Arts & Culture

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Review: The Little Mermaid

August 16th, 2017 by Ann Marie Cusella

Disney’s The Little Mermaid at Shea’s Performing Arts Center through Sunday is, in a word, a delight. Having neither seen the movie, nor any previous stage production of this very famous and popular musical, I had… more »

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From Ship to Shore

August 10th, 2017 by Marti Gorman

For years while living out West, I found myself sniffing out bodies of water, squealing in delight if I spied a lake in the distance or a sparkle of blue at the end of a street. On trips to any coastal city I invariably indulged… more »

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Review: An Octoroon

August 7th, 2017 by Ann Marie Cusella

When Andre Sills as BJJ, the alter-ego of playwright Brendan Jacobs-Jenkins, quietly took the stage Sunday night in very snug underpants and nothing else, with house lights up at the Royal George Theatre in the opening scene… more »

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Hundreds of Backyards to Explore

July 27th, 2017 by Marti Gorman

When I travel, I inevitably find myself imagining what it would be like to live in the place I am visiting. I tend to walk in residential neighborhoods, rather than just frequenting museums and tourist destinations. "If I were… more »

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Exhibit Review: Shape of a Pocket at Squeaky Wheel

July 13th, 2017 by Jesse Mank

It’s in times of social unrest that art reveals its most essential power — the power to question and provoke in ways that words fail us. Art spaces become agents for public discourse, bringing people together… more »

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Playing with Her Legacy

July 5th, 2017 by Cindy Mantai

My mother, who has been gone ten years this month, would have been happy that I’m back in Buffalo. We could have done more together – read more books, seen more films, attended more plays and music events. Our relationship… more »

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Confessions of a Travel/Book Addict

June 28th, 2017 by Trudy Cusella

I love to travel. Plane, train or automobile, any destination—ask, and I’ll meet up with you. When I make a list to plan a trip, reading materials fall right behind picture ID in order of importance. But, when a woman… more »

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Review: Radium Girls

June 23rd, 2017 by Ann Marie Cusella

Imagine your mouth aglow with a phosphorescent green light. You would literally be glowing in the dark. While that may sound like a rather fascinating hallucination, it was all too real for the young women who worked in the factory… more »

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The Artie Awards Ceremony 2017

June 8th, 2017 by Ann Marie Cusella

Monday was Red Carpet Night in Buffalo. Theater folk turned out in force--and in satin, sequins, feathers, and furs (well, we saw one fur) for the 27th annual Artie Awards at 710 Main Theatre, sponsored this year for the first… more »

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Review: Hay Fever

June 4th, 2017 by Ann Marie Cusella

Hay Fever, by Noel Coward, is a clever and rather silly comedy in three acts now playing at Irish Classical Theatre Company. It is about a wealthy, artistic family in England in the 1920s with an unusual bonding ritual. The family… more »

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New Girl. My Adventure at Lafayette High

June 1st, 2017 by Lesa Quale Ferguson

Once upon a time, one cold winter when I was 14, I moved from Ashland, Oregon where I lived with my mother, to Buffalo to be near my father. Over the course of the previous year, my father had unexpectedly left Northern California… more »

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Review: Desde el Puente (From the Bridge)

May 29th, 2017 by Ann Marie Cusella

“What does it mean to be Latino?” That is the question of identity asked and answered with great feeling by a young man in the last of the ten short plays in Desde el Puente, the second annual bilingual one-act play… more »

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The Buffalo Traveling Roadshow Opera

May 24th, 2017 by Eileen Breen

A chat with NCO's Founder and General Director, Valerian Ruminski. Where did you get the idea of 'The Buffalo Traveling Roadshow Opera'? We have been wanting to do something like the Buffalo Traveling Roadshow Opera for a few… more »

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Happy Viewing in WNY and Southern Ontario

May 23rd, 2017 by Ann Marie Cusella

One of the many gifts in this life is that every day is a surprise, when anything might happen, and magic is always in the air. One can say the same about the gifts given to us by theater and all the people involved in it, from… more »

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Review: Wicked

May 19th, 2017 by Ann Marie Cusella

Wicked, currently settling in for a three week run at Shea’s Performing Arts Center, is wicked good. This production is the first I have seen of this popular musical that has bewitched audiences, young and not-so-young,… more »

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Albright - A Buffalo Enigma Revealed

May 18th, 2017 by Marti Gorman

You know who Albright was, right? Nearly everyone I ask - in Buffalo - nods in the affirmative. Of course. Albright. As in Knox. Either a slow, sheepish smile follows, as the person realizes that they haven't a clue as to who… more »

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Original Mother

May 10th, 2017 by Lesa Quale Ferguson

There are many different types of mothers -- grand, great-grand, birth, original, first, second, adoptive, step, single, divorced, God, fairy-god, nature, biological, in-law, lesbian, @#$%@, earth, deceased, stay-at-home,… more »

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Review: Kalamazoo

May 7th, 2017 by Ann Marie Cusella

Is late-in-life online dating very different from earlier-in-life online dating? Meeting on the Internet can be a harrowing experience at any age. People strive to show their best selves online. They must answer personal questions… more »

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Awed by Authors

May 2nd, 2017 by Jordana Halpern

By Jordana Halpern I remember my first book fair. I was just a teenager volunteering in the gymnasium at the Jewish Community Center in Ottawa (that would be Canada, eh?). The periphery of the room was lined with book-laden tables.… more »

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Review: The Country House

April 29th, 2017 by Ann Marie Cusella

I attended opening night of Road Less Traveled Theater’s final production of the season, the regional premiere of “The Country House” by award-winning playwright Donald Margulies. As soon as I arrived home to… more »

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At The Movies

April 29th, 2017 by Trudy Cusella

I love the movies. But after my sister and I were turned away on three different occasions from our movie of choice (La La Land, Moonlight), I was forced to face a new reality: the reclining seat. Embracing the reality of change… more »

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From Kanazawa to Buffalo, with love

April 27th, 2017 by Marti Gorman

Buffalo is full of tiny treasures. One of my favorites hides in the shadow of the massive ediface which houses the Buffalo History Museum, draped peacefully along the shore of Mirror Lake. The Japanese Garden is a tranquil oasis… more »

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National Poetry Month Goes Local

April 27th, 2017 by Eric Richardson

Last Friday, I had the privilege of listening to the next generation of poets at an “All Youth Poets” showcase. It gave me great satisfaction to know that poetry, about which I am so deeply passionate, is being carried… more »

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Review: Cabaret

April 26th, 2017 by Ann Marie Cusella

“Cabaret” begins and ends with the Emcee, who is the heart and soul of this mélange of decadence, innocence, naivete, credulity, and ultimately, evil. That is, if a being as debauched as this Emcee, played… more »

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Review: The Great God Pan

April 26th, 2017 by Ann Marie Cusella

Is that wisp of an image or thought that flits through our minds a memory or a fantasy? What if there is no image or thought at all when someone tells us something terrible may have happened to us many years ago? Is there a way… more »

Review: The Little Mermaid

From Ship to Shore

Review: An Octoroon

Hundreds of Backyards to Explore

Exhibit Review: Shape of a Pocket at Squeaky Wheel

Playing with Her Legacy

Confessions of a Travel/Book Addict

Review: Radium Girls

The Artie Awards Ceremony 2017

Review: Hay Fever

New Girl. My Adventure at Lafayette High

Review: Desde el Puente (From the Bridge)

The Buffalo Traveling Roadshow Opera

Happy Viewing in WNY and Southern Ontario

Review: Wicked

Albright - A Buffalo Enigma Revealed

Original Mother

Review: Kalamazoo

Awed by Authors

Review: The Country House

At The Movies

From Kanazawa to Buffalo, with love

National Poetry Month Goes Local

Review: Cabaret

Review: The Great God Pan

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Arts & Culture

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