Shea's Performing Arts Center & Albert Nocciolino announce new Broadway season

Press Release

Shea's Performing Arts Center and Broadway season partner-producer Albert Nocciolino are proud to announce the “Five Star Bank 2024-25 Broadway Season at Shea's Buffalo Theatre,” which includes: “Some Like It Hot,” “& Juliet,” “Disney's The Lion King,” “The Wiz,” “Shucked,” “A Beautiful Noise,” “The Neil Diamond Musical,” “Back to the Future,” and the return of “Hamilton” as a special subscriber add-on.

"It is with great pride that we announce the 2024-25 Broadway season at Shea's Buffalo Theatre," said Brian Higgins, president and CEO of Shea's Performing Arts Center. "Shea's is a cherished institution, revered nationwide for its vibrant subscriber base, devoted patrons, and cherished history. Leading such a distinguished center into its next chapter is an honor and a commitment to elevating the extraordinary legacy of Shea's and fulfilling the promise of an exciting future for our community."

"We are thrilled to present a lineup that truly brings the best of Broadway to Buffalo," Nocciolino said. "The upcoming season at Shea's stands as a vibrant showcase of Broadway's finest, from the classic to the new. Buffalo has become a favorite stop for touring productions across the country, and we're proud to bring a wide range of amazing theater experiences to Shea's Buffalo stage."

Kevin B. Quinn, chief commercial banking officer of Five Star Bank, said, “As a local community bank that seeks to give back meaningfully to our communities, we are thrilled to support Shea’s Performing Arts Center and, by extension, Buffalo’s vibrant arts scene. We know that the Five Star Bank 2024-25 Broadway season, which will bring world-class performances and important educational opportunities to Western New York, will enrich our region in a significant way.”

Shea's Buffalo Theatre's Broadway season has an economic impact of more than $50 million in Western New York. Each year, the shows bring 300,000 people to downtown Buffalo's Theatre District. Shea's Buffalo Theatre is proud to rank among the top five nationwide for Broadway season ticket holders among similar markets, with an average of 15,000 Broadway season subscribers annually.

Built in a year and a day by Michael Shea, Shea's Buffalo Theatre opened its doors to the public with great fanfare in January of 1926 under the name "The Wonder Theatre." Today, Shea's Performing Arts Center is a three-theater campus, which includes Shea's Buffalo Theatre, Shea's Smith Theatre, and Shea's 710 Theatre within Buffalo's larger Theatre District. The National Historic Site will soon celebrate its 100th anniversary.

Season tickets are on sale now. For more information on the Broadway season at Shea’s Buffalo Theatre, visit www.sheas.org or follow Shea’s on Facebook, X and Instagram.

Five Star Bank 2024-25 Broadway Season

•“Some Like it Hot,” Sept. 24-29: Winner of four Tony Awards, including Best Choreography and Best Costumes, and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, “Some Like it Hot” is “A Super-Sized, All-Out Song-And-Dance Spectacular!” per The New York Times. Set in Chicago when prohibition has everyone thirsty for a little excitement, “Some Like it Hot” is the “glorious, big, high kicking” (Associated Press) story of two musicians forced to flee the Windy City after witnessing a mob hit. With gangsters hot on their heels, they catch a cross-country train for the life-chasing, life-changing trip of a lifetime.

•“& Juliet,” Nov. 19-24: Created by the Emmy-winning writer from “Schitt’s Creek,” this hilarious new musical flips the script on the greatest love story ever told. “& Juliet” asks: What would happen next if Juliet didn’t end it all over Romeo? Get whisked away on a fabulous journey as she ditches her famous ending for a fresh beginning and a second chance at life and love – her way. Juliet’s new story bursts to life through a playlist of pop anthems as iconic as her name, including "Since U Been Gone‚" "Roar," "Baby One More Time," "Larger Than Life‚" "That’s The Way It Is” and "Can't Stop the Feeling!" – all from the genius songwriter/producer behind more No. 1 hits than any other artist this century. Break free of the balcony scene and get into this romantic comedy that proves there’s life after Romeo. The only thing tragic would be missing it.

•“Disney’s The Lion King,” Dec. 18 through Jan. 5, 2025: More than 100 million people around the world have experienced the phenomenon of “Disney’s The Lion King,” and now you can, too, when Buffalo’s best-loved musical returns to Shea’s Buffalo Theatre. Winner of six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, this landmark musical event brings together one of the most imaginative creative teams on Broadway. Tony Award-winning director Julie Taymor brings to life a story filled with hope and adventure set against an amazing backdrop of stunning visuals. “The Lion King” also features some of Broadway’s most recognizable music, crafted by Tony Award-winning artists Elton John and Tim Rice. There is simply nothing else like “The Lion King.”

•“The Wiz,” March 4-9: Everybody look around! The Tony Award-winning Best Musical that took the world by storm is back and coming to Buffalo. “The Wiz” returns “home” to stages across America in an all-new Broadway-bound tour, the first one in 40 years. This groundbreaking twist on “The Wizard of Oz” changed the face of Broadway – from its iconic score packed with soul, gospel, rock and finger-snapping ’70s funk, to its stirring tale of Dorothy’s journey to find her place in a contemporary world.

•“Shucked,” March 25-30: Shucked is the Tony Award-winning musical comedy The Wall Street Journal calls “flat out hilarious!” And nobody knows funny like economists. Featuring a book by Tony Award-winner Robert Horn (“Tootsie”), a score by the Grammy Award-winning songwriting team of Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally (Kacey Musgraves’ “Follow Your Arrow”) and directed by Tony Award-winner Jack O’Brien (“Hairspray”), this corn-fed, corn-bred American musical is sure to satisfy your appetite for great musical theater.

 •“A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical,” April 8-13: Created in collaboration with Neil Diamond himself, “A Beautiful Noise” is the uplifting true story of how a kid from Brooklyn became a chartbusting, show-stopping American rock icon. With 120 million albums sold, a catalog of classics such as "America," "Forever in Blue Jeans" and "Sweet Caroline," an induction into the Songwriters and Rock and Roll halls of fame, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and sold-out concerts around the world that made him bigger than Elvis, Neil Diamond's story was made to shine on Broadway – and head out on the road across America.

•“Back to the Future,” June 24-29: Great Scott! “Back to the Future,” the beloved, cinematic classic, is now a Broadway musical with its destination set for Buffalo in 2024. When Marty McFly finds himself transported back to 1955 in a time machine built by the eccentric scientist Doc Brown, he accidentally changes the course of history. Now he’s in a race against time to fix the present, escape the past, and send himself … back to the future. Winner of the 2022 Olivier Award for Best New Musical, when “Back to the Future” hits 88 mph, it’ll change musical theater history forever.

Special subscriber add-on: Broadway season subscribers will have the opportunity to purchase “Hamilton” tickets in June.

•“Hamilton,” Oct. 10-27, 2024: A revolutionary story of passion, unstoppable ambition, and the dawn of a new nation. “Hamilton” is the epic saga that follows the rise of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton as he fights for honor, love, and a legacy that would shape the course of a nation. Based on Ron Chernow’s acclaimed biography and set to a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway, “Hamilton” has had a profound impact on culture, politics and education. Hamilton features book, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, direction by Thomas Kail, choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler, and musical supervision and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire. In addition to its 11 Tony Awards, it has won Grammy and Olivier awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and an unprecedented special citation from the Kennedy Center Honors.

For information on Shea’s Performing Arts Center, upcoming shows, and other programs, visit www.sheas.org and follow Shea’s on Facebook, X and Instagram.