Central New York Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 6

BWW Review: A BRONX TALE at The Oncenter Crouse Hinds Theater
by Natasha Ashley - February 19, 2020

Now performing at the Oncenter Crouse Hinds Theater as part of the Famous Artists Broadway Theater Series: Broadway in Syracuse is the touring production of A Bronx Tale the Musical. The musical features a book by Chazz Palminteri, music by Alan Menken, and lyrics by Glenn Slater. This touring produ...

BWW Review: JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at Rochester Broadway Theatre League
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - February 19, 2020

There is perhaps no greater contributor to the musical theatre art form than Andrew Lloyd Webber (Phantom of the Opera, Evita, Cats, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, etc.), and perhaps no more generation-defining contribution than Jesus Christ Superstar. Now celebrating its 50th anniver...

BWW Review: Redhouse Arts Center Presents ROMEO & JULIET
by Natasha Ashley - February 17, 2020

Redhouse's production of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet appropriately opened on Valentine's Day under the fresh direction of Melissa Rain Anderson. The romantic tale of a forbidden love comes to life with a fresh take on the characters, time period, and costumes. The result is intriguing and...

BWW Review: NEXT TO NORMAL at Blackfriars Theatre
by Dan and Julie Izzo - February 11, 2020

Lights up. Enter the whirlwind. Blackfriars Theatre's production of NEXT TO NORMAL drops its audience smack in the middle of an emotional storm. The 2010 Pulitzer Prize winning rock musical details a family's sixteen-year struggle with trauma, centering on bipolar disorder. Groundbreaking in style a...

BWW Review: HITMAKERS: ORIGINS OF CLASSIC ROCK at CenterStage
by Dan and Julie Izzo - February 03, 2020

If you've got a 'whole lot of love' for rock music or if you are 'reelin' in the years' for that 70's sound, you will want to check out HITMAKERS: ORIGINS OF CLASSIC ROCK at JCC's Centerstage now until February 16th. Previous iterations of the Hitmakers series focused on the individual writers and p...

BWW Review: Syracuse Stage Presents THE WOLVES at the Storch Theater
by Natasha Ashley - January 27, 2020

Syracuse Stage along with the Syracuse Department of Drama brings a captivating and raw production of Sarah DeLappe's The Wolves under the impressive direction of Melissa Rain Anderson. The production features numerous Syracuse University student actors along with members of the Actors' Equity Assoc...

BWW Review: BRIGHT STAR a Breathtaking Production Presented by The Baldwinsville Theatre Guild
by Natasha Ashley - January 27, 2020

The Baldwinsville Theatre Guild has brought a truly breathtaking production of Steve Martin and Edie Brickell's Bright Star to their stage under the superb direction of Colin Keating. Steve Martin and Edie Brickell's beautifully crafted bluegrass musical is breathtakingly brought to life by the stel...

BWW Review: YOUR BEST ONE at Capital Repertory Theatre Supports the Notion That Nobody Can Push Your Buttons Like Family Can.
by Marc Savitt - January 25, 2020

This production of YOUR BEST ONE marks the east coast premier of one in a series of three plays by Meridith Friedman. In it, the Hoffman family rallies together, and against one another, as they wrestle with issues such as love, loss, finance, health insurance, child custody, and more in the context...

BWW Review: ANASTASIA at Rochester Broadway Theatre League
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - January 22, 2020

Perfectly timed for the blistery cold Rochester weather we're all suffering through, the RBTL is currently presenting 'Anastasia', the stage adaptation of the 1997 animated movie in which audience members are whisked away to snowy St. Petersburg during the height of the Russian Revolution of the 192...

BWW Review: SLOW FOOD at Geva Theatre
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - January 20, 2020

There is nary a more unifying social experience than receiving horrid, mind-bogglingly bad service at a restaurant. It cuts across class, background, geography, ideology, upbringing, and every other imaginable social divide. With minimal effort we can all probably recall a recent experience in which...

BWW Review: THE BAND'S VISIT at Proctors Invites Audiences to Get Re-Acquainted With People We've Probably Never Met Before.
by Marc Savitt - January 04, 2020

THE BAND'S VISIT is a heartfelt, critically acclaimed (one of only four musicals in Broadway history to win the unofficial a?oeBig Sixa?? Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score, Best Actor in a Musical, Best Actress in a Musical, and Best Direction of a Musical) of how the smalles...

BWW Review: THE LION KING at Rochester Broadway Theatre League
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - December 21, 2019

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BWW Review: PETER AND THE STARCATCHER At Blackfriars Theatre
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - December 16, 2019

Keeping with the artistic diversity that makes this theatre a Rochester gem, Blackfriars continues its 70th anniversary season with Peter and the Starcatcher, a Tony Award-winning play like none other they've featured in recent seasons, one that's fueled by imagination, spirit, and a tremendous amou...

BWW Review: A SYRACUSE CHRISTMAS CAROL Debuts at the Redhouse
by Natasha Ashley - December 16, 2019

For the 2019 holiday season Redhouse Arts Center has brought an entertaining and new musical production of A Syracuse Christmas Carol to their stage under the direction of Hunter Foster. The musical is of course inspired by the classic Holiday story of Scrooge and it incorporates everything and anyt...

BWW Review: MY FAIR LADY National Tour Opens at The Landmark Theatre
by Natasha Ashley - December 13, 2019

This week the new national tour of The Lincoln Center Theater Production of My Fair Lady opened at Syracuse's Landmark Theatre and it is a moving, powerful, and beautiful production under the superb direction of Bartlett Sher. It is in fact the classic My Fair Lady  you are probably used to seeing b...

BWW Review: The Central New York Playhouse Presents ANNIE for the Holiday Season
by Natasha Ashley - December 09, 2019

The family-friendly show that the Central New York Playhouse brings to their stage every holiday season is always something to look forward to and this time around, it's a definite audience favorite. Featuring spot-on direction by Shannon Tompkins, this production of Annie is, without a doubt, the b...

BWW Review: The Syracuse City Ballet Presents THE NUTCRACKER at The Oncenter Crouse Hinds Theater
by Natasha Ashley - December 03, 2019

The festive treat of The Nutcracker presented by The Syracuse City Ballet has once again entertained numerous audiences this past weekend to kick off the 2019 Holiday season. Under the devoted direction of the Syracuse City Ballet founding Artistic Director Kathleen Rathbun, the show once again brou...

BWW Review: Syracuse Stage Presents an Enchanting BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
by Natasha Ashley - December 02, 2019

Syracuse Stage and the Syracuse University Department of Drama is now enchanting audiences with their production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. The musical is under the always superb direction of Donna Drake and musical director Brian Cimmet, the creative team that brought the last two holiday fa...

BWW Review: COME FROM AWAY Brings Triumph of Human Spirit to Rochester
by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - November 20, 2019

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BWW Review: FROZEN at Proctors Wraps the Capital Region in a Big Warm Hug.
by Marc Savitt - November 17, 2019

If you think of FROZEN as being for kids, I suggest you need to think again. Like the stage version of Disney's Lion King before it, this production is high quality live theatre that excels on multiple levels. There is quite a lot to see, experience, and enjoy in FROZEN both for the young and the yo...

BWW Review: JERSEY BOYS Performs at the Landmark Theatre
by Natasha Ashley - November 14, 2019

That harmonious hit jukebox musical Jersey Boys is once again back at Syracuse's Landmark Theatre as part of the Famous Artists Broadway Theater Series: Broadway in Syracuse. The musical of course tells the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe and...

BWW Review: QUEEN at Geva Theatre Center Fielding Studio
by Dan and Julie Izzo - November 11, 2019

On the surface Geva Theatre Center's Fielding Studio series production of QUEEN examines the potential devastation caused by the dwindling honeybee population due to Colony Collapse Disorder. This first look seems to indicate that Madhuri Shekar's play will be another social drama about the capitali...

BWW Review: Redhouse Arts Center Delivers Knockout Comedic Performances in GOD OF CARNAGE
by Natasha Ashley - November 09, 2019

Redhouse Arts Center is now bringing the laughs with Yasminas Reza's hysterical comedy God of Carnage. The production features a four-member Equity cast, under the superb direction of Redhouse's Artistic Director Hunter Foster. The comedic timing, the staging, and the chemistry are all outstanding....

BWW Review: THE AMISH PROJECT by The Hummingbird Theater Company at MUCCC Wows
by Dan and Julie Izzo - November 07, 2019

Hummingbird Theater Company's slogan reads, 'hover in the moment.' That thoughtful pause describes perfectly the theatrical experience director/producer Donald Brian Bartalo creates with his latest venture, THE AMISH PROJECT, at MUCCC. This extraordinary one-person show written by Jessica Dickey fic...

BWW Review: DIVISION STREET at CenterStage
by Dan and Julie Izzo - November 04, 2019

Kudos and thank you to JCC's CenterStage Theatre and playwright Jason Odell Williams for staging the world premiere of DIVISION STREET in the Rochester area. It is a pleasure to participate as a member of the audience on a work of theatre that has not been curated and delivered here. The firsthand o...