Cover Story	Curtain Up! by Anthony Chase

The annual Curtain Up! celebration in Buffalo reminds us that our city boasts more abundant and diverse theater offerings than almost any other city of its size. Indeed, live theater is one of the great things about our town and something well worth celebrating.

While January is the time for the annual roundup in most endeavors, in the theater world the season traditionally begins after Labor Day. Now is the time when, in the years before air-conditioning, show folk historically returned to the cities after summers at outdoor summer stock theaters in mountain and lakeside resort towns. Still, to this day, the theater season begins in September.

Even in times of financial worry, our numerous local theaters soldier on, and new artists continue to enter the scene. More than a dozen different shows will play on Curtain Up! night, September 14, and all of them will probably be sold out. This presents a great opportunity for sampling something off your accustomed track. In addition to the official Curtain Up! roster, you could also check out Grease at Amherst Players; Viagra Falls at the Riviera in North Tonawanda; Oedipus Rex at Alleyway’s Main Street Cabaret; Oliver! at the Aurora Players; among other shows. Plan ahead, because theater seats will be reserved early. Remember that the shows start at 8:30pm on Curtain Up! night—a bit later than usual.

After the show, if you have the time and want to meet some show folk, stop by Studio Arena just before midnight. Artvoice will be crowning the Curtain Up! King and Queen from a roster of theater community hopefuls. So far, Lisa Ludwig and Marc Sacco will represent MusicalFare; Mary Kate O’Connell and Roger Paolini will represent O’Connell & Company; Connie McEwen and Jon Elston will represent Road Less Traveled; and we’re hopeful that the very regal Joyce Stilson will make an appearance for Alleyway. The winners will be invited to present at the Artie Awards in June, and will be showered with absurdly generous prizes, after competing in a theater trivia contest.

CURTAIN UP!

2007 PROGRAM

Act One: Cocktails/Dinner/

Entertainment

Scene one, 5-6pm: Cocktail reception in Shea’s Grand Lobby, open to the general public, with a cash bar.

Scene two, 6:15-8:10pm: Annual Curtain Up! Creative Black-Tie Gala Dinner on stage including additional seating on the balcony level. Gala Dinner tickets must be purchased in advance by calling 829-1172. Theatre District restaurants will also be accepting dinner reservations.

Act Two: CURTAINS RISE!

Theatrical performances, 8:30pm: The evening continues with performances at participating theaters, starting at 8:30pm. See schedule of performances below.

Act Three: Party!

10:15pm. Following the performances, a free outdoor party kicks into gear, with a variety of entertainment. Continue on Main Street in the Theatre District until 1am. The events also include outdoor entertainment and post parties. Artvoice will crown the Curtain Up! King and Queen between 11:30 and midnight at Studio Arena Theatre.

The shows

All Curtain Up! performances

start at 8:30pm.

Alleyway Theatre

1 Curtain Up Alley

Box office: 852-2600

www.alleyway.com

Located in the (well lit and attractive) alley that runs between Shea’s and the old Greyhound Bus Terminal it occupies, Alleyway Theatre is dedicated to brand new plays. The company continues to renovate the Art Moderne 1940 structure into an arts complex with a proscenium theater, a cabaret space, a gallery and fully equipped conference room. The original waiting area is now an attractive lobby space.

THE SEABIRDS

By William Orem

In the world premiere of a new play, the top rooms of a solitary lighthouse become both refuge and battleground during the American Civil War when a drowning man is saved from the Chesapeake Bay by a lighthouse captain. One man is carrying the brand of traitor and hiding from the Confederate authorities who would execute him; the other hopes to go unnoticed by the Union army. Confined to this small round universe, mistrust gives way to acceptance as the pair vie for dominance and the difference between controller and controlled becomes less and less clear. The play is the winner of Alleyway’s 2006 Maxim Mazumdar New Play Competition. Tickets: $12 students, $24 general admission.

Irish Classical Theatre

Company

Andrews Theatre

625 Main Street

Box office: 853-4282

www.irishclassicaltheatre.com

Performing in the round on the stage of the Andrews Theatre, the Irish Classical Theatre Company exists “to present the greatest works of dramatic literature: international classics; modern plays of exceptional merit; and Irish plays, both traditional and contemporary. To produce them at the highest level of artistic excellence for the public of Buffalo, Western New York and Southern Ontario, and subsequently, for National and International audiences.” The Andrews Theatre is Buffalo’s only arena stage.

THE SCHOOL FOR

SCANDAL

By Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Dublin-born Sheridan’s classic comedy from the English Restoration period, in which wealthy, middle-aged Sir Peter Teazle has recently married a young and beautiful wife. The new Lady Teazle delights in fashion, young men and daily rounds of malicious gossip. Her new social connections put her in contact with some particularly nasty scandal mongers. None is more vicious than Lady Sneerwell, who is advancing a campaign of lies and forgeries in order to get her hooks into Charles Surface, and to break up his affair with Sir Peter’s ward. Convoluted comic complications accumulate as the motley crew of narcissistic aristocrats stumble over each other on their way to the happy conclusion. Tickets: $42.

The Kavinoky Theatre

320 Porter Avenue

Box office: 829-7668

www.kavinokytheatre.com

With their home in the exquisite neo-classical theater on the D’youville College campus, the Kavinoky concentrates on recent plays and 20th-century favorites for a mainstream audience, with the occasional musical tossed in for flavor.

HANK WILLIAMS: LOST HIGHWAY

By Randal Myler & Mark Harelik

A musical biography of the legendary singer-songwriter, Hank Williams, by the authors of Always…Patsy Cline, which was a big hit for the Kavinoky two seasons ago. “The play follows Williams’ rise from his beginnings on the Louisiana Hayride to his triumphs on the Grand Ole Opry to his eventual self-destruction at twenty-nine. Along the way, we are treated to indelible songs like ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,’ ‘Move it on Over,’ and ‘Hey Good Lookin’.’” Tickets: $12-$36.

Kaleidoscope Theatre

Productions

Marie Maday Theatre at Canisius College, 2001 Main Street

Box office: 629-TKIT (8548)

www.KaleidoscopeTheatreProductions.com

Now in its sixth year, Kaleidoscope Theatre Productions was founded by four energetic young friends with a love of the art. Performing on the Canisius College campus, they strive for a sense of theatrical fun.

ALL THE GREAT BOOKS [abridged]

By Reed Martin & Austin Tichenor

Additional material by Matthew Croke & Michael Faulkner

Comic condensations of great works of literature. This light entertainment fits 89 great books jammed into approximately 90 minutes. The hype promises: “A Little Dickens. A Short Longfellow. Confused by Confucius? Thoroughly thrown by Thoreau? Wish Swift was swifter? Tennyson tinier? Buckle up and hop aboard as the three cultural guerrillas of KTP zip through everything you didn’t get around to reading in school. This compact compendium of the world’s great books will tickle your funny bone and guarantee that you won’t fall asleep in this class!” Tickets: $8-$12.

Lancaster Opera House

21 Central Avenue, Lancaster

Box office: 683-1776

www.lancopera.org

A centerpiece of the cultural life of Lancaster, the facility, built in 1896, is one of the nation’s few surviving town hall opera houses, located upstairs from the municipal offices. The opera house keeps the town supplied with a steady diet of family-oriented theater.

ARSENIC & OLD LACE

By Joseph Kesselring

A classic of 20th-century American comedy, sweet and elderly Martha and Abby Brewster murder lonely men to save them from their loneliness and bury them in their cellar. Tickets: $14-$16.

MusicalFare Theatre

Daemen College, 4380 Main Street, Amherst

Box office: 839-8540

www.musicalfare.com

MusicalFare presents new musicals, new versions of traditional musicals and area musical premieres in an intimate theater space on the Daemen College campus.

ALTAR BOYZ

By Kevin Del Aguila

The regional premiere of a current off-Broadway hit, Altar Boyz is a tongue-in-cheek presentation of a Christian “boy band” that comes to save a few souls with 90 minutes of witty music. The show is actually quite clever and great fun. MusicalFare has assembled a strong cast for their production. Tickets: $12-$34.

New Phoenix Theatre

on the Park

95 Johnson Park

Box office: 853-1334

www.newphoenixtheatre.com

Performing in a 19th-century building on Johnson Park, the New Phoenix theater strives to bring multiple arts together in a variety of new and sometimes experimental work.

THRILL ME: THE LEOPOLD

& LOEB STORY

By Stephen Dolginoff

Intimate two-person musical about the Leopold and Loeb murder case starring its New York-based author, Stephen Dolginoff, and local actor Joseph Demerly. The show enjoyed a successful run off-Broadway. Tickets: $15-$20.

Shea’s Smith Theatre

660 Main Street

Info: 847-0850

www.sheas.org

Shea’s Smith Theatre is Shea’s intimate second stage. For Curtain Up! they’re featuring an O’Connell & Company production. The company is Mary Kate O’Connell’s Snyder-based theater, dedicated primarily to musicals.

THE MUSICAL OF MUSICALS—

THE MUSICAL!

Take the old melodramatic plot of an innocent waif unable to pay the rent to the evil landlord and who is rescued by her heroic suitor, tell it five times in five different styles, as though it were written by the most famous Broadway composers and lyricists of all time, and you’ve got this charming little musical. It was a hit for O’Connell’s company last season and should delight audiences again. For more information, visit www.oconnellandcompany.com. Tickets: $35. Call Ticketmaster at 852-5000, order online at www.ticketmaster.com or visit the Shea’s box office at 650 Main Street.

O’Connell & Company

The Cabaret in the Square Theatre

Snyder Square, 4476 Main Street, Snyder

Box Office (716) 839-3949

www.oconnellandcompany.com

ON GOLDEN POND

By Ernest Thompson

“Norman! The loons!” This sentimental family drama is best remembered from the film version starring Henry Fonda, Katharine Hepburn and Jane Fonda. It’s the story of a couple facing the twilight of their years together. Tickets: $25.

Paul Robeson Theatre

at the African American Culture Center

350 Masten Avenue

Box office: 884-2013

www.PaulRobesontheatre.org

There’s always something happening at the African American Cultural Center and the place really jumps with a musical in the house. The Robeson is an intimate theater, dedicated to plays reflecting African-American history, culture and experience.

IT AIN’T NOTHIN BUT THE BLUES

By Charles Bevel, Lita Gathers, Randal Myler, Ron Taylor and Dan Wheetman

“This rich, evocative, rousing show, with some 50 musical numbers ranging from African chants and spirituals to Delta and Chicago blues, with plenty of stops along the dusty roads, river banks, broken county hearts and juke joints in between, is more that a musical feast” (New York Times). Tickets: $19.50 senior/student, $23.50 general admission.

Road Less Traveled

Productions

Road Less Traveled Theater

639 Main Street, inside the Market Arcade Film and Arts Center

Box office: 629-3069

www.roadlesstraveledproductions.org

A relative newcomer in the Buffalo theater roster, Road Less Traveled is committed to new works by local writers. They perform in a converted cinema space in the Market Arcade movie complex.

BOILERMAKERS AND MARTINIS

By and starring Emanuel Fried

Boilermakers and Martinis is by and stars nonagenarian Emanuel Fried. It’s billed as the true story of his notorious career as a union organizer and champion of American civil liberties, set against the backdrop of the greatest romance of his life. A Western New York premiere! See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSTVWwB6-5Q for a sample. Tickets: $20-$25.

Studio Arena Theatre

710 Main Street

Box Office (716) 856-5650 or 1(800)77STAGE

www.studioarena.org

Buffalo’s fanciest theater facility, dedicated to contemporary plays and classics, the goal of the institution is to offer professional theater of the highest quality.

DON’T TALK TO THE ACTORS

By Tom Dudzick

Buffalo-born and raised playwright Tom Dudzick’s brand new comedy stars Denny Dillon, best known for her roles on Saturday Night Live and Broadway’s My One and Only; Richard Kline, who played Larry on television’s Three’s Company and the title character in the American premiere and pre-Broadway run of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s By Jeeves; and Broadway veteran Lewis J. Stadlen, who starred in the national tour of Mel Brooks’ The Producers and was seen at Studio Arena with Kathy Bates in the world premiere of Howard Sackler’s Semmelweiss. Dudzick’s work, which is usually set in Buffalo, is always popular at Studio Arena. He is best known as the author of Over the Tavern, with its affectionate take on life among Polish Catholics on Buffalo’s old East Side. In the tradition of Kaufman & Hart’s Light Up the Sky or Michael Frayn’s Noises Off, the play tells the story of a young Buffalo playwright who is “thrust into the high stakes, big money, ego driven world of Broadway after being discovered by a big-time producer…the best-laid plans go awry when the people involved only think of themselves and turn to bribery, temptation and chaos to get what they want.” Tickets $42-$56.

ASSOCIATED EVENTS

American Repertory

Theater of WNY, Inc.

“A.R.T. Is Coming To Buffalo!”

Town Ballroom

852-3900

681 Main Street

www.artofwny.org

6:30pm: “Celebrate art and Buffalo’s newest theater company with music, masquerade and revelry!” Acts include the Barroom Buzzards, Caribbean Extravaganza, the one-act play Superhero Blues and Southern rock band Dick Whiskey. Tickets: $30 through Sept 9, $40 after Sept 9. Available at Town Ballroom by calling 852-3900 or at any Tops Markets location.

CEPA Gallery

617 Main Street, Market Arcade Building

856-2717

www.cepagallery.com

BEYOND/IN WESTERN NEW YORK

One of 11 venues participating in region wide exhibition in collaboration with the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. Free admission.

MARCELLA SHOW CLUB AND LOUNGE

Theatre Place, 622 Main Street

Information: 847-6850

MY FAIR LADY: Female

Impersonation Spectacular

Two evening shows, 10:30 p.m. outside, midnight inside: Marcella’s annual Curtain Up! drag extravaganza began years ago as an Artvoice event. The club took the idea and turned it into a venerable tradition. (Well, venerable might be pushing it, but it sure is a tradition and it’s always a lot of fun—for grown-ups.)

Questions or Comments for Artvoice? Send e-mail to editorial@artvoice.com • Article last modified 9/5/2007 Issue Navigation> Issue Index > v6n36: Curtain Up! (9/6/07) > Curtain Up! This Week's Issue • Artvoice Daily • Events Calendar • Classifieds

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