Arts/Culture

With 15 shows on stages this weekend (see Artvoice's "On the Boards" below) how can you choose? Go high (culture) with Puccini's opera MADAMA BUTTERFLY at Rockwell and DESIGN FOR LIVING at Irish Classical, or go low with the campy KILLER RACK (breast augmentation with extreme prejudice and great songs by Neal Radice) at the Alleyway or Mel Brooks' THE PRODUCERS at the Kavinoky.

Thirty historic sites in 21 counties in New York received $239,634 in preservation grant money, and they say it makes a difference in a region where the economy is struggling.

Curtain Up! this Friday night, September 15, marks the opening of the 2017-2018 theater season, with a formal dinner, some informal dining at Expo, shows along Main Street between Tupper and Chippewa (recently dedicated as "The Chris O'Neill Way"), but all over the area as well, including a spectacular version of Mel Brooks' THE PRODUCERS at the Kavinoky Theatre on Porter Avenue.

One day before Buffalo's Theatre District was set to celebrate its 2017-18 season, State Senator Chris Jacobs was inside one of the venues announcing that state money has been secured to help continue an ongoing capital improvement project.

There is another star on the Theater District's Plaza of Stars. Stephen McKinley Henderson, an award-winning actor on stage, screen and Broadway and a recently retired University at Buffalo faculty member has been recognized.

The 2017-2018 theater season has begun with the first of our Curtain Up! plays: PETER AND THE STARCATCHER: A GROWNUPS' PREQUEL TO PETER PAN directed by Chris Kelly, starring Renee Landrigan as "Molly" and Jesse Tiebor as "The Boy/Peter Pan"," two of the twelve actors who take on 100 roles.

The transition for immigrants trying to start a new life in Western New York is fraught with challenges—and more so for refugees uprooted by war and social upheaval. Resettlement agencies in our community assist families with basic needs, but a performing arts education group is helping children in Buffalo’s immigrant communities to develop a sense of belonging through music.

Did you know that Jerry Lewis got his theatrical start in Buffalo? At the age of 16 he was booed at a (now-gone) Burlesque house, but went back out on stage and started on the road to stardom.

The date has been set and you're invited! WNED|WBFO will be hosting a party on Monday night, November 6, 2017 in  honor of Anthony Chase and WBFO's weekly Theater Talk, on the air, continuously, for 25 years.

The Albright-Knox Art Gallery's AK Public Art Initiative, which has added color and flair to many Buffalo-area neighborhoods, has welcomed its latest addition. This one is in Buffalo's Niagara Street Corridor and celebrates the Latino and Hispanic heritage of the neighborhood.

They'll be bringing in the funk and bringing in the noise on Jefferson Avenue Friday and in LaSalle Park all day Saturday, as Funk Fest 2017 celebrates the music and its master, Buffalo-born Rick James.

Kirk Cameron made his way onto the national landscape with his role as the wise-cracking teenager Mike Seaver on the 1980s sitcom "Growing Pains." While he remains active as an actor and producer, Cameron's focus has changed dramatically over the last 25 years. WBFO's Jay Moran spoke with Cameron about his focus on marriage.

For over 700 years Joan of Arc has been an inspiration to millions, including such playwrights Shakespeare, Schiller, Shaw, Brecht, Maxwell Anderson and, just this year, a team of four women, members of Buffalo's "Brazen-Faced Varlets" theatrical troupe. 

Our region continue's to flourish as fertile ground for filmmakers - from small, independent artists to big Hollywood producers. As Western New York heads towards autumn, the film scene is once again heating up with some major projects about to get underway, with producers also putting out a call for local extras. Buffalo Niagara Film commissioner Tim Clark sits down with WBFO’s Pat Feldballe for the latest.

A unique musical event will take place on the Canadian Side of Niagara Falls Saturday evening.  WBFO's senior reporter Eileen Buckley says Rumble at the Falls provides a rich history of Native American music influence.  

Anthony went down to New York City to take in some Broadway shows: NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 (a sung-through musical adaptation of a segment of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace) at the Imperial Theatre; A DOLL'S HOUSE, PART 2 (which imagines what happens when Nora returns 15 years later) at the John Golden Theatre; and HELLO, DOLLY! starring Bette Midler at the Schubert Theatre.

By using multiple venues on multiple weekends, the Response Performance Festival stands out among the region's busy summer festival season. Torn Space Theater, which produces the event, begins the festival this weekend with "The Gathering" at Silo City.

Every theater season at the Stratford Festival produces a role people talk about. One of those this season is Beatrice-Joanna in Thomas Middleton and William Rowley's "The Changeling."

Barbara Cook, one of Broadway's leading sopranos, died at home in Manhattan at the age of 89. On Broadway, and on cast recordings (although not in the movie versions), Cook was best known for three roles: Cunegonde in Leonard Bernstein's 1956 CANDIDE (listen to "Glitter and Be Gay"); the librarian Marian opposite Robert Preston in 1957's THE MUSIC MAN (listen to "Till There Was You"); and Amalia Balash, the letter-writing heroine of 1963's SHE LOVES ME (listen to "The Ice Cream Song").

The economic power of Western New York's arts community is detailed in a new study from Americans for the Arts, which estimates a $352 million regional impact.

It's been one year since a newer Lucille Ball bronze statue was unveiled in the community where she grew up. People still come to the village of Celoron, located just outside of Jamestown, to see the image of the late comedy legend. And whether it's tourists or longtime residents, the consensus is that the newer Lucy is a vast improvement.

Theater Talk observes the passing of Sam Shepard, an American playwright (44 plays!) with a particularly edgy off-Broadway slant, who was also an actor, author, screenwriter, and director.

Tattooing in western culture was long associated with the fringes of society, but today is part of mainstream American life. And as tattooing has gained wider acceptance in the last twenty years, the imagery people choose for tattoos has changed dramatically.

WBFO Arts and Culture Desk reporter Scott Sackett visited a tattoo shop in Niagara Falls to see how the expanding demographic and social acceptability of tattoos have altered the art form.

The Artie Awards and theater community raised $20,000 for ECMC's HIV/AIDS and Immunodeficiency Services. WNED-WBFO were presenters of the 27th annual Artie Awards held June 5th. Artie Awards Founder and WBFO's Theater Talk co-host Anthony Chase presented the check to ECMC Monday.  WBFO's senior reporter Eileen Buckley says ECMC provides key HIV-AIDS services through its clinic.

The death of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sam Shepard has a member of Buffalo's theater community reflecting on his work. WBFO's Senior Reporter caught up with Theater Talk Co-host Anthony Chase.

Stage and television (MADAME SECRETARY, THE BLACKLIST, ELEMENTARY) actor Andy Lucien wasn't even born in 1967 when the Detroit riots made headlines, but from experiencing Watts and later Ferguson, he has been able to dig deep and get into character for DETROIT '67.