What to do with the body
When it comes to handling earthly remains, think outside the casket.
Eli Flynn delights with concise pop-rock on debut solo album
“Running With Scissors” showcases the Giant Panda guitarist’s charm as a songwriter.
Playing dead: A spooky season playlist
Tunes for all your haunted happenings, from day to fright.
Facing the fallout
‘Who Will Be Next’ exhibit at RoCo presents an intimate — and chilling — way to think about gun violence.
Fivebyfive continues to be Rochester’s preeminent contemporary classical ensemble
“Breath & Fire” is a refreshing album that will resonate with audiences.
Still life and death
From ‘memento mori’ paintings to jewelry made of hair, local art houses are exhibiting art about death, dying, and the departed.
Financing the next 100 years
In its centennial year, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra stays optimistic about finding future donors.
Adding the final brushstrokes to Miché Fambro’s canvas
More than two years after his death — a tribute show for the multitalented artist.
Rochester magazine publisher and activist James Blount has died
Blount and his wife Carolyne published About…Time magazine for more than 50 years, one of the oldest African American publications in the nation.
The pale horse whisperers
When loved ones of the dying are at a loss, death doulas take the reins.
Review | Disney stages a ‘Frozen’ spectacle
The popular musical comes alive at West Herr Auditorium Theatre through October 8.
Anything can die
Artist Siena Pullinzi on printmaking and her horrific “Inside.”
Processing pain through poetry
When a neck injury upended Andrew Cloninger’s life, the musician turned to words to make sense of the trauma.
Bad Bloom’s new crop of singles hits the mark
The August and September releases embody economical, expertly crafted grunge pop.
Fringe Day 12: That’s a wrap
Our team looks back at 12 days of the 12th annual Fringe and reviews ‘Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and More’ and ‘The 24-Hour Plays.’
Fringe Day 11: Stargazing attempts, beautiful brokenness, and first impressions
A pause for ‘Concert for Katy’ — and our team reviews ‘AstroFringe,’ ‘1st Impressions,’ and ‘Deaf, Queer, and Fabulous!’
Deaf Awareness Week relaunches in Rochester
More than 25 organizations will host events tailored to the deaf and hard-of-hearing community from September 23-30.
Fringe Day 10: Identity crisis, brass progress, and water sprites
Our team reviews ‘Choreomania,’ ‘Connect the Dots,’ ‘The Dave Rivello Ensemble RED,’ and ‘The Weight of Water.’
Inconsistent production hinders Gavin Barry’s ‘In the Beginning’
While the acoustic, reggae-inspired songs are intriguing, inadequate sound engineering brings the album down.
Fringe Day 9: Garden quiz, whodunit, and enlightened embarrassment
A TriviaCITY recap; plus, our team reviews ‘Elsa Lanchester: She’s Alive!,’ ‘Catharsis Time 2.0,’ ‘Motha Has Lived: Almost a Memoir,’ and ‘You Know the Old Slaying.’
‘Blowing off the Lake’ explores a local legend’s mysterious origins
A Fringe-y quest to find the ‘Lady in White.’
Fringe Day 8: Literary victims, sock storm, and a dose of realism
Our team reviews ‘Shotspeare’ and ‘Ventilation.’
‘Motha Has Lived: Almost a Memoir’ writes its own narrative
Performer Zoe Walker-Itoh’s disco era is stayin’ alive, authentically.
Fringe Day 7: Hallmark fever dream, Cher turns up, and evil nuns
Our team reviews ‘Drag Me to Drinks,’ ‘My Unauthorized Hallmark Movie Musical,’ and ‘Runaway Princess: a Hopeful Tale of Heroin, Hooking, and Happiness.’
CHOWHOUND | Rochester’s food + bev scene
September brings comfort food at Cassie’s Citchen, a new craft cocktail bar on South Ave., Happy Gut moving to High Falls, and more.
The original girl monster
A Rochester Fringe show about the 1935 “Bride of Frankenstein” star is bound for off-Broadway.
Fringe Day 6: Poetry and prose, growing pains, and the things we carry
Our team reviews ‘Black Deaf Male: Who Am I?,’ ‘Thomas Warfield – The Way of Poetry,’ ‘That’s What She Said,’ ‘Emotional Baggage,’ ‘Ranked,’ and ‘Circus of Play.’
Fall Arts Roundup | Coming in hot
This season’s must-see exhibitions offer entry points for crucial conversations.
Fringe Day 5: Airborne balls, not Adele, and square-dancing tap
Our team reviews ‘A Nerdy Gay Juggling Show,’ ‘Tig Notaro: Hello, Again,’ ‘(Not So) Late & (Very Much) Live,’ ‘Erin & Ross host Writers in the Round,’ ‘The Everything Rose,’ and more.
Fringe Day 4: Flying pianos, photographic memories, and eye candy
Our team reviews ‘Cirque Inextremiste: EXIT,’ ’21st Century Percussion,’ ’35mm: A Musical Exhibition,’ ‘stARTment,’ and work by Peter Pincus.
Fringe Day 3: A violet queen, superficial pop art, and broken plates
Our team reviews ‘Queen Mary,’ ‘The Comedy Trio Happy Hour,’ ‘6th Dimension Comedy,’ ‘Warhol: Bullet Karma,’ ‘The Painter,’ ‘Songs to Drink Wine To,’ and ‘Infrared Radiation Orchestra.’
WXXI presents broadcast debut of Eastman School documentary
The hour-long special takes a look back at 100 years of the local music institution.
‘A Nerdy Gay Juggling Show’ balances comedy and queer culture
Performer Jacob D’Eustachio returns to Rochester Fringe with a solo act.
Fringe Day 2: Confused comedy, one-star reviews, and worst-kept secrets
Our team reviews ‘Bossing,’ ‘Confusion,’ ‘Desperate to Be Seen, Horrified of Being Known: a Ghost Story,’ and ‘Unleashed! Improv’.
Tig Notaro’s pain, for our amusement
Jeff Spevak interviews the comedian, who will perform one night only at Rochester Fringe Festival on Saturday, Sept. 16.
Fringe Day 1: Under the big tent, tree faces, and a trip to Wonderland
Our team reviews ‘Craig Walsh, Monuments,’ ‘Circolombia: Corazon,’ ‘Alice By Heart,’ and ‘Dances at MuCCC’.
Provocative theater troupe The Velvet Noose returns to Rochester Fringe with ‘The Everything Rose’
The sometimes-inscrutable performances aim to be “theater you can feel.”
Call for Creatives — September opportunities
Auditions, calls for submissions, grants, residencies, and more.
Meet the giant faces projected on East Avenue trees
Three unsung local heroes are on display through September 23 as part of Rochester Fringe Festival’s ‘Craig Walsh, Monuments.’
CITY Visits | Bills Training Camp
Because you’re gonna hear about ’em for the next six months.
6th Dimension Comedy embraces insanity at Rochester Fringe
If most stand-up comedians aren’t weird enough for you, Andrew Steiner and Matthew Silver are at your service.
Alt-rock quartet Pluck shows pizazz on new live album
Led by Brock Saltsman’s dynamic vocals, Pluck makes sophisticated rock music that sparkles when performed live.
Autumn beverage forecast
New products from Stoneyard, Barry’s via Ireland—and the beers we’re cheers’ing.
Movie Review | ‘Bottoms’ is a top-notch teen comedy
The second film from Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott’s near-perfect partnership opens at The Little on Sept. 8.
Hollerhorn Distilling has a spirited relaunch
After a fire decimated its tasting room, the rejuvenated Naples distillery eyes a grand reopening.
Dressed in drag, ‘The Wizard of Oz’ sparkles and sings
“The Wizard of Oz” is done, and redone, a lot. Think of the all-Black version “The Wiz,” or the Broadway smash hit “Wicked,” currently being adapted for film. Just last year, Geva Theatre staged an immigration-inspired version with “Somewhere Over the Border.” And now, Geva returns to Oz with the stage adaptation of the 1939…
RIT breaks ground on new performing arts theater
RIT’s new theater is set for completion in 2025 and will primarily host musical theater productions.
Violet Mary tries on Freddie Mercury for size
Mel Muscarella does not pause when asked to name her favorite singers. Freddy Mercury? “Between him and Bono,” she says, “those are my great musical influences.” She’s not talking Sonny Bono. Whittling down a list of favorite vocalists to between Mercury or U2’s Bono is enough to ask of anyone. Yet even then, for Muscarella,…
