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Broadway in Buffalo

Broadway in Buffalo

1987

Shea's hired Patrick J. Fagan but nobody thought he would stick around. By November 1986, Shea's Buffalo had gone through multiple managers who lasted mere months in the unenviable position of not just saving Shea's from the wrecking ball but restoring it. <br><br> His first priority? "To get people to come here to see this beautiful building and see what we're doing."

Photo Credit: The Buffalo News - November 22, 1986

Shea's hired Patrick J. Fagan but nobody thought he would stick around. By November 1986, Shea's Buffalo had gone through multiple managers who lasted mere months in the unenviable position of not just saving Shea's from the wrecking ball but restoring it.

His first priority? "To get people to come here to see this beautiful building and see what we're doing."

"A New Deal for Christmas" - thanks Jack! It is thanks to many donations like this that Shea's Buffalo Theatre was able to be restored.

Photo Credit: The Buffalo News - July 8, 1980

"A New Deal for Christmas" - thanks Jack! It is thanks to many donations like this that Shea's Buffalo Theatre was able to be restored.

Local children auditioning for parts in the musical "The King and I."

Photo Credit: May 8, 1981. Photo originally published in the Buffalo Courier-Express Newspaper. Credit to Buffalo State Digital Commons.

Local children auditioning for parts in the musical "The King and I."

Tom Roffino in the "living room" of the Yul Brenner dressing room at Shea's Theatre Buffalo. Actor Yul Bryner performed at Shea's Buffalo in <i>The King and I</i> and as part of his contract, had the star dressing room done all in shades of brown. The dressing room was later re-decorated to remove the brown - reportedly, Liza Minnelli hated Yul's color palette. President Patrick Fagan announced "We got as much of the brown out as we could without making major repairs."

Photo Credit: March 11, 1982. Photo originally published in the Buffalo Courier-Express Newspaper. Credit to Buffalo State Digital Commons.

Tom Roffino in the "living room" of the Yul Brenner dressing room at Shea's Theatre Buffalo. Actor Yul Bryner performed at Shea's Buffalo in The King and I and as part of his contract, had the star dressing room done all in shades of brown. The dressing room was later re-decorated to remove the brown - reportedly, Liza Minnelli hated Yul's color palette. President Patrick Fagan announced "We got as much of the brown out as we could without making major repairs."

Photo Credit: The Buffalo News - April 6, 1988

Cats lands on its feet!

The show was nearly cancelled before it even got onstage when the first touring production of Cats at Shea's Buffalo couldn't get their set through the backstage door. Luckily, the crew finally pushed it through, tilting the large set piece on its side. But Cats almost closed anyways when local promoters Corky & Harvey defaulted on their share, leaving Shea's and our Board Chairman James L. Vardon scrambling to cover the costs alone.

The show went on - with help from a young producer named Albert Nocciolino, who was sent from Broadway to insure Cats played Buffalo. And Cats would go on to play sell-out runs in Buffalo for the next three years, with Albert as our co-promoter.
This auspicious article in The Buffalo News correctly predicts the beginning of a new theatrical era as Albert Nocciolino partners with Shea's Buffalo Theatre as a co-promoter in bringing Broadway productions to Buffalo. In August 1988, Shea's began offering our Broadway season subscription with our first five-show package: <i>Cabaret</i>, <i>Me and My Girl</i>, <i>Elvis: An American Musical</i>, <i>Nunsense</i>, and <i>Cats</i>.

Photo Credit: The Buffalo News - April 1, 1988

This auspicious article in The Buffalo News correctly predicts the beginning of a new theatrical era as Albert Nocciolino partners with Shea's Buffalo Theatre as a co-promoter in bringing Broadway productions to Buffalo. In August 1988, Shea's began offering our Broadway season subscription with our first five-show package: Cabaret, Me and My Girl, Elvis: An American Musical, Nunsense, and Cats.

In this undated photo of downtown Buffalo, it's hard to make out Shea's Buffalo Theatre without it's blade sign.

In this undated photo of downtown Buffalo, it's hard to make out Shea's Buffalo Theatre without it's blade sign.