Batavia Players

Click here to purchase tickets.

Show tunes and more show tunes.

If you love Broadway, Batavia Players has just the show for you this weekend.

"Just One More Time & Something New" is a celebration of 100 years of the best musicals to grace the stages of 42nd Street in the heart of Manhattan, better known as Broadway.

The choral review covers the music of Tin Pan Alley to state-of-the-art contemporary Broadway.

You will certainly hear some familiar classics as well as a few tunes that might surprise you.

There are shows at Main Street 56 Theater on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday at 2 p.m.  Tickets are $24 at the door or $22 for seniors and students.  There is a discount to buy in advance online. 

Photos by Howard Owens.

It's just a typical Prohibition-era night at Ruth's Speakeasy, where you can find the best moonshine and jazz singers in town before one of the patrons is murdered.

To solve this crime, the cast of Batavia Players needs your help.

"Murder at the Speakeasy" is an immersive and interactive murder mystery and scavenger hunt.

Audiences are encouraged to register in teams of up to four people each and dress in period-correct costumes.

Ruth's is a place with simple rules -- no business and no guns.  It is the haunt of gangsters, crooked cops, businessmen, and rising stars. The perfect environment for betrayal, vengeance, greed, and, ultimately, murder.

Who done it: the crooked police chief? The sultry jazz singer? A scorned woman?

You and your companions will have to figure it out.

You will be provided clue questions to ask the possible suspects and a map of all the local places the suspects hang out so you can track them down and find the clues.  

The adventure begins at check-in. Audience members will receive the secret password to gain entry to the Speakeasy.  Upon entry, they will meet the host of characters, and that's when the game begins. Sleuths must keep their eyes and ears open for any hints that might be dropped.  

The scene will unfold, the murder will happen, and then the questioning begins. Then the audience is released to follow the leads and track down the clues scattered throughout Batavia's local business community.  When the audience returns, the members will cast ballots for who they suspect is the likely killer before reentering the Speakeasy to see if they got the details right.

There are prizes supplied by local businesses.

Batavia Players encourage audience members to take pictures and post to social media but they ask, "please, however, at no time share the solution so the other groups can have the pleasure of solving the crime on their own."

The show is Saturday at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. at Main St. 56 Theater in Downtown Batavia.

Tickets are $30 per person or $100 for a team of four people. For tickets, click here.

Photos by Howard Owens.

A young rock star -- shades of Elvis Presley -- is about to enter the Army after being drafted, and his manager needs to cash in on him one more time so he can get out of debt, return to college to become an English teacher and marry his sweetheart.

That story, set to song, is the plot of the classic musical Bye Bye Birdie, which the cast of Batavia Players will present this weekend at 56 Main Street Theater in Downtown Batavia.

It's the story of Albert Peterson, a mild-mannered young man with a talent for writing hit songs but none of the guile of Tom Parker, who has helped Conrad Birdie achieve stardom.  His girlfriend, Rose Alvarez, wants Albert to exit the music business and return to his initial passion, writing, and become the English teacher and all the stability that represents, as he originally planned. 

Albert is distressed when Birdie is drafted, but Rose sees this turn of events as a golden opportunity. She encourages Albert to write a hit song, "The Last Kiss," and get Birdie on national TV kissing one of his fan club members goodbye.

Hilarity and entertainment ensue.

The musical is set in the early 1960s, with Batavia Players' sets and costumes being period-perfect.

Showtimes are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. For more information and tickets, visit bataviaplayers.org.

“The Whirligig of Time,” the newest production from the Batavia Players at Main St. 56 Theater, melds the fantasy of time travel with the magic of William Shakespeare to captivate an audience's imagination.

Written by Rick Bingen, Whirligig (itself a reference to a line in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night), the play is the story of a woman who visits London on vacation and then returns to complete the journey he longed to take before they returned home. Her husband, a software engineer obsessed with Shakespeare, had planned a visit to a tavern known for its authentic recreation of a watering hole from the Bard's time. Alas, when they arrive on that last night, the tavern is closed.  

The husband begs his wife, Olivia (another allusion to the Twelfth Night), to stay in London a few more days and catch another flight home. After all, he argues, you never know if their plane might roll off the runway or he might die of boredom in his job.

After he passes, Olivia returns to London and that tavern. After a brief visit to contemporary times, she is magically transported back four centuries and meets Shakespeare and his friends and associates, Richard Burbage, Will Kemp, Rebecca Heminges, and John Heminges.

Photos by Howard Owens.

The Batavia Players production of “Evita,” hitting the 56 Main Theater stage this weekend, is high energy, said director Pat Burk.

There is nonstop singing and frequent dancing, and the main character, Kristen Gelia's Eva Peron, has 15 costume changes.

"Evita is very tough because she's rarely offstage," Burk said. If she's offstage, it's for 30 seconds. She literally sings over half the score, so it's a very difficult role. You need a strong voice, strong acting skills, and the ability to be very quick, manipulate, and move quickly."

Gelia, who was lead in the “Drowsy Chaperone” last spring, is a former Harvie Award winner and has been in a number of other Batavia Players’ productions, is doing a great job in the role, Burk said.

The cast -- which has only four named characters, and everybody else is an "ensemble" -- is active throughout the entire production, and Burk believes audiences will thoroughly enjoy the show they put on.

"I'm very, very pleased with our talent," Burk said. "This cast is doing a tremendous job. We have very long rehearsals, 10 hours on some days. And you're looking at people who volunteer their time to put on something that is not normally done in a regional or a community theater. We have great musicians in the pit, and you know that our tech is great. And so I hope people come and see it. It's a wonderful, wonderful show."

The Batavia Players production of Evita, hitting the 56 Main Theater stage this weekend, is high energy, said director Pat Burk.

There is nonstop singing and frequent dancing, and the main character, Kristen Gelia's Eva Peron, has 15 costume changes.

"Evita is very tough because she's rarely offstage," Burk said. If she's offstage, it's for 30 seconds. She literally sings over half the score, so it's a very difficult role. You need a strong voice, strong acting skills, and the ability to be very quick, manipulate, and move quickly."

Gelia, who was lead in the Drowsy Chaperone last spring, is a former Harvie Award winner, and has been in a number of other Batavia Player's productions, is doing a great job in the role, Burk said.

The cast -- which has only four named characters, and everybody else is an "ensemble" -- is active throughout the entire production, and Burk believes audiences will thoroughly enjoy the show they put on.

"I'm very, very pleased with our talent," Burk said. "This cast is doing a tremendous job. We have very long rehearsals, 10 hours on some days. And you're looking at people who volunteer their time to put on something that is not normally done in a regional or a community theater. We have great musicians in the pit, and you know that our tech is great. And so I hope people come and see it. It's a wonderful, wonderful show."

The story of Evita, meaning how Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice came to write the musical, begins with them writing the eventual hit song "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" when Webber and Rice became enthralled with the story of Eva Perón.

They wrote "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and decided to spin it out into a rock opera.  Evita was a concept album released in 1976 before it became a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical. The production eventually toured nationally, was adopted to film in 1996, and has been performed on stages from London to Spain, Mexico and South Africa.

The musical tells the story of Eva, who was born poor in the small city of Junin. At 15, she seeks a better life in Buenos Aires and persuades tango singer-songwriter Agustin Magaldi to take her to Argentina's capital city.

Once there, Eva sleeps her way up the social ladder. She becomes a model, radio star, and actress. During this same period, Col. Juan Perón begins his rise to power. 

Following a charity concert in Luna Park to aid earthquake victims, Perón and Eva meet and begin an affair. Eva suggests she can help Perón rise to power.

Once the relationship is public, Eva is introduced to high society, only to be met with disdain from the upper classes and military.

"Surprisingly, at that time, the aristocrats in Argentina were basically people who fled from Nazi Germany as Nazis. In other words, after the war was over they checked out of Germany in order to be safe from being prosecuted," Burk said. "Also, a tremendous number of English people who were fascist and Nazi sympathizers (migrated). So it was a very wealthy group that was trying to run things, and she kind of upset the applecart."

That compelling story, along with the musical's iconic status, energy, and great work of the cast and crew, is why Burk hopes the community will be inspired to turn out for the production.

"It's been a favorite of mine for quite a few years," Burk said. "And it isn't always available for production; we're very lucky we were able to obtain the rights. It took us over two years to do that, to do the production here."

Evita opens at 56 Main St. Theater at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, followed by another 7:30 p.m. performance on Saturday and 2 p.m. shows on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $22 online, or $24 at the door, and students and seniors are $22.

Photos by Howard Owens

Click here for more information or to purchase tickets!

Four friends who have a lot to say, and they say it through song -- sharing their stories, their ups and their downs, and their secrets -- is the motif that makes Four the Record, a cabaret show, an entertaining show at Main St. 56 Theater this weekend.

The four-person cast features four Harvie Award winners: Deacon Smith, Jocelyn Coburn (not available for photos), Sarah Hill and Sophie Houseman.

The show opens on Friday at 7:30 p.m., with performances on Saturday at 7:30 and on Sunday at 2 p.m.

To purchase tickets, click HERE.

Audiences will have an opportunity to watch a French connection this weekend.

Not the one with big city narcotics detectives investigating a heroin smuggling ring, but rather, the royal Shakespearean drama of “King John,” about the difficulties of who the lead character was and that he usurped the throne, Director E. Jane Burk says.

“One of the other characters that is in this play, his name is Arthur, he is John's nephew, he was the son of John's older brother, Jeffrey, who died. John took the throne before Arthur could ascend to it; he actually usurped the throne from his nephew Arthur. So much of the play revolves around a French connection. That's why we have (on the banners at the back of the stage) English lions on one side, and we have French fleur-de-lis on the other side,” Burk said during rehearsal Tuesday. “There is a significant threat of war because the French segment, the French king, King Philip, wants to put John's nephew Arthur on the English throne. So it all revolves around the situation that it was very militaristic. You could almost say contemporary in terms of the different factions that were trying to come to power.”

Batavia Players will present Shakespeare in Springtime’s “King John” at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at Main St. 56 Theater in Batavia City Centre.

Playwright William Shakespeare penned a significant number of plays that were histories about notables such as Richard the Third and Henry the Eighth, and this lesser known figure, King John, Burk said. 

“It is not frequently performed anywhere,” she said. “And it’s interesting because, actually, this particular play is all in verse. It’s all poetry; it’s not prose, it’s not normal, conversation-type stuff.”

A passage from King John’s character states:  

O cousin, thou art come to set mine eye.

The tackle of my heart is cracked and burnt,

And all the shrouds wherewith my life should sail

Are turnèd to one thread, one little hair.

My heart hath one poor string to stay it by,

Which holds but till thy news be utterèd,

And then all this thou seest is but a clod

And module of confounded royalty.

The time period is 1216, and the play is paying homage to the Magna Carta, which King John signed in 1215, a year before his death at 49, Burk said. The cast quickly became familiar with the setting, the lines and the demands of such a production, and has fulfilled its responsibilities with aplomb, she said.

Auditions were in mid-January, everyone received their scripts and immediately began to learn their lines after being cast for roles, and, because another show was happening during a portion of February, rehearsals didn’t even begin until later in the month.  

“And this is only March 19. And kudos to the cast. I give them so much credit. They have done an extraordinary job of creating this place that is not Western New York. That is not Batavia. That does not sound anything like the way we speak. I have French people that are speaking with French accents,” she said. “We have worked hard on this. They have learned their lines, their scripts, word for word. If you were to sit right now — I'm not exaggerating — if you were to sit and actually listen to what they are saying, watching but listening, and reading the script as you're going along, you will see that it’s word for word. It is extraordinary. That's exceptionally difficult. You cannot take away from the fact that they have given heart and soul to making this happen.”

And who are “they?” By all other accounts, they are ordinary people, volunteers in the world of community theater with a passion for the arts, people who have jobs, work for a living, tend to families, she said, and dedicate many hours to memorizing their lines and create the character they will eventually bring to life up on stage. 

The premise of “King John” is that he goes to war against the French after claiming that his nephew should be king instead. John has conflict with the church, orders his nephew's death, and turns the nobles against himself. In the end, John dies after a monk poisons him, the French retreat and his own son becomes king.

Burk isn’t necessarily looking to convert the masses onto Shakespeare; however, she’s hoping that folks are willing to give it a try.

“My idea is that, on some level, most of the people that will come to see the show probably have not had any sort of prior experience with Shakespeare,” she said. “But what we hope is that if we can make a difference in the life of one person if we can make the lightbulbs click on for one person, and they understand and discover what Shakespeare is all about, then we’ve succeeded. That’s what it’s all about.”

Tickets are $22 adults, $20 students and seniors online and $24 adults, $22 students and seniors for cash at the door.

Friday and Saturday evenings, and Sunday afternoon, theater goers can take a special Valentine's moment to explore along with Batavia Players the nuances of love.

The play "Love Lines" was written by Patrick D. Burk, who is also the director of the production, and Vincent M. Gauteri.

The production is described as "a celebration of love and how people fall in love currently or in the past; there are special moments from real people and real-life situations."

Show times are 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and  2 p.m. on Sunday, at the Main St. 56 Theater in Batavia City Centre.

For more information or tickets, visit bataviaplayers.org.

Submitted photos.

Click here to purchase your tickets today!

This weekend's 2024 Harvie Awards gala recognized many deserving recipients from the past year's Batavia Players shows, organizers said, including:

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A PLAY

Steven Coburn, 12 Angry Jurors

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Emily Crawford, Antony & Cleopatra

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A PLAY

Elijah Van Epps, Antony & Cleopatra

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Dorothy Gerhart, One Act Plays, The Verbatim

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY

Anthony Haitz, 12 Angry Jurors

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Mary Eckstein, 12 Angry Jurors

OUTSTANDING LEAD MALE PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL

Phil Berry, The Drowsy Chaperone

OUTSTANDING LEAD FEMALE PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL

Sarah Hill, Opposites Attract, I'll Be Here

OUTSTANDING LEAD FEMALE PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL

Kristin Gelia, The Drowsy Chaperone

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING MALE PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL

Qasim Huzair, The Drowsy Chaperone

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING FEMALE PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL

Sophie Houseman, The Drowsy Chaperone

OUTSTANDING FEATURED MALE PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL

Anthony Haitz, The Drowsy Chaperone

OUTSTANDING FEATURED FEMALE PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL

Samantha Jane Balbi, Cry Baby

OUTSTANDING YOUTH PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

Peyton Woeller, Cry Baby

OUTSTANDING CHILD PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

Adam Jursted, Cry Baby

OUTSTANDING MUSICAL PERFORMANCE ENSEMBLE

Watch Your Ass, Cry Baby

OUTSTANDING MUSICAL SOLO PERFORMANCE

Deacon Smith, Hallelujah, A Christmas Carol

PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

James Barcomb, 12 Angry Jurors

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

Mick Larson

BUSINESS SUPPORT OF THE YEAR

McCabe Enterprises

COMMUNITY SUPPORT OF THE YEAR

Batavia Downs Gaming

BOARD OF DIRECTORS – DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

Tom Clark

As another year begins to fade away in the hopefulness of a new one, there’s still room for a look back at the best and brightest theatrical performances as the Batavia Players present the 2024 Gala: Starting Here, Starting Now!

The premise is simple enough. Pat Burk says: it’s a new year, the first time for the awards show in a brand new theater, and with all but three of a dozen new shows negotiated for the 2024 season.

“Starting Here, Starting Now is a song written for a musical, it’s not really well known, but it’s about, this is the beginning of our new year, it’s about things being new. It’s just a nice kind of event, and people can see the seating and the style in the theater and how things are presented there. And it’s just kind of a cool event,” Burk said during an interview with The Batavian. “We’re pretty close to being completed, and all of our shows will be presented in the same venue with all new equipment. It’s just going to be a great year for us.”

Set for 7 p.m. Saturday at the Main St. 56 Theater in downtown Batavia, the gala is a party celebration of the Players’ “very successful 2023 season” with hors d’oeuvres, refreshments, basket raffles, select performances and — drum roll, please — a presentation of the 2023 Harvie Awards to a slate of deserving performers in this past year’s lineup of shows.

There will be several recap performances and highlights of plays and musicals from the past season, along with a discussion about why people were nominated and ultimately chosen for each award. 

Directors from each of the shows submitted nominations, and four additional directors contributed reviews for the final selections, Burk said. Beyond a nod of recognition for the talent up on stage is a moment to pause and reflect and reminisce about the seven musicals and four play productions put forth in a span of 12 months, he said. 

This will be the first time since COVID — will it ever be forgotten? — for a full-blown awards show. The last one was for the 2019 awards, and it was right smack in the middle of a St. Patrick’s holiday that health department officials came in to shut down the event on those first bleak days of the pandemic, he said.

“And they came in nicely, and we said, ‘Can we at least finish, or can we get the food out of here?’ And they said we had to close up. I remember they allowed us to do takeout containers for the corned beef and cabbage,” he said. 

Does that feel like a million years ago now, or yesterday?

“A million years ago, because we were also in the process of just starting the demolition of the new theater. And that literally started that January 1, and we were just so looking forward to, within two years, we’d be out of Harvester and into our new theater. And obviously, none of that happened,” he said. “So, we’re in the new theater … it’s so deserved. It’s been a long time coming.”

And in that vein, the theater is starting here, starting now, with its 2024 season that kicks off with a concert, “Pushin’ Time,” with duo Eric Carlin and Deanna Spiotta Carlin on Jan. 19. Other confirmed shows include “The Little Mermaid Jr.," “Pygmalion,” and one that Burk is thrilled to have secured for May, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Evita.”

As for the remainder of the lineup, that will be revealed, except for those three shows still in negotiations, during this weekend's gala. Attendees may want to spiff up for the affair if they like and absorb a medley of productions while supporting the arts and artists who make it happen.

Admission is a $30 donation. Advance ticket purchases are encouraged at bataviaplayers.org

Award nominations went to the following:

Lead actor in a play

Stephen VanValkenburg - Almost Maine

Steven Coburn - Antony & Cleopatra

Steven Coburn - 12 Angry Jurors

Anthony Haitz - One Act Plays/The Bear

Seth Coburn - One Act Plays/Mr. Icky

Lead actress in a play

Jacqueline Morrison - Almost Maine

Emily Crawford - Antony & Cleopatra

Teressa Hirsch - 12 Angry Jurors

Teressa Hirsch - One act plays/Verbatim

Supporting actor in a play

Elijah Van Epps - Almost Maine

Shaun Coburn - Almost Maine

Elijah Van Epps - Antony & Cleopatra

James Barcomb - 12 Angry Jurors

James Barcomb - One act plays/The Bear

Supporting actress in a play

Kendra Morrison - Almost Maine

Cynthia Nelson - Almost Maine

Cynthia Nelson - Antony & Cleopatra

Dorothy Gerhart - 12 Angry Jurors

Dorothy Gerhart - One act plays/Verbatim

Featured actor in a play

Richard Ferris - Almost Maine

Lawrence Rowswell - Antony & Cleopatra

James Barcomb - Antony & Cleopatra

Anthony Haitz - 12 Angry Jurors

Shakeem Walcott - One act plays/Mr. Icky

Featured actress in a play

Sophie Houseman - Almost Maine

Maia Zerillo - Almost Maine

Erin Stamp - Antony & Cleopatra

Shellene Bailey - Antony & Cleopatra

Mary Eckstein - 12 Angry Jurors

Sophie Crandall - One act plays/Mr. Icky

Leading male performance in a musical

Marc Sapareto - Opposites Attract

Phil Berry - Drowsy Chaperone

Marc Sapareto - Do Not Sing List

Marc Sapareto - Cry Baby

Kevin Partridge - A Christmas Carol

Leading female performance in a musical

Sarah Hill - Opposites Attract

Kristin Gelia - Drowsy Chaperone

Maia Zerillo - Do Not Sing List

Maia Zerillo - Cry Baby

Jennifer Dunn - A Christmas Carol

Supporting male performance in a musical

Seth Coburn - Opposites Attract

Sam Bowman - Drowsy Chaperone

Qasim Huzair - Drowsy Chaperone

Deacon Smith - Do Not Sing List

Deacon Smith - Cry Baby

Andy Hamm - A Christmas Carol

Supporting female performance in a musical

Jocelyn Coburn - Opposites Attract

Sophie Houseman - Drowsy Chaperone

Kendra Morrison - Do Not Sing List

Paige Sikorski - Cry Baby

Rose Mosher - Cry Baby

Amanda Melissa Taylor - A Christmas Carol

Featured male performance in a musical

Cass Dzielski - Opposites Attract

Anthony Haitz - Drowsy Chaperone

Steven Coburn - Drowsy Chaperone

Elijah Van Epps - Do Not Sing List

Paul Daniszewski - Cry Baby

William Zerillo - A Christmas Carol

Featured female performance in a musical

Teressa Hirsch - Opposites Attract

Amy-Catherine - Cunningham Drowsy Chaperone

Beth Knopf - Drowsy Chaperone

Kristin Gelia - Do Not Sing List

Samantha Jane Balbi -Cry Baby

Kylea Wright - Cry Baby

Dorothy Gerhart - A Christmas Carol

Youth performance

Peyton Woeller -Do Not Sing List

Quinn Boardman - All Shook Up

Peyton Sikorski - All Shook Up

Peyton Woeller - Cry Baby

Sophie Crandall - A Christmas Carol

Lilah Mordell - A Christmas Carol

Child performance

Annalie Crandall - All Shook Up

Sylar Kuenzi - All Shook Up

Adam Jursted - Cry Baby

Xavier Deschamps - A Christmas Carol

Liam Taylor - A Christmas Carol

Charlotte Reddin - A Christmas Carol

Best musical performance ensemble

Move Towards the Darkness - Opposites Attract

I Do, I Do in the Sky - Drowsy Chaperone

Cell Block Tango -Do Not Sing List

You Bet Your Ass - Cry Baby

In December - A Christmas Carol

Best musical performance solo

Jacqueline Morrison - Three Days Without Breathing/Opposites Attract

Sophie Houseman - As We Stumble Along/Drowsy Chaperone

Cass Dzielski - Run Away With Me/Do Not Sing List

Paige Sikorski - Screwloose/Cry Baby

Deacon Smith - Hallelujah/A Christmas Carol

Opening at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, the Batavia Players bring to life Scrooge and his ghosts in a performance of Charles Dickens's “A Christmas Carol” at Main St. 56 Theater in Batavia.

There are also performances on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets are $18 for adults and $16 for seniors.

The musical is directed by Patrick Burk, with music directed by Kathy White.

Photos by Howard Owens