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.
Were the arts part of your week?
I "art-walked" on First Friday; how about you? What have you been doing in the arts this past week?
Cider Mill's 'End Days' is humorous take on a desperate situation
Reviewed by George Basler The Stein family in End Days takes dysfunction to a whole new level. Dad is nearly catatonic after surviving the 9/11 attacks; Mom is a strident “born again” Christian; their daughter has embraced the “Goth girl” lifestyle complete with black eye makeup and cynicism. Their [...]
Bilingual Bard entertains at BU
Reviewed by Lory Martinez A clever bilingual adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream opened last weekend in the Watters Theater of Binghamton University's Fine Arts Building, presented by BU's Theatre Department in conjunction with Chile's Duoc Universidad Catolica. Directors Tom Kremer and Rodrigo Nunez have collaborated successfully to present a Spanish/English version [...]
Annual BHS dance showcase is this weekend
By Nancy Oliveri If you want to feel great about the state of arts education in Broome County, you should make every effort to attend a performance this weekend of the annual spring dance program at Binghamton High School. Four Elements features everything from African to pop, jazz to [...]
TCO offers dramatic double bill
Reviewed by Tony Villecco On Wednesday evening (April 24), I attended the final dress rehearsal for Tri-Cities Opera’s double bill of Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci and Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana. Let me preface this review by stressing that singers sometimes "mark" or do not sing full out during rehearsals in order to save [...]
Madrigal Choir merges 'elements' of musical style with yin and yang of a lovely spring outing
Reviewed by Nancy Oliveri At Binghamton's Trinity Memorial Episcopal Church Sunday afternoon (April 21), the Madrigal Choir of Binghamton celebrated earth, air, fire and water, keeping with the spirit, if not the letter, of yin and yang, the Chinese concept for which the concert was named. The program was [...]
BPO vividly paints in sound and color
Reviewed by Lee Shepherd Saturday night’s Binghamton Philharmonic concert (April 20) at Binghamton University's Anderson Center celebrated Maestro José-Luis Novo’s 10th anniversary and showcased the principals in the orchestra, leaving no doubt that the Philharmonic is in top form. Novo chose a program of Respighi’s Fountains of Rome, Elgar’s [...]
Were you art-full this past weekend?
Did you perform? Rehearse? Gallery-hop? Attend a performance? Please share your art-full adventures.
Organ society presentation and organ restoration both labors of love
By Lee Shepherd I’m really late coming to the table. I just discovered the Binghamton Theater Organ Society and attended a delightful evening of Charlie Chaplin films Saturday (April 13) with master theater organist Jim Ford and lecturer Joyce Jesionowski. Performing on the Robert Morton Organ at The Forum, [...]
Know Theatre’s 'Strange Snow' shows impact of war long after last round is fired
Reviewed by Nancy Oliveri Steven Metcalfe’s Strange Snow, which opened Friday night (April 12) at the Know Theatre in Binghamton, centers around two Viet Nam veterans and the continuing impact of the war on their lives. It’s been years since David Flanagan (Nick DeLucia) came home from Viet Nam. He is [...]
Annual BU dance showcase is mesmerizing
EDITOR'S NOTE: Because, yes, it's another busy weekend for the arts in Broome County, our reviewer attended the final dress rehearsal of Cosmogony. Reviewed by Nancy Oliveri Ten talented dancers, students in the Binghamton Theatre Department, will take the stage this weekend (April 12-14) during Cosmogony, B.U.'s annual dance show. In [...]
Landmark Chaplin films get Broome County showing
By George Basler The year 1916 was a big one for Charlie Chaplin. Already famous, Chaplin became the highest paid entertainer in the world when he signed a contract with Mutual Film Corp. for the then-astounding annual salary of $670,000. Equally important: Mutual allowed the actor/director total artistic freedom to [...]
Have the arts been a part of your week?
My son and I attended the Basically Bach spring concert last night (April 9). We admired the performance and marveled at how different a piece of music -- in this case, the Easter portion of Messiah -- sounds when you're out in the audience, getting the full blend of [...]
Hinman troupe's 'The Laramie Project' draws crowd at BU
Reviewed by Lory Martinez The closing night performance of Moises Kaufman's The Laramie Project by Binghamton University's Hinman Production Company (HPC) had the largest crowd the troupe had ever seen, and with good reason. The play tell the story of Matthew Shepard, a college student who was brutally beaten to death [...]
'The Aliens' opens thesis play season at Binghamton University
Reviewed by Lory Martinez Andrew Tooley’s directorial debut -- of The Aliens by Annie Baker -- transported Binghamton University audiences to a sleepy town in Vermont this past weekend with a coming-of-age story that is as enlightening as it is endearing. The production was the first of four graduate [...]
