Stagefright

Buffalo Theater News

By JAVIER

So much talent! Brendan Didio, Kevin Craig, and Jeremy Kreuzer conquer The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised] [Again] in Lockport

Three of the premier comedic actors in Buffalo, Kevin Craig, Brendan Didio, and Jeremy Kreuzer, are at the top of their game, now starring in the hilarious The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised] [Again], in its final weekend at the Kenan Center in Lockport, directed by Kevin Leary. Final performances: May 8 and 9 at 7:30 p.m., May 10 at 2:30 p.m. Oh yes, by the way, the Didios’ baby will be a girl! The very successful Kenan Center production of A Christmas Carol will return in the 2026–27 season, which opens with the musical Dames at Sea and will also include The True Story of The 3 Little Pigs, Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack Dear Louise, and Hamlet. That sounds like something for everyone!

With actor Rebecca Elkin, JRT artistic director Adam Yellen, and Just for Us star Jordan Levin at the opening night of Just for Us.

And it was a night of hilarity at the expense of Nazi-wannabes, a refreshing tonic in these troubled times, as talented and charismatic Jordan Levin assumed the persona of comedian Alex Edelman to tell the surprisingly touching tale of a visit to a meeting of White supremacists in the one-man show Just For Us.

With Ana Gasteyer at Rockwell Hall

It was certainly a good birthday present for the fabulous Ana Gasteyer, who turned 59 on May 4. The next day, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in Schmigadoon. The show received a total of twelve nominations and was just extended through 2027. I am sure a national tour is already in the works. Gasteyer was previously on Broadway in the 2006 revival of Threepenny Opera, Wicked (one of the many Elphabas), and the 2024 revival of Once Upon a Mattress. She was last in Buffalo for her Sugar and Booze Holiday Spectacular at Rockwell Hall on the Buffalo State campus.

And what about Ragtime? The current Broadway revival received eleven Tony nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical, and its run has been extended through August at Lincoln Center. Before the Tony Awards were announced, a national tour of Ragtime was already in the works, scheduled to kick off in Buffalo in 2027. This brings the Ahrens/Flaherty/McNally musical closer to its starting place. The musical premiered in 1996 in Toronto at the Ford Centre for the Performing Arts, now the Meridian Arts Centre.

Bess Wohl’s play Liberation just won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was recognized for exploring “the legacy of the consciousness-raising feminist groups of the 1970s, using the story of her own mother to demonstrate how the movement grew out of conversation.” (All women of all shapes were naked on stage; who will do that in Buffalo?) Winning the Pulitzer does not make a play a shoo‑in for the Tony. Among the plays achieving this double honor: Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night, August Wilson's Fences, Wendy Wasserstein’s The Heidi Chronicles, Tony Kushner's Angels in America, David Auburn’s Proof, and the musicals A Chorus Line, Rent, and Hamilton. Plays are not necessarily eligible for both awards. You have to be on Broadway to earn a Tony, and you have to be a U.S. play to earn a Pulitzer (sorry UK, you are not eligible). David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross won the Pulitzer but lost the Tony to Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing. I was terribly disappointed when David Lindsay‑Abaire’s Pulitzer Prize winner Rabbit Hole lost to the British The History Boys. Now Lindsay‑Abaire’s outstanding play, The Balusters, is up against the British play, Giant. Statistically, Tony voters favor the Brits in all categories. In my view, Best New Play should be for best new U.S. plays, period. Let the imports, which have already worked out the kinks during extended West End runs, compete in their own category.

With Mary Louise Burke, who is Tony nominated for David Lindsay‑Abaire’s Tony nominated play, The Balusters. Burke starred in You Can't Take it With You at Studio Arena Theatre in 1989.

Congratulations to Buffalonian Ruben Santiago‑Hudson, who is Tony‑nominated for his performance in the current revival of August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, directed by Debbie Allen and starring Taraji P. Henson and Cedric the Entertainer. Ruben has a Tony for his performance in Wilson’s Seven Guitars. He is the author of the autobiographical play Lackawanna Blues. According to his bio, he is the first person to write, direct, and star in a play on Broadway. He went to school with Jimmy Janowski. Lackawanna Blues has never been performed in Buffalo. Go figure.

Also, congratulations to Buffalo’s own Dudney Joseph, who is making his Broadway debut in Cats: The Jellicle Ball. The updated, now classic Andrew Lloyd Webber musical is up for a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. Now 80, André De Shields was also nominated for playing Old Deuteronomy in the revival. It is all about circles. De Shields played Uncle Ben in the 2022 Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman which, interestingly, was not nominated for Best Revival of a Play. (He played Willy Loman here in Buffalo for Drew Kahn’s Oasis Theater Company at Buffalo State.) De Shields is not the oldest person to be nominated this year. That distinction goes to June Squibb, nominated for her role in Marjorie Prime at the age of 96. To paraphrase Ruth Gordon, the recognition must be very encouraging for her in her career as an actress. Locally, it must have been Manny Fried. We should check with Artie archivist and statistician Doug Weyand. (I was the youngest for something a LONNGGGG time ago).

Things look different for this year’s revival of Death of a Salesman, which is nominated for the award in addition to several other categories. Other nominees for Best Revival are Becky Shaw, Fallen Angels, Every Brilliant Thing, and Oedipus. The revival of Proof was totally ignored. A revival is supposed to be a re‑imagining; let’s hope blind casting was not the issue. Looking forward to the Second Generation production next season.

And speaking of Buffalonians, two‑time Tony winner Christine Baranski is making her West End debut this coming season in Noël Coward’s Hay Fever. Bring it over to Broadway! The original Broadway production predated the Tony Awards, but Rosemary Harris was nominated for the 1985 revival. It’s been a long time since Christine has won a Tony. She’s overdue to get another!  Incidentally, the original Broadway Judith Bliss was Laura Hope Crews, best remembered as Aunt Pittypat Hamilton in Gone with the Wind and as Greta Garbo’s scheming pal in Camille. Marie Tempest created the role in London.  

So much for the Tony Awards (June on channel 4). The Artie Award nominations will be announced imminently. This year’s ceremony, hosted by Jake Hayes, Maria Pedro, and Anthony Chase, will return to Babeville on Monday, June 8.

With Tracie Thoms

The musical Rent is celebrating its 30th anniversary, and Starring Buffalo is performing the show in their signature staged‑concert format, one performance only, Saturday, May 9 at 2 p.m. on the Shea’s Buffalo mainstage. For tickets go to www.starringbuffalo.org. In The Devil Wears Prada 2, the fabulous Tracie Thoms plays Lily, the gallery owner. Thoms appeared in the 2005 film adaptation of Rent playing Joanne, and later joined the final Broadway cast in 2008. Thoms was also in the Broadway revival of Falsettos and in the Broadway play Stick Fly, opposite .. guess who … Ruben Santiago‑Hudson!

Up next at Desiderio’s is Joe DiPietro’s murder mystery An Old‑Fashioned Family Murder, directed by Jay Desiderio and starring Lisa Hinca, Steven J. Brachman, Jay Byron, Justin Chortie, John Della Contrada, and Lillian Reszel. The play opens June 18. DiPietro is a prolific playwright‑lyricist whose credits include the musicals Memphis; I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; The Toxic Avenger; and Diana. He has also written several plays including Fucking Men, a gay re‑telling of La Ronde, which BUA presented several years ago.

Talk about men, so many men! Road Less Traveled Productions moves to Shea’s 710 Main with Aaron Sorkin’s 1989 play A Few Good Men, starring (in uniform and in strict alphabetical order): Chris Avery, Johnny Barden, Ryan Butler, John Fredo, Alejandro Gomez, Bob Grabowski, David Hayes, David Lundy, Steven Maiseke, David Mitchell, Curtis Myers, Nick Stevens (congrats on the birth of a baby girl! - let's share an Uber sometime!), Daniel Torres, and Adam Yellen. Oh yes, the fabulous Renée Hawthorne (née Landrigan) also stars. The play runs June 11 – 28.

Kudos to Bellissima Productions, who present seldom‑produced musicals and none of the “tenth‑time‑again” warhorses. They have done Bonnie & Clyde and Carrie. Now it’s time for Ghost, the one based on the popular movie. Directed by Nicolette Navarro, the show runs May 15–30 at the Church of the Nativity at 1530 Colvin Ave.

With Michael "Bebe" Blasdell, the star of Pure Glitter, the playwright, Douglas Lyons, and actor Michael Seitz at the opening night.

Douglas Lyons, author of the Broadway comedy, Chicken & Biscuits, paid Buffalo a visit to attend the opening of his new play Pure Glitter at Second Generation.

Coming up next at the Irish Classical Theatre Company (ICTC) is the U.S. premiere of Marina Carr’s Girl on an Altar, a fresh adaptation of the ancient Greek myths about family and war. Directed by Anderson Carr, the production will star ICTC artistic director Keelie A. Sheridan as Clytemnestra and her husband Jorge Luna as Agamemnon, with Tabitha Raithel, Darryl Semira, Paige Batt, and David Marciniak. Marina Carr is one of Ireland’s foremost contemporary playwrights, renowned for lyrical tragedies such as By the Bog of Cats and her modern re‑imaginings of Greek myths. ICTC did her play, The Mai in 2023. The play runs June 12–28. By the way, I can’t wait for the release this summer of the movie, The Odyssey.

Hold the date! June 26, 6–10 p.m., at the Botanical Gardens: The Yalla Gala, a benefit for Ujima Company. That date would have been legendary Lorna Hill’s 75th birthday. I miss her. The company will be touring with Hill’s play Yalla Bitch this summer.

With Lorna C. Hill, who still watches over us from heaven.