BWW Preview: The Shea's Performing Arts Centre Has An Exciting Upcoming Season

Last week I had the opportunity to take advantage of the warmer weather and spend the day in the Niagara region and then take in The Phantom of the Opera at the Shea's Performing Arts Centre in Buffalo, NY. The Shea's Performing Arts Centre is a stunning venue just a couple of hours from the Toronto downtown core - and is well worth the trip to take in a show and spend some time exploring all the region has to offer.

The Shea's performing Arts Centre was originally built in 1926 as a movie house, and was designed by architects C. W. and George L. Rapp of Chicago.Today, Shea's Performing Arts Center (which encompasses Shea's Buffalo Theatre, Shea's Smith Theatre and the 710 Main Theatre, formerly Studio Arena) operates as a full service performing arts center, with attendance over 250,000 patrons annually, and presents the widest variety of performing arts in the region including award-winning touring Broadway musicals in the M & T Bank Broadway Series, concerts, dance productions, comedy, family shows, educational programming, special events, local school presentations and a Free Family Film Series.

A multi-million dollar restoration of The Shea's Performing Arts Centre was recently completed throughout 2013-2014. Tours of the historic venue are available to the general public as well - and are likely well worth the trip for fans of exquisite architecture. I didn't have much time to explore the venue before the show, but the theatre is stunning and has been beautifully restored. The venue's Neo-Spanish Baroque style seemed like a perfect fit to house a production like The Phantom of the Opera, which is set in the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris.

Walking into the lobby of The Shea's Performing Arts Center is like stepping into a time capsule - every historical detail has been accounted for. Incredibly resorted ceiling detail, chandeliers (by Tiffany), and artwork line the venue as audience members make their way to the auditorium before the shows. Many patrons would stop just to take a moment to stare at the ceiling, not wanting to take their seats until the last possible moment.

Students, seniors and groups of 20 or more can tour the venue for $4.00. For adults, the price is $8.00. For reservations, call (716) 847-1410, ext. 184. Tours are held Tues., Thurs. and Sat. at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on non-show days. All proceeds from the admission price of the tours will go towards the continued restoration of the interior of the building.

The Phantom of the Opera is still playing in Buffalo through the end of the week. Tickets are available at sheas.org.

The upcoming 2015-2016 M&T Bank Broadway Series consists of some incredible productions of Broadway shows that may be of interest to Toronto audiences. The Broadway tours of Pippin (Jan 2016) and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (March 2016) will play Buffalo next year. Both shows are Tony Award winning hits not scheduled to play Toronto in the upcoming theatre season.

The 2015-2016 season will also include Annie, Newsies, Matilda, and Dirty Dancing. Additional shows scheduled to play Buffalo include Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Wizard of OZ (a Toronto favorite), and The Blue Man Group.

To order, call (716) 847-0850, go to www.sheas.org or to the Shea's Ticket Office, 650 Main Street. There are many season ticket holder benefits including priority seating, exchange privileges, convenient payment plans, parking plan (first-come, first-serve basis) and first opportunity to purchase tickets to the Broadway Series shows and Special Engagements. To book a group (15+), call 716-829-1154.

Upcoming single ticket on sale dates will be posted to www.sheas.org when that information becomes available. A special page at Sheas.org with information for Canadian visitors is available here.