A few years back, JCC Centerstage presented “Mel Brooks’ The Producers.” The show packed the house and in some ways raised the bar for what audiences could expect from a splashy, modern musical put on by a community theater. The JCC is currently presenting Brooks’ follow-up show, a musical adaptation of the actor-writer-director’s 1974 comedy […]
musicals
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Theater Review: RBTL’s “Phantom of the Opera”
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera” has been a musical-theater blockbuster since its debut in 1986. It has grossed more money worldwide than any other musical, and continues to pack houses in major cities and on global tours. That’s all the more remarkable when you consider that — real talk — the story […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Theater Review: “Closer Than Ever” by Everyone’s Theatre Company
If you’re not a musical-theater fanatic, you’ve probably never heard of Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire. But if you enjoy theater songs, or just about any kind of songs, you definitely need to make their acquaintance. Everyone’s Theatre Company is providing a very entertaining survey of this team’s stellar work in the revue “Closer […]
Posted inSpecial Sections
THEATER: A theater town
Anyone who believes that theater is a dying art has not spent much time in Rochester; we have always offered a remarkably full range of theater, for consumption and for participation. To use a word theater people enjoy, the Rochester theater scene is very textured; there’s a little of everything offered, and something for everybody […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Theater Review: RBTL’s “Once”
“The bar onstage is open. Enjoy!” With those words as a greeting, I entered the Auditorium Theatre for Tuesday night’s performance of the Tony Award-winning musical, “Once.” That cheery welcome prefaced a scene I’m not generally accustomed to seeing at that venue: the stage, dressed to look like a charming, somewhat dingy pub, was crowded […]
Posted inMovies
“Black Nativity”
Every so often, movie-studio executives suddenly seem to wake up and realize that white people aren’t the only ones who go see movies, and that black audiences in particular are an underserved market. That results in periods like the current holiday season, which sees the release of a whopping three Christmas-themed releases targeted toward African-American […]
Posted inMovies
“The Last Days on Mars”
Despite mostly skipping theaters and receiving a quiet release on Video On Demand, I had hopes that “The Last Days On Mars” might turn out to be an undiscovered gem. It has impressive production values, an audience-friendly, sci-fi thriller premise, a talented cast including Liev Schreiber, Olivia Williams, Elias Koteas, and Tom Cullen, and received […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
“The Last Five Years”
In his program notes for “The Last Five Years,” JCC Centerstage Artistic Director Ralph Meranto refers to the musical as “one of ‘those’ shows,” the type that people in the theater community get excited about working on, and one that becomes truly special to those who fall under its spell. It’s not the first time […]
Posted inMusic
Chuck Mead and his Grassy Knoll Boys
“We’re gonna make sure shit gets broke at Abilene,” promises country singer/songwriter/all-around rambunctious hillbilly cat, Chuck Mead. And though he and his band, the Grassy Knoll Boys, will undoubtedly tear up the joint, Mead is a respectful artist who speaks with an excited reserve when talking about his latest platter, “Back at the Quonset Hut.” […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
“Pump Boys and Dinettes”
Lightweight musical revues generally have short lives, but “Pump Boys and Dinettes” has proved surprisingly hardy. First produced in the early 1980’s as the off-est of Off Broadway shows, it eventually moved to the Big Street and ran for a year and a half. Thirty years later it is still going strong. Geva put on […]
Posted inMusic
CLASSICAL: “Camelot”
Growing up in north Jersey, I thought of life as a musical. Julie Andrews and Doris Day at the movies. Yul Brynner and Rex Harrison on Broadway. It was a big deal when I got old enough to take the bus into the city on my own and head to TKTS for discounted same-day show […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
“Rent”
As I imagine everybody knows by now, in the early 1990’s the composer-lyricist Jonathan Larson had the inspiration of reimagining Puccini’s “La Bohème” among the boho set in New York’s Alphabet City. The show, titled “Rent,” was a smash hit on Broadway, won every award imaginable (including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama), made a ton […]
