Shea's Performing Arts Center

646 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, USA

Seats (approximate): 3183

Shea's Performing Arts Center, located in Downtown Buffalo, New York, originally opened as an elaborate movie house in 1926 under the direction of Michael Shea. With its interior Neo-Spanish Baroque design and intricate architecture, Shea's is modeled after a European opera house and is a National Historic Site. Since opening its doors in 1926, there have been many great performers that have graced the stage at Shea's including George Burns, Frank Sinatra, The Marx Brothers, and Bing Crosby, among others. Shea's was designed by C.W. and George L. Rapp of Chicago. The Grand Lobby features a reproduction of the original rendering done by Tiffany Studios for Rapp & Rapp. The intricately ornamented ceiling and spectacular chandeliers fully reflect Tiffany's rendering, one of only four Tiffany-designed theatres still in existence. The lobby hosts fully restored eight-foot tall crystal chandeliers with 97 delicate bulbs, the intricately painted, fully restored lobby ceilings, the ornately detailed plasterwork in the main theatre, and the restoration of the original ticket booth in the main entrance. In 1999 Shea's completed the staghouse expansion project. Shea's now offers a 5,000 square foot stage (one of the largest in North America) and state-of-the-art stagehouse allowing major blockbuster musicals like Phantom of the Opera and Disney's The Lion King to perform on the Shea's stage. Today, Shea's operates as a full service performing arts center, and attendance has grown to over 300,000 patrons annually. Shea's now presents the widest variety of performing arts in the region including touring Broadway musicals, opera, ballet, variety and concert artists, family shows, educational programming, local school presentations and a free classic film series.