Arts & Culture

read article

Review: Love Never Dies

June 6th, 2018 by Ann Marie Cusella

Love Never Dies, now at Shea’s Performing Arts Center, is the sequel to the juggernaut The Phantom of the Opera, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It takes place ten years after the original on Coney Island, where the… more »

read article

Review: La Lupe: My Life, My Destiny

June 4th, 2018 by Ann Marie Cusella

Melinda Capeles. A name to remember if you are a WNY theatergoer. Any time you see that name on a program run, do not walk, to see whatever play or musical she is gracing with her presence. Currently, she is La Lupe at the Manny… more »

read article

Review: Lady Windermere's Fan

June 2nd, 2018 by Ann Marie Cusella

If you are in the market for a delightful evening of Wildean wit and wisdom, you will do no better than seeing Irish Classical Theatre Company’s current production of Oscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan. This… more »

read article

Review: Grand Hotel, The Musical

May 26th, 2018 by Ann Marie Cusella

One who is dying begins to live. One who begins to live, dies. People weave in and out of each other’s lives, stopping for a time and then moving on, leaving something of themselves behind, adding something from those met.… more »

read article

Review: Stage Kiss

May 13th, 2018 by Ann Marie Cusella

Is a kiss ever just a kiss? Does every kiss have meaning? Can a kiss in the present be so charged that it propels the couple into a shared past so passionate and painful that all the time in between feels like a dream? What about… more »

read article

Review: Baskerville, A Sherlock Holmes Comic Mystery

May 11th, 2018 by Ann Marie Cusella

The recipe for Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville, A Sherlock Holmes Comic Mystery, is reproduced here for your viewing pleasure from the renowned cookbook, The Joy of Comedy. Start with a famous murder mystery that tests the world’s… more »

read article

Review: Blackberry Daze

May 6th, 2018 by Ann Marie Cusella

Blackberry Daze, now at the Paul Robeson Theatre, blends sweet young love, seduction, rape and domestic violence in a stew spiced with jazz, blues and gospel music. Set just after World War I in rural Virginia and Washington,… more »

read article

Review: Once

May 3rd, 2018 by Ann Marie Cusella

If you are looking to be charmed and captivated by foot-stomping Irish music, lilting ballads, a bittersweet emotionally honest love story with a book that is also very wry and funny, and an ensemble cast perfectly in tune with… more »

read article

Review: The Christians

April 29th, 2018 by Ann Marie Cusella

Religious belief is deeply personal and, at the same time, has grave consequences for society and the planet itself. When large groups hold the same belief, that collective can, has, and does, wield great power in the world,… more »

read article

Review: Phantom of the Opera

April 28th, 2018 by Ann Marie Cusella

In 1925, when Lon Chaney first donned makeup and cape to fascinate and terrify audiences in the film, The Phantom of the Opera, could anyone have imagined the kind of voluptuous, gorgeous, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink musical… more »

read article

Review: Sight Unseen

April 22nd, 2018 by Ann Marie Cusella

Tsuris, a Yiddish word meaning troubles or woe, is spoken by Jonathan and Patricia in Sight Unseen, as they size up each other in her farmhouse when they meet for the first time since their breakup years before. He is a rich… more »

read article

Review: Buffalo Quickies 2018

April 21st, 2018 by Ann Marie Cusella

The 27th annual one-act play celebration, Buffalo Quickies, is now at Alleyway Theatre. The 2018 version begins and ends with tales about Buffalo. In between, we meet people at a baseball game, on the street, in an office, in… more »

read article

Review: The Full Monty

April 14th, 2018 by Ann Marie Cusella

The Full Monty is full on at Subversive Theatre Collective in a two act, almost three-hour marathon of blue collar angst and glory, with a large cast and a great deal of laughter, as well as moments of sadness and sweet… more »

read article

See the Movie. Read the Book. Create Community.

April 13th, 2018 by Marti Gorman

Can a war that ended a century ago create a sense of community? Perhaps. With the help of a book, a movie, a huge exhibit and a bunch of events. The One Community One Book initiative is featuring Ernest Hemingway's classic novel A… more »

read article

Review: School of Rock

April 4th, 2018 by Ann Marie Cusella

School of Rock rocks from beginning to end. At Shea’s Performing Arts Center through Sunday (April 8) and based on the 2003 movie with Jack Black, this show has quite the résumé, with new music by Andrew Lloyd… more »

read article

No fooling: Explore Buffalo’s April tours feature the best of Buffalo

April 3rd, 2018 by Joe Kirchmyer

Just like the weather, Explore Buffalo’s tour season is heating up! Walking tours are being added to the schedule on a frequent basis, so check out explorebuffalo.org for more information! BEST OF BUFFALOApril 6,… more »

read article

Trimania: So Much More than Just a Really Great Party

March 29th, 2018 by Marti Gorman

What spans 2 blocks, 6 floors, and more than 520,000 square feet? When is this vast, repurposed, historically significant building filled with hundreds of artists making art, musicians making music, dancers shaking their booties,… more »

read article

Review: Betsy Carmichael's BINGO Palace

March 24th, 2018 by Ann Marie Cusella

Betsy Carmichael is a hoot. Joey Bucheker has created a fully realized character in the old woman whose entire life has centered around Bingo. Betsy has a backstory she relates throughout the evening that begins in a church basement… more »

read article

Taylor Made Jazz Celebrates 30 years of Jazz and Blues in Buffalo and Abroad

March 22nd, 2018 by Marti Gorman

In 1987, Van Taylor had an idea--create a jazz-oriented band that could work on various levels, including education. He assembled an array of musicians and world class entertainers. The group had a unique blend of their own original… more »

read article

Review: Disgraced

March 10th, 2018 by Ann Marie Cusella

A small statue of the god Shiva, destroyer of evil and transformer, sits in the center of the mantle, just underneath the abstract painting based on Islamic geometric patterns by Emily, the very Upper East Side artist wife of… more »

read article

Review: Spring Awakening

March 9th, 2018 by Ann Marie Cusella

Spring Awakening is a powerful musical about adolescent angst that goes so far beyond the “after school special” genre as to be another species entirely. Produced by MusicalFare Theatre and Presented by Shea’s… more »

read article

Review: Something Rotten!

March 7th, 2018 by Ann Marie Cusella

Did you know that Musicals were predicted to be the next great thing in theater in the 1590s by Thomas Nostradamus, nephew of that famous seer who prophesied various fires, plagues, and Hitler? And that a woman’s right… more »

read article

Excitement building for Collectors & Artisans Expo

March 6th, 2018 by Joe Kirchmyer

Dozens of vendors selling collectibles, memorabilia, original artwork and a wide variety of handcrafted items will fill the Collectors & Artisans Expo from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 10, in the Buffalo Irish Center,… more »

read article

Review: Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope

March 3rd, 2018 by Ann Marie Cusella

A terrific musical revue, Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope, is playing at the Paul Robeson Theatre until March 25th. Tony Award nominee in 1973 and Grammy winner, Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope combines elements… more »

read article

What's Your Story?

February 22nd, 2018 by Marti Gorman

I believe that stories are powerful. And I love making them more powerful, and making sure that they are shared. That's the role that I see publishing playing. And that's why I publish beautiful books about Buffalo and by Buffalo… more »

Review: Love Never Dies

Review: La Lupe: My Life, My Destiny

Review: Lady Windermere's Fan

Review: Grand Hotel, The Musical

Review: Stage Kiss

Review: Baskerville, A Sherlock Holmes Comic Mystery

Review: Blackberry Daze

Review: Once

Review: The Christians

Review: Phantom of the Opera

Review: Sight Unseen

Review: Buffalo Quickies 2018

Review: The Full Monty

See the Movie. Read the Book. Create Community.

Review: School of Rock

No fooling: Explore Buffalo’s April tours feature the best of Buffalo

Trimania: So Much More than Just a Really Great Party

Review: Betsy Carmichael's BINGO Palace

Taylor Made Jazz Celebrates 30 years of Jazz and Blues in Buffalo and Abroad

Review: Disgraced

Review: Spring Awakening

Review: Something Rotten!

Excitement building for Collectors & Artisans Expo

Review: Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope

What's Your Story?

Arts & Culture Articles

Michael Gelen - Inkwell Studios

Citybration E-Newsletter

Citybration E-Newsletter

Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture Articles

Michael Gelen - Inkwell Studios

Citybration E-Newsletter

Subscribe to Citybration E-Newsletter

Citybration E-Newsletter

Subscribe to Citybration E-Newsletter