Before it closes, don’t forget to pick up tickets to my show “Philosophus” at Alleyway Theatre of Buffalo, New York.
The play is a historical farce concerning a real-life event – the temporary imprisonment of the philosopher Voltaire in 1750’s Frankfurt.
The shows runs through October 6!
(I couldn’t agree more…)
My historical drama “Fifteen Men in a Smoke-Filled Room” is closing in a little over a week!
Make sure to grab your tickets while you still can… it’s a great, great show at Elite!
You can grab tickets HERE through September 30th!
I’m happy to say that we have another two reviews for “Philosophus!”
A review in the Buffalo Theater Guide, while not thrilled with one of the characters, called the show “an all-around funny show and fun time at the theater.”
Another great review by veteran reviewer, interviewer, and radio host Peter Hall in Buffalo Rising called the show “a solid rump… presented with high energy” and “delightful.”
Check out his good words below!
Another great addition – Mr. Hall is at the helm of a well-known and well-respected (if short) radio program on local station WBFO called “Theater Talk.” (The co-host of the show is the equally well-respected reviewer Anthony Chase.) Together, Mr. Hall and Mr. Chase spend 4-5 minutes chatting about theater in the Buffalo/Niagara area, devoting 30-60 seconds each week to four or five plays and/or musicals. This morning, they discussed “Philosophus,” again in very flattering terms – check it out!
Another review of my play “Fifteen Men in a Smoke-Filled Room” has been published by the VCStar by critic Rita Morin.
Meanwhile, the show continues to grow strong with a nearly sold-out matinee on Sunday, September 21st!
Check out the review below – and come and see the show this weekend!
Theater review: ‘Fifteen Men’ leaves backroom battle behind the scenes
Tickets available here!
Two reviews have come out for “Philosophus!”
First, Melinda Miller wrote a review for BuffaloNews, indicating she was not 100% thrilled with the farcical nature of the comedy, but yet declared the show “funny” and praised the great acting.
Second, Ann Marie Cusella wrote an extremely positive review of the show for the happening website, BuffaloVibes (although she did correctly chastise me a bit for areas where the script could be tightened).
Some highlights from her great review:
Mr. Crowley’s script is chock-a-block with witty dialogue, broad comedy, and is very, very funny. He expertly melds what appears to be complex thought with farce. However, I think some of the dialogue between the Baron and Frau Schmidt and the Frau and Voltaire could have been tightened up. At time the dialogue seemed a bit drawn out and detracted somewhat from the general hilarity. This is a minor glitch in an otherwise very well written script.
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Director of this production and Founder/Executive Director of Alleyway Theatre, Neal Radice, chose an outstanding cast for Philosphus. He keeps the action moving, the pratfalls coming, and highlights the particular skills of each of his actors while they chew up the scenery.
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Philosophus is great fun. I enjoyed it thoroughly. You can see it at Alleyway Theatre until October 6th.
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You can see the full review here!
Last evening, I had the great pleasure to attend “Curtain Up!” in Buffalo, NY – the official opening of the professional theater season. I was invited to attend a gala opening dinner by Alleyway Theatre, which was most enjoyable. The dinner is a major fundraising for the Theatre District Association, a not-for-profit community association “dedicated to the promotion of the health and well-being of Buffalo’s neighborhood known as the Theatre District.”
I’m especially impressed by the vibrant and collaborative theatrical community in Buffalo. The city has over 20 (by some count, 26!) theatrical companies in a city of approximately 250,000, with Alleyway Theatre being one of the oldest continually functioning theaters. The aforementioned downtown theatre district – a block-long stretch of restaurants and theaters – is a wonderful tribute to the arts in Buffalo and, frankly, a phenomenon that every medium-size city should emulate.
Very inspiring experience here in theatrical Buffalo!
Last night, I witnessed a magnificent opening for “my” historical farce “Philosophus” at Alleyway Theatre of Buffalo, New York!
I say “my” in quotations because a quick glance at the wonderful set, the colorful, period costumes, and – you can even get a sense of this in the picture below – the extraordinary acting talent of the marvelous actors and actresses who brought the show to life give me only part ownership in a truly effective and collaborative endeavor.
From the very start, the actors kept up a great pace with the show and the deft directing of Neal Radice, longtime Artistic Director of Alleyway Theatre, milked and squeezed as much comedy as possible out of every single moment. Neal’s idea to cast one of the two female roles with a man (Christopher Standart as the redoubtable Frau Schmidt) ended up proving to be a high point of the show and a casting option which I will permanently and officially write into the script. Also much thank goes to Samantha Vakiener, Dramaturg at Alleyway, for working with me on aspects of the script during rehearsals – and, hopefully, there will be a little more post-show refining to come!
As for the actors, it is difficult to express how well they performed without seeing the play for yourself (which I hope you do!). Chris J. Handley was a hoot as Voltaire, spraying out self-important speeches like a sprinkler without any seeming need to think or second-guess a single word. Emily Yancey was on her own planet as Voltaire’s “niece,” bouncing around the stage in a state of near-constant innuendo. Andrew Zuccari (who impressed me with the fact that he’s relatively new to acting) wonderfully balanced two characters across two different accents, juxtaposed so tightly together it’s a wonder he didn’t get vertigo. James Cichocki was wonderfully maniacal – yet also gloriously whiny and petulant – as the villain of the piece, and Christopher Standard was so rafter-shattering as Frau Schmidt that he could suitably terrify anyone within a 3-mile radius.
From left to right: Andrew Zuccari as “Dorn” (in this scene!), Emily Yancey as “Mademoiselle Denis,” Christopher Standart as “Frau Schmidt,” and Chris J. Handley as “Voltaire” (missing is James Cichocki)
Tonight, “Philosophus” will be a part of the Curtain Up! festivities in Buffalo, NY – the annual opening of the professional theatre season – where I will attend a gala dinner, the show, and then after-show festivities.
For tonight’s performance, tickets are already sold out – never unfortunate to see!
For future shows, you can get tickets here!
“Philosophus” runs through October 6.
Emily Dodi of VCReporter has recently published another review of my drama “Fifteen Men in a Smoke-Filled Room’ play from August 31-September 30 at Elite Theatre Company of Oxnard, CA.
I appreciate how Ms. Dodi framed the play as about the people involved, not the politics, and gave one of the better summations I could imagine (better than my own!) about the play’s characters.
“Crowley weaves a lot of history into a play that feels very relevant. What resonate most, however, are the human stories playing out in real time onstage. A man grappling between his desires and the inextricable pull of fate. An intelligent wife turning a blind eye to her husband’s infidelity while doing all she can to save him. A young woman negotiating the realities of an unfair world. An opportunist fighting for his candidate — or is he fighting for himself?”
Check out the review here!
Tomorrow night, my historical farce “Philosophus” opens at Alleyway Theatre in Buffalo, New York and runs from September 13th (not unlucky in this case) through October 6th!
I will be spending the opening weekend in Buffalo to see the show for the opening night and for the Friday performance during the Curtain Up! festival in Buffalo.
Alleyway is one of the few theaters in the country that solely – yes, solely – focuses on the production of new works.
Come over and see the show… 1 Curtain Up Alley, Buffalo, New York!!