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.
Philharmonic season off to an exhilarating start
Reviewed by Lee Shepherd How lucky we are to have such a sonorous and competent orchestra. The Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of José-Luis Novo, did itself proud Saturday evening (Oct. 1) with a performance of Niels Gade’s “In the Highlands,” Mozart’s “Piano Concerto No. 23 (K. 488)” [...]
HOTA Celebration is Thursday
Just a quick reminder that the Broome County Arts Council’s 2011 Heart of the Arts Awards Celebration will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 29) in the recital hall of The Forum, 236 Washington St., Binghamton. […]
Met opens with first-ever 'Anna Bolena'
Believe it or not, the Metropolitan Opera had never mounted a production of Donizetti's "Anna Bolena" before this season. The opera -- and the Met's 2011-12 season -- debuted Monday (Sept. 26); here's a link to The New York Times review: http://tinyurl.com/4xcevxa.
WSKG's 'Expressions' to showcase Finger Lakes Chamber Ensemble
Reviewed by Lee Shepherd Suppose you invited four of the finest chamber musicians in the Finger Lakes into your living room to play a private house concert just for you. That’s what a few dozen people enjoyed last Thursday (Sept.23) in WSKG’s Vestal studio, when the Finger Lakes Chamber [...]
Rizikov's love affair with Binghamton continues
Reviewed by Tony Villecco What can one say about a phenomenon of nature? I am convinced that 12-year-old Canadian pianist Anastasia Rizakov is actually a 40-year-old woman trapped in a child’s body. Deadly talented and mature beyond her years, this most gifted pianist adoringly admitted that she loved the [...]
Windsor Window on the Arts a welcome respite
The fourth annual Windsor Window on the Arts took place on the village green Sept. 17. A wide variety of artists attended this juried show. There also were performing groups,children's activities, historical presentations and demonstrations by chefs and blacksmiths. All joined to provide a relaxing time of enjoyment and a smorgasbord of arts.
Roberson, TCO and S.T.A.R. leaders honored with HOTA awards
By Barb Van Atta In a year that saw financial upheaval for even the nation’s most prestigious arts organizations, the Broome County Arts Council’s annual Heart of the Arts awards are going to people who have had the courage to guide established groups in new directions and the vision [...]
Lifetime Achievement spotlight shines on concert halls' 'man in the shadows,' Lance Hill
By Barb Van Atta To pop music, it is Billy Joel, but in the Broome County classical community, the true piano man is Lance G. Hill, who has been a tuner and technician for more than 50 years. Hill, also the host WPEL-FM’s weekly broadcast Music and the Artist, [...]
Casual concert a hit on the 'Rive Gauche du Chenango'
A brass quintet from the Binghamton Philharmonic played the first in a new series of “Casual Concerts on the River” Friday, Sept. 2, at the Peacemaker’s Stage on the Binghamton river walk. From Court Street to the stage, the promenade of the Chenango’s rive gauche (left bank) was comfortably filled with folks who took advantage of a beautiful evening to enjoy a delightful free hour-long concert in a modern but elegant outdoor venue in the heart of downtown. The Casual Concerts on the River, like the Collier Street Farmer’s Market Brown Bag Lunch concerts, which concluded their season earlier that same day, serve to showcase some of the myriad performing artists in a city which has become a center of art and culture in the region. Like First Friday and the recently inaugurated BiziNight, Casual Concerts on the River reflects a growing spirit of new life and energy in downtown Binghamton.
Back injury forces James Levine out for Met's fall season
The New York Times today (Sept. 6) is reporting that James Levine, the Metropolitan Opera’s music director, has withdrawn from all performances at the Met for the rest of the year after falling while on vacation in Vermont and damaging a vertebra. The injury, which required emergency surgery, comes on [...]
Beach Boys' concert exceeds expectations
Reviewed by Rebecca Sheriff I must admit I went into the Beach Boys’ concert Wednesday night (Aug. 24) at BinghamtonUniversity's Anderson Center with a few preconceived notions. My experience with the Beach Boys had been hearing my mom’s old LP when I was very young, and bits and pieces [...]
Sedaka hits woven seamlessly into CRT musical comedy
High-energy acting, strong vocals, flawless choreography and lighting, and a clever stage play combined to showcase songs of Neil Sedaka as the Chenango River Theatre in Greene presented “Breaking Up is Hard to Do” (Friday, Aug. 19). The Eric Jackson-Ben Winters musical comedy, premiered in Albany in 2005, wove in 16 of Sedaka’s songs so well that one would think they were written expressly for this show. The principals showed their versatility in a show demanding acting, singing, and dancing. The whole cast and crew worked smoothly together with good pacing, never losing momentum or energy. Two hours seemed to fly by. On so many levels, this was a thoroughly enjoyable show!
Food for thought: Is director of Broadway-bound 'Porgy and Bess' tinkering — or tampering — with a classic?
Proposed changes to "Porgy and Bess" before its Broadway revival range from replacing recitative with dialogue to brightening up the ambiguous ending. Supporters say this new, "Bess-centric" version fixes the original opera's thematic problems. Detractors, including Stephen Sondheim, complain of disloyalty to Gershwin's classic. (Check out this link to The New [...]
EPAC's 'Tempest' survives and surpasses many storms
Reviewed by Nicholas Linnehan I was very eager to see EPAC's summer Shakespeare production, The Tempest, at Endicott's George W. Johnson Park. It's my favorite Shakespearean work -- I love how it explores fantasy, spirituality and forgiveness -- so my expectations were high, and they were well met. Director Tim Mollen [...]
EPAC's 'Hair' was perfect summer entertainment
Reviewed by Rebecca Sheriff Last weekend I took a break from reviewing local bands to see the Endicott Performing Arts Center’s performance of Hair, the rock musical. The performance was outside at the Stage at Little Italy, the perfect venue for this dynamic show. Hair is a controversial musical that debuted in [...]
