The Broadway Series: from Mockingbird, to Tootsie, to Hamilton
Shea's announced a pretty impressive Broadway lineup for next season, and certainly enough to maintain its reputation for having one of the strongest subscription bases in the nation. Let's face it -- Shea's is entirely dependent upon strong Broadway seasons, but this year they got lucky!
The line-up is:
Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird
August 15-22, 2020
Buffalo has seen this Aaron Sorkin adaptation at the Kavinoky, but the full Broadway production is still worth while, and we are the first stop on the national tour. As the marketing hype promises: All rise for Academy Award-winner Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork. The New York Times Critic’s Pick To Kill a Mockingbird is “the most successful American play in Broadway history (60 Minutes). New York Magazine calls it “a real phenomenon. Majestic and incandescent, it’s filled with breath and nuance and soul.” With direction by Tony Award-winner Bartlett Sher, To Kill a Mockingbird — “the greatest novel of all time” (Chicago Tribune) — has quickly become “one of the greatest plays in history” (NPR).
Tootsie
October 3-10, 2020
I liked it a lot, even as I conceded that it is not the most brilliant adaptation. To be honest, it should have been done 20 years ago. Still, there is a lot of fun to be had, and the show will tech here. The marketing hype:
It’s “far and away the funniest musical of the season” (Daily News). It’s “the most uproarious new show in years” (The Hollywood Reporter). It’s “the best comedy on Broadway” (Forbes). No matter how you say it, Tootsie is unanimously funny! It’s a laugh-out-loud love letter to the theatre, based on the Oscar-nominated film. Featuring a Tony-winning book by Robert Horn and an outrageously clever score by 2018 Tony-winner David Yazbek (The Band’s Visit, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), this New York Times Critic’s Pick is a “hilarious, thoroughly modern Tootsie” (People Magazine) that’s “even funnier than the movie!” (New York Post). “In these turbulent times, with the world out of balance, we need a place to let the good times roll,” says Rolling Stone, “Tootsie is it.”
Pretty Woman the Musical
January 26-31, 2021
After an incredible run on Broadway, Audience Choice Award winner Pretty Woman: The Musical is coming to Buffalo! Pretty Woman: The Musical is brought to life by a powerhouse creative team representing the best of music, Hollywood, and Broadway. Featuring direction and choreography by two-time Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell (Hairspray, Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde), an original score by Grammy winner Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance (“Summer of ’69”, “Heaven”), and a book by the movie’s legendary director Garry Marshall and screenwriter J.F. Lawton, Pretty Woman: The Musical will lift your spirits and light up your heart. “If you love the movie, you’ll love the musical!” (BuzzFeed News). Are you ready to fall in love all over again?
Okay -- "incredible run" because the reviews were lousy, but I found the show endearing, and audiences loved it.
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!
February 23-28, 2021
And for those who insist that Oklahoma needs to be gimmicky to be relevant ... (Okay -- they lose me on the cornbread, but I love plumbing the dark depths of an American classic. Simon Stimson is my favorite character in "Our Town").
“How is it that the coolest new show on Broadway is a 1943 musical?” says The New York Times. This is Oklahoma! as you’ve never seen or heard it before—reimagined for the 21st century, and now the Tony Award-winner for Best Revival of a Musical. Funny and sexy, dark and jolting, this acclaimed production of Oklahoma! “lets us experience Rodgers and Hammerstein’s greatness anew.” (The New Yorker). Stripped down to reveal the darker psychological truths at its core, Daniel Fish’s production tells a story of a community circling its wagons against an outsider, and the frontier life that shaped America. Upending the sunny romance of a farmer and a cowpoke, this Oklahoma! allows the classic musical – and our country – to be seen in a whole new light.
My Fair Lady!
March 23-28, 2021
This the first My Fair Lady I have ever seen that did not drag in Act II. It's marvelous.
From Lincoln Center Theater and director Bartlett Sher comes “a sumptuous new production of the most perfect musical of all time” (Entertainment Weekly), Lerner & Loewe’s My Fair Lady. Boasting such classic songs as “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “The Rain in Spain,” and “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” My Fair Lady tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins, a linguistics professor who is determined to transform her into his idea of a “proper lady.” But who is really being transformed?
Ain't Too Proud: the life and times of the Temptations
May 11-16, 2021
Excellent book by the remarkable Dominique Morisseau ("Detroit '67", "Blood at the Root," "Pipeline.") This is the best of what a jukebox musical can be.
Ain’t Too Proud follows The Temptations’ extraordinary journey from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The winner of the 2019 Tony Award for Best Choreography, it’s a thrilling story of brotherhood, family, loyalty, and betrayal during a decade of civil unrest in America. Set to the beat of the group’s treasured hits, including “My Girl,” “Just My Imagination,” “Get Ready,” “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” Ain’t Too Proud tells the unforgettable story of the legendary quintet that Billboard Magazine named the greatest R&B group of all time.
Frozen
June 16-27, 2021
Yes. Based on the animated movie.
and the special subscription option:
Hamilton
November 4-17, 2021
and special engagement
DEAR EVAN HANSEN
April 13 – 18, 2021
Meanwhile, at Shea's 710 Main, the shows are scheduled to be:
SLOW FOOD
by Wendy MacLeod
a Road Less Traveled Production
September 10-27, 2020
A vacationing couple celebrates their anniversary at a Greek restaurant in Palm Springs. As a needy waiter insinuates his way into their meal, everything goes deliciously wrong in this “laugh-a-minute” comedy, recently performed at GEVA in Rochester, about love, life, and expectations.
IN THE HEIGHTS
a MusicalFare Production
Dec. 3 – 20, 2020
MusicalFare spruces up its handsome production.
Romance blooms, dreams are challenged, and a winning lottery ticket can change everything in this lively and spirited musical set in Washington Heights – Lin-Manuel Miranda’s (HAMILTON) first Tony Award®-winning musical.
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
an All for One Production (A collaborative production by MusicalFare Theatre, Road Less Traveled Productions, Irish Classical Theatre, Theatre of Youth, and Shea’s 710 Theatre)
Feb. 11 – 28, 2021
Amidst a bustling background of mistaken identity, backstage theatrics, and secret courtships, meet the world’s greatest playwright, William Shakespeare. In this heart-warming comedy, the Bard is fighting writer’s block and is short on cash. When he falls in love with an aristocratic woman, things take an unexpected turn.
FARINELLI AND THE KING
an Irish Classical Theatre Company Production
April 8 – 18, 2021
Unstable thoughts plague King Phillipe of Spain, raising suspicions that he is unfit to rule. His Queen brings him to the charismatic castrato, Farinelli.
Mark Rylance played the role of the king on Broadway in this rather banal play, with an excellent role at its heart, written by his ex-wife, Chris van Kampen.
KINKY BOOTS
Produced by MusicalFare Theatre
May 6 – 23, 2021
Winner of 6 Tony Awards including Best Musical and Score (Cyndi Lauper), Kinky Boots is an exhilarating true story about finding your passion, overcoming challenges, and transcending stereotypes.