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.

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!!

In just a few days, my historical farce “Philosophus” opens at Alleyway Theatre in Buffalo, New York!

Here is a great sample of scenes from the show during some of its final rehearsals, courtesy of Todd Warfield, Resident Designer and Associate Director at Alleyway.

The wonderful, lush, period costumes you see were designed by the aforementioned Todd Warfield and Joyce Stilson, Literary Manager and Director of Public Relations.

Chris J. Handley as “Voltaire”

…and check out these photos from the show’s rehearsals!

Check out this article about my farce, “Philosophus,” which is receiving its world premiere on Thursday, September 13th at Alleyway Theatre in Buffalo, New York!

“Philosophus” is premiering the weekend of Curtain Up!, the annual festival in Buffalo that celebrates the opening of the city’s professional theatrical season.

(Article by playwright Donna Yoke)

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Philosophus
Alleyway Theatre
by Colin Speer Crowley

Winner of the 2017 Maxim Mazumdar New Play Competition, Philosophus is receiving its world premiere at Alleyway Theatre for Curtain Up! “It’s not unusual for our new plays to undergo edits and rewrites beginning as much as twelve to eighteen months before they are ready to be put into a season schedule, but Philosophus is one of those rare scripts that came to us ready for first rehearsal,” says Alleyway Artistic Director Neal Radice. “It is also not unusual for a play described as a comedy to not succeed in making me laugh during first reading, but Philosophus had me laughing out loud from the first page.”

The year is 1757. The great philosopher Voltaire, along with his trusted companion Collini, is on the run. It seems Voltaire has stolen a treasured notebook from Frederick The Great and the monarch’s men have him surrounded in the German city of Frankfurt. “The playwright describes it as a ‘historical farce,’” says Radice. “Alleyway Theatre is dedicated to staging the play as it is imagined by the playwright, that is, not imposing some directorial conceit. The only variation I have made is casting a male actor in a female role, which the playwright has not only approved, but heartily endorsed.”

The play comes with a subtitle that makes clear its style and wit: “A true and terrible recounting of the horrible events to befall one François-Marie Arouet, otherwise known as ‘Voltaire,’ at the vile hands of despotism and tyranny, as represented by Baron Franz von Freytag and his insidious persecution of said philosopher, which, over the course of a few weeks, dictated the fate of liberty and freedom in the historical trajectory of Western civilization.” Promises Radice: “It’s as absurd, off-beat, and funny as it sounds, and I have a perfectly funny cast: Christopher Standart, Andrew Zuccari, James Cichocki, Emily Yancey, and Chris J. Handley as Voltaire,” Radice says.

Tickets: alleyway.com, 716-852-2600