More Please!
Auburn Falls in Love with the Calamari Sisters
Cooking with the Calamari Sisters was BIG – even bigger than the hearts of those two vivacious sisters, Carmela and Delphine. After a six-week run and forty-seven audiences served, Cooking with the Calamari Sisters: Mangia Italiano! was a colossal success for Merry-Go-Round Playhouse and the Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival.
Calamari Sisters, which played at Auburn Public Theater in the heart of downtown Auburn, gave MGR patrons and the general public a taste of what’s to come with the Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival. Modern shows and new works will be produced in the Festival’s downtown venues, the perfect pairing for the classic Broadway experience at the Playhouse.
This summer was the first time the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse produced a musical outside of the Preston H. Thomas Theatre. Not only did MGR produce a show outside of its home at Emerson Park, MGR opened Cooking with the Calamari Sisters while Hairspray was still operating, and then mounted 42nd Street with the downtown show running along strong. This is exactly what we will be doing next summer with the Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival.
Cooking with the Calamari Sisters attracted audiences from the far reaches of the state, ranging from Buffalo to Albany, and Watertown to Binghamton, as well as several out-of-state visitors from Texas, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey and Connecticut. This production brought in a significant number of first-time patrons and MGR patrons returning after three or four years away. After all was said and done, over 8,500 people saw Cooking with the Calamari Sisters at its downtown location, and the city streets were buzzing before and after each performance.
As we bid farewell to the Calamari Sisters, we’d like to thank them for a fantastic experience. From marketing to the run crew and everywhere in between, we have all gained insight in preparation for the premiere season of the Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival. This pilot production allowed us to demonstrate that the concept works. There is an audience for the Festival. It’s clear that Auburn and the Finger Lakes are ready for something new.
