Looking at WNY’s visual art, theater, music, and dance scenes.
Talk about ArtsAnnual 2012
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01/04/13Movie Review: The ImpossibleThe harrowing true story of a family caught in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. |
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12/25/12Movie Review: Les MisérablesAn epic-scale musical rendition of Victor Hugo's seminal novel. |
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12/21/12Movie Review: This is 40Judd Apatow gives us an uneven quasi-sequel to Knocked Up. |
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12/20/12Spree Theater with Darwin McPherson: Vincent O'Neill and JoyicityAlong with Bloomsday, the Irish Classical Theatre Company’s annual celebration of James Joyce and his epic work Ulysses, ICTC artistic director Vincent O’Neill’s dedication to the art and legacy of the famed Irish author is seen in his one-man Joyicity. In the following conversation, O’Neill details the creation of the upcoming ICTC production. Darwin McPherson: How did Joyicity come about? Vincent O’Neill: I co-wrote the piece with Ulick O’Connor over a two-year period in Dublin in the late 1980s. Joyce is my favorite author and I had always wanted to do a piece on him. We had so much in common--apart from the genius! Same city, same social background, same religion, similar education, and, as it turned out, both emigrants from our native... Posted at 04:00 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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12/17/12Spree Music with E. Lovria: Jeremy HoyleWhile living out of state for most of the 2000s, I made sure I visited home every Christmas. During this time, there were three things I absolutely had to do during my visit: get real wings, see a Sabres game at home, and find a bar to see Strictly Hip. Now, Strictly Hip frontman Jeremy Hoyle is finally releasing his first solo effort, Lost City Carols, at the Tralf on Friday, December 21st. A staple of the Buffalo music scene since 2002, Jeremy Hoyle’s showmanship and unique vocal style is worthy of every music lover’s attention and is the definition of our “Rust Belt troubadour.” Lost City Carols came about when one of his biggest musical influences, the brilliant Ron Hawkins of Lowest of the Low (another Buffalo favorite), approached Hoyle about working... Posted at 09:54 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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12/14/12Movie Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected JourneyPeter Jackson takes us back to Middle Earth. |
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12/07/12Movie Review: HitchcockThe one where we learn all about Hitchcock's wife Alma Reville. |
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12/03/12Mondays with Schobie: Films Oscar Should Not IgnoreA look at the films, books, music, and more you should be experiencing this month. |
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12/03/12Ian Hunter Interview: A "Dude" lends a handIan Hunter headlines Food Bank benefit. |
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11/30/12Movie Review: Anna KareninaTolstoy's classic gets a new, gorgeously orchestrated adaptation. |
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11/26/12Spree Theater with Darwin McPherson: Bocock-Natale's Cloud 9You can always count on good theater when you combine Kelli Bocock-Natale and the New Phoenix. Last season, Bocock-Natale’s talents as a performer in Come Back, Little Sheba impressed audiences and critics so much, she was named Best Actress on Spree’s Best of WNY 2012 list. But she’s also a formidable director, having led artful productions of Peter Pan and an all-female Macbeth in recent years. Next up, Bocock-Natale is directing Cloud 9, Caryl Churchill’s experimental political comedy. She took a few moments to discuss the New Phoenix Theatre on the Park production. Darwin McPherson: What is Cloud 9 about? Kelli Bocock-Natale: Well, it is a very strange play. Funny one moment and serious the next. The first act is set in the late... |
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11/21/12Movie Review: Silver Linings PlaybookThe director of The Fighter returns with a lighthearted mental illness dramedy. |
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11/19/12Mondays with Schobie: Criterions for the Holidays (and Other Great Gifts)Seeking some offbeat holiday movie, music, and book ideas? Look no further. |
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11/16/12Spree Music with E. Lovira: CranjamIn my humble opinion, Buffalo holds the unique distinction of being the number one party city in the U.S. on Thanksgiving Eve. Despite having lived in many other cities, none of them have held a candle to the festive atmosphere Buffalo conjures the night prior to Thanksgiving. This year won’t be an exception. As part of the celebration, local bands Funktional Flow, The Maniacs, and Slip Madigan will perform at the Tralf in an ode to jam band music rightfully dubbed “Cranjam”. Slip Madigan’s reputation for being “the best band you most likely never heard of” in Western New York may soon be challenged as they gain popularity in the region’s mushrooming jam music scene—popularity they rightfully deserve. As with most jam bands,... |
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11/16/12Movie Review: LincolnA stirring procedural drama from Steven Spielberg. Posted at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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11/09/12Spree Theater with Darwin McPherson: Desiderio’s Dinner TheatreFor twenty-five years, Jay Desiderio has been the undisputed king of dinner theater in Western New York. No one else has consistently offered the “dinner and a show” option in one convenient location—and certainly not with Desiderio’s eye for detail. Now playing at Desiderio’s Dinner Theatre: Leonard Gershe’s Butterflies Are Free, which details how a young blind man’s newly-discovered sense of independence from his overprotective mother is shaken upon meeting his free-spirited female neighbor. “It’s a beautiful love story,” Desiderio says about his reasons for producing this late 60s/early 70s play. “It’s very funny in spots, but it’s also very dramatic in spots. More importantly, I like the fact... |
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11/09/12Movie Review: SkyfallBond gets an internal reboot in one of the franchise's best. |
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11/07/12The Evolution of 007Just in time for Skyfall, author Bill Desowitz explores the history of the James Bond films. |
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11/02/12Movie Review: Wreck-It RalphA video game "bad guy" looks to become a hero. |
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10/29/12Spree Music with E. Loviria: Joe PugDuring this time of year, I often feel as though touring musicians bypass coming to Buffalo for destinations less likely to be bombarded by snow. However, this year feels a little different as a variety of talented acts have scheduled shows in our beautiful city. One such buzzing artist is Joe Pug, who will perform at Babeville’s the Ninth Ward on Tuesday, November 6 in support of his sophomore LP release The Great Despiser. A relative newbie to the musical landscape, Joe Pug has already drawn comparisons to Bob Dylan and Josh Ritter, so if you are a fan of either of them, make time to check this gentleman out. Called the working man’s singer/songwriter, Joe Pug pulls from his background as a tradesman and applies that work ethic to his music. He delicately... |
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10/26/12Movie Review: Cloud AtlasAn epic tale of humanity starring Tom Hanks. |
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10/26/12Spree Theater with Darwin McPherson: So You're Thinking about DanceIf dancing is on your mind, November is a good month to get your groove on. All month long, interesting dance steps are crossing the stage. So You Think You Can Dance Shea’s Performing Arts Center, November 9 The tour featuring the top ten finalists from season nine of So You Think You Can Dance just kicked off this week in San Diego. In just a couple of weeks, they’ll hit Buffalo! The Fox television reality competition series has been a leading proponent of dance around the country and is a must-see for members of WNY’s theater community. This year, two dynamic ballet dancers, Eliana Girard and Chehon Wespi-Tschopp, won the title of America’s Favorite Dancers (female and male). They rose to the top of a diverse... |
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10/22/12Mondays with Schobie: Wes, Whit, and WitEnter the kingdoms of Wes Anderson and Whit Stillman. |
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10/19/12Movie Review: ExtraterrestrialA Spanish-language gem. |
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10/12/12Movie Review: Here Comes the BoomKevin James takes kicks to the face for laughs. |
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10/09/12Kate and Corey: You're gonna like themThe Buffalo duo have drawn major acclaim. Posted at 09:57 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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10/04/12Spree Theater with Darwin McPherson: The Last Five YearsNext week, a new theater group takes the stage with a dynamic production staged at the Alleyway. "New Buffalo Productions is a new arts organization focused on producing contemporary works and promoting education in the performing arts,” says Christopher Wietig, who created the company with partner Leah Schneider. “As performers and supporters of the arts ourselves, we understand that in order to continue the growth of our performing arts and education in Buffalo, we must create and nurture these types of musical projects in our community. The importance of educating our local youth in Western New York is the key to keeping the art alive and well in our already thriving community.” New Buffalo Productions’ first work is Jason Robert Brown’s The... |
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09/28/12Movie Review: Pitch PerfectRival college a cappella groups battle it out. |
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09/28/12Spree Theater with Darwin McPherson: Gail Golden’s "Give & Take"One of the advantages of having such a rich theater community is that opportunities to engage in other creative ventures often present themselves. After Gail Golden, a former fixture on the theater scene, wrote an award-winning screenplay (Official Selection-Queens International Film Festival), she decided to produce it in Western New York, featuring, of course, a wide array of local talent. Filming is now underway, but she took a few moments to tell us about the production of her movie Give & Take. Give & Take's producers, Marc-Jon Filippone and Gail Golden Darwin McPherson: Can you tell us a little about yourself and your involvement with the WNY theater community? Golden: I grew up in Buffalo and attended Studio Theatre, performing with... |
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09/24/12Mondays with Schobie: "Full Metal Jacket," 25 Years LaterA look at the films, books, music, and more you SHOULD be experiencing this month, including Kubrick's Vietnam classic. |
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09/21/12Movie Review: The MasterA self-made religious leader becomes both salvation and destruction for a troubled Navy vet. |
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09/13/12From Buffalo to Glee: Meet Jacob ArtistThe rising star lands a coveted role on the Fox hit. |
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09/13/12Spree Theater with Darwin McPherson: The Music ManWe’ve got – Theater! Right here in the Queen City! With a capital “T” which rhymes with “C” which stands for “Cool!” I hope Meredith Willson will forgive my paraphrasing of his lyrics as I introduce this review of The Music Man, now playing at MusicalFare. A great deal of credit for my enthusiasm has to go to director Chris Kelly (and his close collaborator choreographer Bobby Cooke) for his effectively efficient eye when it comes to the economic execution of musicals. Customarily, The Music Man gets underway with the “Rock Island” number, which is set on a train, where a number of salesmen lobby Wilson’s ping-pongish lyrics (“You can talk, you can talk, you can bicker-bicker-talk”... |
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09/13/12The Man He’s Become: An Interview with Nick LoweThe "Cruel to be Kind" legend speaks with Spree before his Babeville concert. |
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09/12/12TIFF 2012: More from Days 2 and 3A Cannes favorite, the new David O. Russell, a tsunami epic, and more. |
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09/11/12TIFF 2012: J. DiDimozio's takeKerouac, Affleck, and Snoop highlight J.'s lineup. |
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09/09/12TIFF 2012, abridgedTwo days in the bag and another to go ... before next weekend's return. |
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09/04/12TIFF 2012 preview: Amour and moreNew films from Haneke, Bertolucci, Malick, and many, many others. |
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08/29/12A TIFF top five from Girish ShambuThe influential and insightful blogger picks the new De Palma, and four others. |
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08/23/12Spree Theater with Darwin McPherson: Curtain UpOn Wednesday, August 15, the collective theaters of Western New York gathered at Shea’s Intermission Lounge for Press-ed for Time, a media reception intended to inform local reporters about Curtain Up! and the 2012-13 theatre season. Before the “8-minute dating” styled exchange took place, Curtain Up! chairman David Bondrow introduced Dr. Anthony Chase as the honorary chairman of the Curtain Up! Gala. This is the thirty-first Curtain Up! and Dr. Chase has attended them all. In a brief speech, he reminded us all of the unique and extraordinary community collaboration that Curtain Up! is and prompted us to celebrate it enthusiastically. As I (very briefly) interviewed all of the theater representatives who came to the event, I couldn’t help but note the... |
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08/22/12Spree Theater with Jana Eisenberg: Shaw's "Millionairess"Playwright, economist, socialist, and critic Bernard Shaw never tired of teaching us lessons. In his over 60 plays, which feature lots of expositional dialogue, he sought to dispense with the going schools of thought and proffer alternative ideas—often with more than a tinge of satire or unsubtle drawing room comedy. In his plays, which were written between 1892 and 1949, he addressed subjects including education, business, marriage, religion, government, health care, and class privilege. “The Millionairess,” now in rotation at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, is no exception. Between the laughs and amusement, get ready for a lecture. The play is subtitled “A Jonsonian Comedy,” in reference to Renaissance playwright Ben Jonson for his... |
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08/17/12Movie Review: ParaNormanLaika may just steal an Oscar from Pixar with this one. |
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08/10/12Movie Review: The Bourne LegacyIf you like one Bourne, you'll probably like them all. |
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08/09/12Spree Theater with Darwin McPherson: New Life for 710 MainThanks to the intervention of Shea’s Performing Arts Center, 710 Main Street, the former headquarters of Studio Arena Theatre, continues to be a vital part of Western New York’s theater community. Anthony Conte, the President and CEO of Shea’s, spoke to us about the preservation process and future plans for 710 Main. Darwin McPherson: At what point did it become Shea’s responsibility to save Studio Arena? Anthony Conte: When they declared bankruptcy, it was a loss to the theater community. [710 Main] was one of the anchors of the theater district—I think it was important to the success of the district. I told the board I felt it was our corporate responsibility to do whatever we might be able to do to bring that theater back. Did you know at... |
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08/06/12Recap: Mickey Hart's magical night at the TralfA recap of the Mickey Hart Band's July 27 show at the Tralf. |
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08/03/12Movie Review: "Total Recall"A new version of Philip K. Dick's sci-fi favorite ... but without Arnold?! |
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07/27/12Movie Review: The IntouchablesSee why Hollywood is already planning to remake this French phenomenon. |
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07/26/12The Chautauqua student experienceA "day in the life" at Chautauqua's School of Art. |
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07/26/12Shaw Festival: "French Without Tears"A seemingly frothy play, Sir Terence Rattigan’s earliest professional effort is given a robust, rousing outing at the Shaw Festival this year. The play was first performed in 1936, during the period "between the wars". It has much deeper historical and emotional signficance, yet it is easy and appropriate to enjoy it on its face—a funny, charming, occasionally maddening comedy of romantic and sexual play among high class young-ish Brits, doing what they do while supposedly studying French—fulfilling the requirement of learning a foreign language in order to enter the diplomatic service. Set in “Miramar, a villa in a small seaside town on the west coast of France,” the play opens to find several young men, waking up and getting ready to... |
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07/25/12Shaw Festival: "Trouble in Tahiti"Two words can set your expectations for the current Shaw Festival production of “Trouble in Tahiti”: Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein (1918-1990) is widely acknowledged as one of the most prodigiously talented and creative musical minds in history. When this short piece was written, Bernstein had already begun the almost 10-year process of collaborating on “West Side Story”; it had been temporarily sidelined and Bernstein found himself wanting to write “some real things,” as penned to Aaron Copland in 1951. "Trouble in Tahiti” is a quintessentially American exploration. Bernstein didn’t glamorize or idealize the “American dream,” even as it was being formulated. Director Jay Turvey has created one of the most... |
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07/25/12Interview: The Dead's Mickey Hart explores the sounds of the universeThe Grateful Dead drummer performs at the Tralf on Friday, July 27. |
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07/20/12Movie Reviews: Beasts of the Southern Wild & The Dark Knight RisesBeasts and bats hit Buffalo. |
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07/13/12Spree Theater with Darwin McPherson: Legally BlondeIt’s certainly been a busy season for Amy Jakiel. The daughter of local performers Steve Jakiel and Mary McMahon has made impressive showings this season with a significant part in MusicalFare’s Oliver!, the lead female role in MusicalFare’s Avenue Q, and as half of the “young” couple in Kaleidoscope’s Baby. In addition, she broke new ground for herself by choreographing Scrooge: The Musical and directing Hello, Dolly, both for Curtain Up Productions, and co-hosting “The Artie Awards” with Anthony Chase and Lisa Ludwig. Now she’s capping it off with the lead in Legally Blonde The Musical, Curtain Up’s last show for 2011-12. Jakiel admits that it is “exciting” to watch productions come together.... |
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07/11/12Iraq sucked and it felt great: A story of war and paradoxAuthor Brian Castner talks about The Long Walk |
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07/06/12Movie Review: SavagesOliver Stone returns to his old, violent tricks. |
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07/03/12Bonus Tuesday Movie Review: The Amazing Spider-ManSpidey returns in a satisfying franchise reboot. |
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06/30/12Letter from Toronto 5: Lights Out(Note: This is the last in a series of reports from the 2012 Luminato Festival and other events in Toronto by Spree writer Ron Ehmke. Luminato and the North by Northeast Festival will both return in June 2013.) I’d like to be able to give you a full description of Juan Esteban Varela’s act, but I didn’t see it. Oh, I was there, all right, and wide awake for the duration, but I didn’t see a thing. That’s because I, like the other roughly 150 people (so I’m told) in the house, was blindfolded in the lobby and remained that way until the show ended an hour later. Varela is a magician who, for reasons never made entirely clear, wants his audience to experience his performance the way visually impaired people would. Thus the blindfolds and... |
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06/29/12Movie Review: TedPretty much "Family Guy" on the big screen, but just as funny. |
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06/22/12Movie Review: Moonrise KingdomWes Anderson returns to live-action filmmaking. |
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06/22/12Music is Art returns “home”The festival will be held on September 15. |
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06/20/12Letter from Toronto 4: NXNE in a Nutshell(Note: This is the fourth in a series of five reports from the NXNE Music/Film/Interactive Festival, the Luminato Festival, and other events in Toronto by Spree writer Ron Ehmke and photographer Don Kreger.) North by Northeast (June 10-16) has its fair share of big-name acts, but the fun of the festival lies in taking a chance on a band, panel discussion, or film you’ve never heard of. Since band sets are seldom more than 30 minutes long, and a wide range of passes makes admission affordable, you’re not likely to regret any mistakes for long. While a busy daytime schedule kept us from taking in quite as much of NXNE at night as we did last year, we still managed to make a few discoveries. Here are some acts and films to check out while you await NXNE 2013. ... Posted at 09:08 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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06/15/12Letter from Toronto #3: Odds & Sods(Note: This is the third in a series of reports from the Luminato Festival and other events in Toronto by Spree writer Ron Ehmke and photographer Don Kreger.) Not everything in Luminato fits the themes I’ve suggested earlier. Here are a few other highlights from Week One; note that some of these, along with a host of other offerings, are still around for several more days, so consider a day trip this week or weekend. And if you miss them this time around, there’s always next year. •La Belle et la Bête: A Contemporary Retelling: This English-language version of a play developed in French by Montreal theater artists Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon is packed with how-the-hell-did-they-do-that special effects: live performers appear and disappear as if by... |
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06/15/12Movie Review: Rock of AgesThe rock musical comes to the big screen with an eclectic cast. |
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06/14/12Grachos to leave Albright-KnoxAs of January 1, 2013, Louis Grachos will no longer be the director of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. He will be taking up a new position as executive director of a merged entity in Austin, Texas. The Art Museum of Austin, a modern/contemporary museum, and Arthouse, a contemporary art center with no permanent collection, are joining forces there—Grachos will be the leader of AMOA-Arthouse. The new appointment puts Grachos in charge of a 12-acre historic museum facility (Luguna Gloria), and a newly renovated downtown site (Jones Center) in Austin. The announcement is surprising, as most such announcements are, but not shocking. Grachos has been at the AKAG since December, 2002, and will have been director ten years before he leaves the institution. It is a respectable amount... |
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06/14/12Spree Theater with Darwin McPherson: Keep It Short!If the warm weather is too distracting to keep your mind on a focused on a single plot for ninety minutes or longer, three theater companies have an ideal solution. Next weekend, MusicalFare, Buffalo United Artists and Subversive Theatre are each opening short works festivals to hold your wandering attention span. MF24H Locally, we’ve seen twenty-four hour film festivals, where production teams take a concept and script, shoot, and edit a short film in one day. MusicalFare artistic/executive director Randall Kramer thought “a 24 hour musical festival was a natural,” he says. Thus was born MF24H: MusicalFare 24 Hours. From conception to writing to rehearsal to actual staging, the whole thing takes place between June 22 and June 23. It all... |
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06/14/12Letter from Toronto #2: It's about time(Note: This is the second in a series of reports from the Luminato Festival and other events in Toronto by Spree writer Ron Ehmke and photographer Don Kreger.) Einstein on the Beach, the thematic centerpiece of much of Luminato 2012, may be four and a half hours long, but if you’re in a certain frame of mind—open to its trancelike repetitions and visionary visual images, for starters—it can seem far shorter. It’s performed without an intermission, although audience members are invited to duck in and out as they see fit. Einstein on the Beach; photo by Lucie Jansch It’s hardly the only piece in this year’s festival that plays with conventions of time, either. Last Saturday, for instance, Montreal-born, New York-based... |
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06/12/12Celebration of GospelThis Thursday, July 14, and Friday, July 15, WNY Gospel will present Buffalo’s Celebration of Gospel: Honoring the Gospel Greats in Western New York. This special event, the first of its kind in Buffalo, will begin with a formal gala on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. at the Buffalo Convention Center, where multiple figures in the local and national music scenes will be honored for their contributions to the development and appreciation of gospel music in Western New York. Honorees will be recognized in fields such as “Outstanding Soloist,” “Outstanding Community Choir,” and “Youth Awards,” and will include former Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus Director Doreen Rao with a special award for “Outstanding Director.” The... |
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06/08/12Movie Review: Madagascar 3: Europe's Most WantedA series that gets better with every film takes its menagerie to Europe. |
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06/07/12Letter from Toronto 1: Einstein on the Breach(Note: Spree writer Ron Ehmke and photographer Don Kreger are on assignment in Toronto for the next two weeks, covering the Luminato Festival, the North By Northeast Festival, and other events and attractions. This is the first in a series of irregular reports from their travels.) It’s been 36 years since composer Philip Glass, director Robert Wilson, and choreographer Lucinda Childs first collaborated on the post-modern opera/performance spectacular Einstein on the Beach. In the intervening decades, each has maintained a thriving solo career, but Einstein remains a watershed achievement, both for the artists themselves and for the culture at large. This weekend, you’ve got a rare opportunity to see the work performed in its 4-and-a-half-hour entirety... |
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06/01/12Movie Review: Snow White and the HuntsmanThe fairy tale simplicity just can't be excised from Snow White. |
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05/25/12Movie Review: Men in Black IIIMen in Black III tries to neuralyze us into forgetting part II existed. |
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05/24/12Spree Theater with Darwin McPherson: Red Thread's "Frozen"Though the rest of the theater season is cooling down, Red Thread Theatre is heating up the stage with Bryony Lavery’s psychological thriller Frozen, now playing at the Marie Maday College at Canisius College. Co-directed by two of Red Thread’s founders, Josephine Hogan and Eileen Dugan, Frozen stars Dugan, Lisa Ludwig, and Eric Rawski. Shortly before it opened, we spoke to Eileen Dugan about the show. Darwin McPherson: How did Red Thread discover Frozen and why did you choose to do it? Eileen Dugan: I found Frozen in one of my trolling-for-plays searches of Dramatists Play Services—looking through blurbs and then following up on what seems interesting by reading reviews, etc. I order a few scripts at a time … many, many... |
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05/18/12Movie Review: The Best Exotic Marigold HotelThese great British thespians age like fine wine. |
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05/15/12Artpark's musical summer: Rising stars and longtime favesArtpark announces a solid summer lineup. |
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05/11/12Movie Review: KeyholeCanadian auteur Guy Maddin's newest black and white creation. |
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05/04/12Movie Review: Damsels in DistressWhit Stillman returns with his arrogantly youthful characters. |
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05/03/12Spree Theater with Darwin McPherson: A Delicate BalanceFamilial dysfunction is currently on full display on Western New York stages. American Repertory Theater of Western New York is wrestling with a particularly aggressive strain in Killer Joe, which closes this weekend. Tracy Letts’ play illustrates what happens when the “trailer trash” Smith family (Scot Kaitanowski, Patrick Cameron, Jessica Wegrzyn, and Stephanie Bax) hire hitman Killer Joe Cooper (played by David C. Mitchell) to eliminate Kaitanowski’s ex-wife for the insurance money. What follows is a whirlwind rush through the seven deadly sins with a side of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Violent in both tone and presentation, Killer Joe is the kind of rough-hewn modern theater in which ART of WNY is beginning to excel. Director Matthew LaChiusa leads a... |
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04/27/12Movie Review: Chico & RitaAn animated love story set to the Latin Jazz of the late-1940s. |
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04/20/12Movie Review: The Lucky OneNicholas Sparks sees another of his romances filmed for the big screen. |
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04/13/12Movie Review: The RaidNon-stop Indonesian action. |
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04/09/12BNFF 2012 PreviewThe Buffalo Niagara Film Festival returns this Friday. |
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04/06/12Movie Review: American ReunionThe whole gang is back for one more piece. |
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04/05/12Spree Theater with Darwin McPherson: Alternative DimensionsCreative worlds collide as the Buffalo State College Dance Program presents Alternative Dimensions: A Multi-Sensory Experience in which visual art and food/wine pairings are incorporated into unique expressions of dance. Five choreographers, all BSC Theater Department faculty members, start with a visual artist’s work and use it to launch the creation of an experimental dance piece. Before the dance concert begins, a special event, Docents and Delicacies–a preshow session for the senses, will allow a limited number of audience members to have a docent led introduction to the work and a food/wine pairing. “Participants will view the artwork used as inspiration and hear an explanation of the artists’ process and how it influenced the... |
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03/30/12Movie Review: Wrath of the TitansA sequel that's better than the original. |
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03/27/12Spree Music with E. Lovria: Allan HoldsworthGuitar legend Allan Holdsworth will be performing at the Tralf Music Hall on Wednesday, March 28. For those who desire to be in the presence of absolute guitar mastery, prepare to be shocked and awed by this musician whose guitar skills are simply impeccable. Regarded by his peers and fans as one of the top guitar players of our time, Holdsworth has received accolades throughout his career without the use of the big label corporate music machine. This has allowed him creative control, ultimately producing music that transcends the rock and jazz genres. Influenced by the music of Eric Clapton, Django Reinhardt, John Coltrane, and Charlie Christian, Holdsworth began his career in his native England, gaining international attention in the 1970s during his tenure with the... |
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03/25/12A musician first—Bell with BPOBell returns; so does Valdes. |
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03/23/12Movie Review: We Need to Talk About KevinThe psychological turmoil of a mother digging into her past to understand how her son became a monster. |
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03/22/12Spree Theater Review with Darwin McPherson: Secrets of the TradeOne of the most disappointing things about the NBC drama Smash, which purports to tell the behind-the-scenes story of the development of a Broadway musical, is that it quickly resorted to cheap soap opera clichés and characters to illustrate its complex world. As those of us who work even on the fringes of the theater know, there are all types of characters in it, but very few of them are as petty and small-minded as those on that televised representation. That’s why I really enjoyed Secrets of the Trade, now playing at Buffalo United Artists. Though Jonathan Tolins’ script is supposed to be a comedy (and there are indeed many witty moments within), it is a very dramatic presentation of “life in the theater” from the perspective of those in it, and... |
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03/16/12Movie Review: 21 Jump StreetJonah Hill transforms the 80s police drama to a big screen comedy. Posted at 09:05 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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03/13/12March Madness—with booksI'm pulling for The Namesake over The Help. |
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03/09/12Movie Review: Take Me HomeA "Parenthood" star's directorial debut comes to Amherst. |
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03/09/12Spree Theater Review with Darwin McPherson: Time Stands StillWhen Mandy, one of the “lesser” characters in Donald Margulies’ Time Stands Still, questions why nature documentarians don’t help a lost baby elephant reunite with its mother (known by them to be a short distance away), she unveils the painful paradox that is the crux of the new play now playing at the Kavinoky. She is told that baby elephants die in the wild all the time, and that the filmmakers are only doing their job. Their job, of course, is to document what happens in nature, not change the course of it through their intervention. That philosophy also drives main characters James, a journalist who has seen and experienced too much on the battlefield, and Sarah, his photographer lover who, at the beginning of the play, has just returned stateside... |
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03/02/12Movie Review: The LoraxHe speaks for the trees. |
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02/26/12BPO Joins Mark O’Connor in groundbreaking "Improvised Violin Concerto"Since World War II, symphony halls have rarely been the settings for important new American music and most orchestras have survived as musical museums rather than showcases for new art. Much to its credit, the Buffalo Philharmonic has resisted this trend; indeed it was once an important outpost of the avant-garde, and under JoAnn Falletta it has taken every opportunity to feature contemporary music. Buffalo was rewarded by this sense of mission Saturday night when it hosted one of the first performances of Mark O’Connor’s Improvised Violin Concerto. Now in his fifties, Mark O’Connor is one of America’s great child prodigies. Although he has chosen the violin as his musical voice, in his youth he performed professionally on the guitar and mandolin.... |
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02/24/12Movie Review: Act of ValorThe Seals may not know how to act, but they definitely have heart. |
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02/24/12Spree Theater with Darwin McPherson: Come hear the music playLife is a cabaret at Buffalo United Artists |
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02/23/12Spree picks the winners: Best PictureCan anything beat The Artist? |
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02/23/12Spree Music with E. Lovria: Yellow OstrichOnce again Buffalo, here’s your chance to indulge your inner music snob as the up and coming music group Yellow Ostrich is coming to Mohawk Place on Sunday, March 4 in support of next album, Strange Land, set to release on March 6. Currently based of New York, Yellow Ostrich immediately reminds me of another New York based band, The Strokes, as they seem to blend a lo-fi 90s alt-rock vibe with subtle sounds of the 50s sound to create a majority of their songs. Yet, just when I thought I figured them out, the band threw a symphony of horns at me and then, the next moment, harmonious whimsy and worldly percussion evolved and I completely lost myself in it. At that moment, I decided the band’s sound is much more complex than I had initially thought and well... |
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02/22/12Spree picks the winners: Best Writing and DirectingInterestingly, two out of five best director nominees are virtually guaranteed to not show up. |
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02/21/12Spree picks the winners: Best ActorIt's a two-man race ... or is it? |
