This week on Theater Talk, Anthony and Peter talk about RIDE THE CYCLONE last week at Buff State with a tip to go to our local universities for high-quality affordable theater. The Broadway tour of the corny musical SHUCKED starts at Shea's on Tuesday. Stephen Schwart's (WICKED, GODSPELL) musical PIPPIN opens tonight at O'Connell & Co. (on Bailey Ave.). Second Generation's annual fundraiser called BUCKET LIST will feature an A-list group of performers Sunday night at Shea's Smith. THE INFORMER by Matthew LaChiusa continues at ART of WNY (545 Elmwood), a well-crafted adaptation of Liam O’Flaherty’s novel. Also tonight, one night only CONSIDERING MATTHEW SHEPARD, an LGBTQ+ oratorio opens at Westminster Presbyterian about the 21-year-old brutally attacked near Laramie, Wyoming (see 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.

Brown says he intends to continue serving as mayor in the meantime – but his imminent departure has set off a cascade of political dominoes that could change the face of politics inside and outside of City Hall.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown has been offered the top job after unanimous approval by the board of directors. Brown, whose term ends in late 2025, will now enter contract negotiations.

The City of Dunkirk has seen its waterfront battered in recent years due to an increasing frequency of severe weather. Through a U.S. House Appropriations bill, over $4 million has been secured to repair and improve the city's harbor breakwater.

The Sean Ryan Victory Fund was registered in July, raising questions about Ryan’s future as he remains noncommittal about a potential run for local office as Buffalo Mayor.

The meeting was cancelled on Tuesday "until further notice." Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown is reportedly seeking the OTB’s top job but hasn't responded to a request for comment.

The organization’s board of directors was originally slated to hold a special meeting for a “discussion and review for the position of President” on Thursday, but the board announced on Tuesday that they would be cancelling that meeting “until further notice.”

The Democratic National Convention gets underway in Chicago this week where it is expected Vice President Kamala Harris will accept the Democratic presidential nomination. WBFO’s Thomas O’Neil-White spoke to a few first-time delegates from Western New York about their expectations ahead of the convention.

Alarmed by extreme weather events in the state and the threat of proposals to eliminate national weather agencies, Senator Chuck Schumer is calling for $30 million in the next federal budget to be allocated to the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.