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.
Ti-Ahwaga Community Players’ ‘The Elephant Man’ opens April 5
By George Basler The Tony Award-winning play The Elephant Man shows how intelligence and inner beauty can be hidden under a grotesquely ugly exterior. “It’s beautifully written and tells a fascinating story,” said Zach Curtis, who is directing a production at the Ti-Ahwaga Performing Arts Center in Owego, It [...]
Savoyards find 21st century laughs in 19th century play
Reviewed by George Basler When London Assurance debuted in 1841, the comedy was a smashing success. Its author, Irish playwright Dion Boucicault, went on to become one of the most prolific and popular playwrights of the mid-to-late 1800s. Is the play still funny more than 180 years later? The [...]
Philharmonic presents two acclaimed young classical musicians at the Phelps
Following a recent concert, the publication Urban Milwaukee noted: “If violinist Melissa White and pianist Pallavi Mahidhara are the future of classical music, then the future is bright!” Not only are they two of the most highly acclaimed young classical musicians on the scene today, but they are friends [...]
BLAST’s Del Valle offers heart-wrenching portrait of jazz great Holiday
Reviewed by George Basler Jazz singer Billie Holiday was a performer whose immense talent tragically went hand in hand with an immense capacity for self-destruction. Both aspects are on display in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, which opened this past weekend (March 1-3) and will run [...]
Summer Savoyards staging 19th century laugh fest
By George Basler Mary E. Donnelly calls London Assurance “the funniest play you’ve never heard of.” She describedsthe high-spirted comedy, first performed in 1841, as part battle of the sexes, part battle of the generations and part battle between country life and city life. Most importantly, it’s filled with [...]
BLAST to present Billie Holiday’s life and legend at Cider Mill Stage
By George Basler Bold Local Artists of the Southern Tier (BLAST) is offering a change of pace in its next production, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, opening March 1 for a two-weekend run at the Cider Mill Stage in Endicott. The play, written by Lanie Robertson, is [...]
BU opera students offer laughter and tears
Binghamton University Voice and Opera will present Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi at 7:30 p.m. today (Feb. 23) and 3 p.m. Sunday (Feb. 25) in the Anderson Center Chamber Hall on campus. Admission is $10 ($5 for seniors and free for students); visit https://andersoncenter.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket/. Stage director for [...]
Let Philharmonic Pops brighten your weekend
Beat back the winter doldrums Saturday (Feb. 24) at “Pops at the Forum” as the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra Pops present bright, brassy favorites from stage, screen and your favorite rock radio channel. On the program are such classics as Wagner’s "Ride of the Valkyries" and Rimsky-Korsakov’s "Flight of the [...]
Singers’ Collective concert features Vaughan Williams Mass
On Saturday (Feb. 24), the Southern Tier Singers’ Collective, will present “Arches in Sound,” a choral concert highlighted by Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Mass in G Minor. This soaring work for double choir will take full advantage of the impressive acoustics of St. Patrick’s Church in Binghamton. Also on the [...]
S.T.A.R. to immerse Phelps Mansion in Shakespeare
By George Basler Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare’s classic play of “star crossed lovers,” has entranced audiences for centuries. Over the next few weeks, however, their courtship won’t take place on the streets of Verona, but in the rooms and hallways of the Phelps Mansion Museum in downtown Binghamton. [...]
BU guest director guides student actors to their Chekhov debuts
By George Basler Bringing Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters “fully alive” for modern audiences is the goal that Will Pomerantz has set for himself as he directs a production of the classic play at Binghamton University. The drama opens Feb. 22 in BU's Watters Theater. Pomerantz has cut some minor [...]
KNOW Theatre actors shine in thorny play about relationships
Reviewed by George Basler The play Becky Shaw opened this past weekend(Feb. 9-11) five days before Valentine’s Day at KNOW Theatre in downtown Binghamton. While this is probably coincidental, it’s fitting, because the play focuses on the dating scene and the sometimes tumultuous relationships between men and women. Don’t expect [...]
Ti-Ahwaga’s ‘Cabaret’ is stunning production of a classic musical
Reviewed by George Basler The events in Cabaret occurred 90 years ago. The musical premiered nearly six decades ago in 1966. But it’s in no way a museum piece. Instead, its theme of a malevolent political party coming to power by exploiting hatred of “the other” remains disturbingly relevant. [...]
Binghamton Community Orchestra to perform inventive work by major Finnish composer
By George Basler When Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara passed away in 2016, Forbes magazine called him “a giant of beauty,” who wrote mesmerizingly beautiful music.” While he’s less well-known in the United States, he’s considered the best-known Finnish composer after Jean Sibelius, said Evan Meccarello, music director of [...]
TCO’s ‘Fantasticks’ offers new twist but classic sentiment
By George Basler The musical The Fantasticks is a classic example of an underdog that became a champion. The show opened Off-Broadway in 1960 to mixed reviews and virtually no advance sale. A quick closing seemed certain. But word of mouth saved the show. Audiences were entranced by the [...]
