Theater Talk

Impresario Michael Shea, a "larger than life" character in the history of theater, opened "The Wonder Theater" on Jan. 16, 1926 (95 years ago Saturday) to bring vaudeville and Hollywood silent movies (accompanied by a mighty Wurlitzer organ) to 4,000 patrons at a time. Saved from the wrecking ball in the 1970s by concerned citizens led by Kurt Mangel and expanded later to handle large Broadway touring shows, it's constantly under renovation supervised by Doris Collins. Michael Murphy, president of Shea's Performing Arts Center, spoke with Theater Talk.

The very happy Alexandria ("Alex") Watts, Co-President of ARTA (the Association of Regional Theater Artists) has graced almost every major stage in WNY as a Green Monster, a "Squirrelle," a flying bat, and a pinkie-up tea drinking Jane Austen herione ("Miss Bennet") among many others. She chats about the mission of ARTA to provide "Community, Advocacy, Education, and Opportunity" for local actors. And, of course, her laughter provides a much needed antidote to all the stresses of our times.

Back in the 1980s, when many of today's performers (including Michele Ragusa!) were starting professional careers in Buffalo, Marc-Jon Filippone was a major figure, devoted to musicals, at all sorts of venues, from Ruben's Backstage on Pearl Street to the Lancaster Opera House to his own kitchen for after-show impromptu cabarets. Here Shakespeare in Delaware Park's Lisa Ludwig shares some memories, as does Paula Makar and Michael Lo Rocca.

Daniel Mertzlufft graduated from Lancaster High School in 2011 and headed off to the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam intending to become a music teacher, but as things turned out, he ended up in NYC composing and then one day made a Tik Tok sendup/homage to a typical end-of-act-one Broadway musical big finish number called "The Grocery Store" and now his phone rings off the hook. And when James Cordon of The Late Late Show calls, it's a LOUD ring. More on Mertzlufft below, but don't forget your ticket(s) for tomorrow night for Artpark's TAYLOR MAC'S HOLIDAY SAUCE...PANDEMIC! in support of local Pride groups with virtual after-party hosted by Anthony Chase and Javier Bustillos in honor of local artist Ari Moore.

Buffalo-based playwright Donna Hoke's work has been seen in 47 states and on five continents. And while theaters have been in lockdown now for eight months and shows are not being produced on stage, they are being written. Some are Zoom readings, others are finished solo works, some are autonomous works, such as novels or radio plays. Donna Hoke, published author of dozens of full length as well as 10-minute plays, talks about her recent activity as a playwright and blogger during the pandemic.

Chris Handley, the Alleyway Theatre's new Executive Artistic Director, along with Robyn Lee Horn, the new Managing Director, decided to drop the entrance fee to enter the annual Maxim Mazumdar new play competition and that expanded the pool with so much good material, they decided to offer a Digital Theatre Festival from November 6 through the 22nd. Visit the website for details.

While theaters are dark, theater companies are busy, including Chautauqua with a play filmed at and airing on WNED-TV (airdate: Monday, October 26, starting at 8). And airing on your device of choice will be TEA FOR THREE, filmed at the TR Inaugural site in Buffalo, about three First Ladies. Meet Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, and Betty Ford, a charming antidote to the politics of today, as explained by Mary Kate O'Connell. 

The Irish Classical Theatre Company is kicking off its 30th Anniversary Season with their first-ever digital theater performance of the work that opened their first "permanent" home (27 years ago) at the Calumet on Chippewa.  SEA MARKS by Gardner McKay is a love story about Colm, a lonely fisherman living on a remote island west of Galway and Timothea, a sophisticated, beautiful woman from the midlands of England (watch trailer here).  Presented virtually October 16 to November 1, 2020, tickets will be good for one night only (to be chosen by the purhaser). 

Dan Shanahan, Artistic Director of Torn Space Theater, the first company to have live productions in the '20-'21 season (outdoor, socially distant, masks required, site-specific at Silo City) has, like Shea's and many other companies, been using the shutdown to improve their space, including a huge four-lot outdoor facility at the corner of Fillmore and Paderewski (in Buffalo's old "Polonia" district).

Annette Daniels Taylor, born in NYC (Staten Island), is an Artie award-winning playwright, published poet, filmmaker, artist and costumer (and for awhile the personal stylist for actress Ruby Dee) whose first experience as an audience member in Buffalo was at the Paul Robeson and she was sold! Jumping in as a volunteer for the African American Cultural Center's "Jumpin' Jumbalaya" youth summer program, she went on to costume for the Robeson, where she is now the new Artistic Director.

Tonight is Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, and also "Curtain Up!" the start of the New Year of  theater in WNY. So we thought we'd "Better call Saul" and speak with Saul Elkin, Artistic Director and co-founder of the Jewish Repertory Theatre of Western New York, about the five plays scheduled for this "virtual" 20-21 season. Saul is excited about the opportunities to collaborate with the playwrights, one of which, Canadian Mark Leiren-Young, would most likely not be able to attend his own show, BAR MITZVAH BOY, starring Peter Palmisano, which opens the season and runs November 5-25, 2020.

He played with Count Basie, he played with Ellington, he wowed audiences at the piano in AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' and SOPHISTICATED LADIES and COOKIN' AT THE COOKERY, all at MusicalFare Theatre, and he's back there, livestreaming on Sept. 17 with jazz vocalist Ms. Alex McArthur and two days later streaming from the Kavinoky with John Fredo, whose jazz roots go back farther than most know.

The 39th Annual Curtain Up! activities which traditionally launch the new theater season in WNY have been reimagined for this year. Because of COVID-19 and government regulations, in lieu of the Curtain Up! dinner, live performances, and after-party on Main Street in the Theatre District it's all online. The Theatre Alliance of Buffalo (TAB) and Theatre District Association of WNY (TDA) are collaborating to present virtual, socially distanced Curtain Up! 2020 activities. Musicalfare's Doug Weyand explains. 

Shakespeare in Delaware Park’s 45th main stage summer season was put on hold this year due to the pandemic, but that has not stopped SDP from carrying on with the mission of free professional outdoor theatre. Their sold out "Live Intermezzo Season" began last Friday, Aug. 21, at the Olmsted Park Lodge Picnic area in Buffalo, with socially distanced touring productions (think “The Best Of The Bard”). 

D'Youville College's new president Lorrie Clemo is modernizing the campus with an historic sensibility and the Kavinoky Theatre is part of that renovation, with new seats on the way, a "Broadway style" entrance on Prospect Avenue, along with fresh paint, moldings, and detail work, says Executive Artistic Director Loraine O'Donnell. Anthony reports that it is stunning and he took some snapshots (below).

The Artie nominations are now complete (see below). Christopher Jackson (George Washington in HAMILTON) will be live streaming tomorrow night from NYC in an event to benefit Shea's. This coming Thursday, Buffalo native Jeffry Denman (THE PRODUCERS, CATS, etc.) will live stream with Randall Kramer at the piano. The musical DIANA will premiere on Netflix. And we note the passing of great Canadian actor Brent Carver, most famous as "Molina" in KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN.

The second wave of Artie Award Nominations went live on WBFO's Facebook page on Wednesday (final categories will be announced next Wednesday at noon) as read by a talented collection of 2019 winners (see the archives as lovingly maintained by MusicalFare's Doug Weyand). The first (and so far only) live theater of 2020-2021, Torn Space's SILENCE, is rapidly selling out. Find out more here.

The remainder of the 2019-2020 Artie Award Nominations will be revealed Wednesday August 5 and 12 at noon on WBFO's Facebook Live. Zoom continues to be the dominant platform which, while not technically "theater," is an excellent space for new play development allowing for a wider audience than a typical reading. COVID is forcing some changes as is #BlackLivesMatter which is demanding more than simply gestures. And, if traditional audiences can't keep up, then, "don't change their minds; change their faces."

The Artie Awards (Buffalo's "Tony Awards") ceremony is still on hold, but the nominations are appearing, including Outstanding Production of a Play and of a Musical. Awards come at the end of the creative process, and tonight you can watch Donna Hoke's  play in development, HEARTS OF STONE, streamed. But it all starts with a creative spark, and Ujima has a call for submissions to their August #ArtThatHeals showcase with the theme, "Black Lives Matter." See details on the Arties, HEARTS, and Ujima below.

Last week we mentioned Ethel Waters singing "Heat Wave" from the 1933 AS THOUSANDS CHEER by Irving Berlin as well as "Suppertime" (not "Summertime" by Gershwin) about a wife's reaction to news of her husband's lynching. Read Anthony's "op-ed" on wishful thinking in theatertalkbuffalo.com.  With Covid cautions, Torn Space Theater is opening SILENCE, an outdoor production starting July 31st. 

Ever optimistic actor activist Lorna C. Hill, who founded Ujima, the longest continuing running theater company in Buffalo, succumbed to cancer, while COVID-19 claimed Broadway star Nick Cordero. In other pandemic related news, Actor's Equity has schedule two shows in August in The Berkshires under very strict protocols, Spree magazine's July issue cover what's what, and Shea's has moved the touring (non-Equity, opening in Buffalo) production of TOOTSIE back? up? to December 1, 2020! Keep your season tickets!

Little by little, theater companies are getting better at zooming around the web, because, if it ain't online, it ain't. Period. The Antonyo Awards honoring black Broadway actors, etc. can still be seen. Visit Playbill.com for Mart Crowley's THE MEN FROM THE BOYS, tonight at 7 p.m., a sequel to THE BOYS IN THE BAND. Also tonight, at 8 p.m., "That's Shawbiz" features various Shawfest actors with very slick use of Zoom technology. On Sunday, at 7 p.m., SGT will offer PAGE TO STAGE: MISCAST where a number of favorite

The show can't go on (it's not just venue concerns, but rehearsals, tech, etc.), yet the fundraising must! Second Generation Theatre has elected to damn the coronavirus and go full speed ahead with a virtual version of  "Page to Stage: Miscast" in which some of Buffalo's most talented performers tackle material that is entirely inappropriate for them, online on Sunday, June 28, 2020 at 7 p.m. For online entertainment, Broadway Black's inaugural Antonyo Awards airs tonight, June 19, at 7 p.m.

June is Pride Month and while COVID-19 may have curtailed the parade, Playbill.com/PridePlays announces a performance of Donja R. Love's "one in two" (about being HIV Positive, Black, and Queer) tonight at 7pm. Watch, then vote before midnight for the first ever "Antonyo Awards" (the "just for fun" presentations will be on Juneteenth) which promise to be "hilarious, uplifting, and unapoligetically black." Then read "We See You, White American Theater."

Playwright (THE NORMAL HEART), novelist, in-your-face AIDS activist Larry Kramer, described as "one of America's most valuable troublemakers" passed away last week. During the 1980s he criticized Ronald Reagan, Dr. Anthony Fauci (they later became friends), as well as gay culture and behavior. He was a major influence on Tony Kushner to write ANGELS IN AMERICA. In other AIDS related news

Shakespeare in Delaware Park announced the cancellation of its entire summer season.  Online is where the action is and SIDP has one of the busiest Facebook pages. Visit here for their 30th anniversary online celebration (CHANGED TO Saturday 5/30) and Road Less Traveled to hear a podcast with Anthony and Peter Palmisano. Tonight (Friday) you can go to BroadwayCares.org/Chita at 8pm to see some legendary performers.

"Changing... it keeps changing" wrote Sondheim and it's now official. Neal Radice and his wife Joyce Stilson have handed over the venerable 40 year old Alleyway Theatre (over 150 productions to date not including 29 years of "Buffalo Quickies") to the next generation although "Buffalo Quickies" continue live on YouTube for the next two Sunday mornings at 11am.  We also note the passing of Joey Giambra and Lori McDonald, two longtime Buffalo theater notables. 

The Artie Awards (Buffalo's version of Broadway's Tony Awards) are important in recognizing outstanding work, but if theater people are anything, they are are people who need people. Yet, because of schedules the WNED|WBFO Artie Awards is the one night of the year when everybody can party. And if they can't kiss-kiss, hug-hug, squeeze one more into a selfie, then we'll wait until they can! 

And the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for drama goes to.... a musical! (the 10th in Pulitzer history) A STRANGE LOOP, by  Michael R. Jackson, about a black, queer writer working as an usher writing a musical about a black, queer writer working as an usher writing a musical about (see above). While most spring and summer theater workshops and programs remain cancelled, a rich resource for parents is Playbill.com's "Online Resources for kids and families to get you through COVID-19" including Disney and Lincoln Center activities.

Last week Shakespeare in Delaware Park's first show was cancelled then Antoni Cimolino cancelled the entire Stratford (Shakespeare) Festival. Shawfest is rehearsing via Zoom and may have some shows later in the summer. The good news is that suddenly major Chita Rivera level stars are available to collaborate online, for example at Stephen Sondheim's 90th Birthday tribute ("The Ladies Who Lunch" from COMPANY begins at 1:58:34.)  The 12th annual August Wilson Monologue Competition National Finals will be held online May 2–3.