Buffalo Takes Center Stage
The diversity and abundance of performances, put on by nearly 25 professional theaters, makes it easy to find something to see in and around Buffalo. The MusicalFare Theatre stages new and classic musicals. Torn Space Theatre breaks ground with the avant-garde. At the Alleyway Theatre the work of up-and-coming playwrights are on the marquee.
Shows & Musicals for Every Season
The Theatre of Youth’s plays for young people unfold at a restored movie house in the historic Allentown neighborhood. See productions rooted in African American traditions at the Ujima Theatre Company. In the summertime, join the crowd bringing picnics to sit on the lawn and take in the Bard’s comedies and tragedies at a Shakespeare in Delaware Park performance.
From Contemporary to the Classics
West of the city, the Lancaster Opera House continues a tradition of live entertainment that began in 1897. The Kavinoky Theatre’s restored 1903-recital hall on the D’Youville University campus is an elegant, vintage setting. Baroque grandeur suits the Broadway shows at Shea’s Performing Arts Center, a gilded former movie palace on Main Street. For a more intimate production, consider its neighbor on the block, the Irish Classical Theatre Company. Performances suit any proclivity – from murder mystery comedy to a Stephen King movie-turned-play, a Jane Austen interpretation, golden-era shows like Guys and Dolls and the cutting edge. Let us entertain you.
Buffalo: It’s Showtime!
A glimpse into our vibrant theater scene
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Perfectly Tuned: Kleinhans Music Hall
You have to experience this amazing concert hall!
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Buffalo’s Theater Menu
A critic talks about Buffalo’s vibrant theater scene
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Harold Arlen
Buffalo’s Great American Songwriter
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Excellent Pairings for Dinner @ A Show
An evening of delicious food and entertainment
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Architectural Spotlight: Shea’s Performing Arts Center
A touchstone for downtown’s exciting revitalization
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Buffalo’s Theater Menu: A Conversation with Anthony Chase
Buffalo’s theater maven helps you narrow down the selections
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Buffalo Theater Hotel Deals
Make a night of it! For theater-goers, you can get tickets to the show and a great discount on overnight accommodations at our stellar local hotels.
Erie County Theater Companies
With 22 professional theater companies in the Buffalo area, there’s no shortage of show-stopping performances to enjoy. View some of our favorites below!
Buffalo: It’s Showtime!
Alleyway Theatre
American Repertory Theatre of Western New York
Brazen-Faced Varlots
Buffalo United Artists
Desiderio’s Dinner Theatre
D’Youville Kavinoky Theatre
First Look Buffalo Theatre Company
Irish Classical Theatre Company
Jewish Repertory Theatre
Lancaster Opera House
MusicalFare Theatre
O’Connell & Company
Paul Robeson Theatre
Raices Theatre Company
Road Less Traveled Productions
Second Generation Theatre
Shakespeare in Delaware Park
Shea’s 710 Theatre
Shea’s Buffalo Theatre
Theatre of Youth
Torn Space Theater
Ujima Theatre Company
Upcoming Shows & Musicals
Arsenic and Old Lace
10/04 – 10/20
Lancaster Opera House
Mortimer Brewster’s engagement announcement is upended when he discovers a corpse in his elderly aunts’ window seat. Mortimer rushes to…
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Shipwrecked! An Entertainment – The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont
09/13 – 10/13
Road Less Traveled Productions
General: $50-$55Student (Fri/Sat/Sun): $30 Student Thursday: $10 Group rates available for parties of 10+. Military/AAA $5 discount on general tickets.
The adventurous Louis de Rougemont invites you to hear his amazing story of bravery, survival and celebrity that left nineteenth-century…
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Break Song
10/12 – 10/26
American Repertory Theatre of WNY
Break SongWritten by Mark Humphrey Directed by Monish Bhattacharyya Featuring Vincenzo McNeill & Robert Humphrey
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The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
11/01 – 11/17
Shea’s Smith Theatre
Winner of the Tony and the Drama Desk Awards for Best Book, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee features…
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Something Rotten!
11/06 – 12/08
MusicalFare Theatre
$57
Set in 1595, this hysterical 9-time Tony nominee follows the Bottom Brothers who set out to write the world’s first…
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Witch
11/07 – 12/08
Road Less Traveled Productions
General: $50-$55Student (Fri/Sat/Sun): $30 Student Thursday: $10 Group rates available for parties of 10+. Military/AAA $5 discount on general tickets.
A charming devil arrives in the quiet village of Edmonton to bargain for the souls of its residents in exchange…
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King James
11/08 – 11/24
Kavinoky Theatre
“King” LeBron James’s years playing in Cleveland bring promise, prosperity, and renewal to a city in desperate need of all…
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The Fitzgeralds of St. Paul
11/08 – 11/24
Irish Classical Theatre Company at Andrews Theatre
Memory play meets gin-soaked vaudeville. Get ready for an exclusive sneak peek into a sensational new musical this November! Be among…
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The Thanksgiving Play
11/08 – 11/24
Ujima Theatre
$20-$40
The insightful and thought-provoking new comedy, The Thanksgiving Play, written by Native American playwright, Larissa Fastthorse is the second play…
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The Cottage
11/13 – 11/30
Alleyway Theatre
It’s 1923 and Sylvia wants more than to be whisked away to this charming English countryside cottage for her stale…
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The Wizard of Oz
11/22 – 12/08
Lancaster Opera House
$25-$45
We’re off to see the wizard! Immortalized in the classic 1939 film, this beloved tale, in which a Kansas farm…
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Miracle on S. Division Street
12/06 – 12/22
Shea’s Smith Theatre
Meet the Nowaks of Buffalo, NY. Clara and her three grown kids have always known they were special, ever since…
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Junie B! in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells
12/07 – 12/15
Theatre of Youth (TOY)
Junie B. Jones, First-Grader, is super-excited about the upcoming Holiday Sing-Along and Secret Santa gift exchange at her school. Too…
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A Christmas Carol
12/12 – 12/22
Alleyway Theatre
For forty-three years, WNY families have returned again and again for Alleyway’s heartwarming holiday treat. With a pre-show quartet of…
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The Night Before Christmas
12/13 – 12/15
Lancaster Opera House
$15-$20
Set in Christmastown on a very special Christmas Eve, our locally commissioned and well-received family musical tells the story of…
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The Lion King
12/18 – 01/05
Shea’s Buffalo
Giraffes strut. Birds swoop. Gazelles leap. The entire Serengeti comes to life as never before. And as the music soars,…
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The Day I Learned to Fly
01/17 – 02/08
Canterbury Woods Performing Arts Center
Synopsis:One day while walking her dog Daisy, 15-year old Hattie was struck by a direct hit from 100 million volts…
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Accomplice
01/31 – 02/15
Lancaster Opera House
$20-$35
Winner of the Mystery Writers of America’s coveted “Edgar” award and written by Rupert Holmes, Tony® award winner for The…
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The Mighty Maisse
02/08 – 02/22
American Repertory Theatre of WNY
The Mighty Maisse Written by Bella Poynton Directed by Kelli Bocock-Natale Featuring Lisa Ludwig, Mariangela Mercurio, Maryann Seufert, Andrew Zuccari,…
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