THEATER
Go, Theater, Go!
By Darwin McPherson

ICTC’S past production of Tartuffe.
Lisa Ludwig and Paul Maisano in cabaret in 1996
(Photo by Roger Parris).
Ludwig and Maisano in 2001’s my way
(Photo by Chris Cavanagh).
And Go, Dog. Go! at TOY runs from May 1–31.
As a SINK (Single Income, No Kids), I’m probably not the best person to ask about family activities. But as Spree’s Theater Guy, my first recommendation would be Theatre of Youth. TOY provides the perfect outlet for children to see a real connection between creativity and imagination. TV is magic, but theater is real. It’s an inspirational lesson that leaves a lasting impression.

This May, TOY is offering a fun presentation perfect for the littlest theater-goers. Based on the classic children’s book by P. D. Eastman, TOY’s production of Go, Dog. Go! faithfully brings the familiar canine characters to life on the Allendale Theatre stage. “The very silly, delightful dogs practice what words mean. They run, play, sleep, dance, drive, and climb in a colorful world,” says TOY artistic director Meg Quinn. Though one might think that theater and the attention spans of young kids don’t go together, the experts at TOY know their audience. “Pacing is important with young children,” Quinn explains. “The play has to give them a chance to get on board with the action of the story and then take them along, but let them catch their breath here and there. Quiet moments and action have to be balanced with little ones. They are very willing and capable of following the story.” With Go, Dog. Go!, “Children will be active thinkers as they engage in the antics of the story. ‘How did they do that?’ ‘Where are they going?’ ‘Where did that come from?’”

Michael Walline (Madeline’s Christmas) is choreographing. And as usual with Theatre of Youth productions, Ken Shaw is approaching the design sense faithfully and dynamically. “Big color is very important,” Quinn says. “The play will be a good time. There are all of the learning and educational connections, but bottom line, it is fun. Big, fast, colorful images and action.”

Go, Dog. Go! runs May 1–31. It’s recommended for kids four and up.

Don’t Forgeddabout it!
When I think of Paul Maisano, I remember an affable fellow who was also an outstanding performer. His terrific turns in Suburb at the Alleyway, Guys and Dolls at the Kavinoky, and, most especially, Company at MusicalFare, are among my favorite theatrical memories. Therefore, I was disappointed in 2001 when he left Buffalo for Florida after doing My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra.

But now, he’s back with Bada Bing! Bada Boom!, a production that he wrote and sent to MusicalFare artistic director Randall Kramer for review. “When I read it, I was laughing out loud,” Kramer says. Bada Bing! is “a great combination of comic situations and popular Italian songs.” Many of the songs are done at least partially in Italian, which adds a wonderful aesthetic to the show.”

Set during a reunion concert at Cardinal Synne High School, this musical comedy features a male singing group called the Bada Bings. The cast includes Maisano, Louis Colaiacovo, and Lisa Ludwig, who plays Sister Regina and Terrie Cotta, Kramer notes. “I really wanted her comic presence, sexuality (for Terrie, not the Sister), and nightclub voice for the show.”

Get your tickets quick, because Bada Bing! Bada Boom! has the biggest ticket presale of any show in the nineteen-year history of MusicalFare Theatre. Kramer thinks this is “a show that the rest of the country will love to see. And Western New York gets to be the first.” Directed by Kramer, the show continues through May 24.

TV or Not TV …
Despite my love of theater, I am unabashedly a TV guy. Aside from providing me with a day job, this form of storytelling has held my affection since childhood. Therefore, I’m pleased to see a television story relayed on stage.

On May 1, the Kavinoky opens The Farnsworth Invention, written by Aaron Sorkin, creator of The West Wing. According to Kavinoky artistic director David Lamb, it’s about “many things, but mainly the epic battle between Philo Farnsworth and David Sarnoff to invent, develop, and control television. This was a decades-long battle between a lone inventor, now virtually forgotten, and the powerful president of RCA (Sarnoff) who used espionage, propaganda, delaying tactics, and corporate muscle in an attempt to destroy a maverick genius for financial gain and historical adulation. The classic ‘David and Goliath’ story, in other words. In this, it captures America’s twentieth-century transformation from an independent, frontier culture to a modern, media-driven society.

“This is a great American story about probably the most influential unknown person of the past century. Moreover, Farnsworth and Sarnoff are both riveting and great characters, both idealistic and both flawed.”

Peter Palmisano (Mauritius, The Visit) is Sarnoff and Christian Brandjes (Hedda Gabler) is Farnsworth. The remaining cast, playing numerous parts, includes John Warren, Phil Knoerzer, Eileen Dugan, Dan Walker, Tom Zindle, Kathy Weese, and Eliza Maher. Directed by David Lamb, The Farnsworth Invention continues through May 31.

French Classical Theater (or, Moliere and Me)
The very first Irish Classical Theatre production I saw was Moliere’s Tartuffe, translated by Richard Wilbur, in 1996, directed by Fortunato Pezzimenti. I loved it. Not only did it display the strong points of the company’s cast (which included Anne Gayley, Peter Palmisano, and Richard Wesp) and production staff (including Geraldine Duskin and Brian Cavanagh), it illustrated theater’s ability to transport audiences to a different time and place.

Therefore, I’m very pleased to have the old gang together again as Pezzimenti directs Moliere’s The Learned Ladies, translated by Wilbur, once again for the Irish Classical. “At the very core of the play,” Pezzimenti says, “is a complicated love story which raises questions about who and how we love, how we marry, and the powerful influences of social class, position, and money in that pursuit.”

Set in the early nineteenth century, Moliere’s depiction of the pretense and superficiality of the period is another dominant theme. “So the debate develops in the play as to the essence and role of wit and behavior in this cruel world where the wrong word or a delayed response could lead to public humiliation and banishment,” Pezzimenti explains. “Suffice it to say, there is a dark core in the shell of the satire and comedy.”

Along with Tartuffe veterans Josephine Hogan and Richard Wesp, the all-local cast includes Kate LoConti, Tim Newell, and Kelli Bocock-Natale.

The Learned Ladies continues through May 24 at ICTC’s Andrews Theatre.

A Miller Tale
Now playing from Road Less Traveled Productions, The Man Who Had All the Luck concerns one man’s struggle “to discover why ‘fate’ or ‘god’ or whatever has given him such good fortune, or luck, while the people around him seem to not fare very well,” says RLTP artistic/executive director Scott Behrend. “The drama comes from him eventually trying to sabotage his own life to see if his luck continues to play out.”

Arthur Miller wrote Luck in 1944. It didn’t do well, and was forgotten until it was rediscovered and redeveloped by Miller over fifty years later. That production went on to Broadway. “This play is very interesting as we can see the seeds of development from Miller as a playwright,” Behrend says.

Directed by Behrend, The Man Who Had All the Luck continues through May 17 at the Road Less Traveled Theater inside the Market Arcade Film & Arts Center.

Quick Historical Bits
Paul Robeson Theatre looks back on a curious segment of pop culture history with Kingfish, Amos n’ Andy from May 1 to 24. “It’s something for the seniors who grew up on this,” says PRT artistic director Paulette Harris. The show is directed by Bette Howard (of Hambome fame), who also directed the show to critical and commercial success in New York City in 2005.

A massive chunk of Buffalo theater history hits Western New York when A Chorus Line plays at Shea’s Performing Arts Center, May 5–10. Directed and choreographed by Buffalo native Michael Bennett, it’s one of the longest-running musicals on Broadway and winner of nine Tony Awards. Former Bennett assistant choreographer (and original Connie) Baayork Lee restaged the choreography for this touring production.

Ujima brings back Marc Connelly’s The Green Pastures for part of its thirtieth anniversary season May 8–31. Presented in a rural southern setting and laced with African American spirituals, it’s a light-hearted, but reverent interpretation of Bible stories.

If you missed it at the Main Street Cabaret, Buffalo United Artists and O’Connell & Company are re-presenting their production of Souvenir May 14–16 at the Riviera Theatre. Directed by Javier Bustillos and starring Mary Kate O’Connell as Florence Foster Jenkins, this could be your last chance to catch Mary Kate’s take on the real-life “worst singer in the world.”

Finally, don’t miss a chance to hear one of the great Broadway voices on Friday, May 15, as Colm Wilkinson takes the stage at the University at Buffalo’s Center for the Arts. Though he may be familiar in these parts for his long stint in Toronto playing The Phantom of the Opera, he’ll always be the Jean Valjean in Les Miserables.

Darwin McPherson covers theater for Buffalo Spree.


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