Curtain Up! 2019 Major Theatre Presentations
Alleyway Theatre
1 Curtain Up Alley, Buffalo, NY 14202 | 716-852-2600 x0 | http://alleyway.com
NAVIGATORS by Gordon Farrell
Fresh off his Broadway Hit play Lifespan Of A Fact, Gordon Farrell continues his longstanding connection with Alleyway Theatre with the premiere of his latest juicy play. Imagine… a night of sailing with a political family casting off for deep secrets! It’s an exciting start to Alleyway’s 40th season starring Chris J Handley, Sandra Roberts and Tom Owen, directed by Neal Radice.
(Run dates: September 12–October 5, Thu-Sat at 7:30 PM.)
All seats $32
Brazen-Faced Varlets
Rust Belt Books, 415 Grant Street, Buffalo, NY 14215 | http://varlets.org
KNOCK, KNOCK JESUS CALLING by Heather Fangsrud
Heather recounts her childhood growing up gay in a strict, religious, Jehovah’s Witness household.
(Run dates: Sep 20-Oct 6, Fri at 8 PM, Sat and Sun at 2 PM)
All seats $15
Buffalo United Artists
Alleyway Cabaret, 672 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, 14202 716-886-9239 www.buffalounitedartists.org
BRIGHT COLORS AND BOLD PATTERNS by Drew Droege
Josh and Brennan are about to get married in Palm Springs on a lovely Saturday afternoon. However, the night before turns into a drunken, drug-fueled scream riot because one of the guests becomes more and more furious about a stipulation on the wedding invitation: “Please refrain from wearing bright colors or bold patterns.” In the struggle for equality, what do we really want? What do we lose? And, is there any cocaine left? New York Times Critic’s Pick. Starring James Cichocki, directed by Carly Weiser.
(Run dates: Sep 13-Oct 4, Fri and Sat at 8 PM)
All seats $25
Irish Classical Theatre Company
625 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14203 | 716-853-ICTC (4282) | www.irishclassical.com
‘TIS PITY SHE’S A WHORE by John Ford
The dreadful demise of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers in Romeo & Juliet and the unrestrained passion of his Othello are arguably eclipsed by this rarely revived 17th Century Jacobean drama. Written a generation later and similar in theme and structure, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore is one of the most poignant, passionate and disturbing tragedies written for the early modern stage. This tale of forbidden love, deception and gruesome revenge will provoke the mind and disquiet the heart. Swept up by an inexorable vortex of deadly desire, Annabella and Giovanni risk eternal damnation by consummating their love in defiance of society, the law and the Church. In this world rife with corruption, greed and misogyny, who will bear the blame, and who will pay the price?
(Run dates: Thu-Sat 7:30PM, Sat at 3PM, Sun at 2PM)
All seats $60
The Kavinoky Theatre
320 Porter Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14201 | 716-829-7668 | www.kavinokytheatre.com
HAIRSPRAY by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan. Based on the movie by John Waters
It’s 1962 Baltimore and plus-sized teenager Tracy Turnblad has one dream: to dance on The Corny Collins Show. When the African-American students teach her some of their dance moves, Tracy transforms into a star-using her newfound fame to advocate for racial integration on the TV show. This hit musical’s beautiful message of acceptance and progress teaches us all to look past the color of one’s skin and fight for the equal rights of every human being.
(Run dates: Sep 6-Oct 6)
$45/general, $40/seniors, military. Discounts available for students and groups
MusicalFare Theatre
4380 Main Street, Amherst, NY 14226 | 716-839-8540 | www.musicalfare.com
WEST SIDE STORY, book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Returning to its core as a young, desperate love story with its heart based in the streets, MusicalFare’s production will be re-imagined for its intimate space, enabling audiences to experience the show as if seeing it for the very first time.
(Run dates: Sep 4–Oct 6)
$47/general, $17/student
New Phoenix Theatre On The Park
95 Johnson Park, Buffalo, NY 14201 | 716-853-1334 | www.newphoenixtheatre.org
IZZY a musical revue by Jim Santella and Grant Golden
Izzy celebrates the musical tour de force of one of Buffalo‘s most famous, glorious, but unheralded composers, Israel Freel! An almost musical superstar who almost changed the world.
(Run dates: Sep 20-Oct 19 at 8 PM)
$30/general, $20/Student & Senior
O’Connell & Company
Shea’s Smith Theatre, 658 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14202 | 716-847-1410
www.oconnellandcompany.com
GENTLEMEN PREFER DIVAS: BROADWAY LEGENDS
Created and written by Mary Kate O’Connell
One Night Only – join us for a fabulous celebration of BROADWAY LEGENDS. Salute famous shows and performers that have graced Buffalo’s stages, from Shea’s to Melody Fair and every stage in-between. Hear about private backstage moments with these BROADWAY LEGENDS and relive stories from these wonderful shows that have entertained global audiences for decades!
(Run date: September 20)
$45
Road Less Traveled Productions
456 Main Street Buffalo NY 14202 | 716-629-3069
THE AUTHENTIC LIFE OF BILLY THE KID
“The West is what you make of it. Outside of that it doesn’t exist.” So says Ash Upson to Pat Garrett after he arrives unexpectedly at Garrett’s failing ranch in Las Cruces. Decades after the deed, Garrett is living out his life as “The Man Who Shot Billy the Kid”. Or is he? When Upson confronts him with an audacious proposition and a very much alive Billy the Kid, Garrett must decide what to make of his past memories and, more importantly, his future legacy; if Billy the Kid is alive, then who is Pat Garrett? With creativity and skill, this tantalizing “what-if” scenario blends fact and fiction in a drama that is at times both funny and unnerving as it first questions and then deconstructs our personal and cultural mythmaking. Directed By Scott Behrend
(Run dates: Sep 12-Oct 6, Thu-Sat at 7:30 PM, Sun at 2:00 PM)
$39/general, $22/student, $5/student Thursday
Subversive Theatre Collective
The Manny Fried Playhouse, 255 Great Arrow Avenue, Suite #302, Buffalo, NY 14207
716-408-0499 | www.subversivetheatre.org
CATCH-22 by Joseph Heller
Don’t miss this rare production of Joseph Heller’s own stage adaptation of his off-the-wall anti-war novel that continues to inspire anti-authoritarians everywhere! This deliciously sour ridicule of war-mongers, depraved bureaucrats, and self-serving demagogues is needed now more than ever in a land drowning in its own hypocrisies.
(Run dates: Sep 6-28 Thu-Sat at 7:30 PM)
$30/general, $25/students, seniors and members. All Thursday performances are pay-what-you-can.
Torn Space Theater
Nichols Flickinger Performing Arts Center, 1250 Amherst St. Buffalo, NY 14216
PALISSIMO COMPANY (dance performance)
Custodians of Beauty forges towards abstraction, minimalism, and restrained expressive modes while amplifying potency of an image; human body as sculpture, emotional trigger, or a political symbol. In an age when humanity, disenchanted with itself, seems to have rejected the necessity of beauty, Custodians of Beauty asks us to look again, beyond the surface, to see differently
(Run dates: Sep 21-22 at 8 PM.)
$TBD
Ujima Company, Inc.
429 Plymouth Ave., Suite #2, Buffalo, NY, 14213 | 716-883-0380 | www.ujimatheatre.org
PIPELINE by Dominique Morisseau
The title refers to the school-to-prison pipeline that is so often discussed but remains unresolved. Nya Pittman, an inner-city public high school teacher, places her son in a private school in an attempt to ensure that he will not suffer the same fate as her students. Other unforeseen problems arise at the school and her son is threatened with expulsion. Now her decisions and efforts to provide safety clash with his suppressed rage and insecurity. Pipeline is a story about all of us and what we do or don’t do to stop the flow.
(Run dates: Sep 13 – Oct 6, Thu-Sat at 7 PM, Sun at 4 PM)
$30/general, $25/senior, $15/student