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.
BU’s ‘She Kills Monsters’ is imaginative success
Reviewed by George Basler She Kills Monsters is a play that deals with the serious topics of school bullying, adolescent anxiety and premature death in a way that’s goofy, irreverent and just plain fun. That’s a difficult combination to pull off, but a production that opened Thursday (May 5) [...]
BU’s ‘She Kills Monsters’ will confront issues faced by young people
By George Basler Brian Gillespie is a New York City-based director with a long list of credits and a website that says, “His work encourages audiences to transcend the realms of realism and actively engage their imaginations to co-create the theatrical event.” That’s the approach the 53-year-old director has [...]
Gregori owns the stage in BLAST’s ‘Master Class’
UPDATE: Director Kate Murray has posted the following on Facebook: "The remaining performances of Master Class have been canceled due to an unforeseen circumstance. If you have tickets for the performances on 4/30 or 5/1 and need assistance in exchanging your tickets or a refund, please contact the box [...]
Gregori’s ‘Master Class’ getting new production at Cider Mill Stage
By George Basler Andrea Gregori has made Maria Callas a signature role. She’s played the renowned and influential opera singer four times in theaters across the Southern Tier but never gets tired of the part in Terrence McNally's play Master Class. “I find her fascinating. The role is difficult [...]
Percussion in the Park comes to Rec Park for two Saturday mornings
Binghamton’s Recreation Park is the inspiration for, as well as the site of, two free concerts that will introduce youngsters to music and show how they can make it themselves. “Percussion in the Park” in Rec Park's OurSpace playground will feature a piece written by student composers from Binghamton [...]
BPO season finale to take audience on a musical meander
By Katherine Karlson The Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra completes this season’s musical journey back to live performance with two symphonic blockbusters and a modern composition that Maestro Daniel Hege compares to a breath of fresh spring air. “Wander: Symphonic Music of Dvořák, Rachmaninoff, Garrop” focuses its first half on the [...]
Organist’s concert will be tribute to César Franck
By George Basler This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of César Franck, the renowned composer, pianist, organist and music teacher. The Binghamton Chapter of the American Guild of Organists is celebrating with a special concert at 7 p.m. Friday (April 22) at United Presbyterian Church, 42 [...]
‘Meteor Shower’ provides brightest of black comedy at KNOW Theatre
Reviewed by Katherine Karlson A sparkling gem of black comedy has been hiding in plain sight at the KNOW Theatre since April 8, and anyone in dire need of an unfettered belly laugh should run, not walk, to catch it before it careens off stage on April 24. Steve [...]
EPAC delivers strong take on ‘JC Superstar’
Reviewed by Katherine Karlson The current Endicott Performing Arts Center production of Jesus Christ Superstar rocks. That is, it’s a half-century throwback to the heady time when popular music was used to tell dramatic stories from past historical eras. Think Pippin and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, the [...]
Wallenstein ‘off-the-charts good’ in Cider Mill’s fresh, funny ‘Buyer & Cellar’
Reviewed by George Basler The one-man show Buyer & Cellar is an off-beat little gem of a play that provides a satirical, very funny and occasionally poignant commentary on fame, wealth, self-absorption and celebrity hero worship. To make it work, the show needs a virtuoso performance by the actor [...]
KNOW Theatre to present Steve Martin’s absurdist comedy
By George Basler KNOW Theatre, known for presenting provocative and edgy dramas, is lightening up things with its next production, Meteor Shower, written by actor and standup comedian Steve Martin. The play is an adult comedy with “an absurd and off-beat” tone,” said Joshua Sedelmeyer, who is directing the [...]
TCO return to Forum marks debut of operatic collaboration
By George Basler Tri-Cities Opera will be breaking new ground when it presents Gioachino Rossini’s Cinderella Sunday (April 10) at the Broome County Forum Theatre. The performance will be the first ever collaboration between TCO and the Syracuse Opera. “It’s a test. We hope we can share resources and [...]
EPAC seeks to blend theatrical and religious experiences with ‘JC Superstar’
By George Basler Pat Foti can remember the controversy that surrounded Jesus Christ Superstar when it first opened on Broadway five decades ago. Some religious groups attacked it as sacrilegious, and New York critics didn’t much like it either, calling it gaudy and vulgar. “My father hated it,” Foti [...]
BLAST’s one-man play riffs on the true cost of fame and fortune
By Katherine Karlson To borrow a retailing metaphor, BLAST will offer a “Blue Light Special” when the one-man show Buyer & Cellar debuts Thursday (April 7). The award-winning play by Jonathan Tolins stars local funnyman Josh Wallenstein as a struggling L.A. actor who lands an unlikely gig in a [...]
Binghamton choirs joining to perform challenging cantata
By George Basler Forsaken of Man has been described as “forceful,” “dramatic” and “the 20th century St. Matthew’s Passion,” referring to Bach’s sacred music masterpiece. Composed in 1939, the 65-minute cantata is the work of Leo Sowerby, a composer, organist and teacher who was called “the dean of American [...]
