An era has ended with the passing of our beloved Blossom Cohan (pictured above). The heart and soul of Studio Arena, Blossom always loved a party, especially if the bartender could mix a good martini and a respectable rye and soda. To ensure that the partying didn’t stop with her death, Blossom provided for one last party with a bequest in her will. The final Blossom Bash, courtesy of Madame Cohan, will be held at Studio Arena Theatre on May 8th, from 5–9pm.

Road Less Traveled Productions’ New Play Workshop will present a reading of Frank Canino’s The Three of Us on April 10th at 8pm at the New Phoenix Theatre. Directed by Tom Dooney, the reading will star Brian Riggs, Louis Colaiacovo, Loraine O’Donnell Gray and Tim Newell. And the following Monday, April 17th, the company will present a reading of A Bit of Paradise by Annette Daniels.

Lona Geiser, Michael Votta, David Autovino and Kelly Ferguson will join David Oliver in Torn Space Theater’s upcoming production of Quills.

Musicalfare will present two world premiere musicals in its 2006-07 season: Michael Walline’s Familiar Strangers, which features the songs of Joni Mitchell, and A Rainbow Journey: The Harold Arlen Story, which features the songs of the renowned Buffalo-born composer. The season will also include Leader of the Pack: The Ellie Greenwich Musical.

After opening the 2006-07 season with the musical A Man of No Importance (September 9th–October 9th), the Irish Classical Theatre Company will present Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night (October 27th–November 26th). This will be the first installment of a five-year O’Neill retrospective. The season will also include Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party, Frank McGuinness’s Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Toward the Somme and Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit. As its 2007 summer offering, the company will present, in conjunction with Musicalfare, the Artie-award-winning production Last of the Red Hot Mamas, starring Kelli Bocock-Natale, directed by Lisa Ludwig.

Last year’s benefit for the Irish Classical Theatre, the Wake, was a lot of fun and quite popular. This year, the Wake will be held at the Town Ballroom (formerly the Sphere), on Tuesday, April 11th from 6–9pm. Note: The first hour offers free wine and Guinness.

The 21st annual Friends of Niagara University Theatre Gala and Auction will take place on April 29th, at Niagara University’s Leary Theatre (matinee of Chicago at 4pm) and at the Castellani Art Museum (6:30pm gala and auction). Tony-award-winning composer John Kander will be the guest of honor.

The musical Rent will celebrate its 10th anniversary on Broadway this coming April 29th. The show is also on tour and will arrive at Shea’s December 5th–10th. The Shea’s Broadway series will open in November with the pre-Broadway engagement of How the Grinch Stole Christmas and will conclude in June with Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life starring the fabulous Chita. The season will also include Sweet Charity starring Molly Ringwald and the current Broadway hits Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Monty Python’s Spamalot.

Congratulations and welcome to Kathleen A. Gaffney (pictured below) who has been appointed as Studio Arena Theatre’s new artistic director effective April 17th. A native Western New Yorker and a graduate of Buffalo State College, Gaffney is the fourth artistic director in the theater’s history.