Buffalo Theater Reviews

Review: SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE MYSTERY OF THE HUMAN HEART at Shaw Festival
by Michael Rabice - August 26, 2024

He's done it again! The famous sleuth and his sidekick are back at it, solving cases with cunning precision and insight. SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE MYSTERY OF THE HUMAN HEART is playing in a fabulous production at the SHAW FESTIVAL in Niagara on the Lake. Audiences are intrigued, captivated and thoroug...

Review: ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS at Shaw Festival
by Michael Rabice - August 06, 2024

Who doesn't love a good belly laugh, a groan and a perpetual smile on their face for 2-1/2 hours. That's exactly what you'll be in store for when attending the joyously silly production of ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS at the Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake....

Review: WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION at Shaw Festival
by Michael Rabice - June 17, 2024

Time travel back to the age of film noir when black and white movie dramas were played to the hilt with overarching mannerisms, full of prototypical characters and not too subtle close ups full of tension inducing musical scores. The Shaw Festival is producing one from that ilk with the classic Agat...

Review: MJ at Shea's Buffalo Theatre
by Michael Rabice - June 12, 2024

The king of pop surely had a storied musical career that went from child star to tabloid fodder in his all too short life. The life of Michael Jackson, now the Broadway musical MJ, is igniting the stage of Shea's Buffalo Theatre through June 16th. Fear not , the moon walk, the infamous sparkly glove...

Review: PRIVATE LIVES at Irish Classical Theatre
by Michael Rabice - June 09, 2024

Noel Coward may well have been the arbiter of all things regarding propriety , social class, and manners. So it may have come as a shock to some that his witty play PRIVATE LIVES, now playing at Irish Classical Theatre, makes it clear that his upper crust characters certainly  do NOT always behave w...

Review: THE PRICE at Irish Classical Theatre
by Michael Rabice - April 21, 2024

Something wonderful has taken to the stage at Buffalo ‘s Irish Classical Theatre, as Arthur Miller’s THE PRICE is being presented in a near perfect production. This seldom produced play may sound somewhat stilted in it’s formality of language, but the story continues to be captivating, all these yea...

Review: MAMMA MIA! at Shea's Buffalo Theatre
by Michael Rabice - April 10, 2024

Guilty as charged. I openly admit I really enjoy the ABBA musical, MAMMA MIA! There is a time and place for all kinds of entertainment, and the birth of the jukebox musical can almost certainly be attributed to kind of show MAMMA MIA has become. Now 25 years after it's opening, the national tour tha...

Review: THE PAJAMA GAME at Lancaster Opera House
by Michael Rabice - March 11, 2024

A breakdown of  union labor relations, abuse in the workplace and  demands for higher wages surely doesn't sound like the stuff of musical comedy. Unless you're speaking of the classic 1954 musical THE PAJAMA GAME, now playing at the Lancaster Opera House. ...

Review: BETRAYAL at Irish Classical Theatre
by Michael Rabice - March 04, 2024

Eavesdropping, snooping or just morbid curiosity seemed to be the scene set in Harold Pinter's play BETRAYAL now playing in a riveting production at Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre. The playgoer sits on the sidelines, witnessing a deeply personal story of three  broken people, best kept behind clo...

Review: THE LIGHT FANTASTIC at Road Less Traveled Theater
by Michael Rabice - February 23, 2024

It's not often that  a horror story or the supernatural takes to the stage, so when a comedy turns dark, you know you're in for a night of the unknown. Ike Holter's play THE LIGHT FANTASTIC is full of surprises, twists and turns that kept the opening night audience engrossed in Road Less Traveled Pr...

Review: FUNNY GIRL at Shea's Buffalo Theatre
by Michael Rabice - February 14, 2024

Funny. In 1964 a newcomer named Barbra Streisand was the third or fourth choice  to take on the role of Fanny Brice in the new Jule Styne musical FUNNY GIRL. The result catapulted a gawky Jewish girl from Brooklyn to superstar status. And the musical has never been revived again on Broadway. ...

Review: ANNIE at Shea's Buffalo Theatre
by Michael Rabice - December 19, 2023

That famed comic strip red head Little Orphan Annie has returned to town just in time to celebrate Christmas in Buffalo. Charles Strouse's blockbuster musical ANNIE is touring the country again and the show will play at Shea's through December 23rd....

Review: AIR HEART at Revelation Theatre
by Michael Rabice - December 08, 2023

Buffalo's Revelation Theatre has chosen a intriguing piece of theatrical performance art in presenting the one woman play AIR HEART. The 65 minute show examines the life of Amelia Earhart, leading to her disappearance while on her famed  flight over the Pacific Ocean in 1937....

Review: BRIGADOON at Shaw Festival
by Michael Rabice - November 27, 2023

The golden age of Broadway found lilting infectious melodies melding with captivating, if often whimsical stories. Lerner and Loewe's 1947 BRIGADOON ticked all the boxes in a world fresh off of World War II. The Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake has revived it's 2019 production and this version s...

Review: 'MASTER HAROLD'...AND THE BOYS at Irish Classical Theatre
by Michael Rabice - November 20, 2023

As the audience grew restless awaiting the start of the play, the near twenty minute delay had me wondering if there would even be a production. Luckily, the play started and the wait, though unexplained, was worth it. Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre's production of Athol Fugard's riveting 'MASTER...

Review: ALL MY SONS at Road Less Traveled Theater
by Michael Rabice - November 17, 2023

How an American dream ends up as an American tragedy pretty much sums up the gut wrenching production of ALL MY SONS now playing at Road Less Traveled Theater. Arthur Miller's 1947 classic immerses the audience is post World War II Americana, where the pangs of the war are still felt and a quest for...

Review: ROCKY HORROR SHOW at Kavinoky Theatre
by Michael Rabice - October 29, 2023

The spooky transvestites have once again taken to the stage for the Halloween season. Happily, The Kavinoky Theatre’s stage production of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW ticks off almost all of the boxes for a fun night of laughs....

Review: MOULIN ROUGE: THE MUSICAL at Shea's Buffalo Theatre
by Michael Rabice - October 26, 2023

A spectacle among spectacles takes to the Shea's Buffalo stage as MOULIN ROUGE: THE MUSICAL bedazzles it audiences. Settled in for a 2 week run, MOULIN ROUGE is the epitome of eye candy presented to be entertainment for the masses, just like the real Moulin Rouge,  which draws in tourists by the dro...

Review: THE GOLDEN GIRLS: THE LOST EPISODES VOLUME 4: THE HALLOWEEN EDITION at O'Connell And Company
by Michael Rabice - October 20, 2023

When you mix a gaggle of sassy drag queens with one of the most successful  sitcom female casts of the the last century, the alchemy that results seems like a no brainer.  And when Blanche, Dorothy, Sophia and Rose are those beloved ladies, audiences clamor for more  time with their favorite ladies....

Review: THE COLOR PURPLE at Shea's 710 Theatre
by Michael Rabice - September 16, 2023

Something magical is happening at Shea's 710 Theatre. And it's a joy to report that the local talent onstage is simply astounding. Along with the Ujima Theatre Company and Second Generation Theatre, Shea's is producing a spine-tingling production of the musical THE COLOR PURPLE....

Review: THE SHADOW OF A DOUBT At Shaw Festival
by Michael Rabice - September 12, 2023

Unearthing a hidden gem is always intriguing- whether it be a true fossil, pirates booty, discarded musical manuscript, or perhaps a virtually unknown play. The Shaw Festival is the lucky producer who gets to produce a never before seen mystery by the celebrated author Edith Wharton. For the first t...

Review: THE LIFE AND SLIMES OF MARC SUMMERS at Alleyway Theatre
by Michael Rabice - September 11, 2023

Everyone's life has a story. And when you start from birth, most can be pretty interesting, although not worthy of the stage. Such a story of  a young boy from  Indiana born in 1951 is being told, but is it really that stage worthy?  The answer is a resounding yes, if that guy is Marc Summers, that ...

Review: ON THE RAZZLE at Shaw Festival
by Michael Rabice - August 03, 2023

A good story often bears repeating. Such is the case in Tom Stoppard's ON THE RAZZLE, currently playing on the Royal George stage of the Shaw Festival. It's storied provenance has beginnings dated back to the 1842 play  'Einen Jux will er sich machen'  by Johann Nestroy....

Review: CARMINA BURANA at Artpark
by Michael Rabice - July 30, 2023

Composer Carl Orff most certainly would never have imagined having his most beloved cantata Carmina Burana staged with costumes , actors, dancers, and scenery. As one of those most popular choral  pieces performed worldwide by Symphony Orchestras everywhere, the established tradition is to perform t...

Review: BLITHE SPIRIT at Shaw Festival
by Michael Rabice - July 27, 2023

The  perennial festival favorite BLITHE SPIRIT is making a welcome to return to the Shaw Festival stage after 30 years. The result is a breezy romp that is sure to delight, thanks to the fine casting showcasing some of the company's best players....