Jamestown Gals Delights Full House at Musicalfare
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Jamestown Gals Delights Full House at MusicalFare Jamestown Gals, a playful revue of the careers of Lucille Ball and Peggy Lee is the latest creative effort from veteran choreographer Michael Walline. The show is now playing at MusicalFare at Daemen College in Amherst. Kathy Weese and Kelly Jakiel played Lucille Ball in her various incarnations while Terrie George and Arin Lee Dandes appeared as Peggy Lee. John Fredo and Marc Sacco played Desi Arnaz and most any other male roles called for. Walline cast the actors as the "essence" of Ball and Lee, his goal being to capture the spirit of the performers without impersonating them exactly. "By the Waters of the Minnetonka" will delight fans of "I Love Lucy". It's the familiar shtick of Lucy trying to weasel her way into Ricky's act at the club. Fredo, as Ricky, manages to capture Ricky Ricardo's accent and attitude without being campy. Those only familiar with Lucille Ball's comedy may be surprised by her musical background. Jamestown Gals features songs from her starring role in the movie version of Mame and her Broadway performance in Wildcat. Peggy Lee received an Oscar nomination for "Bye Bye Blackbird" from Pete Kelly's Blues and won a Grammy for "Is That All There Is?" Walline's father, who served as the catalyst for this musical once mused to Michael that these two talents were both from Jamestown- Lee was from Jamestown, ND and Ball from Jamestown, NY. With his father's inspiration, Walline studied the musical histories of the two legends and put together this revue. Walline said that he "tried to be true to the original choreography" which runs the gamut from samba to cha-cha to waltz. The performers were accompanied by a five-piece band led by saxophonist Jim Runfola under the musical direction of Allan Paglia. The costuming was a collaborative effort, according to Walline, with Loraine O'Donnell and Olivia Ebsary. "I tried to give them a silhouette and a color (red for Ball, yellow for Lee) and trust Loraine creatively". Each female character had five dresses; each male had two tuxes and six vests, Walline said. "It was really hard to let go after living with it for a year," Walline said. His biggest challenge was "staying true to my dad's vision while still making original entertainment." The closing of act one is priceless. It seems that it can't get any funnier that the duets "Friendship," "Sisters," and "Bosom Buddies," but "I'm a Woman" is worth the price of admission on its own. The show continues through December 7. Performances are staged Wednesday through Sunday with "meet the cast" talkbacks after Wednesday performances. Tickets are available at www.musicalfare.com or a by calling the box office at 716-839-8540 Love Triangles Span a Century at RLTP Jon Elston's Elliptical, the highlight of Scott Behrend's concept production, Triangles, is now playing at the Road Less Traveled Theater in Buffalo's theatre district. Elliptical is a fast-paced journey thorough the lives of three twenty-something friends who began their relationship in high school. The dynamic, ever-reconfiguring friendship between Ches (Todd Benzin), Michelle (Bonnie Jean Taylor) and Camille (Kelly Meg Brennan) begins during high school drama club. Here the awkward Ches has finally found his home away from the jocks and popular kids. Lifelong friends Michelle and Camille compete for roles and boys, with Camille the usual victor. The relationship takes unexpected twists and turns over the years that are alternatively intriguing, funny and cringe-worthy. Triangle opens with the haunting guitar chords of Buffalo's local musician, Alan Kryszak from behind the dark scrim. The actors enter through three triangular openings recite a series of monologues that tie the trilogy together. This triangle theme is repeated throughout the show. The first one act play isThe Strongerby August Strindberg set in the late nineteenth century. Lisa Virtanen plays Madame X, who alternately harangues and cajoles Madame Y (Kristen Tripp- Kelley) who remains stubbornly silent. Madame Y boasts about winning her husband away from X, but who has struck a better bargain? Emanuel Fried'sTriangle follows, a fifties era piece with Tripp-Kelley as Mary Ann, the other woman, and Vitrano as Jackie, the long-suffering wife. Mary Ann tries to convince the wife she should give over her husband and return to New York. Like Tripp-Kelley in the previous sketch, Vitrano frequently says more with stony glares and rolling eyes than her pacing co-star does with rambling monologues. In both plays the third character is the conspicuously absent husband. Jon Elston's contemporaryElliptical closes the trilogy. The grouping of the three plays was the brainchild of Director, Scott Behrend. According to Elston, "Scott gets the credit for conceiving of the trilogy. Manny wroteTriangle as a response toThe Stronger, and Scott suggested a third, modern piece to give the evening its third angle." The show continues through December 7th. See www.roadlesstraveledproductions.org or call (716) 683-1260 for more information. Old School Punkers Rock The Town Ballroom NOFX fans packed The Town Ballroom in Buffalo Thursday night, many of them younger than the twenty-five year old band. Fans sported facial piercings and black clothing and hairstyles ranging from mohawks or spikes to the classic emo bowl-cut. Ontario punkers Ceremonial Snips opened the sold-out show followed by The Toronto-based Flatliners. The Flatliners signed last year with Fat Wreck Chords, the independent punk label founded by Mike Burkett of NOFX in 1991. Chris Cresswell, The Flatliner's lead man on guitar, performed as the crowd erupted into an awkward mix of skanking and slam dancing, some skank dancers shuffling off after a few slams too many. Cresswell, backed by Scott Brigham on guitar, John Darbey on bass and Paul Ramirez on drums, spoke about a recent trip home to Toronto. After a brief stop at a local Tim Horton's, the band headed to the border where they were pulled over by customs for inspection, "They didn't find any drugs," said Cresswell, "but their dog ate Jon's bagel." Minnesota-based Dillinger Four appeared next. Vocalist Patrick Costello did everything he could to keep the audience's attention, from fellating the microphone to invoking the name of Joe the Plumber, but the crowd began chanting "NOFX" only fifteen minutes into the Dillinger Four performance. Band mates Erik Funk and Bill Morrisette on guitar and vocals, and drummer Lane Pederson also shared the stage. Much of the audience remained in Town's bar during the set, watching the Buffalo Sabres defeat the band's home team Minnesota Wild on the big screen. Security was beefed up considerably before NOFX took the stage. A total of seven bouncers lined the barrier, prepared for the enthusiastic crowd surfers who lunged for the stage. NOFX Front man and Fat Mike (Mike Burkett) joked that guitarist "El Hefe likes playing here even better than selling oranges" but he was "lonely because there are no Mexicans" in Buffalo. The band, including founding member Eric Melvin on guitar and drummer Erik Sandin, played a mix from their considerable play list featuring both older music and songs from their latest CD, released in November 2007, "They've Actually Gotten Worse Live". NOFX next heads to Baltimore and Richmond before beginning their European tour. Green Builders Come Together at Buffalo Forum The Heart of the City Neighborhoods, Inc. hosted the Green Building Forum: A Blueprint for Change at the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum Wednesday. The forum brought together nearly one hundred local building professionals interested in learning how to create green and affordable housing in Buffalo. Sam Magavern, an instructor who teaches who teaches Affordable Housing and the Environment at University at Buffalo Law School said, "If we are working in the building field already, we need to see how can we take it to the next level and build green." The Keynote Speakers, Ann Petersen, Home Ownership Coordinator for the City of Schenectady, New York and David Sadowsky, architect, discussed their Schenectady project which created a prototype environmentally friendly home which was designed for low income buyers. The home was awarded the Best in American Living Award by the National Association of Homebuilders. It was the first home in New York state to be certified by the United States Green Building Council to meet national Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. The home which was built for forty dollars less per square foot than typical Schenectady construction costs and was designed to fit the historical character of the community, Sadowsky explained. Operating costs are also kept in mind. The twelve month average combined utility cost was less than half that of a typical Schenectady home of that size. The home was created using the principals of Universal Design, Sadowsky said, "Universal Design enables people to age in place by building in flexibility. Wider doors, a first floor bedroom, first floor laundry, accessible or adaptable bathroom, on-grade access" are among the features that allow for adaptability for an aging or disabled resident without " looking like an institutional space." "HUD Subsidies are essential to building these homes," added Ann Petersen, "because we don't have private developers coming into these neighborhoods and building homes that cost $200,000 to build when they can only be sold for $100,000 due to neighborhood market conditions." Using real costs from prototype, the partners applied for grant funding to develop more homes. Kevin Connors of eco_logic STUDIO, a design studio which focuses on ecological architecture and design, worked with University at Buffalo architecture students to build a straw bale project in Depew.