BUFFALO (WBEN - Brendan Keany) - On Tuesday evening, Shea's Performing Arts Center announced the M&T Bank 2019-2020 Broadway Series and special engagements to a packed and enthusiastic auditorium.
The Shea's Buffalo Theatre season announcement was tonight, and it's pretty safe to say subscribers were pleased with the lineup. pic.twitter.com/tg6Ge7eKR8
— WBEN NewsRadio 930AM (@NewsRadio930) March 13, 2019
Shea's decided to go from six shows to seven, and Presenting Partner Albert Nocciolino explained why.
"Watching what happened this past year and the last two years, as we think of the number of weeks of Broadway we had, we had 12 weeks of Broadway this year with tremendous support, response and demand," said Nocciolino. "So, it made sense to just add another show to the season for our patrons and our subscribers, and if you heard the reaction, they seemed pretty thrilled about it, which made us feel really good as well."
It sold out last time at Shea's so you know we had to bring it back- who wants to see Les Misérables as a special engagement this season?
— SheasPAC (@SheasBFLO) March 12, 2019The 50th Anniversary Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar is the next one up in our M&T Bank 2019-20 Broadway Series!
— SheasPAC (@SheasBFLO) March 12, 2019Broadway Series:
- "Mean Girls," September 21-28
- "Come from Away," October 15-20
- "Jesus Christ Superstar," February 11-16, 2020
- "Hello, Dolly!" March 10-15, 2020
- "The Band's Visit," April 14-19, 2020
- "Anastasia," May 5-10, 2020
- "Jimmy Buffett's Escape to Margaritaville," June 2-7, 2020
Special Engagements:
- "Jersey Boys," November 14-17
- "Les Miserables," December 10-15
- "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical," December 19-22
Nocciolino described how shows are selected for a given season.
"We look for balance," he said. "We want the best of Broadway, and if you look up there, there's four brand new shows. If you want classics, there's "Hello, Dolly!" And we want family shows. Our goal is to take care of our subscribers, who are traditional theatre-goers, get shows that can bring young people into the theatre, and classics, because Buffalo seems to like classics."
This year, Shea's actually has to cap subscriptions at 18,500, and Shea's President, Michael Murphy, says it's pretty amazing to see how far Buffalo's theatre scene has come.
"This was the first time we had to consider cutting subscriptions off, and we had a lot of conversations about that - trying to find the right number - leaving enough tickets available for single-ticket buyers, group sales, disabled," said Murphy. "There were a variety of things that we had to factor into that."
There were plenty of cheers for each show as it was announced, something Nocciolino says doesn't get old.
"It's fun for Michael and I to stand on stage and see what reaction we get," said Nocciolino. "It's always a bit of a surprise sometimes, and it's wonderful; it's really heartwarming."
