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Theater Talk

Theater Talk: Disney's FROZEN at Shea's yet another Disney hit; Anthony opens up about his on-stage appearance in WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT

By Anthony Chase,

Peter Hall

Published September 17, 2021 at 5:30 AM EDT

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The sisters Elsa and Anna in Disney's National Tour of FROZEN now at Shea's Buffalo — The sisters Elsa and Anna in Disney's National Tour of FROZEN now at Shea's Buffalo.

After 18 months of hibernation, the Buffalo Theatre District was alive with crowds wearing masks and streaming into Shea's Buffalo for the long-awaited re-boot of the National Tour of Disney's FROZEN (in town through September 24). Caroline Bowman as Elsa has a big voice and bigger smile and her on-stage sister Anna (Caroline Innerbichler) is cute as a button and dances spectacularly with Austin Colby as Hans. Meanwhile, sharing the alley that connects Pearl Street and Main Street, the Alleyway Theatre continues it's different-actor-each-night run of WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT by Nassim Soleimanpour through October 2, 2021.

In Disney's North American tour of FROZEN at Shea's Buffalo Austin Colby and Caroline Innerbichler dance divinely

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Anthony Chase

Listen for Theater Talk, Friday morning at 6:45 and 8:45 during Morning Edition.

See stories by Anthony Chase

Peter Hall

Even though "semi-retired," Peter Hall continues to wear many hats. He is the Sunday afternoon host on WBFO’s “sister station,” WNED Classical where he has produced over 1,000 radio interviews with musical artists. If you see him at a theater with a pen in his hand, he’s probably getting ready to co-host “Theater Talk” with Anthony Chase (heard Friday mornings at 6:45 and 8:45 a.m. on WBFO) or to write a review for www.buffalorising.com. He is also a member of the "Artie Awards" committee (think “Tony Awards for Buffalo theaters”).

See stories by Peter Hall

Latest Episodes

Theater Talk: Women playwright's works excel on area stages now: Hoke, Martin, Poynton, Ziegler, as more plays continue to open every week around town.

This week on Theater Talk, Anthony remembers Kathleen Betsko Yale (1939-2025) a fierce advocate for women in theater leading into Anthony and Peter talking about new plays in Buffalo by women including Donna Hoke, Wendy-Marie Martin, Bella Poynton, Anna Ziegler and more to come with plays opening every week in February. See listings attached.For 32 years (as of November 2024), Theater Talk has been appointment listening on WBFO, featuring the insights of theater critic and historian Anthony Chase, who joins Peter Hall for a five-minute weekly broadcast at 6:45am, 8:45am, and 5:45pm Fridays on 88.7 WBFO with a podcast available on wbfo.org. NOTE: Theater listings are included with the podcast. As part of BTPM (Buffalo Toronto Public Media), their beat is primarily Buffalo theater, but Broadway, The Shaw Festival, The Stratford Festival, and Chautauqua are covered as are other relevant art forms for the stage, including ballet and opera.
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This week Anthony and Peter discuss the most recent Buffalo Toronto Public Media bus trip to Broadway where the group saw five musicals in three days. And, locally, another Donna Hoak play opened. For more about upcoming local shows, please see the listings.For 32 years (as of November 2024), Theater Talk has been appointment listening on WBFO, featuring the insights of theater critic and historian Anthony Chase, who joins Peter Hall for a five-minute weekly broadcast at 6:45am, 8:45am, and 5:45pm Fridays on 88.7 WBFO with a podcast available on wbfo.org. NOTE: Theater listings are included with the podcast. As part of BTPM (Buffalo Toronto Public Media), their beat is primarily Buffalo theater, but Broadway, The Shaw Festival, The Stratford Festival, and Chautauqua are covered as are other relevant art forms for the stage, including ballet and opera.
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This week Anthony & Peter talk about Steve Copps & Phil Farugia as very funny retro style hosts at MusicalFare; Copps and (Kelly) Copps back there soon in THE LAST FIVE YEARS; LION KING's Mukelisewe Goba as Rafik is superb; Audra's reviews as Mama Rose are, as Anthony predicted, at the top. For 32 years (as of November 2024), Theater Talk has been appointment listening on WBFO, featuring the insights of theater critic and historian Anthony Chase, who joins Peter Hall for a five-minute weekly broadcast at 6:45am, 8:45am, and 5:45pm Fridays on 88.7 WBFO with a podcast available on wbfo.org. NOTE: Theater listings are included with the podcast. As part of BTPM (Buffalo Toronto Public Media), their beat is primarily Buffalo theater, but Broadway, The Shaw Festival, The Stratford Festival, and Chautauqua are covered as are other relevant art forms for the stage, including ballet and opera.
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Theater Talk: NUTCRACKER at Shea's, CHRISTMAS CAROL at Alleyway and Shaw, ('tis the season), WIZARD OF OZ at Lancaster Opera has talented cast (see listings)

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