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Stagefright


The fabulous Judith Light (pictured) is back on Broadway after many years to star in the new play Lombardi which just opened at Circle in the Square. The play is about Vince Lombardi, the inspirational coach of the Green Bay Packers football team. Light made her Broadway debut back in 1975 in the revival of A Doll’s House that starred Liv Ullman as Nora and Law & Order vet Sam Waterston as Torvald.

Also back on Broadway is Buffalo’s own Jesse Martin, who is appearing in the Public Theater’s production of The Merchant of Venice ,which stars Al Pacino as Shylock. The show had a great success when it ran at New York’s Central Park this past summer. The Merchant will officially open this Sunday, November 7 and will run through January 9.

And our own Shakespeare in Delaware Park will be mounting The Merchant of Venice this coming summer (June 16-July 10), directed by Brian Cavanagh and starring none other than Saul Elkin. Eileen Dugan will direct the second production of the summer, As You Like It (July 21-August 14). Prior to that, don’t miss the Fifth Annual Fall Fundraiser on November 14, a staged reading of Shakespeare’s Cymbeline at the Buffalo Seminary. The evening begins at 6pm with pre-show entertainment, hors d’oeuvres, and wine tasting. The reading will begin at 7pm with dessert and coffee served at intermission. Directed by Anthony Chase, the reading will feature, among many others, Saul Elkin, Vincent O’Neill, Dan Walker, Lisa Ludwig, Peter Palmisano, Beth Donohue, Tim Newell, and Norm Sham. For tickets call 856-4533 or visit www.shakespeareindelawarepark.org, where you can also fill out a survey to help the organization secure future funding.

On Saturday, November 6, following the performance of Evil Dead: The Musical, ALT Theatre will hold an after-party and kegger with the cast. There will also be an “Evil Auction” to benefit the company, and special musical guests. Tickets can be purchased online at www.alttheatre.com

The Emanuel Fried New Play Workshop, presented by Road Less Traveled Productions, continues on November 8 at the company’s theater with A Wretch Like Me, a domestic melodrama by James Marzo directed by Joe Natale, starring Jim Maloy and Greg Natale. The following week, on November 15 at Buffalo East, Annette Daniels-Taylor’s Ruby ’67 will be directed by Lorna C. Hill, starring Jermain Cooper, Adrienne Lewis, Rodney Appleby and Megan Callahan. All readings are at 7pm. Admission is free.

Emmy-winning Shaun McLaughlin has joined the cast of Theater Jugend/Trajicom Productions mounting of Ionesco’s The Bald Soprano, which will also star Christopher Standart, Elizabeth Oddy, Sara Marioles, Rich Kraemer, Jenny Kulwicki, and Jenna Beth Stockman. The production will feature a new translation by Drew McCabe, with new material by Jon Elston. The opening is set for March 24 at the Manny Fried Playhouse.

The openings of both Keith Waterhouse’s play Our Song and the Keith Waterhouse Memorial Bar at the New Phoenix have been postponed to Friday November 26. The play will now run through December 18. Directed by Robert Waterhouse, the show stars Richard Lambert, Kelly Meg Brennan, Pamela Rose Mangus, and Jeff Coyle.

BUA’s Cabaret Series will continue in the winter with Katy Miner in her show Songbird, with special guest Samuel Tambe. Chuck Basil will again provide musical direction. The show will run February 17-20 following the run of the coming-of-age comedy Anita Bryant Died for Your Sins.

To benefit the theater program, the Friends of Niagara University Theatre will present a benefit cabaret production, Songs I Wish I Were Cast to Sing, starring Broadway veteran Michele Ragusa and nine other NU theater studies alumni: David Autovino, Peter Bennett, Nicholas Cocchetto, Paschal Frisina III, Adriano Gatto, Kristin Nixon Frisina, Alison Nusbaum, Carol Flanagan Propp, and Paul Todaro. The show will run November 12 and 13 at 7:30pm at the newly renovated Leary Theatre. For tickets call 286-8685.

Happy birthday to Buffalo’s A. R. Gurney, who turned 80 on November 1. Still going strong, his new play Office Hours has been extended in New York through this coming weekend. Yet another new play, Black Tie, will premiere in New York in January. Looking forward to the local productions of his Screen Play (March at Road Less Traveled) and The Grand Manner (April at the Kavinoky).

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