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Section: Bingo Buzz

Beyond Bingo: Curtain Up! Takes Buffalo

September sees the start of the football season, the school year, and of course, Buffalo’s theater season. Curtain Up! is Buffalo’s annual gala event featuring 14 theaters and dynamite performances, from edge-of-your-seat suspense to fall-off-your-seat comedy. The city’s 27th annual Curtain Up!, presented by the Theatre District Association of Western New York and M&T Bank, celebrates the opening of the theater season on September 19 with a black-tie dinner, a late-night post party and the stellar shows.

2008 Schedule:

Act One: Cocktails, Dinner, Entertainment
5–7:30 p.m.
The evening begins with a cocktail reception in Shea’s Grand Lobby, followed by the annual Curtain Up! Gala Black Tie Dinner on Shea’s stage. For tickets, call 829-1172.

Act Two: Curtains Rise! Theatrical Performances
8 p.m.
Participating theatres offer their season-opening productions.

Act Three: Party!
10 p.m.
Following the performances, Main Street in downtown Buffalo’s Theatre District hosts a free community celebration with various outdoor entertainment.

Theatrical Performances:

Alleyway Theatre
Rabbit Hole
A Western New York premiere, this 2007 Pulitzer Prize winner is about family relationships, loss and hope.

ALT Theatre
LIT401: A School Shooting in One Act
Through the mystery of theater, an audience will experience both the inside of a classroom during a shooting and the minds of the shooter and victims.

Irish Classical Theatre Company
Star Quality
Noel Coward’s comedy goes behind the scenes of a new West End production, revealing the backstage world of talent and treachery.

Kaleidoscope Theatre Productions
Something to Hide
In a tail of adultery, murder and blackmail, an inspector untangles the twisted web of lies among a writer, his wife and his mistress.

Kavinoky Theatre
Mauritius
After their mother’s death, two estranged half-sisters discover a book of rare stamps that may include the crown jewel for collectors. A seemingly simple sale becomes dangerous when three seedy collectors enter the sisters’ world.

Lancaster Opera House
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph is his father’s favorite son and the bearer of an amazing coat. After his jealous brothers sell him into a life of slavery, he starts on a journey full of lessons of dreams, strength and unselfishness.

MusicalFare Theatre
Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story
Buddy celebrates singer/songwriter Buddy Holly, who shot to stardom in 1957 before his tragic death. This internationally acclaimed musical features classic Buddy Holly songs to create a portrayal of the legend.

New Phoenix Theatre On The Park
Dusty Springfield … With You
Queen of blue-eyed soul Dusty Springfield is asked to come into the studio one last time. Can she make things right?

Paul Robeson Theatre
Caroline, or Change
A dynamic score of soul, gospel and R&B is the soundtrack for this musical set in 1963 Louisiana. 

Riviera Theatre
Songs for a New World
A cast of some of Buffalo’s finest performers and musicians usher in a new era at the Riviera, while an energetic and dynamite score resembles today’s popular music styles.

Road Less Traveled Productions
A Little Bit of Paradise
Set in the 1924 Buffalo East Side, successful attorney Jacob Bridges and his wife Louisa live and maneuver a time of navigate chaos in the African-American community.

Shea’s Smith Theatre
Girls Night: The Musical
A show for long-lasting girlfriends everywhere, Girls Night celebrates five friends as they relive the past, embrace the present, and look to the future.

Theatre of Youth & O’Connell & Company
Diva by Diva: A Celebration of Women!
This fast-paced cabaret style production charms the audience with songs, readings, poetry, humor and quotes by, for, and about women.

Ujima Theatre
In De Beginnin’
The story of Adam and Eve’s eviction from paradise, this tale is rhythmically told by a preacher and choir.


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