Curtain Up! kicks off a banner theater season
Year after year, the dividing line between one theater season and the next gets a little bit harder to see.
Western New York summers, once flecked with the odd production at Artpark and Shakespeare in Delaware Park, now sustain a far more constant stream of theatrical activity. But fortunately for those who still like to separate their theatergoing into neatly divided seasons, we have Curtain up!, an annual rite of fall that delivers a shock-and-awe campaign of musicals, comedies and dramas, and caps it all off with a glitzy street party in Buffalo's Theater District.
This year, continuing the trend of unmitigated growth the theater scene has been experiencing over the past two decades, the Curtain up! lineup boasts more options than at any point in the event's long history. Sixteen separate performances — some full productions, some limited engagements — will get under way Friday.
The evening gets started at 5 p.m. Friday with a preshow cocktail reception at Shea's Performing Arts Center followed by a gala dinner on the Shea's stage at 6 p.m. after the theaters let out, the Theater District will host an array of activities, featuring music by Theresa Quinn & Friends, the 12/8 Path Band, the Latin Jazz Project and others, along with strolling magicians, puppeteers and balloon artists. the event will be chaired by Stephen McKinley Henderson, the well-known actor and University at Buffalo professor who was recently nominated for a Tony Award for his role in the August Wilson play "Fences" on Broadway.
The packed Curtain up! lineup includes a significant number of world premieres, from the Irish Classical Theatre Company's much-anticipated production of Irish playwright Shay Linehan's drama "the Cant" to the Alleyway Theatre's more lighthearted premiere of Joseph Palka's "Mookie Cranks a Tater!" there are also plenty of time-tested productions on the Curtain up! slate, along with a few special engagements. Here's a breakdown of what's on offer. (All Curtain up! performances begin at 8 p.m. Friday):
"Mookie Cranks a Tater!" in Alleyway Theatre (1 Curtain up Alley), Thursday through Oct. 2. 852-2600 or alleyway.com. This whacked-out new comedy by Washington-based playwright Joseph Palka aims to make Augusten Burroughs look like Wally Cleaver. Fraught with sexual overtones and neurotic personalities, the show peers into the frenzied world of one particularly dysfunctional family.
"Cheapjack Shakespeare: the Non-Musical" in the ALT Theatre (255 Great Arrow Ave.), Friday through Oct. 10. 868-6847 or www.alttheatre.com. Television writer and comic book artist Shaun McLaughlin has adapted his online comic serial about the trials and travails of a college Shakespeare company (www.cheapjackshakespeare.com) into a play. McLaughlin, now based in Amherst, has extensive experience writing for outfits like DC Comics ("Aquaman"), Disney and dark Horse Comics and working on television shows like "Batman Beyond" and "the Justice League."
"Terra Nova" at Buffalo Laboratory Theatre in Hilbert College's Swan Auditorium (5200 South Park Ave., Hamburg), Friday through Sept. 25. 202-9033 or www.buffalolabtheatre.com. sometime in the winter of 1912, Robert Falcon Scott, along with four fellow explorers, died in a failed attempt to be the first humans to reach the South Pole. the journal he left behind is the basis for "Terra Nova," a drama by Ted Tally that opens the Buffalo Laboratory Theatre season, in a production starring Ray Boucher and directed by company founder and artistic director Taylor Doherty.
"the Cant" in the Irish Classical Theatre Company's Andrews Theatre (625 Main St.), Thursday through Oct. 3. 853-4282 or www.irishclassicaltheatre.com. Winner of the Irish Classical's first-ever McGuire International Playwriting Competition (and of the $20,000 purse that went along with it), this play by Ireland's Shay Linehan looks into the lives of Irish Travellers, a nomadic people misunderstood in some circles and reviled in others, both in their native Ireland and in the United States.
"Art of Murder" in Kaleidoscope Theatre Productions' home at the Medaille College Theatre (18 Agassiz Circle), Friday through Sept. 25. This play by Joe DiPietro ("I love You, You're Perfect, Now Change," "all Shook up!") is an art world send-up in the guise of an American murder mystery. Keith Wharton plays the eccentric painter Jack Brooks, who has unsavory plans to do away with his art dealer (Tom Owen). Tom LaChiusa directs.
"Forever Plaid" in the Kavinoky Theatre (320 Porter Ave.), Friday through Oct. 10. 829-7668 or www.kavinokytheatre.com. This tried and tested crowd favorite by Stuart Ross takes audiences on a nostalgic tour through the close-harmony music of the 1950s, as filtered through the story of a fictional quartet known as the Plaids. They're played by Marc Sacco, Paschal Frisina III, Andy Herr and Nicholas Lama.
"the Fantasticks" in the Lancaster Opera House (21 Central Ave.), Sept. 10 Friday to Sept. 19. 683-1776 or www.lancopera.org. Billed as the longest-running theater production in the world (it's now running on London's West End), this war horse of a musical, with music by Harvey Schmitt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones (yes, that Tom Jones), tells the story of a long and fraught love affair between two neighbors. it stars local musical theater veteran John Fredo, a fixture at MusicalFare and other professional theaters, and a major get for the Lancaster playhouse.
"Shout! the Mod Musical" in MusicalFare Theatre (4380 Main St., Amherst), Sept. 8 Wednesday to Oct. 17. 839-8540 or www.musicalfare.com. the swinging '60s in England serve as the setting for this musical revue, much in the vein of "Forever Plaid" but subbing in a quintet of women and focusing on blue-eyed soul ("Son of a Preacher Man") and other popular music of the period.
"In a dark dark House" in New Phoenix Theatre (95 Johnson Park), Sept. 9 Thursday to Oct. 9. 853-1334 or www.newphoenixtheatre.com. This unsettling play by Neil LaBute explores a brotherly relationship plagued by abuse, estrangement and mining of a sordid collective past. it stars Drew Kahn and Richard Lambert, with Joseph Natale directing.
"Working" in O'Connell and Company's home in Erie Community College's Gleasner Hall (6205 Main St., Amherst), Thursday through Oct. 3. 848-0800 or www.oconnellandcompany.com. This adaptation of oral historian Studs Terkel's seminal book of the same title takes a look into the lives of America's undersung working class. with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz ("Wicked," "Pippin," "Godspell"), among several others, the show puts a musical spin on Terkel's trademark ability to draw compelling stories out of the everyday.
"the Couple next Door" in the Road less Traveled Theatre (639 Main St.), Friday through Oct. 3. 629-3069 or www.roadlesstraveledproductions.org. This world premiere "adult comedy" by local writer and journalist Donna Hoke explores one Grand Island couple's rocky entry into the swinging lifestyle. Road less Traveled co-founder and artistic director Scott Behrend directs Kelly Meg Brennan, Matt Witten, Luke Wager and Natalie Mack.
"the Furies of Mother Jones" in the Subversive Theatre Collective's Manny Fried Playhouse (255 Great Arrow Ave.), Thursday through Oct. 9. 408-0499 or www.subversivetheatre.org. In addition to O'Connell and Company's production of "Working," fans of that rarest of genres — the working-class musical — can also check out Subversive's seldom-produced version of this piece by Maxine Klein that considers the life and times of the revolutionary labor leader Mary Harris Jones.
"Bring on the Men!" in Theatre Plus' Main Street Cabaret (1 Curtain up Alley), Thursday through Sept. 25. 852-2600 or alleyway.com. This cabaret of comedy and music organized by maestro of camp Todd Warfield promises to be shocking, raunchy and not a little bit flamboyant. the piece, as Warfield writes, is "unofficially dedicated to the Bea Arthur in us all."
Special Engagements
"Basil and the Broad" in Buffalo United Artists Theatre (119 Chippewa St.), Friday through next Sunday. 886-9239 or www.buffalobua.org. the veteran cabaret duo performs a special Curtain up! set.
"Frank & Ella: together Again" in Theatre of Youth's Allendale Theatre (203 Allen St.) 884-4400 or www.theatreofyouth.org. A musical tribute to Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald starring Paul Maisano and Joyce Carolyn.
Eclectic Improv Company in Shea's Smith Theatre (625 Main St.), Friday. Buffalo's longtime comedy troupe performs its trademark brand of interactive improv for a special Curtain up! show.
Share This Post:
Other Posts That May Interest You:
- Jamboree kicks off season
Five Davidson County teams saw action in the area's largest scrimmage. Participating in the event were North Davidson, Central Davidson, Grimsley, Lexington, Ledford, West Davidson, Ragsdale, East... - The American Conservatory Theater – One of the Theater World's Most Prestigious Institutions
San Francisco is a one of California's most prominent cities, well known for its liberal ideologies and their love of the arts. The scenic backdrop of the... - Theater events this week
"BEEHIVE, THE '60S MUSICAL": A walk down memory lane for fans of 1960s girl groups and singers from Leslie Gore to Aretha Franklin also shows the contributions... - Curtain Calls: Judge turns detective in 'Curtains'
n n In-between grad school auditions and family reunions, actress Ginny Wehmeister has found time to do an incredible job with a very challenging role opposite one...
Posts From Around The Web:
