Plans are in place for next month's Curtain Up!, the annual celebration that kicks off the start of Buffalo's theatre season.The September 20 event will feature 21 shows at 21 theatres, all starting simultaneously at 8 p.m. Organizers of unveiled the list of performances Thursday. They range from musicals like La Cage Aux Folles to comedies like The School for Husbands to dramas like Night Work.
Joyce Stilson with the Alleyway Theatre says it is a special night for all involved.
"The idea that all the theatres work together and that everyone at 8 o'clock sits down at the same time in all of the theatres and they go dark at the same time and then the magic of theatre happens all of Western New York, it's just a terrific feeling," Stilson said.
Lisa Ludwig with Shakespeare in Delaware Park says theatregoers will have a wide variety to choose from.
"I think the thing that's so wonderful about Curtain Up!, which so many people know about, is when we're listing all of these theatres, there's musical, there's comedy, there's drama. Anything anybody wants to see, you have an opportunity. Maybe even go out to a theatre company you haven't gone to before. That's the amazing thing about Buffalo. We have so many wonderful theatre companies here at your disposal," Ludwig said.
A Gala Black Tie Dinner will be held under a large, white tent on Main Street before the curtains go up, in what is being called Act I. A downtown street party, Act III, will be held after they fall. The after-party is free and open to anyone who wants to attend.
Joe Demerly, managing director of the Kavinoky Theatre, is the chair of this year's event. He says Curtain Up! is a celebration of the city's strong theatre community.
"We're so fortunate in Buffalo and Western New York to have so many theatres. With 21 participating this year, it shows that theatre is alive and well in Buffalo. The event, in its 32nd year, is always looked forward to by theatregoers and the actors. The event is growing larger and larger every year. It's sort of like the New Year's Eve of Buffalo theatre," Demerly said.
You can find out more information on this year's event at BuffaloCurtainUp.com.
