BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — Buffalo’s Theater District is getting ready for its "curtain call" as Friday marks the 40th anniversary of Curtain Up! The event is the annual kick-off the fall season of professional theater.
“Put a table there,” said Michael Greco, executive chef, owner, The Bijou.
When I stopped by The Bijou on Main Street Greco and his team were hard at work preparing for Friday’s Curtain Up crowd.
“How are you feeling tonight? This is a 40Th anniversary celebration of Curtain Up,” Buckley asked. “A little nervous, but at the same time — excited. I mean, I’ve been involved with 35 of them, so every year it's a little different, but it's exciting, and it's crazy. It really is — until the party's over with, we're busy,” replied Greco.
This year the famous theater district restaurant is also hosting the Theater District Association's kick-off dinner party.
“We're excited about having a new season again, and we're redoing the menu and we've done a lot of remodeling and stuff so we're all ready to go,” explained Greco.
“Our city — we're the longest-running Curtin Up event of this kind and there is going to be so much excitement down Main Street tonight,” remarked Lisa Ludwig, chair, Curtain Up.
After the kickoff dinner, the event opens with a variety of performances as curtains rise simultaneously at the many different theaters.
Even if you're not going to catch a show, there’s a free street party you won't want to miss.
“We’re going to have bands right here. We're going to have fire dancers. We're going to have the AKG Art Mobile is going to be down here. There's going to be food trucks, our local restaurants are going to have food and it's just so exciting to celebrate the opening of the theater season,” Ludwig described.
Outside the Downtown Bazaar on Main Street, Joe Joy of the newly opened Lulu's Pub was also getting ready for Curtain Up business.
“We’re excited to see the influx in business. We've recently relocated down here, so we've been open since April. The downtown bazaar and Lulu's Pub have been open for five weeks now,” Joy noted.
If you are coming down to Curtain Up, the Downtown Bazaar will be open until midnight.
“We’re really excited for the theatergoers to come down and enjoy their celebration with us and get to come into the Downtown Bazaar and see the five different, amazing restaurants we have and grab a cold beer, a glass of wine from Lulu’s Pub and hopefully come back before the other shows,” said Joy.
The fall theater season also means a new Broadway Series begins at Shea’s. Mrs. Doubtfire the musical opens Sunday.
“And it's nice to see the theaters are bringing some major shows in, and they're excited and the staff is excited, so, we're looking forward to a good season,” Greco replied.
