Ti-Ahwaga actors tap into depth of ‘Death of a Salesman’ characters

Reviewd by George Basler

With Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller created one of the great dramas of the 20th century and one of the towering figures of American literature: Willy Loman, the doomed salesman of the title. So, I was more than a little worried while driving up Route 17 to Owego to watch the Ti-Ahwaga Community Players launch their season with a production of Miller’s classic play. The non-profit troupe can claim the title as the oldest, continually active community theater in upstate New York, but tackling Miller’s masterpiece is a daunting task for any non-professional, community theater. I dreaded the possibility of a very long evening.

The good news is that I didn’t need to worry. The Ti-Ahwaga actors, under the direction of James Osborne, turn in a solid and effective production that captures the emotion of  Miller’s great play about self-delusion, Oedipal confrontations between fathers and sons and what constitutes success, or failure, in American life. The production will run through Oct. 21.

BPO classical season has stunning start

Reviewed by Lee Shepherd

Noah Bendix-Balgley has it all – tall and imposing, well-spoken, personable, a fine composer as well as superb violinist, and if Saturday’s performance (Oct. 6) with the Binghamton Philharmonic is any indication, on his way to a world-class career.
The full-house audience in Binghamton University’s Osterhout Concert Theatre had it all, too – a performance of the Beethoven Violin Concerto in D Major played with incredible technical prowess and musicality, with back-up by a philharmonic that performs on par with orchestras that are the shining light of major cities across the U.S. and in world capitals.