Broome Arts Mirror
Coping with COVID: BPO scrambles to preserve season
EDITOR's NOTE: In these distressing times, we need the arts more than ever, but the pandemic has wreaked havoc with performance and exhibition schedules. Over the next several weeks, BAMirror writer George Basler will be reporting on how local arts organizations are "Coping with COVID." By George Basler The [...]
Another Day on the Broome Art Trail
The following rural travel guide for Broome Art Trail 2020 was written by Connie Barnes, Artisan Gallery Retail Manager and Broome Art Trail Site Coordinator After a very successful and pleasant drive last week, we struck out this past Saturday on the 2020 Broome Art Trail to explore a [...]
One Day on the Broome Art Trail
The following rural travel guide for Broome Art Trail 2020 was written by Connie Barnes, Artisan Gallery Retail Manager and Broome Art Trail Site Coordinator I’ve always loved the fall art trail events in our region. Every year I’ve made it a point to travel the Susquehanna County Art [...]
New BCO music director plans diverse programs
By George BaslerEvan Meccarello’s musical tastes run a wide gamut from Handel and Ravel to hip hop and rap.Asked to name composers at the top of his listening list if he was marooned on a desert island, the Rochester-based conductor and violinist names Brahms and Bach.But he also names [...]
Get your ears out: KNOW Theatre goes on the air with audio plays
By George BaslerThe fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has shut down the local community theater scene is one more reason to bemoan 2020 which has been, to paraphrase a T-shirt I bought, a truly “sucky” year.That’s why a project being launched by the Binghamton-based KNOW Theatre is welcome news [...]
Ti-Ahwaga’s ‘Spamalot’ provides laughs galore
Reviewed by George Basler Spamalot begins with a quick summary of the good old days of the Middle Ages when plague, pestilence, wars and more plague were the order of the day. Not exactly a laugh riot, but don’t tell that to the inspired cast of zanies now on [...]
Summer Savoyard actors delight in dark Irish comedy at the Bundy
EDITOR's NOTE: Due to concerns about the coronavirus, this weekend's performances (March 13-15) have been canceled. Patrons who have prepaid for tickets will be contacted. By Katherine Karlson Nothing will get you into the spirit of the Emerald Isle and all things Irish ahead of St. Patrick’s Day better [...]
Strong EPAC cast tackled non-traditional musical
EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to a computer glitch, this review, originally published on Feb. 16, was erased from Broome Arts Mirror. It is being reprinted (in updated form) for archival purposes. By George Basler Songs for a New World is not a show in which audiences see spectacular dancing or [...]
One chance remains to catch EPAC’s out-of-the-world twist on Shakespeare
Reviewed by George Basler “Oh, what brave new world that has such people in it” is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous, and quoted, lines. Little did the Bard know that, one day, that passage from The Tempest could refer to a hologram, a monstrous cybernetic-controlled creature and a [...]
KNOW cast shines when telling sordid tale of ‘Killer Joe’
Reviewed by Katherine Karlson Imagine the cursed fate of the House of Atreus unfolds in a dismal Texas trailer park, and you have some inkling of the murder, mayhem and vicious stupidity on offer in the riveting production of Killer Joe that opened Feb. 14 at Binghamton's KNOW Theatre. [...]
Phelps Mansion’s ‘Hamlet’ cooks up potent stew of murder and revenge
EDITOR's NOTE: All of this weekend's performances of William Shakespeare's Hamlet were sold out when this review was filed following the final dress rehearsal on Wednesday (Jan. 29), but late cancellations could make some tickets available. Contact information is listed at the bottom. By George Basler Revenge, murder, madness [...]
S.R.O’s ‘Matilda: The Musical’ brightens up winter at Schorr Family Firehouse Stage
Reviewed by Katherine Karlson The proliferation of Disney-themed musical plays that have become Broadway staples over the past decades may lull parents into thinking Matilda: The Musical is yet another in that diabetes-inducing parade. Instead, be prepared for a darkly funny and well-performed fable that will appeal to adults [...]
New club brings laughs to Binghamton
By George Basler The Boho Comedy Club opened four months ago at the DoubleTree Hotel in Binghamton with the laudable goal of bringing community residents some laughs. Since then, it’s established a niche in the community, hosting four stand-up comedy shows a month, often to sold-out audiences, and endeavoring [...]
Celebration of Life to be held Jan. 4 for HOTA recipient Bill Nurse
The Broome County Arts Council and Broome Arts Mirror extend sincere condolences to the family and friends of William T. Nurse Jr., who died Dec. 29, 2019. The 2007 Heart of the Arts Lifetime Achievement honoree was 75. A celebration of Bill’s life will be held from 2 to [...]
BPO finds its jazzy groove
Reviewed by Barb Van Atta Saturday night (Nov. 9), the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra turned The Forum in Binghamton into the world’s largest supper club as, with its “Simone, Ellington & Parks” concert, it seamlessly moved between the worlds of jazz and traditional classical music. And, as Maestro Daniel Hege [...]
