Higher-brow critics may beg to differ, but if any play deserves to be called a classic American comedy, it’s “The Odd Couple.” Neil Simon’s study of the epic battle between Oscar Madison, slob, and Felix Ungar, fussbudget, is almost 50 years old now, and has been in the public consciousness rather consistently since its Broadway […]
Theater Review
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Theater Review: GRRC’s “Agnes of God”
The story behind John Pielmeier’s play “Agnes of God” will be familiar to most Rochesterians who lived here in the 1970’s and early 80’s. According to the playwright’s introduction included in the program to Greater Rochester Repertory Companies’ current production of the show, Pielmeier — interested in writing a play through which he could explore […]
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“Another Christmas with the Calamari Sisters”
“Another Christmas With the Calamari Sisters: Feast of the Seven Fishes” is the latest in the series of campy, irreverent musical-comedy shows featuring bickering (but loving) sisters Carmela and Delphine Calamari, hosts of Brooklyn public-access-television cooking program, “Mangia Italiano.” The characters, created by Jay Falzone, Dan Lavender, and Stephen Smith, have been charming audiences over […]
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“Relatively Speaking”
The JCC CenterStage’s new production is “Relatively Speaking,” a program of one-act plays, recently presented on Broadway, by writers better known for their work in the movies: Ethan Coen, Elaine May, and Woody Allen. Does anything tie them together? Well, each of them contains a generous sprinkling of wisecracks, as you might expect. And each […]
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“Sister Strikes Again! Late Nite Catechism 2”
The character of the funny nun has been around at least since Chaucer, and is here to stay as a staple of pop culture. You’ve seen her in “The Sound of Music,” “The Flying Nun,” numerous variations on “Nunsense”, etc., etc. My own upbringing was about as un-Roman Catholic as can be imagined, so I […]
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“Tuesdays with Morrie”
Mitch Albom’s “Tuesdays with Morrie” may have been a pop-culture juggernaut as a book; as a play it is pretty much Lifetime for guys. Albom’s memoir of afternoons spent in the company of a college professor he remembered fondly, during the professor’s last days, and the life lessons that resulted, was on the bestseller list […]
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Theater Review: Pittsford Musicals’ “Les Miserables”
After sitting through a disappointing 2012 film adaptation and the lackluster 25th anniversary touring production that made a stop at the Auditorium Center back in May, I admit that, despite my fondness for the show, I wasn’t quite sure I was ready to subject myself to yet another staging of “Les Misérables.” Thankfully, I decided […]
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“Julius Caesar”
The current production of “Julius Caesar” at MuCCC marks two milestones for Rochester Community Players and its Shakespeare Players shingle. It is the start of the 20th season for the Shakespeare Players. (It’s worth noting that the company’s Shakespeare offerings have only increased in recent years, including the return of its Shakespeare for Young Audiences […]
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“The 39 Steps”
When you walk into the house for Geva’s current production of “The 39 Steps,” the first thing you see is a good, old-fashioned proscenium framing a good, old-fashioned red curtain. That’s a pretty retro visual for a modern theater production, but it turns out to be a perfect visual introduction for this one. If you […]
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“Me and Jezebel”
“Darling, there are no other stars.” That line is ascribed to Bette Davis in “Me and Jezebel,” the opening production in Blackfriars Theatre’s 64th season. The show tells the allegedly true story of what happened when Davis — the legendary movie star who won two Academy Awards for Best Actress, received 10 Oscar nominations, and […]
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“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 […]
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The profession that dare not speak its name
Rochester sees quite a bit of Shakespeare in the course of a theater season, but almost nothing from his runner-up in the Greatest English Playwright sweepstakes (and match in productivity), George Bernard Shaw. Last year Rochester’s Black Sheep Theatre presented Shaw’s early play “Widowers’ Houses”; this month it is presenting “Mrs. Warren’s Profession” — another […]
