KAVINOKY ANNOUNCES SEASON OF WNY PREMIERES

The Kavinoky Theatre is delighted to announce a fresh, perfect season that contains the ideal balance of contemporary dramas, comedies and new classics. We promise to maintain our high standards in producing professional theatre with the local artists, directors and designers our audiences have grown to adore - bringing the newest and best Broadway plays directly to Buffalo.

We are thrilled to announce six Western New York premieres that are passionate, relevant, engaging and entertaining - only at The Kavinoky!

MAURITIUS
WNY Premiere by Theresa Rebeck
September 12 - October 12, 2008
Stamp collecting is far more risky than you think. After their mother's death, two estranged half-sisters discover a book of rare stamps that may include the crown jewel for collectors. One sister tries to collect on the windfall, while the other resists for sentimental reasons. In this gripping tale, a seemingly simple sale becomes dangerous when three seedy, high-stakes collectors enter the sisters' world, willing to do anything to claim the rare find as their own.

HEROES
New York State Premiere by Tom Stoppard
November 7 - December 7, 2008
Heroes is set in August 1959 in a home somewhere in France for retired military men. The play takes place outside on a terrace in the garden of a convent hospital where Philippe and Henri are hatching a plan to escape...with their marble canine companion. Adapted from Gerald Sibleyras's Le Vent De Peupliers.

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY
WNY Premiere! Adapted by Joe Landry
December 2008 - One Week Only! (Not part of subscription series.)
This beloved American holiday classic comes to captivating life as a live 1940s radio broadcast. With the help of an ensemble that brings a few dozen characters to the stage, the story of idealistic George Bailey unfolds as he considers ending his life one fateful Christmas Eve. "One of the best holiday shows around. This is a fresh and inventive way of reconnecting with a classic story of love and redemption." - Chicago Sun-Times

IS HE DEAD?
A New Comedy by Mark Twain, Adapted by David Ives (WNY Premiere)
January 7 - February 8, 2009
The Kavinoky Theatre is thrilled to produce this long-lost comedy by Mark Twain immediately following its extremely successful Broadway run! “This is a pure comedy; a fictional, farcical Paris-set yarn about a young painter, the real-life Jean-François Millet, who fakes his death to score fame and fortune.” - Playbill.com.

HOT ‘N COLE: A COLE PORTER CELEBRATION
Words and Music by Cole Porter
Devised by David Armstrong, Mark Waldrop and Bruce W. Coyle
March 6 - April 5, 2009
The spotlight is on the timelessness of Cole Porter classics, presented here with wonderfully fresh arrangements and a contemporary twist. Over fifty of his songs are woven into an entertainment that feels as much like a book musical as a revue. By turns wry, irreverent, romantic, touching and hilarious, this is a postmodern Cole Porter evening unlike any other.

THE FARNSWORTH INVENTION
Western New York Premiere by Aaron Sorkin
May 1 - May 31, 2009
It’s 1929. Two ambitious visionaries race against each other to invent a device called “television.” Separated by two thousand miles, each knows that if he stops working, even for a moment, the other will gain the edge. Who will unlock the key to the greatest innovation of the 20th century: the ruthless media mogul, or the self-taught Idaho farm boy? The answer comes to compelling life in The Farnsworth Invention, the new play from Aaron Sorkin, creator of The West Wing.

* Titles and dates are subject to change.

Subscriptions are on sale - order now for the best seats. Please call the box office at (716) 829-7668 or visit us online at www.kavinokytheatre.com . The Kavinoky Theatre is a professional theatre celebrating 29 years on the beautiful campus of D’Youville College. FREE Parking.

Contact Information:
Joseph Demerly
Managing Director
The Kavinoky Theatre
320 Porter Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14201
(716) 829-8141
demerly@dyc.edu

AUDITION NOTICE

The Kavinoky Theatre to Hold Auditions for
HOT 'N COLE: A COLE PORTER CELEBRATION

Buffalo, NY: The Kavinoky Theatre, a professional theatre on the historic campus of D'Youville College, will hold general auditions on Monday, May 19 from 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. for our March 2009 production of HOT 'N COLE: A COLE PORTER CELEBRATION. Adult actors are asked to prepare two Cole Porter songs. Interested applicants must make an appointment with Jennifer at (716) 829-8103. Resume, headshot and sheet music required. Accompanist will be provided.

Contact information:
Jennifer Morley
Assistant to the Managing Director
The Kavinoky Theatre
320 Porter Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14201
(716) 829-8103
4morleyj@dyc.edu
www.kavinokytheatre.com

Make way for Picasso...

GLORIOUS was gloriously successful and we have no doubt that you'll find A PICASSO equally entertaining.

Here's the synopsis: Pablo Picasso has been summoned to a storage vault for an interrogation by a beautiful German occupation officer whose mission is to discover which of the three Picasso paintings recently “confiscated” by the Nazis from their Jewish owners are real. The ministry of propaganda has planned an exhibit, and only the great artist himself can attest to their authenticity. At first Picasso agrees to confirm which of the three pictures is his own but when he learns that the “exhibition” is actually a burning of “degenerate art,” he becomes desperate to save his work and engages in a pressurized negotiation. A cat-and-mouse drama about art, politics, sex and truth, with a twist at its climax.
“Artful, remarkable and genuinely dramatic, with impressive sensitivity and wit.” – NY Daily News

Tickets are on sale now! Call the box office at (716) 829-7668 to order.

GLORIOUS is "Glorious"

Here are some of the reviews that have already surfaced regarding our current production of GLORIOUS! by Peter Quilter. We are thrilled to offer this Buffalo premiere production starring Mary Kate O'Connell.

Read the reviews, if you'd like, and feel free to comment. Write your own review!

We'll see you at the theatre!

O’Connell’s performance is ‘Glorious!’
By Colin Dabkowski
NEWS STAFF REVIEWER
Updated: 03/02/08 6:51 AM

As unnatural as it might seem, portraying a talentless singer onstage requires the skill of a highly talented actor.

And Mary Kate O’Connell, who plays the tone-deaf opera singer Florence Foster Jenkins in the Kavinoky Theatre’s riotous production of “Glorious!”, may have found the role of her career.

The play tells the story of Jenkins, a self-made diva who sang comically off-kilter renditions of opera’s great arias and rose to fame in the ’40s and ’50s. Much of her appeal came from the fact that Jenkins seemed to have no idea that her voice paled in comparison to talented sopranos.

With “Glorious!”, playwright Peter Quilter has taken any number of liberties with the Jenkins story, such as it was, using scant newspaper reports and Jenkins’ hilarious recordings as inspiration. His imagination has necessarily run amok in many places, and the
resulting play is a highly stylized version of the Jenkins legend replete with plenty of campy, tongue-in-cheek innuendo.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Quilter’s comedy attempts to make light of the Jenkins personality type and pay homage to it. In the end, it manages to strike a happy-enough balance between those two disparate goals that probably resembles
how Jenkins’ fans must have felt about her. Nonetheless, the play too often strays from its task — to get to the heart of phenomena like Jenkins — in favor of often sophomoric one-liners and strokes of character development that seem a bit too broad.

It moves at a fast clip and survives on the power of Quilter’s clear and witty language and a cast that does its level best to draw us into Jenkins’ fantastical universe.

The show has more than its share of kitschy humor, a heavy helping of absurd dialogue and at least two characters who alternately flutter about and issue inane babble. But in the end it’s a blast and screamingly funny, often in unexpected ways.

As local casting choices go, Mary Kate O’Connell’s turn as Jenkins is a match made in heaven. To say she carries the show would be vastly understating the case. Though she receives ample assistance from Joseph Demerly as her accompanist, our eyes are drawn to her in much the same way as house fires and car accidents.

When she leaves the set, her absence is deeply felt.

And yet, more than that, she somehow manages to affect a convincing and endearing egotism that pervades all her interactions onstage.

As Jenkins’ “fey” accompanist Cosme McMoon, Demerly turns in a charming performance, with about a thousand distinct facial expressions ranging from suppressed horror to sly deception.

Victoria Perez is hilarious as the cantankerous Mexican maid Maria, a
character invented purely for comic relief. The same goes for Jenkins hanger-on Dorothy (Anne Gayley).

Sound design by Tom Makar wisely presents famous versions of the same arias Jenkins sings, so as to greatly heighten the humor factor for non-opera buffs.

Theater Review

“ Glorious!” ★★★ (out of four)

Presented by Kavinoky Theatre, 320 Porter Ave.
For more information: 829- 7668, www.kavinokytheatre.com .
cdabkowski@buffnews.com

OHMIGOD!!!!!! GLORIOUS is so very funny!!!! I embarrassed myself laughing - partly because I was surrounded by grey heads who didn't get all of the jokes immediately. Being in theatre, I did and was guffawing loudly. You don't want to sit next to me if you are easily embarrassed. And this is all the more amazing when you realize that it is a true story (well, most of it). I knew about Florence Foster Jenkins and had even heard some of her recording; but I never realized what an icon she was.

MARY KATE O'CONNELL is having such a good time up there on that stage that she should be paying the Kavinoky. And she is just, as Colin said, GLORIOUS!!! She brings to life a woman who was larger than life, who knew that life is to enjoy; who knew that no matter what anyone else thinks or says, you should follow your inner voice and have a good time. She is ridiculous and wonderful, with costumes to match.. And the whole city of New York apparently thought so too. Many people in the audience wondered how she could sing so badly with such a real voice. Hell, I do it all the time. What's the big deal?

And she has magnificent foils: JOE DEMERLY as the "unmarried" pianist who gets to pronounce deliciously droll little bits of humor (one of which it took awhile for this crowd to catch on to - and not all of them ever did). And his timing is right on with the incredulous stares, etc.

My heart beats faster whenever I see DONN YOUNGSTROM, and he plays the gorgeous but hapless Don Juan, the constant friend and admirer, the supporter of dreams to a T. And he can DANCE!!!

What do I need to tell you about ANNE GAYLEY when she is being wacky? She plays the unconscious arranger, the little item see-to-er, hysterical dog lover, with "vim and vigor", moving like a cyclone around everyone standing.

EILEEN DUGAN has the thankless role of representing the world of realism regarding Ms. Jenkins' ability to sing. She shares incredulous reactions with Joe Demerly and makes us want to boo her, all the while knowing that she is so right. Sometimes always right people make you want to boo and Eileen carries it off perfectly.

VICTORIA PEREZ is the Maid with a wonderful discovery: If you can't speak or understand the language, you can't be fired and you can pretty well manage things as you please. Her explosions in Spanish (or whatever it is) are great fun.

Do go to see this show. Even if it were not so perfectly performed, the story and the singing will make you glad you did.

Beautifully directed by JAVIER BUSTILLOS
Simple but effective sets by DAVID KING
Lighting Design by (say it with me) BRIAN CAVANAGH
Sound Design by (who else?) TOM MAKAR
Incredible Costume Design by TESSA LEW
Radio Announcer IRV WEINSTEIN

I give it five front row seats (with or without earmuffs)

Mary of the Lofti (lofti35@roadrunner.com)

GLORIOUS! (Review by A.W.)

Every person probably believes he or she is really good at something…sports, gardening, working…even couch potatoing.Florence Foster Jenkins though she could sing.She couldn’t.She really…really…really couldn’t.That’s the core of Peter Quilter’s funny “Glorious!” about a woman with more money than talent but the money to convince herself she could sing.The show is getting a nice production in the Kavinoky Theatre, held together by Mary Kate O’Connell’s Jenkins and Joseph Demerly’s Cosme McMoon.He’s a piano player hired to be Jenkins’ accompanist after the last one quit, probably driven into deafness and madness.McMoon listens to Jenkins sing and decides he doesn’t want to play.Unfortunately for his hearing, he needs the money and stays.Jenkins has a coterie of aides, maid Maria (Victoria Perez), boyfriend St. Clair ByField (Donn Youngstrom) and neighbor Dorothy (Anne Gayley). It’s really a one joke show, but Quilter does such a nice job with the plot core that the show works quite well and director Javier Bustillos has a strong cast to work with.With her records, party singing and club singing, Jenkins is building to a crescendo…Carnegie Hall.Remember that old joke about: How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice…Practice…Practice.Florence Foster Jenkins could practice for a thousand years and never make it on her own.Her money bought the time and the orchestra and the legend about her packed the house in that wartime year of 1944.There are jokes about her voice which her clique keep from her.Only when Mrs. Verrinder-Gedge (Eileen Dugan) appears and harasses her at a concert about her inability to sing is Jenkins forced to face reality and she punts, choosing not to recognize truth when she hears it.Anyway, she sings terribly badly and is happy in front of a packed house in Carnegie Hall.How many good singers couldn’t get on that stage?“Glorious!” is a fun show because it’s a fascinating story, of the rich woman from Pennsylvania who has the money to do what she wishes and the common sense not to listen to those who told truth.In the end, she’s dead a month after Carnegie Hall and her story faded as the war closed.It’s a wonderful show for an afternoon or an evening.Bustillos does a nice job with the script and an effective set from David King.I do wonder about O’Connell.Will her voice be permanently damaged by having to sing badly?Stay tuned.Actually, that should be…stay tuned…after seeing “Glorious!”

© Copyright 2008 by Speakupwny.com

Twelve Angry Men Cast Announced

We are pleased to announce the cast for our upcoming production of TWELVE ANGRY MEN by Reginald Rose. Directed by Brian Cavanagh, the cast is as follows:

Juror #1: Gerry Maher
Juror #2: Doug Weyand
Juror #3: Steve Cooper
Juror #4: John Buscgalia
Juror #5: Louis Colaiacovo
Juror #6: Guy Wagner
Juror #7: Norm Sham
Juror #8: Christian Brandjes
Juror #9: Jim Maloy
Juror #10: Phil Knoerzer
Juror #11: Peter Jaskowiak
Juror #12: Don Gervasi
Guard: Steve Nassif

The play opens on Friday, January 4th and runs Thursdays through Sundays until February, 3, 2008. Call 716-829-7668 for tickets and information.

Our First "YELP" Review

Yelp.com is an online community where everyday folk can write a review about anything from the newest fast-food joint to a jewelry store around the corner.  In this case, "Susan Y." wrote the following FIVE STAR review about The Kavinoky Theatre and our current production of "Crazy Mary".

This theatre is so easy to get to, from off the 190 , with very convenient parking, right outside the doors, and a few quick steps up, off the street, I entered the building and took in the smell and look of the beautiful woodwork of the hallway, and headed to the will call window. The line there moved quickly and then I stepped back into time to the rich creams and reds and gold roccoco of the Theatre.

In the center of the stage was a big beautiful red velvet couch and I am not going to tell you more about the stage set up as you simply must try to catch Crazy Mary, while it is still available to do so. I did like how they crafted glass doors and stained glass in the back of the stage with a few pretty chandeliers throughout the building. As you sit and look around you realize they just don't build anything like that anymore.

On this night, people of all ages were here, from students to seniors. The staff quietly and efficiently seating people in order to get started on time.

My recommendations would be if you see something coming up that you want to attend, call in your order as soon as you can to insure that you can attend the show you wish to. I imagine they fill up and sell out quite frequently because of the size that only adds to it's charm.

The accoustics are very good and due to the intimate set up no one on stage has to shout to be heard and everyone who attends has a good seat.

I would come here over that other bigger place in Buffalo any day.

Did I mention the parking was free?

Well, folks...there you have it.

Feel free to join Yelp.com (free to join/post/read) and let us know what you think!!

Production History

This has been requested many times over so we decided to post it here.  Please feel free to share any memories you might have about our past productions.

2007/2008
Hank Williams: Lost Highway
Crazy Mary
Twelve Angry Men
Glorious!
A Picasso

2006/07
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
The Glass Menagerie
The Fourth Wall
Enchanted April
The Importance of Being Earnest

2005/06
Man of La Mancha
Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell
Always...Patsy Cline
The Cocktail Hour
Celadine

2004/05
Anything Goes
I Hate Hamlet
Lobby Hero
The Business of Murder
The Nerd

2003/04
The Foreigner
The Lion in Winter
Fully Committed
Communicating Doors
Book of Days

2002/03
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
My Fair Lady
Sherlock Holmes: The Last Act
A Life in the Theatre
Arsenic & Old Lace

2001/02
The Odd Couple
Butley
All My Sons
Feelgood
Master Class

2000/01
Amy's View
1776
The Herbal Bed
Present Laughter
The Complete History of America (Abridged)

1999/2000
Guys & Dolls
The Memory of Water
Barrymore
Dealer's Choice
How the Other Half Loves

1998/99
Berlin to Broadway
Death of a Salesman
The Gin Game
Richard III
Deathtrap

1997/98
The Fantasticks
Taking Sides
Awake and Sing
Sleuth
Arcadia

1996/97
Man of La Mancha
The Woman in Black
Happy Days
Witness for the Prosecution
Cmplt. Wrks. of Wllm. Shkspr. (Abrgd.)

1995/06
Oleanna
Camelot
The Homecoming
A Man for All Seasons
Perfect Crime

1994/95
Redwood Curtain
My Fair Lady
The Price
Uncle Vanya
The Mousetrap

1993/94
Lips Together, Teeth Apart
The Crucible
Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell
Sherlock's Last Case
Conversations with my Father

1992/93
Noises Off
Hapgood
Shadowlands
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
Billy Bishop Goes to War

1991/92
Lettuce and Lovage
Bedroom Farce
Shirley Valentine
The Goodbye People
To Kill a Mockingbird

1990/91
Death of a Salesman
The Secret Rapture
Present Laughter
Rough Crossing

1989/90
The Glass Menagerie
Pack of Lies
The Boys Next Door
Stagestruck
And a Nightingale Sang

1988/89
Duet for One
Intimate Exchanges
I'm Not Rappaport
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Business of Murder

1987/88
Enter a Free Man
How the Other Half Loves
More Frankly Speaking
Juno and the Paycock
The Murder Room

1986/87
Corpse
Frankly Speakin
Da
Noises Off
Shades of the Jellywoman

1985/86
Mass Appeal
Quatermaine's Terms
Man and Superman
Betrayal
Being Behan

1984/85
Night & Day
Jacques Brel is Alive & Well...
Becket
Table Manners

1983/84
Stagestruck
Arsenic & Old Lace
The Imaginary Invalid
Relatively Speaking

1982/83
Charley's Aunt
Dial "M" for Murder
Butley
The Lion in Winter

1981/82
The Real Inspector Hound
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
The School for Scandal
Under Milk Wood

1980/81
The Miser
Man of La Mancha
Sleuth