Central New York Theater Reviews

BWW Review: THE BAND'S VISIT at Rochester Broadway Theatre League
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - June 08, 2022

What did our critic think of The Band's Visit in Rochester? The first words in 'The Band's Visit' are 'Once not long ago a group of musicians came to Israel from Egypt. You probably didn't hear about it. It wasn't very important.' These words don't exactly tee-up the audience for a musical full of s...

BWW Review: YOGA PLAY at Geva Theatre
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - May 25, 2022

Geva Theatre's second-to-last production of the 2021/2022 season is a techno futuristic-feeling comedy that takes the audience deep into the sunny California culture of fitness, yoga, spiritual gurus, and their intersection with today's social media-driven, brand-obsessed world. 'Yoga Play' traffics...

BWW Review: MY FAIR LADY The Licoln Center Theater Production at Proctors
by Marc Savitt - May 19, 2022

Directed by Bartlett Sher this production remains true to the original, but some updates have been made including some refreshing of the book and dialogue some of which shine a brighter light on the equality of the sexes despite social norms of the time.  Much of which was notably popular with the a...

BWW Review: PLACEBO at Out Of Pocket Productions
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - May 18, 2022

After a successful play reading in 2017 and a long hiatus due to COVID (for more of the backstory, see Jeff Siuda's director's note), Out of Pocket Productions is finally presenting 'Placebo', a quirky and thought-provoking play by Melissa James Gibson, at Rochester's MuCCC....

BWW Review: CALENDAR GIRLS at Blackfriars Theatre
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - May 10, 2022

If you're looking for a theatre experience rife with laughs, tears, cheekiness, dry British wit, and a not-insignificant amount of very-near nudity, I am here to tell you that Rochester's Blackfriars Theatre has got the show for you. 'Calendar Girls', a play adapted by Tim Firth and based on the 200...

BWW Review: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS at JCC Centerstage Theatre
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - May 09, 2022

To end its 2021-2022 season, JCC's Centerstage Theatre is currently presenting 'Little Shop of Horrors', the 1982 doo-wop campy masterpiece from the twisted minds of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, and a stalwart favorite of the late 20th century musical theatre repertoire. Like most 'Little Shop' pr...

BWW Review: A 'Practical CATS' Performance at Proctors
by Kyle Christopher West - May 05, 2022

The ’80s delivered endless iconic pop culture trends like leg warmers, neon, Walkmans, Whitney, and Madonna. Broadway in the ’80s also saw a unique culture shift as British mega musicals like LES MISERABLES and THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA began to take over the American stage. First on the scene, thoug...

BWW Review: THE WETSUITMAN at The Cherry Artists' Collective
by Joe Lombardi - March 28, 2022

An old white man is walking his dog along the coast in Norway.  He notices a black spot 'out there in the distance'.  At first he thinks it may be an oil slick.  His dog barks and goes near.  The spot is a wetsuit.  There are bones protruding from the flipper now in the dog's teeth.  The Wetsuitman ...

BWW Review: SURELY GOODNESS AND MERCY at Blackfriars Theatre
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - March 28, 2022

Blackfriars Theatre continues its 2022 season with a heartwarming story about kindness and doing good in the world, featuring a talented cast led by two young performers from Rochester's School of the Arts....

BWW Review: TRACY JONES at JCC Centerstage Theatre
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - March 09, 2022

In keeping with its tradition of spotlighting new plays and emerging playwrights, in addition to the stalwarts that theatre audiences know and love ('Little Shop of Horrors' is next on the docket), Rochester's JCC Centerstage Theatre launched its production of 'Tracy Jones' on March 5th, a National ...

BWW Review: HOW TO CATCH CREATION at Geva Theatre
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - March 03, 2022

The last two years have tested the collective resolve of artists and creatives everywhere. While COVID has impacted our lives in every way, from physical health to our experiences in school to the ways in which we interact and empathize with one another, a largely-unsung result of the pandemic has b...

BWW Review: MY FAIR LADY at Rochester Broadway Theatre League
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - February 23, 2022

'My Fair Lady' is a story that has become ingrained into American storytelling in countless iterations over the past 60 years. Debuting in 1956 and putting icon Julie Andrews on the map, it went on to be adapted into the also-iconic Audrey Hepburn vehicle in 1964, and the story's main narrative beat...

BWW Review: CONSTELLATIONS at Geva Theatre
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - February 21, 2022

After a brief COVID-related delay (an all-too-common frustration in the world of theatre these days), Geva Theatre's Fielding Stage is currently presenting 'Constellations', a two-person play about split-second decisions and missed opportunities. This production is particularly meaningful not only b...

BWW Review: HITMAKERS: WELCOME TO THE 70s at JCC Centerstage Theatre
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - February 07, 2022

As JCC Centerstage Producing Artistic Director Ralph Meranto stated during Saturday night's pre-show announcements, seeing original stagecraft that can't be found anywhere else is one of the most treasured aspects of live theatre, and is indeed why many of us attend the theatre so regularly in the f...

BWW Review: A CHRISTMAS CAROL at Geva Theatre
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - December 06, 2021

Christmas is a time of traditions. Be it caroling, making sugar cookies, decorating the tree, or hanging lights, folks love this time of year because of the traditions we create and revisit each December with our friends and loved ones. If you're like me, Geva Theatre's annual production of 'A Chris...

BWW Review: 'SOMETHING MAGICAL…DISNEY IN CONCERT' at JCC Centerstage Theatre
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - December 06, 2021

If COVID has got you down, if you're itching to see live theatre again, or you're just looking for a fun activity that kids and adults alike will enjoy, look no further than JCC Centerstage Theatre's current production of 'Something Magical: Disney in Concert.' It's not exactly a holiday outing, but...

BWW Review: ROALD DAHL'S CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY at Rochester Broadway Theatre League
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - November 17, 2021

The Rochester Broadway Theatre League continues its 2021-2022 season with a classic from the 20th century film and children's literary canon, set to music and adapted for the stage. Road Dahl's 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' features all the glitz, quirkiness and fantasy of the classic Gene Wil...

BWW Review: A PICASSO at Out Of Pocket Productions
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - November 09, 2021

Out of Pocket Productions is joining other Rochester theatres in opening their doors for in-person performances once again after the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to go dark for 18 months. For OOPP's first foray back into live theatre they've chosen 'A Picasso', a modest two-person play by Jeffrey H...

BWW Review: SILENT SKY at Blackfriars Theatre
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - November 01, 2021

Blackfriars Theatre continues its 2021-2022 season (doing alternating repertory performances with Charlayne Woodard's 'Pretty Fire') with 'Silent Sky', an original play by Lauren Gunderson, who holds the unique accolade of being America's most produced living playwright. It's an inspiring show that ...

BWW Review: PRETTY FIRE at Blackfriars Theatre
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - October 25, 2021

After a 19-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic the lights at Blackfriars Theatre are once again lit, albeit casting light on only one performer, a simple set, and a modest-sized audience (buy your tickets now! All safety precautions are being taken! Get vaccinated if you haven't already!). For...

BWW Review: VIETGONE at Geva Theatre
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - October 11, 2021

Until recently, seeing live indoor theatre seemed like a relic of the distant past, and sitting in the audience for a play that can only be described as a rap-infused comic book comedy about Vietnamese refugees is something that definitely wasn't on my bingo card for 2021, and yet here we are. There...

BWW Review: SEARCHING FOR TEVYE at JCC Centerstage Theatre
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - October 08, 2021

After 18 long theatre-less months, Rochester's JCC Centerstage Theatre is once again welcoming audiences indoors (various performances were held over the summer at the more COVID-friendly outdoor Dawn Lipson Canalside Stage). And what better way to celebrate the return to live indoor theatre than by...

BWW Review: CATS at Rochester Broadway Theatre League
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - September 27, 2021

After an 18-month intermission, theatre is back once again in Rochester. Like thousands of other performance venues across the country, RBTL's Auditorium Theatre has been shuttered since March 2020 as New York State and the world grapple with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. While COVID is unfo...

BWW Review: LOVE LETTERS at JCC Centerstage Theatre (via Rochester Fringe Festival)
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - September 20, 2021

As part of the annual Fringe Festival, Rochester's Jewish Community Center presented 'Love Letters', the popular 1988 two-person play by A. R. Gurney that follows two friends throughout the course of their lives told solely through the reading of letters that they wrote each other over the years. Th...

BWW Review: The REV Theatre Company Presents ALMOST HEAVEN, THE SONGS OF JOHN DENVER
by Natasha Ashley - September 13, 2021

The REV Theatre Company in Auburn, New York ends their 2021 summer season with Almost Heaven, The Songs of John Denver under the direction and choreography of Brett Smock. The title says it all, it is in fact over twenty songs by John Denver and others along with orchestrations and vocal arrangement...