Mounting a stage production shortly after the release of a lavish, big-budget film adaptation of the same material is always a tricky proposition. On the one hand, the publicity surrounding a movie release brings in a lot of new eyes, attracting people who are curious to see what the original material might look like. But […]
Theater Review
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Theater Review: “The Mountaintop” at Geva
“I’m just a man, just a man,” says a trembling Martin Luther King Jr. in Katori Hall’s award-winning play, “The Mountaintop.” It’s a powerful piece of historical fiction, playing through April 26 at Geva Theatre’s Wilson Mainstage. Martin Luther King Jr. (Royce Johnson) returns to room 306 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis after reciting […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Theater Review: “The Field” at MuCCC
Anti-heroes are all the rage. But before Tony Soprano, Walter White, and Frank Underwood, there was Bull McCabe. He is the definitive 20th-century anti-hero: a rugged farmer, a loving father, a brutish bully who stops at nothing to establish his empire of acreage. McCabe is the force behind John B. Keane’s 1965 rural Irish drama, […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Theater Review: “Our Suburb” at JCC CenterStage
In “Our Suburb,” a new play on stage through March 29 at JCC CenterStage, Thornton Wilder’s 1938 Pulitzer Prize winner, “Our Town,” is repurposed for a new generation. Originally set in a fictional New Hampshire town in the early 1900’s, Wilder’s classic dissected family cyclicality and the fragility of life: teenagers growing up, getting married, […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Theater Review: RBTL presents “Annie”
“Annie” is about optimism. Set during the Great Depression, Annie’s response to a homeless person’s complaints of empty pockets is, “At least you have pockets!” It is still a timely message. Given the flood of recent news about ISIS, racist tunes from certain fraternity members, and 6-foot snowdrifts, this production — on stage at the […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Theater Review: “Mammoth” at MuCCC
With “Mammoth,” a new play at the Multi-use Cultural Community Center, writer-director Kate Royal provides further evidence that western New York has an emerging ecosystem for young, intrepid playwrights. The 2013 SUNY Geneseo graduate has already gained some recognition for her play, “The Nameless Days of Gumdrop Smith,” which debuted at the 2014 Rochester Fringe […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Theater Review: “Shakespeare’s R&J” at Blackfriars Theatre
Juliet and his Romeo
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Theater Review: “The Hit Factory” at JCC CenterStage
Four weeks ago, I got to hear Audra McDonald in concert at the Eastman Theatre. Last week, I got to hear Darren Frazier singing at the Jewish Community Center. Frazier, along with 10 other masterful singers, is featured in “The Hit Factory,” a revue of musical numbers composed in Manhattan’s iconic Brill Building during the […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Theater Review: “Katherine’s Colored Lieutenant” at Geva’s NextStage
Actress and playwright Nora Cole has returned to Geva Theatre for “Katherine’s Colored Lieutenant” at Geva’s Fielding NextStage. Cole previously appeared before Geva audiences with “Fences” (2009) and “You Can’t Take It With You” (2012). In “Lieutenant,” Cole weaves a narrative from the fabric of her own family: the true story of her Aunt Katherine, […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Theater Review: “Riding the Midnight Express” at Downstairs Cabaret
In the opening minute of Billy Hayes’ performance of “Riding the Midnight Express,” he talks about his crime of smuggling hashish out of Turkey in an almost joking manner, saying he knew it was an idiotic move. It seemed like a good idea at the time, he said. The aftermath of that decision, five years […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Theater Review: “Little Shop of Horrors” at Geva
With joy, edge, and a playful 60’s tone, “Little Shop of
Horrors” is an irresistible musical — and Geva’s new production
doesn’t disappoint.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Theater Review: RBTL presents “Pippin”
The touring production of “Pippin” — the Tony-winning revival of the 1972 Stephen Schwartz and Roger O. Hirson musical — transforms the medieval tale of a wide-eyed dreamer into a wildly entertaining circus spectacular. The production, presented by the Rochester Broadway Theatre League, opened Tuesday night at the Auditorium Theatre and continues through Sunday, January […]
