This week's discussion takes us from Niagara on the Lake's Shaw Festival's MAHABHARATA to BEETLEJUICE's young star Isabella Esler (as Lydia) to a group of young men in a prep school gospel choir at Ujima's CHOIR BOY, to a mother-daughter musical by Kander & Ebb called THE RINK at OCC's new theater on Bailey Avenue, as Buffalo United Artists (BUA) take a slightly new direction in a different theater (545 Elmwood) with MEDIOCRE HETEROSEXUAL SEX about a lesbian "experimenting" with the other team.
Be sure to sign up for Anthony's (free) blog theatertalkbuffalo.com to stay up to date on theatrical happenings in and out of town.
LOCAL LISTINGS ARE PRESENTED AS FOLLOWS: CLOSINGS (last chances to see these plays), then OPENINGS, then CONTINUING, then OPENINGS LATER IN MARCH.
CLOSINGS (alphabetically by title)
BEETLEJUICE, part of the M&T Broadway series at Shea's, March 21-26, Tuesday - Friday at 7:30, Saturday at 2:00 and 8:00, Sunday at 1:00 and 6:30. At Shea's Buffalo Theatre, 646 Main Street Buffalo, NY 14202. 716-847-1410 sheas.org/buffalo-theatre
BEETLEJUICE BLURB: He earned his stripes on Broadway… now the ghost-with-the-most is coming to Buffalo. Based on the 1988 Tim Burton movie starring Michael Keaton, there's a recently deceased couple who, now as ghosts haunting their former home, contact Beetlejuice, an obnoxious and devious "bio-exorcist" from the Netherworld, to scare away the house's new (living) inhabitants.
Producer's note: the show contains strong language, mature references, and a lot of the crazy, inappropriate stuff you would expect from a deranged demon. Recommended for 10+. Parental discretion is advised.
_____
MAHABARATHA, PARTS 1 and 2, (separate plays) by Ravi Jain and Miriam Fernande, using poetry from Carole Satyamurti's "Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling," directed by Ravi Jain, presented by The Shaw Festival, February 28 - March 26, in repertory, with shows at 1:00 and 7:00. At the Shaw Festival Theatre, 10 Queen’s Parade, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. 1-800-511-SHAW shawfest.com
MAHABARATHA BLURB: WORLD PREMIERE. Presented in conjunction with Toronto’s innovative Why Not Theatre, Mahabharata (pronounced “Ma-ha-BAR-ah-tha”) is a contemporary take on a Sanskrit epic that is more than four thousand years old and foundational to Indian culture. This gripping story of a family feud is an exploration of profound philosophical and spiritual ideas. Mahabharata is a visually stunning spectacle presented in two parts that takes audiences on a journey through the past in order to write a thrilling new future. For the full experience of this epic story, Shawfest recommends seeing both Parts 1 and 2. You can experience both parts of MAHABARATHA in one day with the Khana community meal interlude, or on separate days.
Recommended for Grade 7+ | Age 12+ Approximate run time for
Karma (part 1): 2 hours and 30 minutes including one intermission and for Dharma (part 2): 2 hours and 15 minutes including one intermission.
_____
SECRET SOLDIERS: HEROINES IN DISGUISE By Wendy Lement, directed by Megan Callahan, presented by Theatre of Youth (TOY) March 4 - 26, Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 (no performance March 19). Recommended for Ages 8+
SECRET SOLDIERS: HEROINES IN DISGUISE BLURB: The secret history of women who fought as men in the civil war is revealed in this engrossing production. Several stories are uncovered in an interlocking set of true tales of battlefront women, with a focus on soldier Private Lyons Wakeman (a.k.a Sarah Wakeman) whose letters were discovered by her nephew in an attic years after her death.
In this unique production, the audience is enlisted to be medical officers who will decide the fate of Lyons Wakeman: whether the medical record will reflect this individual’s birth gender (and thus be denied a pension), or keep history hidden and receive all the benefits of military service. This play tells the true stories of women who fought in the Civil War as men.
TRAFFIC NOTICE FOR ALLEN STREET:
Allen Street has been fully CLOSED to traffic from Elmwood Ave to Wadsworth Street. TOY is accessible for pedestrian foot traffic on the sidewalk to our front doors at the box office, but there is no parking available on Allen Street in front of the Allendale Theatre due to the road closure. Please provide adequate time to park before the performances this weekend. TOY thanks you in advance for your understanding as the City of Buffalo works to finish this Allen Street project.
_____
THE THIN PLACE, a play by Lucas Hnath, directed by Scott Behrend, presented by Road Less Traveled Productions, starring Renee Landrigan, Margaret Massman, Kristen Tripp Kelley, and David Mitchell. February 23 - March 26 Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30, Sundays at 2:00 at the RLTP theatre, 456 Main Street, Buffalo 14202 (716) 629-3069 roadlesstraveledproductions.org
THE THIN PLACE BLURB: Everyone who ever died is still here, just in a different part of here. Linda can communicate with them. And if you believe, she can make you hear them, too — in the thin place, the fragile boundary between our world and the other one. With acuity, relentless curiosity, and a bit of magic, Lucas Hnath’s play transforms the theater into an intimate séance, crafting an unnerving testament to the power of the mind, which has a mind of its own.
Hnath was Tony Award-nominated for his play A DOLL'S HOUSE, Part 2 in 2017. He is also the writer of THE CHRISTIANS (produced at RLTP in 2018 (and later at Chautauqua), A PUBLIC READING OF AN UNPRODUCED SCREENPLAY ABOUT THE DEATH OF WALT DISNEY (which was, actually, produced at RLTP in 2015), and ISAAC'S EYE. Awards include the Whiting Award, Guggenheim Fellowship, Kesselring Prize, Outer Critics Circle Award for Best New Play, Obie Award for Playwriting, Steinberg Playwright Award, and the Windham-Campbell Literary Prize.
_____
CONTINUING (alphabetically by title)
CHOIR BOY, a play with music, by Tarell Alvin McCraney, directed by Karen Saxon, who also arranged the music, starring Brian J. Brown, with Joshua Garrett, Justin Garrett, Cordell Hopkins, Paris Glenn; Gerald Ramsey and Ross Hewitt. March 16 - April 2, Thursdays and Saturdays at 7:30 (there are no Friday performances) and Sundays at 6:00 in the Lorna C. Hill Theatre, 429 Plymouth Street, Buffalo, NY www.ujimacoinc.org
CHOIR BOY BLURB: This life-affirming “play with music,” is a coming-of-age story about a group of boys approaching adulthood in prestigious all-Black boys prep school. Director Karen Saxon wrote “Choir Boy is a raw, compelling, controversial and compassionate story, pregnant with the juxtaposition of faith and doubt. The playwright does a masterful job of presenting each character as fully human, faults and all. McRaney’s poignant script is filled with deft observations on class, race and sexuality. It is a story about responses to human differences, to identity, to sexuality, and to bullying. The young actors become an ensemble of multifaceted characters whose lives are held together by the Gospel music they sing beautifully and the humanity that they, and we, all share."
_____
MEDIOCRE HETEROSEXUAL SEX by Madison Wetzel directed by Mia LaMarco presented by Buffalo United Artists (BUA) starring Stefanie Warnick, Blaise Mercedes, Ben Caldwell, Sean Patrick Ryan, and Katie Gaisser. March 17 - April 8, Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30 pm at the Compass Performing Arts Center located at 545 Elmwood Ave. (the old TheaterLoft). Tickets are available at: www.mediocreheterosexualsex.bpt.me/ or
Walk-Up Purchases at the Door: CASH ONLY
NOTE: No One Under 18 Years Old Admitted – Content Warning: Nudity and Simulated Sex
MEDIOCRE HETEROSEXUAL SEX BLURB: A vexed exploration of gender, sex, power, and kink. Four hours after her girlfriend dumps her, Erin switches her Tinder setting to dudes because she hates herself. She quickly meets Aaron, who is straight, conveniently nearby, and only too happy to indulge her masochistic fantasies. To translate this deeply ambivalent first heterosexual experience, Erin seeks the advice of the only straight people she knows, Violet and Jeremy, a couple in a Dominant/submissive relationship. From playwright Madison Wetzell, who is currently pursuing her MFA at Brooklyn College. Mediocre Heterosexual Sex was a 2021 Finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival and a 2021 Semi-Finalist for the O’Neill Theater Center National Playwrights Conference.
_____
THE RINK, a musical, book by Terrence McNally, music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, directed by Joey Bucheker, presented by O'Connell & Co. March 17 - April 2, Fridays - Saturdays at 7:30, Sundays at 3:00, Extra matinee on Saturday, March 25 at 3:00, 4110 Bailey Avenue, Amherst, NY 14226 716-848-0800 oconnellandcompany.com
THE RINK BLURB: In Coney Island, New York, Anna Antonelli's roller rink is about to be demolished. Just as her hopes seem dashed, Anna's estranged daughter Angel returns, bringing new hopes and reopening old wounds.
_____
OPENING
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS presented by All4One Theatre Productions, DELAYED TO March 23 to April 2, Thursdays & Fridays at 7:30, Saturdays at 8, Sundays (3/26 & 4/2 only) at 2:00 at Shea's 710 Theatre, 710 Main Street, corner Tupper. 716 847-1410 sheas.org/710-theatre/
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS BLURB: In this timeless murder mystery, a snowdrift stops a train in its tracks at midnight. The next morning, an American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times while his door locked from the inside.
The show stars Anthony Alcocer (Col. Arbuthnot/Ratchett), Robyn Baun (Greta Ohlsson), Christian Brandjes (Hercule Poirot), Lissette DeJesus (Countess Andrenyi), Augustus Donaldson (Hector MacQueen), Gregory Gjurich (Monsieur Bouc), Lisa Ludwig (Mrs. Hubbard), Gabriella Jean McKinley (Mary Debenham), Annette Daniels Taylor (Princess Dragomiroff), and Ben Michael Moran (Headwaiter/Michel).
_____
THURGOOD, by George Stevens, Jr., directed by Steve H. Broadnax III, starring Brian Marable, presented by Irish Classical Theatre Company, March 31 - April 16, Thursdays - Fridays at 7:30, Saturdays at 3:00 and 7:30, Sundays at 2:00. 625 Main Street. Special programming April 1, 2, 6, 12, 13 and 15 can be viewed on website. (716) 853-1380 irishclassical.com/thurgood/#
THURGOOD BLURB: After successful productions at Detroit Public Theatre and Chautauqua Theatre Company, Guest Artists Broadway Director Steve H. Broadnax III and Award-Winning Actor Brian Marable bring Thurgood to ICTC. Performed as a one-man monologue, this stunning 90-minute intimate journey through the life of Thurgood Marshall portrays his life’s twists, turns, and triumphant rise as the first African American Justice appointed to the Supreme Court.
_____
OPENINGS IN APRIL
FIRST DATE, The Musical, Book by Austin Winsberg, Music and Lyrics by Alan Zachary & Michael Weiner, directed by Ray Boucher, presented by Niagara County Community College’s Department of Theatre, starring Alexis Cueva and Brian Cunningham. 4/19 at 7pm, 4/20 at 12:30, 4/21 at 7, and 4/22 at 3 and 7pm. Niagara County Community College, 3111 Saunders Settlement Road. For more information, please e-mail rboucher@niagaracc.suny.edu.
FIRST DATE BLURB: When blind date newbie Aaron is set up with serial-dater Casey, a casual drink at a busy New York restaurant turns into a hilarious high-stakes dinner. As the date unfolds in real-time, the couple quickly finds that they are not alone on this unpredictable evening.
_____
SIX, musical, by Toby Marlow and Lucy Ross, part of the M&T Bank 2022-23 Broadway Series at Shea's, Apr 25 - May 7, 2023, Tuesday - Friday at 7:30, Saturday at 2:00 and 8:00, Sunday at 1:00 and 6:00. Shea's Buffalo Theatre 646 Main Street Buffalo, NY 14202 716-847-1410 www.sheas.org/buffalo-theatre
SIX BLURB: "Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived!" From Tudor Queens to Pop Icons, the SIX wives of Henry VIII take the microphone to remix five hundred years of historical heartbreak into a Euphoric Celebration of 21st-century girl power! 80 minutes, no intermission. WARNING - The show is recommended for ages 10 & up.
_____
And, the rest of the M&T Broadway series at Shea's for 2022-2023 includes:
JAGGED LITTLE PILL Jun 6-11, 2023
and
DEAR EVAN HANSEN June 20-25, 2023 (a "special engagement")
