As one blockbuster season is nearing its end in downtown Buffalo, another is being unleashed, expected to break already booming box office records. With fanfare, Shea's Performing Arts Center announced its 2002-03 M&T Bank Broadway Season Tuesday on the stage of the palatial theater.
Albert Nocciolino, co-producer of the season, and Anthony Conte, chief operating officer, announced the slate of performances including four productions currently on Broadway and many classics.
This season's series is being headlined by the worldwide box office record-breaker "Mamma Mia!" currently playing on Broadway and running in Toronto, London and Sydney. The play is coming to Shea's from Dec. 9-22. The show, which has received huge audience and critical acclaim, is one of New York's biggest tickets, and includes a complete score of songs from Swedish disco-pop group Abba.
Another Broadway smash hit running this season, "The Full Monty," will come to Shea's next May 13-18. David Yazbek's rock adaptation of the popular 1997 film is set in Buffalo and was nominated for 10 Tony Awards in 2001. It involves a group of "Queen City" buddies so desperate to get their lives back together, they decide to take it all off, becoming male strippers.
"42nd Street" is also included in the lineup. The toe-tapping production is getting big buzz and won the 2001 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. With a brand new design and direction under its belt, this current hit will play Shea's Oct. 15 -20.
Rounding off the season with a group of well-known classics, Shea's is bringing back "West Side Story," Leonard Bernstein's classic retelling of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," running Sept. 17-22. Also returning is Andrew Lloyd Webber's legendary musical "Jesus Christ Superstar," which will play after New Year's, Feb. 11-16.
When Shea's opened the doors of its second stage last year, The Smith Theater, it promised to bring smaller, more intimate productions to the Buffalo theater audience.
Appearing at The Smith Theater April 1-27, 2003 is "Forever Plaid," the '50s-style musical comedy starring four harmonizing singers who testify about their would-be careers in show business.
The season's specials, shows not included in the theater's subscription season ticket, are equally enticing, bringing back Buffalo favorites for a whole new audience. For the tenth time in the last 15 years, the longest-running Broadway musical in history, "Cats," will return to Shea's for three days, Nov. 8-10.
Upon completion of the stage's 1999 massive renovation process, the house opened with the long-awaited mega-musical "The Phantom of the Opera," setting the stage for future mega-sized productions.
"The Phantom of the Opera," which tells the classic story of a beautiful opera singer and a young composer shamed by his disfigured physical appearance, will make a return engagement next year, March 25-April 20.
The last show of the season is "Riverdance," which will bring the original Irish step-dancing phenomenon to Shea's for a second time June 3-8, 2003.
Those who cannot wait for next season's growing lineup can get a taste of Broadway's best when Disney's "Aida" comes for a two-week engagement this May 14-26.
Studio Arena Theatre will also house Shea's production of "The Vagina Monologues," Eve Ensler's unique collection of women's stories, from April 23 through May 5 of this year.
Season subscription tickets for the 2002-03 Broadway Season can be purchased by calling the Shea's Box Office at 847-0850. Individual show tickets are not yet available, but announcements are forthcoming. More information is available at Shea's Web site, http://www.sheas.org or < A HREF="" http://www.ticketmaster.com">http://www.ticketmaster.com.
