Michael Rabice - Page 2

Composer Carl Orff most certainly would never have imagined having his most beloved cantata Carmina Burana staged with costumes , actors, dancers, and scenery. As one of those most popular choral  pieces performed worldwide by Symphony Orchestras everywhere, the established tradition is to perform this  piece in standard oratorio fashion.

The  perennial festival favorite BLITHE SPIRIT is making a welcome to return to the Shaw Festival stage after 30 years. The result is a breezy romp that is sure to delight, thanks to the fine casting showcasing some of the company's best players.

The Provincetown Theater will be presenting their production of the longest running musical in theatre history. THE FANTASTICKS will take to the stage as the company presents an updated re-imagined version of the classic love story, written and updated by the original author, Tom Jones.

'A Musical Fable.' This is the subtitle that author Arthur Laurents chose when writing his script for the blockbuster musical 'GYPSY.' And after a  delay of almost 3 years due to covid, the Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake is presenting their version of this famed musical fable at the Festival Theatre. 

It's good to be reminded that there was a time when manners mattered, albeit at the expense of social end economic hierarchy. Oscar Wilde's delightful THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, now playing at Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre Company , is a gem of a production  worthy of it's own notoriety. 

When reality slaps you in the face and your personal problems seem unsurpassable, you may escape to the fantasy world of a Broadway musical. Unless the show's score is from Alanis Morissette, whose music peaked in the 90's with her unique Alternative  Rock style. And there emerges her musical JAGGED LITTLE PILL, based on her hit 1995 album of the same name.

Some of Broadway's great talents will once again be merging with the best of Buffalo's own actors to present a beloved hit from 1964--Jerry Herman's HELLO, DOLLY! Starring Buffalo, led by Artistic Director Drew Fornarola, has assembled a cast of nearly 50 for it's concert presentation of the classic show.

Everyone was raising the roof at Shea's 710 Theatre last night singing 'Yeah' as the little story of a drag queen who saves a failing English shoe shop captured the audience's heart in KINKY BOOTS

The Tudor Era meets the Girl Band as the six wives of Henry VIII take the stage in the flashy new musical SIX now playing at Shea's Buffalo. The girl singing groups of the last 70 years surely have paved the way for our regal queens, with the Spice Girls and K-Pop Girl Bands being more recent additions to the pop culture musical scene.

A classic American musical is headed to SUNY Buffalo with Rodgers and Hammerstein's CINDERELLA. This long held audience favorite was written for television audiences in 1957, where over 100 million people tuned in to get their first glimpse of a young Julie Andrews singing a score by the esteemed Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.

American History, Civil Rights, Black History and theatrical drama are magically melding on stage in the one act play THURGOOD that is playing at Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre.

What did our critic think of Just how wrong can everything go so that it looks wrong in a perfect way? That should be the goal in any good  farce. And the farce du jour these days seems to be the ridiculously absurd but oh so perfectly titled, THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG now playing at the Kavinoky Theatre. THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG at Kavinoky Theatre?

The stage can bring you to places never dreamed of before, but what about places that are even beyond your dreams...or nightmares. Lucas Hnath's THE THIN PLACE, now playing at Road Less Traveled Theatre, brings the audience along for a fascinating ride in this interactive play. The result is nothing short of brilliant as it's four players delve into a world that can only be experienced with the help of psychics or mediums.

Finding new ways to tell age old stories is as old as time.  Greek and Roman mythology, passion plays and Shakespearean tales are often updated or transformed from play to musical to opera or  even ballet.  Most recently the Broadway stage has found a new re-telling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth in the form of the TONY Award winning  HADESTOWN and the tour is playing at Shea's Buffalo through this Sunday.

A modern day memory play  of sorts with influences of Greek mythology may be one way to describe THE MAI,  now playing at Irish Classical Theatre. Never a company to shy away from complex topics, the drama that is unfolding challenges the viewer in a myriad of ways.

The best uplifting evening of theatrical magic is happening again just in time for the Christmas season. And no, it's not the annual Christmas Pageant at your family church. It is the remarkable true story of goodness that came out of the unthinkable tragedy of 9/11. COME FROM AWAY has returned to the Shea's Buffalo stage and it continues to enthrall audiences.

If ever there were to be a hope of peace, it couldn't be found any closer than the trenches of the battles fought in World War I. And a rare and hard to believe story of a single night of peace is what makes up the beguiling musical play ALL IS CALM: THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE OF 1914 now on stage at Shea's 710 Theatre.

The holiday season often brings about classic Christmas stories being retold and Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL is usually number one on most producer's short list. Instead, Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre Company is presenting  Dickens' GREAT EXPECTATIONS in a newer version by Neil Bartlett. And while the brief  Christmas theme is glossed over, the familiar characters still are ripe for this creative theatrical evening.

Christmas traditions may come and go, but watching the film WHITE CHRISTMAS has always been an obligatory part of the holiday season for me. And for the past 20 years or so, audiences can experience Irving Berlin's classic  live on stage. The Shaw Festival is presenting their joyous version this year on the Festival stage and the result is pure technicolor heaven.

The bonds of a true friendship rarely can be broken, even in the face of adversities.  The story of such a friendship is being beautifully told in Rajiv Joseph's gripping one act play GUARDS AT THE TAJ now playing at Road Less Traveled Theater.