> by JAVIER

Happy birthday to the fabulous Angie Dickinson (pictured above) who turned 84 this week, on September 30th. Brian De Palma’s 1980 erotic thriller Dressed to Kill in which Dickinson portrayed a frustrated Manhattan housewife and mother, was recently released by Criterion in a new Blu-ray remastered edition. After a prolonged movie career, Dickinson became a huge TV star in the mid ‘70s starring as Sergeant Leann “Pepper” Anderson in the series Police Woman. Having appeared in the original Ocean’s 11 (1960) with pals Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, she made a brief cameo in the 2001 remake with George Clooney and Brad Pitt.

Up next for the Kavinoky, the 1933 Pulitzer Prize winner Both Your Houses by Maxwell Anderson. The play, a drama about corruption in Washington, opened on Broadway in 1933 and has never been revived. Lately though, there have been a few regional productions: Chicago last October, and earlier this year at the Asolo in Florida, directed by renowned Frank Galati who reportedly also did a great job in trimming the old-fashioned script. David Lamb will direct the Kavinoky production which marks Anne Gayley’s return to that stage. The large cast includes a Who’s Who in Buffalo theater (alphabetically): Chris Brandjes, Kevin Craig, Kurt Erb, Chris Evans, Greg Gjurich, Kurt Guba, Robert Insana, Steve Jakiel, Tim Joyce, Gerry Maher, Aleks Malejs, Russ Papia, Peter Palmisano, Norm Sham, and Jessica Wegrzyn. The play opens on November 13th.

Incidentally, Maxwell Anderson might be best known for his 1954 play The Bad Seed which was adapted from the novel by William March. Between 1921 and 1958, Anderson wrote over thirty plays. The Mystery Company will be presenting The Bad Seed at the Lancaster Opera House, October 16th-25th.

Frank Canino’s short play Perfect is one of the ten winners in this year’s British Theatre Challenge. The play will close the two day festival to be held in London at The Lost Theatre, October 23rd & 24th. Congratulations!

O’Connell & Company’s signature show DIVA by DIVA: A Celebration of Women! returns to the stage on October 14th at 7:30 as it enters its seventeenth year. Additional dates in the fall are November 11th and December 9th.

NPR humorist and best-selling author David Sedaris returns to UB’s Center for the Arts on Saturday, October 17th at 8pm. A book signing will follow the show. Sedaris’s popular The Santaland Diaries (adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello) will be presented once again this year by Road Less Traveled Productions in its brand new home, December 4th-13th. Doug Weyand returns to direct, this time starring Kevin Kennedy.

Buffalo State Theater Department kicks off its 2015-16 season on October 8th with Sondheim’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, directed by Donn Youngstrom with dance direction by Carlos Jones. The department’s season continues with The Motherfucker with the Hat by Stephen Adly Guirgis, directed by Aaron Moss (November 11th-21st), and Michael Frayn’s farce Noises Off (March 3rd -12th), directed by Jennifer Toohey. Noises Off, which first opened on Broadway in 1983, is scheduled for its second revival January 14th – March 6th, 2016 starring Andrea Martin and Megan Hilty.

Buffalo Opera Unlimited will present Salute to Duke Ellington on October 10th at 8pm and October 11th at 2:30pm at 710 Main Theatre. Tim Kennedy, Katy Miner, Lorenzo Parnell, Zoe Viola Scruggs, and Eric Wilbon will be joined by the George Caldwell Quintet to bring the sounds of the Duke.

Congratulations to the Jewish Repertory Theatre of WNY (co-founders Saul Elkin and David Bunis pictured below) who celebrated their 13th (Bar/Bat Mitzvah) anniversary with a party at Butterwood Sweet & Savory on September 20th. Thirteen candles were lit to honor the following for their contributions to the company: Joan and Peter Andrews, Bunis, Elkin, Marcia Frankel, Leslie M. Greenbaum, Peter Palmisano (representing JRT actors), Ann Emo (representing JRT designers), Greg Natale (representing JRT directors), M&T Bank, Maxine and Robert Seller, Mary and Rich Smythe, Sophia Veffer, and Gretchen Gross (representing loyal audiences).