EPAC’s ‘Sweet Charity’ has something for everyone

EDITOR’S NOTE: A regular attendee of Endicott Performing Arts Center shows shared with BAMirror the comments he posted on EPAC’s Facebook site following last week’s opening weekend of Sweet Charity. Performances conclude tomorrow (Sunday, March 24).

Reviewed by Ed Arnold

Another fine evening’s entertainment was provided by the cast and tech crew of EPAC for the musical Sweet Charity. When I go out for an evening, I want to be entertained with comedy, dancing, live music, and this show had it all.

United Cultural Fund grants total $228,000 for 2013

By Barb Van Atta

Broome County Arts Council Board Chairman Fred Xlander and Executive Director Sharon Ball today (March 13) announced the awarding of more than $228,000 in United Cultural Fund (UCF) grants for 2013. Seven arts and cultural organizations will share in $210,428 in UCF general operating support grants. Project grants totaling another $18,298 will be shared by 14 organizations and individual artists.

EPAC ‘Fiddler’ hits all the right notes

Reviewed by George Basler

Fiddler on the Roof, being performed this weekend and next by the Endicott Performing Arts Center (EPAC) Repertory Company,  is a superb production of one of Broadway’s greatest musicals.

What makes the musical great, besides the obvious elements of  top-notch songs and writing, is its underlying theme.

EPAC’s ‘Shrew’ is pleasant trifle

Reviewed by George Basler

The Taming of the Shrew is one of William Shakespeare’s more controversial plays, as well as one of his best known. If taken seriously, the misogynistic tone and message of female submissiveness can be grating, even offensive, to modern audiences.

Thankfully, the Endicott Performing Arts Center’s production, which opened Thursday (Aug. 16) and will run through Sunday (Aug. 19), doesn’t take itself seriously. The show is a pleasant, if not exactly memorable, diversion for a warm summer’s evening.

EPAC successfully tackles controversial musical

Reviewed by George Basler

Director Patrick Foti calls Spring Awakening, which opened Thursday (July 19) at the Endicott Performing Arts Center, a descendant of West Side Story, the ground-breaking musical of a half century ago.

While the comparison might not be readily apparent, both shows deal with the raw emotions of young characters caught up in a world that can crush their dreams. And just as West Side Story pushed the envelope in terms of staging and themes seen on Broadway in the late 1950s, Spring Awakening does the same thing for contemporary audiences.

EPAC’s ‘Joseph’ is truly amazing

Reviewed by Ralph Hall

Over the past eight years I have seen several Endicott Performing Arts Center productions, and without hesitation Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is the very best. Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice’s musical is uniquely produced with a cast representing the wide diversity of all those associated with EPAC, including the children’s chorus.

Director Patrick Foti has given the play its Broadway interpretation with the special addition of what only a talented community theatre can do in these economic times – a large cast.  Add to this the talent of several of the company’s lead performers, and you have an outstanding production.

EPAC keeps growing to bring arts to community

By Ralph Hall

EPAC as a work in progress

Throughout the Americas and Europe, there are hundreds of community theaters, but there is only one Endicott Performing Arts Center (EPAC)! EPAC is a unique, comprehensive and community-committed not-for-profit organization serving the Broome County area and making a difference in economics, the arts and education. The activities of this company are so very diverse in serving many age groups, varied arts pursuits (i.e. acting, dance, backstage, etc.) in a setting that positively affects the economics of Washington Avenue, Endicott and Broome County.

The venue, formerly known as the Lyric Theater, was built 1916-1917 as a vaudeville theater, and a few years later was transformed to a motion picture theater. In 1993 the owners closed the theater, and it began to deteriorate. Fortunately for the community, Lou Ligouri (Executive Director) and Pat Foti (Artistic Director) met in 1991 and within a few years created a vision that was to become EPAC. The first performance in 1999 was Visions of Vaudeville, produced and performed with the St. Anthony Players. In 2010, the name of the theater was changed to “Robert Eckert Theatre” to honor Robert Eckert, an Endicott native who has been active in professional and community theater for many years.

Maureen McGovern dazzles EPAC audience

Reviewed by Tony Villecco

Pop singer, jazz artist, Grammy nominee and Broadway star Maureen McGovern gave a thrilling and emotion-packed concert last Saturday (Oct. 17) at the Endicott Performing Arts Center. What was even more amazing is that, when she heard about the flood here she decided to donate her concert fee to the community. Pretty classy lady, huh?

Have you been ‘art-full’ this week?

My art-full efforts this past week included the latest “Pirates of the Caribbean” opus and the Downtown Singers concert on Saturday; how about you? What did you see/hear/view this past week? Please share your comments — remember: to do so, you don’t need to register with WordPress.

Did you ‘spring’ into the arts this weekend?

Did you visit a gallery, attend a concert or like, Nick Linnehan, check out the kids at EPAC (see comment)? Join the conversation — no registration required (see below) — and talk about the arts in your life.

EPAC’s production of ‘Oliver’ is terrific

Reviewed by Nicholas Linnehan

Normally, I don’t like musicals. It just seems pretentious to have people break into song and dance out of nowhere. I do not expect much when I attend a musical, but, to my surprise, I was immediately drawn into “Oliver” at the Endicott Performing Arts Center. From the moment the curtain opened to the last note sung, I was enthralled by EPAC’s outstanding production of this timeless tale.

Imagine hearing Lennon in concert

Reviewed by Barb Van Atta

“Imagine … It’s easy if you try.”

Imagine there was no Mark David Chapman, and John Lennon was still alive and well and getting ready for his 70^th birthday. He would round up a few of his mates (and Yoko, of course) and, disdainful of impersonal arena touring, opt for concerts in small theaters and clubs. He would pair up songs and pare down arrangements while bringing his lyrics – no, make that his poetry – to the forefront. Through wide, round, wire-rimmed glasses he would make eye contact with his audiences, establishing intimacy through anecdotes and interpretations.

Profile: 2010 Heart of the Arts Award nominee Lou Ligouri

Solo or part of a troupe, onstage or behind the scenes, paid or volunteer, each of the five 2010 Heart of the Arts Award nominees gives 100 percent to the bright and varied world of arts and entertainment in Broome County. All this week BAMirror will be providing biographical background about the nominees. We’re also offering you an opportunity to congratulate the nominees and to share a story or two. Today we feature Lou Ligouri, executive director of the Endicott Performing Arts Center.