BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - Shea's Performing Arts Center will reopen for shows on September 10 with their Broadway Series lineup including Disney's Frozen, Tootsie, Pretty Woman The Musical, Hamilton, and other popular shows.
But there's one caveat: There must be 100% capacity allowed for the shows.
"I would say 100% or postponement," Shea's President Michael G. Murphy said. "We need to be able to operate at 100%."
Murphy said it's not feasible to run shows with a limited crowd because of the cost of the cast and crew.
New York State currently allows for theatres to run shows, though they only allow 10% capacity. This means a place like Shea's, which has more than 3,000 seats, would only be allowed to run with a maximum crowd of 300. Whether or not Shea's can be at full capacity is determined by either Governor Andrew Cuomo or the New York State Legislature, who has the power to overturn any of the governor's pandemic-related orders.
Murphy is hopeful that enough people will have the vaccine by September.
"Not being able to have people in the building experiencing theatre has been difficult for us from a spiritual, daily interaction with folks that there is something missing," Murphy said. "People are really looking forward to going back to museums, cultural events, and other events in Western New York. Being able to experience live theatre and the emotion of live theatre...all those things we haven't been able to do as a society. What we know from our audience is that they're ready to get back."
Shea's plans to follow all CDC and New York State health mandates, except for social distancing.
"Masks may still be required at that point," Murphy said. "We'll see what the government requires and what the recommendations are."
Albert Nicciolino, the theatre's producer and Broadway Partner, said it was difficult to reschedule all of the shows that were postponed in 2020. However, they managed to coordinate the schedules of all the shows for this year.
"It's long overdue," Nicciolino said. "It's something we never expected and we're all very excited about it."
Nicciolino is not concerned that a show in Buffalo could be postponed because of an outbreak among performers. He said the performers will all be vaccinated and follow the rules by their union.
"That's exactly what cannot happen," Nicciolino said. "That kind of breakdown will disrupt the entire cycle. We have to prevent that and will work with the unions and the shows at the local level. We anticipate everybody working with the shows will be vaccinated so something like that won't happen."
The M&T Bank Broadway Series is as follows:
September 10-24, 2021: Disney's Frozen
October 10-16, 2021: Tootsie
November 2-7, 2021: The Band's Visit
November 16-21, 2021: Escape to Margaritaville
November 30-December 5, 2021: Pretty Woman- The Musical
December 14, 2021 - January 2, 2022: Hamilton
February 15-20, 2022: Oklahoma
March 1-6, 2022: My Fair Lady
March 27-April 2, 2022: Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird
April 8-10, 2022: Riverdance
April 19-24, 2022: Anastasia
May 10-15, 2022: Ain't Too Proud-The Life and Times of the Temptations
More information can be found at Shea's website
