Shea's Buffalo '08-'09 Season Announced.

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 4/10/08 at 8:45pm

LEGALLY BLONDE: October 14th-19th 2008
RADIO CITY CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR: November 13th-30th 2008
ANNIE: December 19th-21st 2008
RENT (with Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal): January 13th-18th 2009
MAMMA MIA!: February 10th-15th 2009
RAIN: THE BEATLES EXPERIENCE: February 20th & 21st 2009
THE WIZARD OF OZ: March 17th-22nd 2009
A CHORUS LINE: May 5th-10th 2009
THE COLOR PURPLE: June 2nd-7th 2009

Great Season! Any other Buffalonians here?

[Clayford27]

Posted: 4/10/08 at 9:20pm

I'm from Buffalo. :) Although I live in NYC for school right now, I'll be able to catch a few of those shows on my breaks. Thanks for posting this!

[AudrasBoi]

Posted: 4/10/08 at 9:22pm

im a buffalo boi...living in Providence RI now but Im really excited that Rent will be when im home for my moms bday. Thats worth going to buffalo for lol.

[coolkid11776]

Posted: 4/10/08 at 9:26pm

How can I get tix?

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 4/10/08 at 9:28pm

Well the tickets for next season are not on sale yet; although you still can get tickets for this season, which still includes: HAIRSPRAY (April 11th-13th), AVENUE Q( April 29th-May 4th) and WICKED (June 18th-July 13th).

[zamedy]

Posted: 4/10/08 at 11:47pm

I live in Buffalo and am so excited about the upcoming season. It's great to see that the first national tours of big shows like Legally Blone and A Chorus line will be hitting the stage at the beautiful Shea's Theatre!

[OOTI2004]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 12:19am

I'm from Buffalo, but living in New York city as well.
While its nice to see that Shea's is getting some recent shows, like The Color Purple, I'm a disappointed with Legally Blonde and we just had Rent and Mamma Mia! a little while ago.

[Dancin Thru Life]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 9:23am

I totally agree with OOTI!

What a huge disappointment we got last night!
Usually, the announcement of a new season is cause for excitement, but I wasn't the only one left very underwhelmed.

It might look like a decent lineup on the surface to outsiders, but we just had Rent, Mamma Mia (numerous times!), and Radio City Christmas in recent years. Legally Blonde was on MTV.

That leaves Chorus Line, a REALLY BAD looking version of Wizard of OZ (from the promo clip they showed), Annie, and The Color Purple.

Looks like I'll be saving a ton of money by canceling my season tickets after 10 years, and just picking up seats for The Color Purple - if I don't see it in NYC before it gets here - NEXT June!

Where's Jersey Boys, Spring Awakening, and Mary Poppins (all of which I have seen already, but would love to see again)???? I expected one of those to be the big surprise for Buffalo after the other ones were announced, but it did not happen.

Call me disappointed....

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 9:25am

Where was the promo clip for Oz? Considering they had auditions this week, I can't imagine what they are using.

[zamedy]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 9:31am

"Looks like I'll be saving a ton of money by canceling my season tickets after 10 years, and just picking up seats for The Color Purple - if I don't see it in NYC before it gets here - NEXT June."

Well that would be pretty impossible, since TCP CLOSED on Broadway last month.

My point is... we are getting what, three shows that are on their first national tour? That's more than we could say for this current season... when all of the shows that came/are coming through have been on Broadway for some time.

I agree with the comments about Wizard of Oz though. I saw the clips too. Uggg. Save your money! AWFUL!
Updated On: 4/11/08 at 09:31 AM

[Bdwy24]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 9:38am

They are probably using the last tour of Wizard of Oz as a promo clip.

Shea's can't bring Jersey Boys to Buffalo this year because of the proximity to Toronto.

Spring Awakening....really......unfortunately, that would not do well in Buffalo. Spring Awakening has done nothing to advertise this show outside of NYC. let's see how Avenue Q goes over with the Buffalo audiences.....

Mary Poppins.....don't worry it's on its way. Just couldn't get a time slot this season.

Mamma Mia and Rockettes were the top shows requested by subscribers to bring back.

I don't think it's the best season AT ALL. But, unfortunately every season can't be the best.

I thought this season was the best as 4 out of 6 were still on Broadway. Unfortunately, a majority of the subscribers had no clue what any of the shows were and were not happy with the season......

[Dancin Thru Life]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 9:56am

"Well that would be pretty impossible, since TCP CLOSED on Broadway last month."

OOOOH, My Bad! Guess I WILL get some tix to see it in Buffalo next year!

"Where was the promo clip for Oz? Considering they had auditions this week, I can't imagine what they are using."

It was clips from some stage version of it, as they were in front of a live audience. It showed mainly Dorothy, Scarecrow, and Tin Man singing, with quick cuts of other scenes mixed in. All looked and sounded awful! Ewww!

Thanks for the insights, BDWAY24! I agree and understand, but I can still be disappointed, right? Good news about Mary Poppins possibly coming in the future though! The rest of the family wants to see it.

That's part of the problem with asking casual theater goers (our subscibers) what they want to see - many of them don't even know what's out there! If you list a show they know and one they don't, they will pick the one they know whether they liked it or not! HAHA!

There will be two 5th row aisle seats available for some lucky (?) subscriber next year.

Updated On: 4/11/08 at 09:56 AM

[zepka102]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 10:38am

Another great season ahead! That's exciting!


I miss my hometown... especially Sheas. It is one of the most beautiful theaters I have seen. I may have to return home for Color Purple!

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 10:47am

Did the design for Oz look like this:
http://www.theatermania.com/content/show.cfm/section/gallery/show/132067

[jaystarr]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 10:53am

By the way... you guys have a VERY BEAUTIFUL theater... I saw photos online...

I wish I can go visit the theater in my lifetime..

https://www.pbase.com/kjosker/sheas

[jaystarr]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 11:00am

Shea Center for the Performing Arts
Buffalo, New York

[zepka102]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 11:30am

From the link jaystarr provided:

[puppetman2]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 12:23pm

Living in Buffalo, I too will save a ton of $ as the line up is terrible. The only show I want to see is the Rockettes. When they were here last time it was a really terrific show and just right for the holiday season. No, it's not a Broadway musical, but it is great entertainment.They rebuilt the stage house a few years ago as it was a former movie palace with shallow stage. The opening show was PHANTOM and it fit the place perfectly.

Our theater is truly beautiful and is still in a restoration process. The pipe organ is magnificent and is usually played for a short time before each show.

Updated On: 4/11/08 at 12:23 PM

[Dancin Thru Life]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 12:52pm

JAY, thanks for posting the pics of our beautiful theater!
You are welcome to come visit ANYtime! I'd be happy to show you around!

Updated On: 4/11/08 at 12:52 PM

[Dancin Thru Life]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 12:58pm

HUSK CHARMER: "Did the design for Oz look like this?"

NO! Not at all! I'm telling you, in the video it all looked really bad!

The costumes were different, with the TinMan having very "SHREK-like" ears, and I swear his torso was an old window Air Conditioner! There were 3 "Trees" (?) daninc around with him during his "....Had a Heart" number. Very strange looking, with blue branches for hair and limbs.

The Scarecrow was very stylized and sang with 3 "Cornstalk" dancers following him around.

The short clip of Dorothy was on a big empty stage with what appeared to be a projection onto a blank wall behind her during "Over the Rainbow".

The other cuts were too quick to make anything out clearly, but the costumes and sets they showed last night definitely do not match the ones on your link.

[AudrasBoi]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 1:01pm

AWWWWWWW....now im kinda homesick...sooooo many memories at that theatre....thanks for posting the pics guys.....again some of my fist experiences in theatre happend there....its where I met Chita for the first time when Spiderwoman tour was there..she was in the audience lol...thanks again

[beacon1]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 2:00pm

I'm in Buffalo, too...and am surprised that some of these shows coming back so soon.

I'm hearing lots of radio ads for "Wicked" right now and "Hairspray" is/was here this week.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 2:24pm

It's this one:
http://www.mayflower.org.uk/event.asp?show=woz07&info=video

Most likely, that's the tour. The guy directing the non-eq, just did this production in the UK. I think it looks kinda cool.

[jaystarr]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 2:31pm

Here's some more photos of that beautiful theater:

Shea's Buffalo Theater
Style : French Rennaissance
Seats : 3,498







******

How far is this from Niagara Falls? I might go there this summer...

J*

[puppetman2]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 2:53pm

It's about 35 miles from downtown Buffalo top the Falls. I drive it often as I have relatives there. Jay, be aware that the best views of the Falls are from the Canadian side, so bring a passport (new travel regulations) to get over there.

Yes, one of the joys of seeing shows here is having them in that theater. It was so right for PHANTOM, it fit so well. I just have a feeling the AVE Q, which will be here the end of this month, will be lost in the 3,000 seater