Broome Arts Mirror – Local Theatre Reviews
The Broome Arts Mirror is a group of volunteers affiliated with the Broome County Arts Council who write previews and reviews about local performances and arts shows. For inquiries, including having someone review your local production, please contact us at bamirror@broomearts.org.
SRO combats winter with lively fun — and a message
By George Basler As part of its season, SRO Productions III works to stage lighter fare with broad audience appeal each winter to get people through the cold weather doldrums, Artistic Director Scott Fisher said. And 9 to 5: The Musical fits the bill, he noted. Based on the 1980 movie, [...]
Pa. musician named to lead Madrigal Choir
Congratulations and welcome to the Madrigal Choir of Binghamton’s newly appointed artistic director, John M. Vaida. Vaida, whose tenure began Jan. 1, is only the third artistic director in the choir’s more-than-40 years history. He succeeds Founding Director Anne Boyer Cotten and the late Dr. Bruce Borton. Borton passed [...]
BLAST presenting spoof of friendship, celebrity and creativity
By George Basler Kylee Thetga said she was looking to play “something unapologetically funny and silly” when she signed up for one of the two lead roles in Matt & Ben, which opens Thursday (Jan. 16) for a one-weekend run at the Cider Mill Stage in Endicott. The two-character [...]
Binghamton Philharmonic to host ensemble concert
UPDATE: Concert is sold out, but you can contact the box office to be put on a waiting list. On Sunday (Jan. 12), the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra will host Ensemble Intermezzo for the second concert of its 2024-2025 Garufi Law P.C. Phelps Mansion Museum Series. The members of Ensemble [...]
Philharmonic wins national prize
The Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra, and its music director, Daniel Hege, have been honored by The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Art, which is the nation's most comprehensive series of contests in the performing arts. The Philharmonic received the prize for Orchestral Performance, 2024 in the [...]
BLAST’s ‘Making God Laugh’ entertains both as comedy and drama
Reviewed by George Basler One of life’s certainties is that it can throw you some curve balls. Circumstances change. You change. Plans you make at age 20 morph into something different when you reach 40. That’s the premise of Making God Laugh, a heartfelt “dramedy” by Sean Grennan that opened [...]
KNOW Theatre’s annual Playwrights & Artists Festival opens this weekend
By George Basler Rehearsing six plays over a period of some three weeks is a lot of work, says Tim Gleason, artistic director of Binghamton’s KNOW Theatre. So why does he do it? “It’s fascinating what happens,” he said. “Giving birth to something new is exciting.” What Gleason [...]
Holiday season provides a rich menu of local performances
By George Basler and Barb Van Atta As much a part of the holiday season as Santa Claus, long shopping lines and family get-togethers are popular annual productions by local arts organizations. From pop and classical music to holiday-themed plays and dance performances, the schedule is a full one [...]
BLAST to present warm play about changing family dynamics
By George Basler The play Making God Laugh takes its theme from a quote attributed to comedian/director Woody Allen: “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” The comedy/drama by Sean Grennan follows a typical American family (mother, father and three grown children) over a span of [...]
Philharmonic symphonic series continues Nov. 16
The second concert in the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra’s M&T Bank Symphonic Series, “Thresholds,” is being billed as “an evening of three remarkable works from across two centuries.” Featured on Nov. 16 will be Hilary Purrington’s 2020 piece Threshold, an atmospheric soundscape of driving rhythms that explores the boundaries between motion and stillness; Felix Mendelssohn’s evocative Hebrides [...]
TCO to present poignant opera about World War I
By George Basler World War I was a slaughterhouse that led to an estimated 15-22 million military and civilian deaths. But amid the carnage, there was a moment of light and hope when soldiers from both sides spontaneously laid down their arms and left their trenches to mingle, [...]
Rising ballet stars to perform at BU
The American Ballet Theatre Studio Company will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 9) at Binghamton University's Anderson Center for the Performing Arts. The ABT Studio Company, the junior company of American Ballet Theatre, is made up of 12-18 rising stars of the ballet world between the ages [...]
EPAC heading down Yellow Brick Road with ‘Wizard of Oz’
By George Basler Eighty-five years have passed since Dorothy Gale, Toto and their three companions traveled down the Yellow Brick Road to Oz in the 1939 MGM movie classic. But The Wizard of Oz remains as timeless as ever, according to Pat Foti, artistic director at the Endicott Performing [...]
Opening BCO concerts features student competition winner
By Lee Shepherd Follow your career path or indulge your passion? Can you do both? Of course you can, said Evan Meccarello, music director of the Binghamton Community Orchestra. Performers in the BCO – the area’s pre-eminent amateur orchestra -- “excel in their chosen careers while continuing to perform [...]
Philharmonic hosts return of Dolphins String Quartet
This Sunday (Nov. 3), the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra will host the Broome County return of the Juilliard-based Dolphins String Quartet. The concert is part of the Philharmonic's Garufi Law P.C. Phelps Mansion Museum Series. The quartet enchanted Binghamton audiences last year when, in a breakout performance, it filled [...]
