'The 39 Steps' and Charles Ludlam's 'The Mystery of Irma Vep,' so it is no surprise that comic playwright Ken... (more...)
Seldom is there a musical where the question asked is not have whether you seen it, but rather how many times have you seen it. Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1988 blockbuster THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is such a musical. Repeated viewings are commonplace in Western New York, with many having seen the origina... (more...)
Whatever your artistic quest may be, from unearthing gem stones or archeological ruins to discovering a lost manuscript of music, there is always an element of nostalgia and new found glee when the item arises. Stage director Fortunato Pezzimenti discovered Arthur Richman's unpublished 1922 script... (more...)
Andrew Lloyd Webber has become a household name and he is having a resurgence in popularity of late. His 1970 JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR garnered great accolades this past Sunday in it's TV presentation. Buffalo audiences will have no less than 4 of his works to see in the next year in the Shea's Buffal... (more...)
Oh, remember those great mega-musicals from the 90's? There was LES MISERABLES AND PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and OMELETTE: MUSICAL...Well OMELETTE was the little known musical from the 1590's, not 1990's, that is the subject of the riotous National Tour now playing at Shea's Buffalo Theatre, aptly named... (more...)
Unhappiness in rural Dublin-- Not an altogether unlikely topic for a play. But when Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre included Conor McPherson's THE NIGHT ALIVE as part of their season of comedies, I wondered how it fit the bill. Happily the play about unhappiness somehow morphs from dark comedy to ... (more...)
For it's second season offering the Shaw Festival and Shea's 710 Theatre in Buffalo chose to present Athol Fugard's MASTER HAROLD....AND THE BOYS. The production was a hit during Shaw's 2016 Festival in Niagara on the Lake and besides Buffalo, it recently was presented in Montreal.... (more...)
A successful Broadway musical has always been anchored by an engaging story augmented by a great score. Over the years the formula hasn't changed much but the sound of the music certainly has, as popular music changes and evolves The 30's had Cole Porter, Burt Bacharach and his synthesizers appeared... (more...)
A Triumphant CONSTANT WIFE. Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre continues it's season of comedies with a splendid production of W. Somerset Maugham's THE CONSTANT WIFE. In lesser hands the story of a wife who appears to turn a blind eye to her husband's infidelities could come across as a dreadfully d... (more...)
Julie Taymor may not be a household name, but her magical staging and mesmerizing creativity is most likely the reason why THE LION KING has become a world wide phenomenon. The termed blockbuster is tossed about all too frequently but the Disney stage production of their 1994 animated musical has ga... (more...)
Tailor Made Hometown 'A CHRISTMAS CAROL' Charles Dickens himself would most likely approve of the charming version of his classic story of miserly Ebeneezer Scrooge and his influence over everyone in a quaint hometown. The Shaw Festival's Artistic Director Tim Carroll has programmed A CHRISTMA... (more...)
Engaging story telling is an ancient art and being able to retell someone else's story can be a challenge-- where to put emphases, inflections and pauses, what to include and what to embellish, and how to bring characters to life. Playwright Shay Linehan has adapted Irish author Maeve Binchy's nove... (more...)
BWW Review: STRONG CAST MAKES FOR SUPERB 'DESIGN FOR LIVING' at IRISH CLASSICAL THEATRE. Never afraid of controversy, Noel Coward's DESIGN FOR LIVING must have seemed bawdy and shocking in it's day. Let's face it, a menage a trois always elicits controversy. But somehow that master of witty reparte... (more...)
LATIN RHYTHMS OVERCOME 'ON YOUR FEET' SHORTFALLS No one would be more surprised to see a Cuban-American immigrant turn into an international superstar than a young Gloria Estefan herself. But years later her story is being retold on stage in ON YOUR FEET- The Emilio and Gloria Estefan Broadw... (more...)
Hold your hats boys, Hot Lips Houlihan, aka Loretta Swit from the classic TV show MASH is back in town. Shea's 710 Main Theatre is presenting the two handed play SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS for the remainder of this Curtain Up Weekend. The good new is there are still some seats available, the bad... (more...)
BWW Review: GOLDEN BOY at Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre Company
BWW Interview: NOLAN CURTIS and STATIONWAGON
BWW Review: A WITTY WHODUNNIT IN 'THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES' at SHAW FESTIVAL
BWW Review: An Eye-Popping ALADDIN at Shea's Buffalo Theatre
BWW Interview: ACTOR & WRITER TIM JOYCE
BWW Review: STAGE KISS is a Delightful Summer Romp at SHAW FESTIVAL
BWW Review: An Elegant GRAND HOTEL at SHAW FESTIVAL
BWW Review: LOVE NEVER DIES at Shea's Buffalo Theatre
BWW Interview: Playwright DARRYL SCHNEIDER
BWW Review: BASKERVILLE at Shea's 710 Theatre
BWW Review: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA at Shea's Buffalo Theatre
BWW Review: THE AWFUL TRUTH at IRISH CLASSICAL THEATRE
BWW Review: SCHOOL OF ROCK at SHEA'S BUFFALO Theatre
BWW Review: SOMETHING ROTTEN! at SHEA'S BUFFALO Theatre
BWW Review: THE NIGHT ALIVE at Irish Classical Theatre
BWW Review: MASTER HAROLD...AND THE BOYS at Shea's 710 Theatre
BWW Review: WAITRESS at SHEA'S BUFFALO Theatre
BWW Review: A Triumphant CONSTANT WIFE at Irish Classical Theatre
BWW Review: An Awe-Inspiring LION KING at SHEA'S BUFFALO Theatre
BWW Interview: AUTHOR ROXANNE DANIELLE AS DOCTOR ROX
BWW Review: Tailor made Hometown 'A CHRISTMAS CAROL' at SHAW FESTIVAL
BWW Review: Satisfying Story Telling in MINDING FRANKIE at Irish Classical Theatre
BWW Review: STRONG CAST MAKES FOR SUPERB 'DESIGN FOR LIVING' at IRISH CLASSICAL THEATRE
BWW Review: Latin Rhythms Overcome ON YOUR FEET Shortfalls at Shea's Buffalo Theatre
BWW Review: SWIT Continues To Charm Audience In SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS at Shea's 710 Theatre
