Michael Rabice - Page 10

Escaping to Oz may be the fate for Dorothy, but her glorious adventure had patrons at Shea's Buffalo Theatre delighted to follow her down that infamous  yellow brick road. The lavish new production of THE WIZARD OF OZ opened last night and had the audience enraptured with the familiar story. The classic MGM musical has been lovingly adapted to the stage by Andrew Lloyd Weber and Jeremy Sams, with some new songs by Weber and Tim Rice, who previously collaborated on Jesus Christ Superstar.

Imagine a day at the office when no one else shows up but you. Well this underground office takes the reservations for an upscale Manhattan restaurant and the frenetic, frenzied and fast paced hijinks that ensue make up the delightful comedy FULLY COMMITTED playing at Irish Classical Theatre.

Shea's Smith Theatre is hosting everyone's favorite Tupperware lady, Dixie Longate, for the rest of this week and anyone yearning for some strong belly laughs, groans, and an all around 90 minutes of hilarity should head downtown. Dixie has been in town before in DIXIE'S TUPPERWARE PARTY, and this time she treats us to her newest show, NEVER WEAR A TUBE TOP WHILE RIDING A MECHANICAL BULL--AND 16 OTHER THINGS I LEARNED WHILE I WAS DRINKING LAST THURSDAY. High brow art it is not, but this low brow comedy is done so right one can't help but be sucked in.

The 1970's was an era of self discovery, rebellion and personal exploration. Broadway was morphing from the stock musical comedy formula towards the darker issues of life not usually seen on the musical stage . There was a young Stephen Sondheim delving into the deep interpersonal relations of marriage in COMPANY and FOLLIES, while Michael Bennett had gathered a group of young dancers who were exposing their inner demons and life stories in A CHORUS LINE. Meanwhile the composer Stephen Schwartz began his career with PIPPIN and would later write hit scores for GODSPELL and WICKED

BRILLIANT CAST SHINES IN MILLER'S AMERICAN TRAGEDY

Real life is often more dramatic than stage drama, and in the case of Judy Garland,  everyday life was a scary venture for the drug and alcohol addicted child star turned adult superstar.

The iconic 1977 Charles Strouse musical ANNIE opened last night at Shea's Buffalo to a large, appreciative audience. After the most recent Broadway revival that failed mostly due to a poor heavy handed directorial concept, Annie's original lyricist, Martin Charnin, chose to direct his version of this new National tour.

A disgruntled elf at Christmas time? Well,  I'm sure everyone remembers Hermey, the wanna be dentist elf featured in Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, who was unsatisfied with his elfin duties. But another elf story has become a holiday tradition on NPR and in regional theatres across the US. Humorist David Sedaris' THE SANTALAND DIARIES is playing  at Roadless Traveled Theatre and making quite an impression on holiday theatre goers.

A man and his relationship to his animal.... This notion has formed the basis of many books , TV sitcoms, and plays. There is  the imaginary rabbit in  Mary Chase's HARVEY, the goat in  Edward Albee's THE GOAT, and most recently man's best friend,  a dog named Sylvia in A.R. Gurney's hysterical 1995 play SYLVIA.

A magical blend of a Grimm fairy tale, like HANSEL AND GRETEL, a Dickensian novel like OLIVER, and a childhoodhood fable like Roald Dahl's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, and you have the makings of the new musical MATILDA, (also by Roald Dahl), that is playing at Shea's Buffalo Theatre.

 As one would expect, Irish themed plays are best done by those who understand the people and terrain of Ireland.  Pulitzer prize winning author John Patrick Shanley's newest play, OUTSIDE MULLINGAR, fresh from it's recent Broadway premiere,  is receiving a touching, yet comedic production at Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre.

A mix of borscht-belt comedy and Broadway showtunes, with a hint of neurotic sitcom hyperactivity. That's what an Evening with Jason Alexander with the BPO was like last night.

Disney's Theatrical Productions high energy stage version of the 1992 film NEWSIES opened last night at Shea's after a tryout at New Jersey's PAPERMILL PLAYHOUSE and subsequent Broadway run. Based on the Disney film,  Harvey Fierstein's book delineates the struggle in 1899 of a group of newsboys who strike against the powerful newspaper magnates, led by Joseph Pulitzer.

The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra kicked off it's Bank of America's Pops Season in high style. Cheyenne Jackson brought his 'Music of the Mad Men Era' concert to Buffalo after a sold out performance at Carnegie Hall, and the attentive Buffalo audience was enthralled by the sexy young Broadway tenor who channeled many of the great crooners of the past.

Stephen Sondheim's A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC elegantly opened the Irish Classical Theatre's 25th season.

Buffalo born playwrights and authors  often have used their hometown as their setting, from A.R. Gurney to Tom Dudzick to Lauren Belfer. Now we can add Laura Pedersen,  whose FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE opened the 710 Main Theatre season last night.

The 75th Anniversary of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra kicks of it's  Bank of America POPS concert season with Broadway's Cheyenne Jackson.

The Shaw Festival is known for dusting off old chestnuts and breathing new life into them. Unfortunately, its new production of Moss Hart's LIGHT UP THE SKY is  a chestnut better left in the attic to continue gathering dust.  Compared to his successful plays, like THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER  (with 739 Broadway performances) and YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU (838 performances), LIGHT UP THE SKY is a second string comedy that seems stale and dated. It's initial run on Broadway was only a modest success, running 200 performances, and revivals have not fared much better.

Whether you grew up with Mary Martin , Sandy Duncan or Cathy Rigby flying on your TV screen or on a stage near you, children and adults alike still love escaping with the boy who never grew up. Neverland and it's inhabitants of Lost Boys, Indians and Pirates is usually a sure fire chance for a light hearted evening. Happily Artpark's 2015 polished musical offering of PETER PAN is flying high, and for all the right reasons.

Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields iconic 1960's musical SWEET CHARITY is playing on the stage of the Festival Theatre as this year's musical offering at the Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake, Ontario. Visually stunning and often energetically infectious, this musical, with book by Neil Simon, comes at a time when everything mod is new again. The 'MAD MEN' era has made a resurgence in clothing and home furnishings, so this nod to the past seems perfectly placed. Coleman's score includes such standards as 'Big Spender' and 'If My Friends Could See Me Now.'