Broome Arts Mirror
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.
High schools set dates for musicals
A great big "thank you!" as always to Rich Ives of the OA Music Boosters and Spare Productions for once again assembling a high school musical season poster.
TCO streaming free holiday concert
By George Basler As a holiday present to the community, Tri-Cities Opera is offering a free streaming concert for the month of December, company officials have announced. The hour-long special, billed as Gather Together: A Musical Potluck, will feature performances by TCO alumni, current resident artists and students in [...]
Lou Ligouri remembered with songs and thanks
By George Basler Friends of Lou Ligouri gathered last Saturday (Nov. 20) at the Endicott Performing Arts Center to remember the man they called “larger than life” and a welcoming presence in their lives. The evening, billed as a tribute concert, was filled with songs, reminiscences, accolades and laughs, [...]
Baroque ensemble memorably interprets Bolling’s hybrid works
Reviewed by Katherine Karlson The crossover of classical music and chamber jazz was never better developed than by the late French composer Claude Bolling. Last night (Nov. 12), a talented group of local musicians gave the audience at Endicott's Cider Mill Stage a sense of the drive, complexity and [...]
Get ready to laugh: EPAC’s ‘Something Rotten’ is a solid smash
Reviewed by George Basler Shakespeare is universally recognized as the greatest playwright in the English language. But did you know he was also an Elizabethan rock star complete with screaming groupies, flashy dance numbers and an over-inflated ego? That’s just one piece of zaniness on display in the musical [...]
BAMirror writer shares memories of the late Jake Gardner
Baritone Jake Gardner, tenor Tony Villecco (1998) EDITOR'S NOTE: TCO baritone Jake Gardner passed away Nov. 2. Please scroll down through BAMirror for an obituary article. By Tony Villecco Starting out When I was a sophomore in high school, I started voice lessons with Jake Gardner. This [...]
Deck the halls: Arts groups return with holiday favorites
By George Basler Last year was a blue Christmas for arts organizations in Broome and Tioga counties as COVID-19 forced the cancellation of their traditional holiday performances. Not so this year. Organizations are planning a full schedule of holiday favorites that are coming back after a year’s absence. The [...]
Charismatic TCO star Jake Gardner mourned by fans and colleagues
EDITOR'S NOTE: Here is link to Gardner's obituary, which ran in the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal: https://tinyurl.com/4s2y39nx. By Barb Van Atta Tri-Cities Opera favorite Jake Gardner died Tuesday evening (Nov. 2) at his home in Kennerville, N.C., at the age of 73. The bass-baritone suffered a heart attack after a [...]
BPO brings Hogwarts to Binghamton through magical music
Reviewed by Katherine Karlson Magic as well as melody was in the air last Saturday (Oct. 30) as the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra opened its pop season with the music of Harry Potter. Even before the orchestra members took up their instruments at The Forum in Binghamton, attendees could spy [...]
Cider Mill Stage’s ‘Deathtrap’ provides gasps and laughs
Reviewed by George Basler Take five reprehensible -- or eccentric -- characters, mix with some humor and a dose of malice, stir well, and you have Deathtrap, which opened this past weekend (Oct. 29-30) at the Cider Mill Stage in Endicott. While it’s a bit dated, the comic thriller [...]
Lighting wizard John Vestal dead at 77
Broome Arts Mirror offers its condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of master lighting designer John Eloy Vestal of Vestal, who passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday (Oct. 27) at the age of 77. In 1973, Vestal joined the faculty of the then-SUNY Binghamton (now Binghamton University) Department of [...]
BU’s ‘Triptych’ offers three visions of coping in times of challenge and crisis
Reviewed by Katherine Karlson The Binghamton University Theatre Department launched its 2021-2022 season Thursday (Oct. 21) with a thought-provoking collection of one-act plays titled Triptych: An Experience in Three Acts. Director Elizabeth Mozer has carefully connected works by Bertolt Brecht, August Strindberg and contemporary playwright Kristin Idaszak through their [...]
Theater community mourns local favorite Claus Evans
By Nancy Oliveri News of actor Claus Evans’ death Monday (Oct. 18) impacted the Southern Tier theater community almost like a “pause for effect” in a dramatic reading. The script is open in front of the performers, but they’ve momentarily lost their place, and their composure, with a marked [...]
Calling all ‘Twilight Zone’ fans: Historical Society hosting lecture on Binghamton’s own Rod Serling
By George Basler Fans of Rod Serling and his classic television program, The Twilight Zone, can learn more about his life and career Wednesday, Oct. 20, in a presentation sponsored by the Broome County Historical Society. Lawrence “Larry” Kassan, coordinator of special events and theatre for the Binghamton City [...]
Binghamton Community Orchestra returns with a full season
By George Basler After being shut down by COVID-19 last season, the Binghamton Community Orchestra is returning with three concerts planned for 2021-22. The orchestra, formed to allow community musicians to perform great orchestral works, will be under the direction of its new music director, Evan Meccarello. The season [...]
