When Neil Simon’s “Rumors” premiered in 1988 it was unlike anything Simon had ever written. Indeed, it would be unlike anything he would ever write again. The play is Simon’s only farce, which is hard to believe considering his vast body of acclaimed work and that he honed his comedic chops early in his career […]
Arts & Entertainment
Posted inTheater
REVIEW | ‘& Juliet’ at RBTL
What would happen if you combined Lisa Frank, a Disney amusement park and a 90s music video? Probably something in the same aesthetic ballpark as the unabashedly over-the-top jukebox musical “& Juliet,” which is turning the West Herr Auditorium Theater into a nostalgic dance party through December 14. Set in a remixed Y2K version of […]
Posted inTheater
REVIEW | “Persuasion” at The Company Theatre
This month marks Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, which means there have been almost two centuries of adaptations of beloved novels that either make her readers upset or make them swoon. The Company Theatre gets it right. Their fresh and faithful theatrical adaptation of her final novel “Persuasion” plays in their new home on 28 Lawn […]
Posted inLiterature
5 local-ish books for the reader in your life
Garrison Keillor, longtime host of the Minnesota Public Radio show “A Prairie Home Companion,” once said, “a book is a gift you can open again and again.” And while Kindles are convenient and alluring, nothing quite tops cracking a fresh book spine and breathing in the printed pages. Whether you’re stumped on what to buy […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Local arts organizations lost federal funding in 2025. What’s next?
Out of the many uses for the letterpress machines at Flower City Arts Center, this year has seen a rise in protest posters. The Trump administration’s myriad executive orders, immigration crackdowns and weaponization of the Department of Justice have galvanized artists and other community members to push back. Executive director Kristin Rapp said the machines […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Macaulay Culkin, the original meme, embraces his ‘Home Alone’ roots
Few people can lay claim to being a meme before the term reached widespread usage. After all, what did a meme in 1990 even look like? The answer is Macaulay Culkin. As a nine-year-old boy, he effectively conquered the world when the unusual yet heartwarming holiday film “Home Alone” reached major global commercial success. There […]
Posted inNightlife
How to be the best bar guest
A good bar, the type I like to go to, should be a third place. It’s where you celebrate wins, drown sorrows and everything in between. Bars are such interesting spaces — at the end of the day, they are businesses, but can feel like an extension of home. And just like every house has […]
Posted inTheater
REVIEW | This truth is self-evident: “Hamilton” soars in a divided America
At this point, what more can a review of any production of “Hamilton” say that hasn’t already been said about the beloved hit musical? Since its debut 10 years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s groundbreaking hip-hop-driven homage to America’s previously undersung founding father, Alexander Hamilton, has burst into Broadway’s billion-dollar-club and been showered with the kind of […]
Posted inTheater
Performers of all abilities find a home onstage with Artists Unlimited
When Anthony Vignare saw the Artists Unlimited production of “Peter Pan” as a young teen, he was in awe of the people literally soaring — in harnesses — across the stage. “It was really cool, all the flying,” he said. Not long after, those actors who caused his imagination to take flight would become his […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Rochester Community Players celebrates 100 years of local theater
Eight hundred words couldn’t possibly do justice to 100 years of history. That’s why the full tale of the Rochester Community Players — the oldest community theater group in the city (and the second-oldest in New York State) — rests partly in the hands of Karen Olson. Olson, a past RCP board president who now […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Memorial Art Gallery receives gift of $3 million to support forever free admission
The Memorial Art Gallery announced it’s halfway to the goal of offering forever free admission, thanks to a gift of $3 million from Doug and Abby Bennett and the Sands Family Foundation. The funds establish the Abby and Doug Bennett and Sands Family Foundation Free for All Endowment as part of the $1.75 billion For […]
Posted inNightlife
A barricaded ‘entertainment district’ in the East and Alexander neighborhood is driving popular businesses to close
It’s a clear early autumn night as crowds of revelers make their way down East Avenue to the slew of watering holes and eateries that dot the strip. Before the weekend party begins, each must make a pitstop at a gated barricade, empty their pockets and get frisked by a security officer. People under 21 […]
