Cover Story
Fall Guide 2015
In City’s annual Fall Guide, our arts critics give their recommendations for the 2015-16 season — their picks for can’t-miss art exhibits, theater productions, dance performances, music concerts, and films.
Cuomo signs name-change bill
The change should help protect transgender people from violence.
Finger Lakes council refines plan for economic contest
The Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council now knows how it would spend a $500-million state award, if it wins. Seven Upstate regions are competing for money through the state’s Upstate Revitalization Initiative. Three regions will each get $500 million. The Finger Lakes council has spent the past few months preparing, and today, it approved…
Rebecca reviews RIT’s Photo House, “The Fiery Sword of Justice,” and “Me, Ray Charles, and Sammy Davis Jr.”
I stopped in at The Little to check out RIT’s Photo House, a grouping of photos displayed on the walls of the theater’s 2-5 lobby. Ranging widely in style, genre, and talent, the showcase is a window into what current students are working on, presented to the shifting audience of moviegoers. I’m always impressed by…
Leah reviews The 24 Hour Plays
In our culture of reality TV shows and instant gratification, we’ve grown accustomed to the novelty of becoming a fly on the wall in someone’s life anytime we flip to the right channel. Though we know by now reality TV isn’t raw and unrehearsed, it still feels that way — and humans can’t resist the…
The atypical phenomenon
Few recent bands have made a splash quite like alternative rock band Alt-J did when it released its second studio album, “This Is All Yours,” almost a year ago. What makes that splash so remarkable is the nature of the three-piece’s music. Guitarist and singer Joe Newman, keyboardist Gus Unger-Hamilton, and drummer Thom Green crafted…
Week Ahead: Events for the week of Monday, September 21
The University of Rochester Medical Center will provide free prostate cancer screenings for uninsured men on Wednesday, September 23. Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men after skin cancer and causes more than 27,500 deaths annually. The screenings will be held at Brown Square Health Center, 322 Lake Avenue, from 5:30…
Adam reviews “Hot Tub: The Musical” and “ShakesBLOOD”
My third day at the Rochester Fringe Festival was a wet and wild one; throughout the course of my time at the festival, rain, chlorinated water, and blood poured down on me at one point or another. My first stop was an afternoon performance of “Hot Tub: The Musical.” A small tent located in the…
Rebecca reviews “Sure-Minded Uncertainties,” “Conscience,” and “Mystic Castle”
“Think of this show as a series of dreams over the course of the night,” the audience was instructed before the mesmerizing, multi-sensory performance of “Sure-Minded Uncertainties” at the TheatreROCS Stage on Sunday. Presented by CaveDogs (cavedogs.org), the show featured large-scale shadow projections layered with video imagery and an engaging original soundtrack. Depicting the balance…
The City Seen September 17-20
Really, this weekend started on Thursday when newly minted celebrity Madeline Stuart, the first recognized model with down syndrome, walked the runway for EverMaya at its “Celebrating Beauty” fashion show at Midtown Athletics. Stuart was joined by several other special needs models from School of the Holy Childhood to debut EverMaya’s new limited edition handbag,…
Rebecca reviews “Percentage,” “Krapp’s Last Tape,” and “Bridge Club of Death”
My Saturday night at the Rochester Fringe Festival was full of death, running the gamut of age. I was moved and impressed by “Percentage,” presented by RAPA at the School of the Arts’ Black Box Theatre. A production penned and performed by SOTA students, the play presents a series of vignettes that explore the various…
Adam reviews “James and the Giant Peach” and “Hidden in this Picture”
Performed by RAPA Family Theatre, “James and the Giant Peach: The Musical” comes from Tony-nominated composing team BenjPasek and Justin Paul (“A Christmas Story: The Musical”). An adaptation of the beloved Roald Dahl book, the musical combines aspects of Dahl’s book and the 1996 film, adding in a plethora of new songs (it should be…
Leah reviews “Nothing is Written” and “The Rainbow Fish”
There are many beautiful things that happen during the Rochester Fringe Festival, but one of my favorite parts is the heightened vulnerability that emerges in the theater community. Theater is already a vulnerable art form, but with every show there are budgets to consider, boards who must approve show runs, and difficult casting decisions to…
Photos from Grounded Aerial
Brooklyn-based aerial dance troupe Grounded Aerial premiered a new work Friday night as part of the Rochester Fringe Festival’s big Friday on the Fringe event. Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Manhattan Square was packed with people craning their necks to watch the dancers leap, flip, and glide off the side of the 21-story One…
Leah reviews the TheatreROCS showcase
As the crowds thinned after Grounded Aerial’s sky-high theatrics on the side of One HSBC Plaza Friday night, a woman in a bright red shirt stood outside the nearby Xerox building yelling, “Free show here right now!” It turned out her hawking strategy was a good one: I was there because I planned to be,…
Rebecca reviews “Twain’s Amazing Tales” and “Shitty Lives”
I spent the second night of the Rochester Fringe Festival taking in two shows staged back-to-back at MuCCC. “Twain’s Amazing Tales,” put on by James Landers and Classics Theater of Rochester, featured dramatic readings of excerpts from “Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven,” which I have not read, and “What Stumped the Bluejays,” which was part…
Casey reviews PUSH and “As the Dead Prey Upon Us”
PUSH Physical Theatre, the creation of Rochester-based husband and wife team Darren and Heather Stevenson, bills itself as “physical theater,” but it is really so much more. Darren’s spot-on humor is imbued with philosophical depth and the pieces the company performed at the Rochester Fringe Festival on Saturday moved the audience from hilarity to awe.…
Casey reviews Garth Fagan Dance
Garth Fagan Dance performed in its Chestnut Street studio on Friday night as part of the Rochester Fringe Festival, showcasing Fagan’s latest work and premiering Norwood Pennewell’s fifth piece for the company. Watching the Rochester-based, internationally-acclaimed company dance in the same place its members rehearse, create, and sweat intensifies and personalizes the performance. It’s also…
Rochester to hold summit on race
Racism is often described as one of the most difficult subjects to talk about, but the only way for it to get easier is if we do talk about it, says Naimah Sierra, deputy director of youth and community services for Action for a Better Community. “There are historical structures that have been put in…
Religious leaders call for increased child care investment
Child day care subsidies are widely viewed as one of the most effective ways to help struggling parents work and build better lives for their families. And a group of Rochester-area faith leaders is calling on the next Monroe County executive to restore cuts to and boost the county’s investment in child care programs. The…
Photos from “Merged III”
With new works created by choreographers Heather Roffe and James Hansen, “Merged III” premiered at Geva Theatre Center on Thursday night. The performances will continue on Saturday, September 19, at 4 p.m., and Sunday, September 20, at 6:30 p.m. $10-$12. Appropriate for all ages. [SLIDESHOW-1] Related Stories
Adam reviews “La Cage Aux Folles”
My 2015 Rochester Fringe experience began with sequins, high heels, and wigs a-plenty when I took in RAPA’s production of “La Cage Aux Folles” (helpful pronunciation tip: it sounds like “La Cahhge ah Fall”) on the School of the Arts’ Allen Main Stage. Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein’s Tony Award-winning musical is based on Jean…
Jake reviews Remote Rochester
Stay with me; Remote Rochester might take a minute to explain. The — what should we call it? — roving, interactive, theatrical performance is the fifth production in the “Remote X” series created by Berlin-based team Rimini Protokoll. The team has curated these events in Berlin, Milan, Paris, and New York, each time creating a…
Rebecca reviews “Cabinet of Wonders” and “No Safe Word”
I saw the very entertaining "Cabinet of Wonders" in the packed Spiegeltent last night, which included everything there’s to like about the circus, without the animal cruelty. The show began with the subtlest of clowns — a wiggly goofball who worked the audience with priceless facial expressions — performing some tricks while the husband-and-wife hosting…
Photonics HQ location settled
The first fight around a new national photonics institute is over, and it looks like everyone got a little bit of something. Rochester academic and political leaders were at odds with officials from SUNY Polytechnic Institute over where to put the institute’s headquarters. The local people wanted it at the Sibley Building, while SUNY Poly…
First report out from anti-poverty group
The Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative has released an anxiously awaited progress report (below) — the first step toward its goal of reducing poverty in the Rochester-Monroe County region by 50 percent over the next 15 years. The report will be the foundation for the group’s future work and investment. Leading up to the report, 150 local…
Toy Halls of Fame exhibit unveiled at The Strong Museum
The Strong National Museum of Play on Thursday unveiled its new Toys Hall of Fame permanent exhibit. The $4 million state-of-the-art addition to the museum brings together The Strong’s National Toy Hall of Fame — which for years has showcased beloved, classic toys — and the Toy Industry Association’s Toy Industry Hall of Fame. The…
Fringe’s Shakespeare options
Shakespeare’s plays are timeless, and you just can’t have a theater-heavy festival without Will’s work. Fringe is featuring no fewer than six shows based on the Bard’s plays. Here’s a little guide to the something-for-everyone lineup. Bring your rain poncho, because METHOD MACHINE is bringing the blood. Featuring excerpts of the Bard’s goriest plays, “ShakesBLOOD”…
![[UPDATED] Boose wants expanded audit of votes in Northwest City Council race](https://i0.wp.com/www.roccitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/1366389151-democrat-donkey_thumb.webp?fit=180%2C180&ssl=1)
[UPDATED] Boose wants expanded audit of votes in Northwest City Council race
Don’t put the Northwest City Council race to bed just yet.
Fringe Festival 2015: City’s Daily Fringe Blogs
The 2015 First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival runs Thursday, September 17, through Saturday, September 26, and City Newspaper will be out EVERY NIGHT of the festival, covering multiple shows. Check in first thing each morning for photos and reviews of the previous night’s entertainment, listed below by date. For up-to-the-minute coverage of the festival follow…
Gonna put you away
The Butcher Babies are a walking heavy metal dichotomy: a crushing juxtaposition of beauty and brutality. Front women Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey head bang pretty and pretty mean. First adopting the salacious stage presence of Rochester native, and late, great singer for the Plasmatics, Wendy O. Williams — complete with electrical tape across their…
Meet City’s Fringe bloggers
Adam Lubitow [IMAGE-1] This is my third year covering the Rochester Fringe Festival for City Newspaper, and while I’ve got a long list of shows I’m looking forward to — Remote Rochester, ShakesBLOOD, Hot Tub: The Musical, and the RIT Student Honors Show currently top my list — by now I’ve learned that my favorite…
The face of the franchise
The RPO and the Buffalo Sabres are more alike than you thought
Pumpkin offerings
My fridge already has a six-pack of pumpkin ale sitting in it. While I enjoyed the warmth of summer, as soon as I saw the seasonal offerings hit shelves, my mind immediately went to all of the possibilities this fall will hold. It’s going to be a busy season; you can practically feel it in…
ROCK | Lee Corey Oswald
Portland, Oregon’s Lee Cory Oswald goes out on a limb to keep its melodies fresh. The result is a strident blend of tonal alternatives to the sing-song pitch that most bands incorporate. It fits in between major and minor where the moods associated with each blur cohesively and comfortably. Like At The Drive-In? You’ll like…
The Grand Lady of Pultneyville
Pultneyville, a small community about 25 miles east of Rochester on the edge of Lake Ontario, has seen a lot of history. And, perhaps appropriately for a place that is a hamlet, a lot of that history is theatrical history. Any visitor to Pultneyville soon notices that the hamlet has a focal point, at the…
CLASSICAL | RPO season opener
After a couple of tantalizing teases last fall, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and its new music director, Ward Stare, are open for business in tandem, and the partnership will be unveiled on Thursday and Saturday nights at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. Stare’s opening-night program eschews the customary audience-bait of a superstar soloist in favor…
Curtains up
Our top 10 picks for the 2015-16 theater season The 2015-16 theatrical season is all about fresh faces. New shows, theater companies, and directors abound, bringing a welcome energy to our local stages. It will be a busy season, but here are 10 productions that caught our attention. “James and the Giant Peach” (Rochester Association…
CLASSICAL | Baroque Around the World
The Society for Chamber Music in Rochester kicks off a season-long, around-the-world musical tour this weekend. The ports of call for the group’s 39th season will include France, Germany, Russia, and Asia, winding up in good old America. But the journey begins with a trip back in time for “Baroque Around the World.” Or at…
From Jekyll and Hyde to social justice
The 2015-16 dance season is all about diversity There will be no lack of variety or drama in the 2015-16 season’s dance offerings. Choices include top contemporary dance companies such as Nai-Ni Chen Dance (which features Asiatic-influenced contemporary) and our own BIODANCE. Then there is the annual treat of seeing Garth Fagan Dance premiere new…
ALT-ROCK | Atlas Genius
Atlas Genius is an alternative rock duo hailing from Australia. Hand claps, driving drums and hooky lyrics pump through most of its songs, which can be seen on the 2013 debut, “When It Was.” Atlas Genius has just released the follow-up to that full-length with “Inanimate Objects.” The band is currently with Warner Brothers and…
Rare music, rarer musicians
If the 2015-16 concert season in Rochester is about one thing, it’s audience engagement. And as a result, local concertgoers will have ample opportunity to experience music and guest performers it rarely hears. What is most encouraging about this approach to classical music programming is that it’s coming largely from the two most prominent institutions…
ROCK | Alt-J
The formula to Alt-J’s music is to stay as unpredictable as possible. With its debut album, “An Awesome Wave” — and one of my favorite albums of 2012 — Alt-J frantically blended clever musical ideas that kept the record fresh listen after listen. From glitch electronica, danceable grooves, and heavy distorted guitars to sweet coos…
Flickers of the fall
It was a long time coming, but summer is over. I’m sad to see it go, but I can’t help but be excited for fall: changing leaves, crisp air, pumpkin-flavored everything, and some the very best movies the year has to offer. For cinematic omnivores like me – who enjoy a little bit of everything…
Let there be light and music
When Dave Rivello takes the Kilbourn Hall stage to conduct a new multimedia piece in celebration of the International Year of Light, audience members will not suspect that the work was written in the dark of night. “My best hours have always been from 11 p.m. to 4 or 5 a.m.,” says Rivello, professor of…
Smashing pumpkins
Grossmans explains the art of punkin chunkin For a moment, it’s just a blip in the sky — an orange sphere that’s very much out of place. In this exercise, only one thing is consistent: Things will not end well for the pumpkin. Fall has long been the season of the gourd. Pumpkins are the…
Red, white, and GWAR
Nothing is safe, nothing is sacred in the eyes of GWAR. For the last 30 years, this Richmond, Virginia-based metal band has eviscerated, sodomized, ejaculated, defecated, spewed, chewed, disemboweled, and destroyed social, political, and pop culture convention in a bloody, satirical display. It’s a troubled teen’s wet dream. It’s a comic book nightmare. It’s some…
Throwing sculptural shade
Mercer Gallery kicked off the academic art season with “Elliott Arkin: Lifetime Achievement Exhibition” a retrospective of five decades of the artist’s work. Arkin is known for his clever, satirical sculptures that poke fun at everyone from artists, art dealers, and art critics to politicians and popes. While the sarcastic pieces punch at exalted art,…
Seasonal sips
Local breweries are preparing for fall. Here’s what to watch out for. When that time of year approaches where the leaves start to turn and there is a slight crispness in the air, there is one thing we can all look forward to, and it’s not the pumpkin spice latte. I’m talking about fall seasonal…
ALBUM REVIEW: “Gooch”
Video Beast “Gooch” Self-released videobeast.bandcamp.com Video Beast is one tightly wound, well-oiled renegade rock ‘n’ roll machine hailing from downstate. The band sounds tough. And let’s face it: you’ve gotta be tough to survive the New York City scene and its fickle unforgiving hoards. The band plays considerably fast and full-on throughout the 10 tracks…
ART | North Winton Village Festival of Arts
The cooler weather’s creepin’ in, but there’s time to squeeze in a few more summer festivals. Head over to Linear Garden (2315 East Main Street, North Winton Village) on Saturday, September 19, for the North Winton Village Festival of Arts. The community-focused, family-friendly event will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and features…
Feedback 9/16
We welcome your comments. Send them to themail@rochester-citynews.com, or post them on our website, rochestercitynewspaper.com, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed, @roccitynews. Comments of fewer than 350 words have a greater chance of being published, and we do edit selections for publication in print. We don’t publish comments sent to other media. Study World…
ALBUM REVIEW: “The Undying Spirit”
E.J. Strickland Quintet “The Undying Spirit” Strick Muzik strickmuzik.com E.J. Strickland begins his new album, “The Undying Spirit,” appropriately enough with a drum solo. Strickland is one of the top drummers in jazz, known for his work with his twin brother Marcus Strickland, Ravi Coltrane, and Russell Malone. That solo and his others on the…
THEATER | “La Cage Aux Folles”
As part of the First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival, OFC Creations and RAPA are co-producing “La Cage Aux Folles” (a musical based on the 1973 French play of the same name, which was also adapted into the 1996 film, “The Birdcage”) at the Allen Main Stage Theatre, School of the Arts (45 Prince Street). The…
Urban Action 9/16
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. Film on WWII hysteria Friends and Foundation of the Rochester Public Library will present “Infamy: The Shocking Story of the Japanese-American Internment in WWII” from 12:12 p.m. to 12:52 p.m. on Tuesday, September…
FILM | “The Cats of Mirikitani”
Soon after 9/11 hit New York City, documentary filmmaker Linda Hattendorf found Jimmy Mirikitani, an elderly Japanese American painter, living on the streets of lower Manhattan. Hattendorf offered Mirikitani shelter in her small apartment, and the two struck up a friendship. In “The Cats of Mirikitani,” released in 2006, Hattendorf seeks to learn more about…
RTA prez: ‘Where is the outrage?’
Rochester city school teachers are not happy with the proposed changes to the district’s code of conduct or with recommendations to improve school climate, says Adam Urbanski, president of the Rochester Teachers Union. The Community Task Force on School Climate released a 65-page proposal last month. The group worked for months on a code that…
SPECIAL EVENT | 38th Depression Glass Show and Sale
You may think antiques are for shelves — collector’s items to be encased and periodically dusted. But the Depression Glass Club of Rochester wants to encourage people to consider the utilitarian side of the elegant objects. This weekend, the club will host the 38th Depression Glass Show and Sale at Eisenhart Auditorium at RMSC (657…
Millennials’ money worries
Peter Scheutzow began investing when he was a child. While many young people his age spent their allowances on video games and gadgetry, he put his money in the stock market. Scheutzow says that he was curious about money matters and had an uncle who is a certified financial planner who encouraged him and showed…
SPECIAL EVENT | Bee for Books Spelling Bee
On Wednesday, September 23, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (doors at 6 p.m.), head to Webster Columbus Center (70 Barrett Drive, Village of Webster) for a spelling bee that is and isn’t for the children. While the Bee for Books Spelling Bee event is geared toward adults, it’s a fundraiser to support the Webster…
Slow down, you move too fast
Growing up in New Hampshire, Chef David Buchanan’s mom would slice bacon she got from a neighbor down the road, and fry it up in a cast iron skillet. After the bacon was crisp, she’d swap it out for eggs, cooking them in the rendered bacon fat. Then, she’d toast slices of bread in the…
SPECIAL EVENT | Pan-Afrikan Weekend
Over the weekend, the Frederick Douglass Resource Center will host its 10th anniversary Pan-Afrikan weekend, featuring lectures and community building workshops. The weekend will start on Friday, September 18, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., with a lecture titled, “A Vision for our Community: Making Rochester a Model for Black America.” A meet and greet will…
Seasonal exhibitionism
A preview of the 2015-16 art season With the first tastes of autumn in the air comes the energy of a fresh arts season. Here are a dozen or so not-to-be-missed shows to distract you from the dead-weather doldrums. Some exhibition details may change, so check back with the galleries as time moves forward. Admission…
FREAK FOLK | Faergolzia
Seth Faergolzia’s eponymously named quintet, Faergolzia, will kick it at Skylark Lounge before heading out for a month-long European tour. Help from a fan in Sweden who is lending the group a vehicle for the upcoming shows is making this tour possible. Seth Faergolzia is no stranger to foreign places, having played in almost…
Take me higher
Lecture series spell back-to-school for the non-matriculated In the late summer after I graduated from college, I remember my feelings of blissful accomplishment and freedom-at-last dwindling into a slow-burning jealousy as some of my younger friends were picking out courses for the coming semester. Perhaps you’ve felt something similar, but going back to school —…
ROCKABILLY | Kim Lenz and The Jaguars
With her flame-red titan tresses, on-stage hip-swivel, and throaty purr, Los Angeles’s Kim Lenz is one righteous rockabilly filly. After four albums and roughly 20 years on the scene, Lenz and her band, The Jaguars, continue to barnstorm the States and beyond. This is pure, powerful stuff, a hybrid of rockabilly get up and swing…
Film Review: “The Visit”
M. Night Shyamalan has had a rough go of it in recent years, but it wasn’t always this way.
Film Review: “The Reflektor Tapes”
Montreal-based indie rock band Arcade Fire is the focus of “The Reflektor Tapes,” the impressionistic concert-documentary-cum-art-film directed by Kahlil Joseph. Led by husband and wife duo, Win Butler and Régine Chassagne (the group has several other members, though we never hear from them in the film), the band performs songs from its great 2013 album,…
Film Review: “Grandma”
Paul Weitz (“About a Boy”) directs Lily Tomlin’s first leading role in nearly 30 years, in the lovely, minor-key road trip comedy, “Grandma.” Tomlin plays tart-tongued, septuagenarian lesbian-feminist-poet, Elle, who as the film opens is in the process of breaking up with her much younger girlfriend of four months (Judy Greer). She’s still licking her…
Film Review: “Learning to Drive”
In the opening scenes of the pleasant but totally unremarkable “Learning to Drive,” Wendy, a fragile Manhattanite book critic played by Patricia Clarkson, learns that her husband has been seeing someone else and he plans to leave her (something he’s apparently tried several times before, though it appears that this time it’s going to stick).…
The US and the refugee crisis
Broad humanitarian response is essential. And yet the more refugees the world takes in, the more we’ll find at our door.
Theater Review: “Spamalot” at Geva
“Monty Python and the Holy Grail” is officially over the hill. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the cult classic film, and Geva Theatre Center opens its 2015-16 season with a tip o’ the hat in the form of “Monty Python’s Spamalot,” best described as “lovingly ripped off from the motion picture.” The production…
