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.
More thoughts about the arts and education
Did you catch the guest viewpoint in the Press & Sun-Bulletin yesterday (Feb. 26)? Gretchen Dandrea Blynt of Andes, a teacher at a school in the Catskills, wrote about New York state's recently adopted Common Core Learning Standards vis-a-vis an arts curriculum and the value of independent, critical thinking. Here's a link: http://tinyurl.com/74exzxn.
Civil War play debuts to full house at Roberson
Reviewed by Ralph Hall Since Binghamton was established in the early part of the 19th Century, its residents have contributed in many ways to most world events including the American Civil War. Laura Cunningham’s new play, Apron Strings, chronicles the lives of six of those citizens returning from this war. Produced by Terry McDonald, [...]
Kim, Jokubaviciute dazzle at BPO chamber concert
Editor’s note: Julian Shepherd kindly wrote this review so that his wife, BAMirror reviewer Lee Shepherd, could attend a Madrigal Choir of Binghamton rehearsal. Reviewed by Julian Shepherd Soovin Kim and Ieva Jokubaviciute, two young but already internationally-known artists educated in the United States, presented a top-flight performance of [...]
'Stomp' is a celebration of sound
Reviewed by Nicholas Linnehan On Valentines Day (Tuesday., Feb. 14), I, being single, took myself on a date — to see Broadway Theatre Leagues’ presentation of Stomp. I wanted something fun,and, more important, not romantic, and the touring company of Stomp delivered this well. […]
KNOW's 'Bus Stop' not to be missed
Reviewed by Ralph Hall Zac Chastain (Bo) and Jessica Nogaret (Cherie) in “Bus Stop” at Know TheatreA sold-out audience heartily welcomed KNOW Theatre’s production of William Inge’s play Bus Stop this past Friday night (Feb. 10). Few writers for the stage have Inge’s powerful command of the American language. With [...]
'A Broken Key' strings together different themes
Reviewed by Sarah Kuras While a piano played softly, out of the dark stepped three dancers. Each of them wove in and out of the music while a fourth dancer sat at a piano bench, mimicking the motions of a pianist. So began A Broken Key, the dance performance featured this [...]
You'd be mad to miss TCO's stunning 'Lucia'
Reviewed by Lee Shepherd Mayhem … Madness … Melodrama … Magic … The Tri-Cities Opera production of Lucia Di Lammermoor is a masterpiece, from the first fate-laden notes of the overture to the last fate-fulfilled note of the finale. […]
'A Broken Key' brings pieces together this weekend at BU
A Broken Key, a dance performance at Binghamton University which opens this weekend, is directed by JoEllen Kuhlman, an Owego native who teaches at Kathy Hansen School of Dance in Apalachin and has studied dance for 26 years. By Sarah Kuras Tell me the story behind A Broken Key. [...]
Gallery at 5 Riverside Towers featuring art from Williams collection
By Ralph Hall Galleries of art are very special places! Art is arranged to educate, to please, to entertain, to sell, and to expand our thinking, our appreciation, and our worlds. With each visit to a gallery, we find a new catalyst. Imagine what it must be like to [...]
Disturbing Shostakovich, delicious Beethoven lead another balanced BPO performance
Reviewed by Lee Shepherd It’s not a tune you’d go home humming. World-class cellist Amit Peled declared his adversarial relationship with his cello in the grim five-note motif within the first bar of the work, creating a tension that soon rose to a shriek. Hysterics, grimness, angst — these [...]
What did you do in the arts this week?
Last Saturday, my family caught S.R.O. Productions III's charming production of the Elvis musical All Shook Up. It was a fun show with some really good performances, and it was a delightful example of true community theater, mixing old pros and up-and-comers. As a friend pointed out, it was [...]
Andrews' theatrical career always worth following
By Ralph E. Hall In the mid-1970s, I had the pleasure of auditioning a very young teenager named Joe Andrews for the role of Sir Tom in Camelot (a Golden-Hall Production at the former Ramada Inn in Binghamton). The musical was produced in a dinner-theater seating. At one performance, [...]
'Writing' a wrong for Dr. King
Words MEAN something. Ask a writer. And the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a genuine artist when it came to words. It’s ironic then that a quotation carved into his new monument on the National Mall in Washington, D. C. takes Dr. King’s words out of context [...]
Silence that phone!
By now, everyone knows about the "I-Phone Marimba" moment that temporarily stopped the New York Philharmonic's performance of Mahler's Ninth Symphony. For the record and as continuing reminder to concert and theater goers everywhere, here's the whole cringe-inducing story.
Phelps Mansion, the holidays and Robert Rogers Puppets: A great team
EDITOR’S NOTE: A big BAMirror welcome to our newest reviewer, Ralph E. Hall. Hall has been involved with local arts for many years. In the 1970s, he co-founded Golden-Hall Productions, which produced many shows at the former Ramada Inn on Front Street, Binghamton. He served on the board of directors of a [...]
