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

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!

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How can I get tix?

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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!

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....

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"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

"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.

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

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

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Shea Center for the Performing Arts
Buffalo, New York

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.

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

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.

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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.

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Here's some more photos of that beautiful theater:

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







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

J*