Unfurling the raw emotions associated with sickness, death and grief are not new topics in literature. But author Joan Didion has suffered immense loss and tragedy in losing her husband and daughter, and uses this as the narrative of her book turned one woman play THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING. In Didion’s own words her emotions may… Read more »
With “The Year of Magical Thinking,” Joan Didion seeks to give us a lesson in survival. The play is a monologue based on Didion’s 2005 book of the same name about coping with the abrupt death of her husband, writer John Gregory Dunne. The piece goes beyond that memoir to explore the subsequent loss of… Read more »
“a wildly satisfying story of self-destruction” In case you haven’t been shocked into gleeful submission in a while, or … cradled the urge to run into a burning building just for some peace and quiet, consider a ticket to “The Onion Game” … It just may be the salve you’ve been looking for in these… Read more »
You’ve got two more chances to see William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” performed by the Irish Classical Theatre Company accompanied by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra playing Felix Mendelssohn’s overture and incidental music. I confess that I arrived at Kleinhans Music Hall expecting to see an innocuous caprice, tossed together quickly, and featuring some amusing… Read more »
The fairies have alighted at Kleinhans Music Hall this weekend in a swirl of sound, color and magic that pulsate throughout the beautiful hall in the woodland romp that is Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” In a perfect blend of music and theater, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by JoAnn Falletta, and the Irish Classical… Read more »
… At Kleinhans Music Hall, we see another kind of marriage: a perfect matrimony of theater and music, as Irish Classical Theatre and the Buffalo Philharmonic jointly stage a magical “Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Directed by Fortunato Pezzimenti, this spectacular production features a vibrant and uniformly excellent cast who bring to vivid life Shakespeare’s wondrous tale… Read more »
Looking at childhood Christmases through the bifocals of age is a pastime that warms the hearts of those sitting at table or around a fire celebrating Christmas present, or just quietly reminiscing to a friend about the time the tree fell over onto Aunt Pearl, or the oven stopped working mid-turkey-roasting, or Uncle Eugene scored… Read more »
Long before there were hours of football on TV and the ubiquitous electronic devices in the hands of teens at the dinner table, families made Christmas memories by spending time together. They would sing songs, tell stories, indulge in the art of conversation, and help rescue various kitchen catastrophes. You know, like when your new-fangled… Read more »
There are few things more powerful than memories of childhood Christmases, partly because of the magic and anticipation, and partly because of the traditions and familiarity … Into that “wool-white bell-tongued ball of holidays,” (Dylan) Thomas wrote, “I plunge my hands in the snow and bring out whatever I can find.” And thus “A Child’s… Read more »
There are jewels of regional theatre spread across the country, and the Irish Classical Theatre is counted among them. Prominent in the burgeoning Buffalo Theatre District, Irish Classical Theatre is helping to draw people to the formerly dark sidewalks of a once-tired city. Joe Orton’s “Entertaining Mr. Sloane” slyly balances edgy sexual innuendos and proclivities… Read more »
In 1985, two Dublin-born brothers, Vincent and Chris O’Neill, internationally acclaimed actors and former members of Ireland’s celebrated Abbey Theatre, found themselves in Buffalo, New York performing Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot in the dining room of a local hotel. They were enthusiastically embraced by Western New York audiences and critics and, together with fellow Dubliners Josephine Hogan and the late Dr. James Warde, formed the Irish Classical Theatre Company. Performing on various rented stages until a permanent home was established at the Calumet Arts Café, ICTC became the fastest growing theatre in the region and led to the building of its new home, The Andrews Theatre, which opened its doors in January of 1999 in Buffalo’s Theatre District.
