With each new season, Blackfriars Theatre seems to further test its own boundaries. In its 2017-18 season, the company set a mission to focus on more women artists and women-centered stories — to great success with its all-female “Twelfth Night,” its holiday show, “Little Women,” and the recent “When We Were Young and Unafraid.” The […]
Blackfriars Theatre
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Theater review: ‘Little Women’ at Blackfriars
On opening night of “Little Women” at Blackfriars Theatre, artistic director Danny Hoskins and development manager Mary Tiballi Hoffman took the stage to greet the audience. They asked if anyone was visiting Blackfriars for the first time, and nearly half the audience raised hands. An older man in the front row leaned to his younger […]
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Theater review: ‘Dracula’ at Blackfriars
Although Christmas decorations quickly replaced any remnants of Halloween in stores, a large harvest moon hangs low in the sky and the weather has just begun the transition from temperate to bone chilling. With the opening of its second 2017-18 season production, “Dracula,” on Halloween, Blackfriars Theatre isn’t in a rush to move past the […]
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Theater review: ‘Twelfth Night’ at Blackfriars Theatre
When a theater company opens the season with an experimental take on a Shakespearean work, it’s a calculated gamble. In a digitally saturated world that provides a three-minute video version, SparkNotes study guide, and Wikipedia synopsis for every play in The Bard’s canon, there’s no guarantee audiences will care enough to see a three-hour run […]
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Theater review: Blackfriars’ ‘Death of a Salesman’
In an increasingly digital world of likes, shares, and clicks, it might be hard to see how a mid-century play about a traveling salesman could possibly be relevant. Blackfriars Theatre is currently staging Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman,” and the final production of its 2016-17 season shows why this poignant tale remains pertinent for […]
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Blackfriars Theatre announces 2017-18 season
There’s always something interesting happening at Blackfriars Theatre. Artistic and Managing Director Danny Hoskins and Development Manager Mary Tiballi Hoffman, on Monday evening, announced the company’s 2017-18 season from folding chairs in the back of a red pickup truck — the leftover centerpiece from “Hands on a Hardbody” — previewing six main productions, a year-long […]
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Theater review: ‘Hands on a Hardbody’ at Blackfriars
The penultimate production of Blackfriars Theatre’s 2016-17 season is an interesting one. “Hands on a Hardbody” is a 2012 musical co-written by Trey Anastasio of Phish and Amanda Green. Any traces of Anastasio’s killer guitar chops and jam band intuition have vanished, and in their place is a collection of enjoyable but predominantly generic pop-rock […]
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Theater review: ‘The Underpants’ at Blackfriars
The topic of feminine undergarments has fascinated humans for centuries, dating back to a time when a pair of “underpants” contained more material than a pair of modern shorts. In many ways, the intimate garments represent vulnerability, gender roles — and an excellent opportunity for social commentary. That’s what German playwright Carl Sternheim believed, anyway, […]
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Building new boards
Sampling Rochester’s diverse theater offerings in 2016-17, including RBTL, MuCCC, and Geva productions
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Theater review: “Assassins” at Blackfriars
There really
isn’t a moral to the story. And it doesn’t need one. “Assassins” is part history
lesson, part black comedy, and wholly enjoyable.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Theater review: “Heathers” at Blackfriars
“Heathers”
is a dark, divinely good time — truly an exclamation point on the end of
Hoskins’ first season with Blackfriars.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Blackfriars Theatre announces 2016-17 season
The company announced seven new shows, and unveiled a new logo, website, and seat campaign.
