Arts Review Writing
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Musicalfare's Jesus Christ Superstar Resonates Beyond the Stage of Shea's 710
The Challenger Community News April 16, 2026 
Musicalfare's Jesus Christ Superstar, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, arrives at Shea’s 710 Main with clarity, intention, and a sense of urgency that feels deeply connected to the present moment.
More than fifty years after its debut, this rock opera continues to ask difficult questions about power, loyalty, leadership, and belief. Under the direction of Randall Kramer, this production leans into those questions, offering a staging that feels both familiar and newly charged. A Requiem for Roberta Flack: Drea D'Nur Channels, Spirit, Memory, and Community
The Challenger Community News April 3, 2026 
On Sunday, March 29, 2026, the Buffalo community gathered for more than a concert; they stepped into a living ritual. A Requiem for Roberta Flack, headlined by Drea D’Nur, transformed the museum into a sanctuary of communal healing and ancestral honor. Marking her third installment in this series, the performance felt like a deepening of a sacred tradition.
Where Mother Meets Daughter In Song: A Legacy of Spirit and Sound at AKG
The Challenger Community News, March 27, 2026 
There are artists who perform and there are artists who create space. In Buffalo Drea D'Nur is known for the latter: a spirit led vocalist, pianist, and creative whose work moves beyond performance into something communal and deeply felt.
This Women’s History Month, Drea continues her Requiem series, a musical healing experience honoring Grammy Award–winning singer Roberta Flack. The event will take place this Sunday, March 29 from 4-5:30 p.m. at the AKG Art Museum inside the Lipsey Auditorium. Buffalo Fashion Runway 's Black Carpet 3: A Visionary Tapestry at Shea's
The Challenger Community News March 12, 2026 
The Buffalo Fashion Runway (BFR) took center stage at the historic Shea’s Performing Arts Center for its third annual Black Carpet Gala recently.
It was an ambitious production positioning fashion as the ultimate intersectional art form. Under the leadership of Chad Williams—who received a citation from Governor Kathy Hochul’s office for his contributions to the NYS fashion industry—the evening proved that Buffalo is no longer just a spectator in the world of high design; it is a storyteller. Blood, Iron, and Orishas: The Divine Brotherhood of The Brothers Size.
The Challenger Community News March 5, 2026 
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Ujima Theatre's Straight White Men: An Afro-Future Look at Privilege and Purpose
The Challenger Community News, November 20, 2025 
Ujima Theatre Company delivers a powerful and unconventional statement with Young Jean Lee's, Straight White Men. Curtis Lovell’s thoughtful direction transforms this ostensibly simple family drama into a profound, intellectually stimulating theatrical experience.
Far from being a traditional critique, Ujima's Straight White Men is an intriguing, often comedic, mind-bending event. It successfully probes complex themes of identity and privilege without being overly prescriptive, inviting the audience into what feels like a philosophical journey—a curious, modern-day Twilight Zone episode. Terry Guest’s Oak Is a Horror That Hits Home
The Challenger Community News, October 31, 2025 
The horror in playwright Terry Guest’s new play, Oak, is the kind that feels real—a ghost story that proves "free" always has a price and "No" is a complete sentence. Black Americans, drawing on our historical past, know that horror is real, existing in the corners of the worlds we see and touch, and those we cannot. Oak compels us to face this profound truth.
Set in Oak, a fictitious small town in Georgia during the rainy season, the play follows three young cousins: the determined and fearless teenager Pickle (Ember Tate Steele), her charming and annoying nine-year-old brother Big Man (PK Forton), and their nervous, ready-to-fight cousin Suga (Dasia Cervi). The trio introduces us to the legend of Odella Creek, named after the swampy, dark waterway and the ghost who haunts it. Buffalo's Prodigal Daughter Returns to Direct Southern Gothic Thriller, Oak.
The Challenger Community News, October 24, 2025 
Dawn Meredith Simmons, the esteemed Buffalo-born theater artist, is marking her Alleyway Theatre debut by directing the World Premiere of Terry Guest’s Oak. Part of the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere, Oak is a Southern Gothic thriller that centers on a single mother and her family as they grapple with the line between man and monster. The play features three kids, a swamp creature, and a lady with a shotgun—a thrilling, Halloween-time ghost story perfect for this self-proclaimed horror fan.
Why Everybody Should Go and See Everybody
The Challenger Community News, May 8, 2025 
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Tarell Alvin McCraney’s The Brothers Size, directed by Curtis Lovell at Ujima Theatre, is a profound exploration of intimacy within Black brotherhood. While ostensibly a story about siblings, it reaches much deeper, asking what defines "brotherhood" with or without a blood connection.
The Power of Presence A conversation with Roderick Garr on Returning Home
The Challenger Community News, March 5, 2026 
I first met actor Roderick Garr in 1989 at a Lenny Kravitz concert. Our friendship eventually matured on the sets of music videos and iconic TV shows. Before returning to Buffalo, Roderick built a formidable Hollywood resume, with credits ranging from The Cosby Show, Smart Guy, Living Single, and Sister, Sister to the film Drop Squad and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Don't Just Watch, Witness Why Exit Strategy is the Theatrical Meal Our Community Needs.
The Challenger Community News, February 26, 2026 
Ike Holter is a Chicago playwright whose work, while rooted in the Windy City, speaks to universal themes that resonate with us all. Currently, Road Less Traveled Productions is presenting his play Exit Strategy. This isn't a story about the quiet wisdom of "accepting what you cannot change"—it is a play about fighting, changing, and doing. It is a raw look at revolution and the challenges of being a revolutionary in a world suffering from selective amnesia—an amnesia that threatens to destroy people, their communities, and the lives they’ve built.
Excellence in Black & White: 18th Annual Black Tie for Black history Extravaganza Set for Feb. 27
The Challenger Community News February 19,2026 
Buffalo’s rhythm is shifting toward the Metropolitan Entertainment Complex. On Friday, February 27, 2026, the Buffalo Funk Fest will present its 18th Annual Black Tie for Black History Extravaganza. From 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., 1670 Main Street serves as the backdrop for an evening dedicated to celebrating Buffalo’s "difference makers."
A Month of Ritual, Resistance, and Reclaimng the Stage
Challenger Community News February 16, 2026 
This February, Buffalo’s stages aren't just putting on plays; they are holding up mirrors. As we navigate Black History Month, the Challenger is looking at how our community is reclaiming spaces—both new and old. We are moving beyond simple entertainment into a month of deep cultural exploration.
A Century of Wonder, A Century of Truth: Buffalo Fashion Runway Brings Black Carpet III To Sheas The Challenger Community News, February 12, 2026 
Two powerful timelines converge at Shea’s Buffalo Theatre on Saturday February 28. As the "Wonder Theatre" celebrates its Centennial, the nation marks 100 years of celebrating Black History—a tradition sparked in 1926 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson. Against this backdrop, Buffalo Fashion Runway (BFR) presents Black Carpet III, a production proving that while history is written in books, it is lived through culture and worn as art. For a century, Shea’s has hosted Broadway legends, but it has never seen a full-scale fashion production of this magnitude. This historic debut, sponsored by The John R. Oishei Foundation, cements fashion as a respected art form in one of Buffalo’s most legendary landmarks.
The Cost of The Card: A Somber Look at Billie Holiday's Final Days and the Price She Paid To Remain Herself.
The Challenger Community News February 5, 2026 
Lanie Robertson’s Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill is currently running at Shea’s Smith Theatre, produced by MusicalFare. Directed by Thembi Duncan, the production stars Alexandra McArthur as Billie Holiday, accompanied by George Caldwell on piano, Mike Moser on guitar, and Sabu Adeyola on bass.
A Splendiferous Future: Building a More Inclusive Stage
The Challenger Community News December 26, 2025 
The curtains have recently closed on Theatre of Youth’s (TOY) production of Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas, The Musical, but the impact of the show is still vibrating through the Buffalo community. While the glitter and tiaras of the "splendiferous" Christmas story delighted audiences, the real magic happened in the intentionality of its casting and direction—proving that 21st-century theater for young audiences is finally starting to look like the world we live in.
Theater Arts Spotlight: Pete johnson
The Challenger Community News, November 21, 2025 
Currently appearing on Irish Classical Theater’s stage, Pete Johnson plays the ambitious, determined, and enamored Jack Smythe in Ronán Noone’s Thirst, directed by Kate LoConti Alocer. While this is Pete’s first time with Irish Classical, he is a seasoned theatrical artist, also working as an actor, producer, stage and film director, and author.
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Tioga Simpson directs Everybody written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, a play about dying alone and love, fear, anger, and what it means to be human. Gerald Ramsay portrays the Usher who guides the audience through this existential journey. Everybody is a morality play allowing the us to ask and answer the questions, is this a play, is this a dream, is this death?
The Wiz Revival at Shea's is a 21st Century celebration of Black Joy!
The Challenger Community News, March 5, 2025 
The Wiz has come to Buffalo at Shea’s Buffalo Performing Arts Center and it is a phenomenal revival of a classic show so many of us love. With new songs, revamped musical and vocal arrangements, along with additional dialogue by writer comedian Amber Ruffin, this is not Broadway’s The Wiz of 1974! This new version of The Wiz represents the 21st century with unapologetic Blackness beside celebrations of Black joy.
The Folks at Home is Good Times!
The Challenger Community News, February 15, 2024, 
The Folks at Home, by R. Eric Thomas, is a Western New York premiere comedy on the stage of The Alleyway Theater (1 Curtain Up Plaza) in downtown Buffalo. The Folks at Home takes place at Roger Harrison and Brandon Harrison-Littlfield’s large lovely South Baltimore row house. A married interracial gay couple they are behind on their mortgage after Roger was let go from his more than five year job as an almost licensed real estate agent.
King Richard Boldly Opens Ujima's Theatre Season!
The Challenger Community News, September 25, 2024 
In 1821 slavery was still legal in New York State and most of the country. New York abolished slavery in 1827 (the rest of the country followed after 1865). William Alexander Brown, a free Black man born in the Caribbean started the first Black theater troupe, The African Company in 1821 New York City.
For a quarter, you could watch The African Company perform opera, ballet, and plays. When The African Company adds William Shakespeare’s Richard the III to their calendar, the problem begins. Actors Garr, Ramsey, and Fensmire Prove Unbeatable Chemistry in the Powerful and Relevant Stage Play Master Harold and The Boys!
The Challenger Community News, November 30, 2022 
Master Harold and the Boys has just one more week left at the Irish Classical Theater. Closing on December 3, the award winning play set in 1950 South Africa, explores how we create beauty and joy in a world filled with ugliness. Although written forty years ago the message is still relevant and powerful. Aaron Mays direction of the actors is exceptional. as Roderick Garr and Gerald Ramsey shine!
Hamilton, Whose Narrative Is It Anyway? The Challenger Community News, December 5, 2018 
Hamilton, An American Musical, winner of 11 Tony awards, 2016 Pulitzer prize for drama, Drama Desk awards, and a Grammy award currently being performed at Shea's Performing Arts Center is a sure-fired modern classic by 33-year old genius actor/playwright, Lin-Manuel Miranda. This "historical hip-hop opera" is inspired is inspired by U.S. Founding Father, Alexander Hamilton's life to the rhythmic influence of 90's rap and hip-hop.
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