The Show Goes On

Enough of the Studio Arena Theatre blues, at least for now. There's plenty of other promising theater in this town coming up quick, so let's dive back into the fray:

This weekend, we'll see the New Phoenix Theatre's production of "Fool For Love," directed by Kelli Bocock-Natale and starring Lisa Ludwig and Brian Riggs as a half-brother and half-sister involved in a steamy, illicit love affair. If that description isn't enticing enough, then feast your eyes on this:

Yowza.

Over at the Kavinoky Theatre, which just announced it would be offering free tickets to its final two shows to Studio Arena Theatre subscribers, Mary Kate O'Connell will take the stage in "Glorious!" It's the story of Florence Foster Jenkins, the awful opera singer who sang her way into Carnegie Hall and beyond. Check out my story on the show in Friday's Gusto.

Though this is absolutely unrelated to the show, this YouTube video is set to the actual voice of the Jenkins herself. The puppets are just window dressing.

See you at the theater.

--Colin Dabkowski

(Photo courtesy Michael Klemm and the New Phoenix Theatre)

Comments

[Danny Winter]

In today's Buffalo News there was a commentary about the closing of Studio Arena written by Buffalo News theater critic Jeff Simon. Among other things, Mr. Simon said and this is a quote,
"There you have it all — the risk aversion which is ultimately the biggest risk of all, the suicidal insistence on playing it safe and the shameless pandering which, for so many years now, has made so many people in Buffalo soul-sick about the continuing operations of Studio Arena Theatre."
RISK AVERSION? SUICIDAL INSISTENCE ON PLAYING IT SAFE? SHAMELESS PANDERING?
Mr. Simon, have you and I been going to the same Studio Arena? Or better yet, have you been going there at all? I believe you recently said you had given up completely on the theater and were now focused entirely on movies. Wasn't that what you said sir? So now you should have the final definitive word on Studio Arena?
I THINK NOT!
Just in the past year Kathleen Gaffney has boldly defied risk aversion, playing it safe and pandering by producing a season of plays like "The Bat Boy" (and others) that were nothing if not risky. Ms. Gaffney has clearly demonstrated laudable courage, conviction and just plain guts.
Whatever else people have to say, including you sir, should include praise for the work of Kathleen Gaffney, and the fervent hope that Studio Arena will rise again under her artistic vision and masterful leadership.

[John Cimasi]

Dear Mr. Simon,

With all due respect, and forgive me for saying so, my reading of your diatribe masquerading as expert opinion leads me to conclude that it is uninformed and indeed mostly blathering balderdash (Blathering balderdash is much worse than just plain balderdash).

If you really believe that producing theatrical productions so artistically esoteric as to exclude any bit of populism is the mistake that bankrupted Studio, perhaps you might consider reviewing only movies at which we would both agree you are excellent.

I suspect that there are many factors that may have contributed to Studio's financial difficulties. The reasons would certainly include challenges over the years borne by management, artistic judgment, show selection and available talent. However, one must foremost consider business issues. For example, the issue of capacity. In my view, the small size of this theatre space makes it very difficult to afford top union represented talent and most importantly, to afford to promote (advertise) the productions in an effective way to insure that an audience will fill the seats most every performance.

Effective promotion includes a calculation that factors in the competition.

One of the wonderful things that has occurred in WNY in the past twenty years is the genesis of many different theater groups. Some of these "new" groups offer the same kind of top quality theatrical experience that Studio used to uniquely represent. Said another way, Studio is no longer the only professional show in town.

No criticism intended, but some of these successful new theater operations are sustained because they are subsidized by public money or by depending on facilities and utilities that are University or otherwise provided. Some are subsidized by not paying the actors any substantial money to work. I don't know, but having some small experience in theatrical production in the past would lead me to suspect that even the financial "successful" theaters still have their difficulties in making ends meet - even with their subsidies.

Bottom line: Overhead in the face of more efficient competition should be considered in any thoughtful , non-emotional analysis of Studio Arena's problems. While it is understandable to point emotion laden verbal fingers at "coulda, woulda, shoulda" factors, perhaps a more reasoned and empathetic approach would be helpful.

In my view, one answer going forward may be inviting the area governments to decide if Studio is indeed a cultural icon and vital to the area. If this is the case then perhaps it should be subsidized to the extent that a managing director would have sufficient resources to exclusively promote the kinds of productions that you seem to advocate.

Regards,

John Cimasi

[Jeffrey Lee]

I think to lay the blame at the feet of show selection alone is quite short sighted on Mr. Simon's part. It's also surprising how quickly he forgets recent history. I remember many ways in which Studio Arena tried to produce more provocative work and those attempts were usually met with little audience support or recognition. One period of my four years of employment at the theatre underscored how difficult it can be to select shows that can satisfy the broad cross section of audience needed for a theatre the size of Studio Arena to keep going. During the 1997/1998 season, 'Angels in America' played at the Pfeifer Theatre while Tom Dudzick's 'Greetings' played on the mainstage at 710. Both were top quality productions and 'Angels' was part of an initiative aimed at introducing more challenging and contemporary fare on a second stage. 'Angels' had a history of attracting controversy and protests at other theatres across the US. What happened at Studio Arena? We received complaints that 'Greetings,' a sweet Christmas story, showed a Jewish woman and a Catholic man dating. 'Angels,' with it's gay characters, male nudity, and confrontation of big social and political issues, was largely ignored by all but the few who saw it. The second stage lasted one more season before getting the ax. While the balance between art and commerce may not have always been ideal, there was certainly an attempt at doing both.