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Stagefright

After almost 30 years, Cassandra Peterson , more widely known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, remains a very popular figure, especially around this time of the year. On Halloween, she will be in Philadelphia to kick off the 200th anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s birth. Peterson remembers fondly that as a girl she used to dress as Miss Kitty from Gunsmoke (the character played by Buffalo’s Amanda Blake).

Cassandra Peterson, pictured with author Javier

Strange Cabaret at ALT Theater will have a special October 31 performance at 9pm followed by a Halloween party. The Riviera Theatre will have a Rocky Horror Picture Party featuring performances by Eye Candy Burlesque and the ladies of Club Marcella and a showing of the movie at midnight. And for those looking for something on the earlier side, there is Little Shop of Horrors at 7:30pm at Lancaster Opera House.

O’Connell & Company’s next production, The Andrews Brothers, will be presented at the Riviera Theatre November 7-16. Directed by Mary Kate O’Connell, and choreographed by Matthew Clark. This jukebox musical stars Stephanie Bax, Michael Blasdell, Michael Tosha, and Michael Wah. The show is set on an island in the South Pacific in 1945. There will be a special 10am Veteran’s Day matinee on November 11.

The Paul Robeson Theatre at the African American Cultural Center kicks off its 40th anniversary season with Simply Simone, The Music of Nina Simone, directed by Mary Craig and running November 7-30. Dominique Seals, Linda Rogers, Shawnell Terry, and Joyce Carolyn will portray the legendary singer and civil rights activist at different stages in her life and career. The theater’s season continues in January with the musical Caroline or Change, which was postponed from an earlier date. By the way, congratulations to the center’s executive director, Agnes Bain, who recently received the Lifetime Contributions Award from the Greater Buffalo Counseling Centers!

The Buffalo Laboratory Theatre will present the comedy Detours by Sandra Hosking, November 7-15, at the William E. Swan Auditorium located on the campus of Hilbert College in Hamburg. Lona Geiser, Thomas LaChiusa, and Golde are in the cast.

The Playhouse of American Classics will open the 2008-09 season with Both Your Houses, the 1933 Pulitzer Prize winning play by Maxwell Anderson. The production will run November 14-16 and will star, among others, Pamela Rose Mangus, Jon Summers, Jennifer Toomey Starr, Andrew Starr, Keith Elkins, Paul O’Hern, Diane Cammarata, and Bill Schmidt. This season, the company will not perform on Saturday evenings and will have a 6pm Sunday show time instead. All performances take place at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society.

Colm Wilkinson, the original Valjean in Les Miserables, will return to UB’s Center for the Arts on May 15, 2009 as part of the Vocalist Series. The series also includes the return of Linda Eder (November 14) and Three Broadway Divas on February 14. One of the featured divas is Debbie Gravitte, who won a Tony Award in 1989 for her performance in Jerome Robbins’ Broadway. She was also a replacement Fantine during Les Miz’s original run and a memorable Reno Sweeney at Artpark.

The Kavinoky will present the classic It’s a Wonderful Life as a live radio play for one week only, December 10-14. Directed by Doug Zschiegner, the “broadcast” will feature Ian Lithgow, Debbie Pappas, Eileen Dugan, Phil Knoerzer, Gerry Maher, and Joe Demerly.

Up next for the Road Less Traveled New Play readings, Cockeyed Today by Donna Hoke Kahwaty on Monday November 17 at 7:30pm at the company’s theater located at the Market Arcade Film & Arts Centre. The reading will be directed by David Rzeszutek. The reading of Love Dot Com by Tom Paul Fox originally scheduled for earlier this week has been postponed to a later date and will now be directed by Chris Kelly.

Senator Joe Biden is one of the stars of the most theatrical event of this week, the presidential election. Don’t forget to vote!

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