Michael Rabice - Page 5

In March of 1943, the audience that poured into New York’s St. James Theatre had no idea they were witnessing the the birth of the musical comedy as we know it today. The maiden production of composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein’s OKLAHOMA! would change the face of Broadway forever. Flash forward 80 years and audiences once again had no idea what they would encounter in Director Daniel Fish’s dark disjointed OKLAHOMA!

After a near two year absence, live audiences have returned to Irish Classical Theatre. And the production that inaugurated the company is back again, nestled into it's home stage, which may never have been dreamt of 30 years ago. Irishman Samuel Beckett's WAITING FOR GODOT is on the boards and audiences can once again ponder it's genius and complexity. Written in French in 1953 and later translated into English by Beckett himself, GODOT is undoubtedly one of his most produced and debated pieces.

HAMILTON and it's brilliant company have taken up residence at Shea's Buffalo Theatre  through January 2nd and the phenomenon deserves to be seen by one and all. The ingenuity that pervades the entire production combines a modern day sensibility and color blind casting that always seems befitting without feeling gimmicky. What best can be described

Welcome to the 1980's where acid wash jeans, big hair, shoulder pads and the music of Bryan Adams pervades the air. Julia Roberts and Richard Gere were starring in the rom-com blockbuster 'Pretty Woman'  and audiences were enthralled. Flash forward 30 or so years and everything old is new again as  PRETTY WOMAN- THE MUSICAL takes to the Broadway stage and now  has set up shop in Buffalo for a week as the National tour hits Shea's Buffalo stage.

A visiting Egyptian band loses their way and a small town is forever changed. It seems that THE BAND'S VISIT is the TONY Award winning musical that no one has heard of. But that changed last night when the luminous National tour opened at Shea's Buffalo Theatre. It was evident that most audience members had no idea what they were in for when the lights dimmed and the hour and four five minute, intermissionless production cast it's spell.

After 20 months of sitting on a darkened stage at Shea's 710 Theatre, All For One Theatre Productions dusted off the set that has sat idle for the brilliant production of THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME. The production closed on opening night in March 2020, never being able to be seen by a paying audience due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. Now with a vaccinated and masked audience, the abundance of talent that went into making this production can now be seen. It was definitely worth the wait.

TOOTSIE has taken the town as the first National tour of the Broadway musical opened in Buffalo this week. A full house of Covid vaccinated theatre goers packed into Shea's Buffalo theatre. Based on the 1982 movie, this non-Equity  tour has been rehearsing in Buffalo prior to launching it's visits across the country next week.

Excitement filled  the air as the Shea's Broadway season kicked off with  Disney's FROZEN.  Adults and children clad in costumes and clutching their Olaf dolls patiently entered the theatre, all wearing  their obligatory face masks. Covid was not going to dampen anyone’s spirits. The warm Buffalo evening welcomed the slick crystalline production that is sure to charm audiences of all ages. 

'A Whole New World' is not only the theme from Disney's ALADDIN but may also be the theme of life as we know it in 2021. Happily audiences returned to Shea's Theatre last night for the first time in 504 days, after the Broadway tour of HELLO DOLLY closed abruptly due to a pandemic that changed the world forever. Shea's President Michael Murphy welcomed the audience back to in person entertainment last night with a slick and uplifting musical concert, THE MUSIC OF DISNEY ON BROADWAY.

Unfurling the raw emotions associated with sickness, death and grief are not new  topics in literature. But author Joan Didion has suffered immense loss and tragedy in losing her husband and daughter, and uses this as the narrative of her book turned one woman play  THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING. In Didion's own words her emotions may not seem raw, but they are truly rich with a deep sense of introspection and self awareness. And during the time of Covid, where live theatre is still on hold, Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre is presenting it's second virtual performance with Didion's  gripping play.

How to survive during a pandemic? Well that not only depends on your personal health, but your chosen occupation. Many a starving artist had trouble making ends meet pre-Covid, but post-Covid? Can we talk? Well, that's just what actress Lindsey Brett Carothers is doing in her one woman cabaret 'I'm Still Singing.' The on demand program is being co presented by STARRING BUFFALO and MUSICALFARE.

Creative programming for theatre companies has become a do or die venture during the covid pandemic, so Starring Buffalo and Musicalfare Theatre have joined forces to give their own patrons and the world of the internet a chance to escape lockdown woes. Their recent online concert showcases two of Broadway's youngest and best talents. Zachary Noah Piser, who is the most recent alternate star of DEAR EVAN HANSEN on Broadway and in Toronto, and his partner Adam Rothenberg, Assistant Conductor of the eagerly awaited Broadway revival of COMPANY, came to town to perform an exciting live concert. Using Starring Buffalo's mantra of including Buffalo's own best talent alongside prodigious High School students, the concert was rounded out of Karen Harty and West Seneca West High School Senior Talia Mobley.

Even the untamable powers of the sea could not keep Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre from beginning it's 30th season under a veil of a pandemic. Artistic Director Kate LoConti Alcocer has joined forces with Buffalo's own Pan-American Film Division to bring theatre into it's audience’s homes with their newest venture. And the result is captivating as we watch a powerful production of Gardner McKay's SEA MARKS filmed on the ANDREWS THEATRE stage. The intimacy that audiences have come to know and expect at Irish Classical is heightened without being overly cinematic in it's approach.

Many may think that the heartwarming and brassy American musical comedy of yore with it's hummable tunes will never be seen again. That the days of star driven shows have dried up. The era when the names of Mary Martin, Ethel Merman, or Carol Channing all but guaranteed a hit musical. Now producers are wary of putting all of their eggs in one basket, relying on a star to stick with a show until it recoups it's investment. Happily...... no, joyously...... Broadway producer Scott Rudin was able to engage superstar Bette Midler for a year in the first revival of HELLO DOLLY! ever to happen on Broadway without Carol Channing

Another wholly dysfunctional family has entered the literary realm in a new play by  Bryan Delaney and Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre gets to show them off in all of their wretchedness. Dublin-born playwright Delaney has been honored  this year and named ICTC's Playwright in Residence. Best known to Buffalo audiences for his plays the  The COBBLER and THE SEEDBED, Mr. Delaney has been in town for the World Premiere production of THE ONION GAME, a wicked black comedy set  in rural North County Dublin. The results are mostly satisfying for it's revelatory nature and unexpected twists.

Will good triumph over evil? Can you invoke the name of God to protect your positive behaviors? According to playwright Robert Askins, you can most definitely blame the powers of evil when it comes to bad deeds, and if you state 'the devil made me do it' then you are absolved of all wrong doing. Askins' play HAND TO GOD opened last night at Buffalo's Road Less Traveled Theater in a hilariously irreverent but thought inducing production.

There are as many forms of entertainments as there are concepts. Expressing one's point of view can be difficult and when you put nine people in the same room and ask them to brainstorm for the next best idea for a film script, there are bound to be way too many or too few concepts that work. Playwright Annie Baker has penned her most recent play, THE ANTIPODES, using this idea as a construct for a present day 'theatre of the absurd' that hasn't been seen Ionesco's THE BALD SOPRANO. Happily Buffalo's Road Less Traveled Productions is presenting Baker's play in a knockout evening of theatre with some of the best ensemble acting you will ever encounter.

The eventual pairing of happy lovers in Shakespeare's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM proves that all's well that ends well. So it is no coincidence that another happy pairing of two of Buffalo's artistic jewels have collaborated to bring the Bard's comedy to the stage of Kleinhans Music Hall. The Irish Classical Theatre Company and the Buffalo Philharmonic are presenting a cohesive treat for the mind and ears that helped take a chill of a brisk January night.

Local boy does good. That has been the success story of Buffalo born playwright Tom Dudzick. His play OVER THE TAVERN that premiered at the old Studio Arena Theatre in 2006 has become a hot  commodity, being produced by multiple theatres across the United States. It went on to become a trilogy and has been a favorite amongst Buffalo audiences ever since. Alas, his latest venture, the musical CHRISTMAS OVER THE TAVERN does not appear to be destined for a similar destiny.