Gender studies
"Venus in Furs" is not pornography. We are told this several times by Thomas, the playwright appearing in the play "Venus in Fur" (note the singular), now playing on the Geva Theatre Nextstage.
By Eric Rezsnyak
May 22, 2013
Theater, Theater review, Geva, Nextstage, Venus in Fur, Masochism, S&M, Domination, Gender roles, Misogyny, Women, Meta, Plays about plays, Plays about books, Sex roles, Venus, twists, drama
Blackfriars Theatre has released the details of its 64th season, which
will start in October 2013 and run through June 2014. The
season begins this fall with "Me and Jezebel" (October 18-November 2), a comedy
starring local drag legends Aggy Dune and Kasha Davis
about actress Bette Davis coming to dinner at a fan's home and deciding to stay
a while.
May 20, 2013
Theater, Blackfriars, Rochester theater, Live theater
A frenzied, flamboyant 'Dream'
For a director, William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is always threatening to become "A Midsummer Night's Nightmare." The wide-ranging play, currently at Geva Theatre Center, dives headlong into comedy at the same time that it sidles more subtly toward tragedy.
By Michael Lasser
May 15, 2013
Theater, Theater review, Geva, Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare, comedy, Mark Cuddy, Skip Greer, fairies, farce, romp, Puck
A not-especially-funny girl
UPDATE 5/10/13: The JCC has announced that, due to popular demand, an additional performance has been added to the run on Sunday, May 19, at 7 p.m. You can understand why a community theater would want to revive a fondly remembered musical like "Funny Girl."
By Michael Lasser
May 8, 2013
Theater, Theater review, Funny Girl, JCC CenterStage, musical, Fanny Brice, Barbra Streisand, People, Don't Rain on my Parade, community theater
Viva la revolucion
The old adage says that misery loves company. The musical adaptation of Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables" has certainly had plenty of visitors over its nearly three-decade life span.
By Eric Rezsnyak
May 1, 2013
Theater, Theater, RBTL, Rochester Broadway Theatre League, Auditorium Theatre, touring productions, Les Miserables, Les Mis, Javert, Andrew Varela, Broadway, adaptation, musicals
The JCC CenterStage
released its 2013-14 season today, which includes several recent Broadway successes, a big musical comedy from Mel Brooks, and a showcase of the music of Burt Bacharach. The schedule follows.
May 1, 2013
Theater
The measure of a life
Intricate, delicate, and lovely are possibly the three words that best describe "33 Variations," the drama currently on stage at Blackfriars. The play, written by Moises Kaufman ("The Laramie Project," "I Am My Own Wife") and directed by John Haldoupis, is a nuanced look at the way people relate to one another, refuse to relate to themselves, reject human frailty, and ultimately come to grasp simple truths.
By Eric Rezsnyak
Apr 17, 2013
Theater, Theater review, 33 Variations, Blackfriars, Haldoupis, drama, Beethoven, ALS, classical, Moises Kaufman, Patricia Lewis
Bearing the scars
"The Whipping Man" by Matthew Lopez begins in desolation and ends with not much more than a speck of hope — a meager sense of opportunity if the characters can somehow overcome years (even centuries) of experience (and history).
By Michael Lasser
Apr 10, 2013
Theater, Geva Theatre, Whipping Man, drama, theater review, slavery, Civil War, Lincoln, Richmond, slave, Jews, Jewish, Judaism
A broom with a view
Since opening on Broadway in 2003, "Wicked" has had smashing success, breaking box-office records and becoming one of the most beloved modern musicals. It has a large, devoted fanbase and inspires the sort of passion in people so that they are eager to see it time and time again.
By Adam Lubitow
Apr 10, 2013
Theater, Theater review, Wicked, RBTL, Rochester Broadway Theatre League, Auditorium Theatre, touring production, Oz, Elphaba, Glinda, witches, Broadway, musical
Since opening on Broadway in 2003, "Wicked" has had smashing
success, breaking box-office records and becoming one of the most beloved modern
musicals. It has a large, devoted fanbase and
inspires the sort of passion in people so that they are eager to see it time
and time again.
By Adam Lubitow
Apr 5, 2013
Theater, Wicked, RBTL, Auditorium Theatre
Season defined by world premeires and award-winning dramas
Geva Theatre Center announced its
2013-14 season on Tuesday night. The 41st season will include several world
premieres and critically acclaimed dramas, and many shows with links to
Rochester or Geva itself.
By Eric Rezsnyak
Mar 19, 2013
Theater, Geva Theatre, Rochester theater, Robert Forster
Line-up includes "Phantom," "War Horse," "Once," and more
Still
riding high on last week's blockbuster run of "The Book of Mormon," the
Rochester Broadway Theatre League announced its 2013-14 season Wednesday night. The big news is that the subscription series has been increased to six shows
from five.
By Eric Rezsnyak
Mar 13, 2013
Theater, RBTL, Rochester Broadway Theatre League, War Horse, Ghost The Musical, Sister Act, Once, Phantom of the Opera, Rock of Ages
The situation is fraught
After it debuted in 2007, Tracy Letts' drama "August: Osage County" won just about every theater award that matters — Tony, Drama Desk, Pulitzer, New York Drama Critics' Circle, etc. The play itself is extraordinary, even though the subject matter is about as ordinary as you can get. A far-flung extended family is brought back together, and once the members are all contained in close quarters, long-simmering tensions reach a boil and long-buried truths explode.
By Eric Rezsnyak
Mar 13, 2013
Theater, JCC, Jewish Community Center, theater review, Rochester theater, Tracy Letts, August: Osage County, drama, dysfunctional families, yelling
It
was a huge coup for the Rochester Broadway Theatre League to book a run of the Broadway
smash "The Book of Mormon" during its first national tour. Local audiences have
taken advantage of the opportunity, with the six-night stand of the Tony-,
Grammy-, and Drama Desk-winning musical completely selling out the Auditorium
Theatre, save for the 20 tickets set aside for a lottery before each night's
performance.
By Eric Rezsnyak
Mar 6, 2013
Theater, Book of Mormon, RBTL, Auditorium Theatre, South Park, Theater review, Musical
Just shy of best-seller
UPDATED 3/4/13: Edited to reflect that Geva Theatre has extended the run of "The Book Club Play" to March 23. Karen Zacarías' "The Book Club Play" began life in 2008 and has continued to be workshopped, allowing the writer to polish and refine her script.
By Adam Lubitow
Feb 27, 2013
Theater, Theater review, Theater, Geva, Book club, Lit, Karen Zacarías
