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.
Cider Mill Stage hosting humorous yet serious lesson on the U.S. Constitution
By George Basler Hillori Schenker thinks some people view the U.S. Constitution as an old, distant document that has little bearing on their lives. Not so, said the social studies teacher at Montrose Area High School. She’s starring in the play What the Constitution Means to Me, which will [...]
Darkness dominates CRT’s skilled take on great Shakespeare play
Reviewed by George Basler A drum beats ominously. The stage is bathed in somber lighting. The set is stark and forbidding. An eerie tone dominates a production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, which is in the middle of a three-weekend run at Chenango River Theatre in Greene. Inventive decisions by director [...]
Ti-Ahwaga production exposes bitter truths in Hansberry’s prescient play
Reviewed by George Basler Five years after scoring a major success on Broadway with her play A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry threw critics and audience members a surprise left hook with a play radically different in tone and subject matter. While Raisin deals with the struggles of a multigenerational Black [...]
Ti-Ahwaga starts season with provocative play by major playwright
By George Basler The Light in Sidney Brustein’s Window is a play with a lot on its mind. It raises questions about American progressivism, race, political corruption and bohemian lifestyle, to name a few of its topics. “It’s definitely ambitious,” said Joseph Hoffmann, who is playing the title character [...]
BLAST’s ‘Gentleman’s Guide’ is boisterous, if sometimes uneven, fun
Reviewed by George Basler A serial killer is on the loose at the Cider Mill Stage in Endicott, leaving a large body pile in his wake. But don’t call the cops. It’s all done with a wink and a nod as BLAST (Bold Local Artists of the Southern Tier) [...]
Vocalists sing for a cause
Musical friends of pianist and veteran voice teacher Mary Lou Muratori will perform pieces from both Broadway and the classical repertoire Saturday (Oct. 5) at Tabernacle United Methodist Church, 83 Main St., Binghamton. Muratori, who is the organist/pianist and Tabernacle, will accompany the performers. A free-will offering will be [...]
CRT presenting Shakespeare’s masterpiece of murder and madness
By George Basler Murderous ambition, guilt and madness will be on display at the Chenango River Theatre (CRT) in Greene when William Shakespeare’s great play Macbeth opens Friday (Oct. 4) for a three-weekend run But this production will be different from your standard sprawling Shakespearean fare. Five actors will [...]
Opening Philharmonic concert celebrates nature’s healing power
The Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra is billing “Restless Oceans,” the first concert of its 2024-25 season, as a “thrilling program of music from across two centuries that celebrates the healing power of nature.” The concert Saturday (Sept 28) takes its title from the opening piece, Restless Oceans, by the [...]
BLAST starts season with murder and laughs at Cider Mill Stage
By George Basler A murder plot that is both fiendishly clever and hilariously funny will open BLAST (Bold Local Artists of the Southern Tier)’s fourth season at the Cider Mill Stage in Endicott on Friday (Sept. 27). The musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, tells the [...]
KNOW drama probes loneliness and emotional pain
Reviewed by George Basler The Sound Inside is not an easy play to get your head around. It’s far easier to let your emotions have a go at it. The tone is somber and ominous. The two characters are, at times, not particularly likeable. The plot is deliberately [...]
S.T.A.R. to present Chekhov’s masterpiece of a society in free fall
By George Basler Anton Chekhov wrote The Cherry Orchard in 1903 at a time of profound change in his native Russia. The aristocracy was in decline. The business class was on the ascent. Social unrest was in the wind. It’s a sign of Chekhov’s genius that he profoundly captured this upheaval [...]
Hit Men bring rock favorites to BU
At 7:30 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 14), Binghamton University's Anderson Center for the Performing Arts will host "The Hit Men: Classic Rock Supergroup" for an evening of sing-along favorites. Featured will be five musicians who have shared the stage with members of Foreigner, Cheap Trick, Wings, Journey, The Who and [...]
Blues on the Bridge returns for 22nd year
For the 22nd year, downtown Binghamton will be filled with the sounds of rock, pop and blues when Blues on the Bridge returns on Saturday (Sept. 14). Best of all, it’s free to attend! The event is centered around the South Washington Street Bridge. Organizers Donny Wilkins and [...]
KNOW opens season with thought-provoking character drama
By George Basler When he began reading Adam Rapp’s The Sound Inside earlier this year, Tim Gleason said he couldn’t put it down. The play’s language is “incredible,” and the themes of loyalty, friendship and devotion make it “one of the most moving plays I’ve ever been involved in,” the [...]
TCO, LUMA team up on Mozart opera
By George Basler Tri-Cities Opera is opening its 2024-25 season by merging classic opera with modern technology. The company has joined forces with Binghamton’s LUMA Projection Arts Festival to present an adapted version of Mozart’s masterwork The Magic Flute as part of this year’s festival. The production will incorporate fantastical [...]
