Review: PRIVATE LIVES at Irish Classical Theatre
by Michael Rabice - June 09, 2024
Noel Coward may well have been the arbiter of all things regarding propriety , social class, and manners. So it may have come as a shock to some that his witty play PRIVATE LIVES, now playing at Irish Classical Theatre, makes it clear that his upper crust characters certainly do NOT always behave w...
Review: THE PRICE at Irish Classical Theatre
by Michael Rabice - April 21, 2024
Something wonderful has taken to the stage at Buffalo ‘s Irish Classical Theatre, as Arthur Miller’s THE PRICE is being presented in a near perfect production. This seldom produced play may sound somewhat stilted in it’s formality of language, but the story continues to be captivating, all these yea...
Review: MAMMA MIA! at Shea's Buffalo Theatre
by Michael Rabice - April 10, 2024
Guilty as charged. I openly admit I really enjoy the ABBA musical, MAMMA MIA! There is a time and place for all kinds of entertainment, and the birth of the jukebox musical can almost certainly be attributed to kind of show MAMMA MIA has become. Now 25 years after it's opening, the national tour tha...
Review: THE PAJAMA GAME at Lancaster Opera House
by Michael Rabice - March 11, 2024
A breakdown of union labor relations, abuse in the workplace and demands for higher wages surely doesn't sound like the stuff of musical comedy. Unless you're speaking of the classic 1954 musical THE PAJAMA GAME, now playing at the Lancaster Opera House. ...
Review: BETRAYAL at Irish Classical Theatre
by Michael Rabice - March 04, 2024
Eavesdropping, snooping or just morbid curiosity seemed to be the scene set in Harold Pinter's play BETRAYAL now playing in a riveting production at Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre. The playgoer sits on the sidelines, witnessing a deeply personal story of three broken people, best kept behind clo...
Review: THE LIGHT FANTASTIC at Road Less Traveled Theater
by Michael Rabice - February 23, 2024
It's not often that a horror story or the supernatural takes to the stage, so when a comedy turns dark, you know you're in for a night of the unknown. Ike Holter's play THE LIGHT FANTASTIC is full of surprises, twists and turns that kept the opening night audience engrossed in Road Less Traveled Pr...
Review: FUNNY GIRL at Shea's Buffalo Theatre
by Michael Rabice - February 14, 2024
Funny. In 1964 a newcomer named Barbra Streisand was the third or fourth choice to take on the role of Fanny Brice in the new Jule Styne musical FUNNY GIRL. The result catapulted a gawky Jewish girl from Brooklyn to superstar status. And the musical has never been revived again on Broadway.
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Review: ANNIE at Shea's Buffalo Theatre
by Michael Rabice - December 19, 2023
That famed comic strip red head Little Orphan Annie has returned to town just in time to celebrate Christmas in Buffalo. Charles Strouse's blockbuster musical ANNIE is touring the country again and the show will play at Shea's through December 23rd....
Review: AIR HEART at Revelation Theatre
by Michael Rabice - December 08, 2023
Buffalo's Revelation Theatre has chosen a intriguing piece of theatrical performance art in presenting the one woman play AIR HEART. The 65 minute show examines the life of Amelia Earhart, leading to her disappearance while on her famed flight over the Pacific Ocean in 1937....
Review: BRIGADOON at Shaw Festival
by Michael Rabice - November 27, 2023
The golden age of Broadway found lilting infectious melodies melding with captivating, if often whimsical stories. Lerner and Loewe's 1947 BRIGADOON ticked all the boxes in a world fresh off of World War II. The Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake has revived it's 2019 production and this version s...