The traditional in-person Curtain Up! gala is being replaced this year with an online party that kicks off at 8 p.m. Sept. 18. At-home ticket-buyers can sign in for as little as $10 per connection at theatreallianceofbuffalo.com to raise a glass and toast the resilience of local performing artists.

“We just want our audience to know we’re still here, and we’re not just watching the clock,” said MaryKate O’Connell, founder of O’Connell & Company. “It is kind of marvelous when you look at how everyone is approaching this – how they are filming things, recording things. It shows our differences and what makes the Western New York theater community so rich.”

At least 16 local theaters will be taking part in the Virtual Curtain Up!, which is organized by the Theatre Alliance of Buffalo and Theatre District Association of WNY. Along with some one-night-only performances, theater companies will preview future virtual events along with plans for live seasons once the Covid-19 ban is lifted.

Some of those virtual plans already have been announced, and one theater, Alleyway, took the plunge Sept. 11 when it started its 2020-21 season online with “Currents: 716.”

The ambitious project was not how Alleyway’s new Executive Artistic Director Chris Handley expected to begin his tenure, but within a few weeks of the shutdown in March, he made it clear he and Alleyway were ready to go.

“Even in this time of global upheaval, Alleyway is sticking to its mission and leaning in. We’re bringing new theatre to Buffalo this year, next year, and beyond… and although it might look a little different right now, that’s what Alleyway has always been about: bringing you the new, exciting, and different,” Handley announced back in May on Facebook.

Rather than adapting a stage production to an online format, Alleyway built its new show with the internet in mind. More than a dozen playwrights wrote especially for “Currents” and the works were filmed around Buffalo and its surroundings. The show continues through Sept. 26. Information on times and tickets is at alleyway.com, where you also can find links to "Buffalo Quickies" from Alleyway’s summer offerings.

But, as Handley also said, theater is nothing without an audience, so there also will be a live element to each show, with virtual interactions (think Zoom) featuring members of the cast and crew before or after the performances.

Here is a look at what some other theater companies are offering with more to be announced.

Road Less Traveled Productions

The artists at Road Less Traveled Productions also regrouped to create online-specific programming, starting in October with “Bigfoot.” RLTP’s in-house playwright Jon Elston wrote the play to be performed by four actors in remote locations, i.e. their homes.

“I wasn’t excited about trying to pound a live piece of theater into the digital world,” explained Scott Behrend, company co-founder. “You’d have to have exceptional staging and filming, like ‘Hamilton,’ and we’re not prepared to do that.”

Instead, Behrend said, Elston and director John Hurley embraced the advantages of virtual theater for this production, a comic horror story that will be streamed live to audiences at 8 p.m. Oct. 2 and 9. Tickets are $15 at roadlesstraveledproductions.org.

“They found some cool ways to use the environment (inside and outside the actors’ homes) in how it’s being presented,” Behrend said. The format keeps the actors safely distanced from each other, if not from Bigfoot.

For its next virtual offerings, RLTP is reaching into the past with a series of short radio plays written by local playwrights. Behrend said this “Buffalo Rises 2.0” collection will be similar to its first “Buffalo Rises” series in 2013, which celebrated the company’s 10^th anniversary. They will be available in November.

Irish Classical Theatre Company

Despite the challenges, ICTC is presenting a filmed version of its fully staged production of “Sea Marks.” Gardner McKay’s award-winning two-person love story will be recorded on ICTC’s Andrew’s Theatre stage by Buffalo’s Pan-American Film Division. It will debut online Oct. 16, running through Nov. 1.

“Sea Marks” has special meaning for incoming Executive Artistic Director Kate LoConti Alcocer and ICTC: It was the first play that the company presented 27 years ago when its home was the former Calumet Arts Café. That show was directed by Fortunato Pezzimenti; he’s also directing the virtual production.

Tickets are $15 to $25 at irishclassical.com. While there, take a few minutes to check out the rich library of online content that the theater has produced during quarantine. Clips include theater co-founder Vincent O’Neill reading tales by the fireside, behind-the-scenes tours by LoConti Alcocer and associate director Greg Natale, and insightful background on “Sea Marks” and its writer.

Raices Theatre Company

Raíces also is doing a new virtual version of a past production with a staged reading of “El Closet Mágico.” The story was part of Raíces’ “Desde el Puente” collection of short musical pieces in 2019.

The funny fable is suitable for all ages as it takes us into the imagination of a little girl who copes with loneliness by bringing out the fantastic creatures who are hidden in her closet. A cast of eight plus three musicians brings it all to life.

“El Closet Mágico” will stream at 4 p.m. Oct. 3 on YouTube; tickets are $10 per household, at raicestheatrecompany.com. 

Jewish Repertory Theatre of Western New York

Staged readings also anchor the season for JRT. Opening the series is “Bar Mitzvah Boy,” by Mark Leiren-Young, running Nov. 5-25. The play is a comic take on a Jewish attorney and grandfather who decides he needs to have a bar mitzvah.

Other readings will be “Holiday Shorts” by Hank Kimmel, Dec. 10-23; “Exquisite Potential,” by Stephen Kaplan, Jan. 7-27, 2021; “An Unexpected Life,” by Alive Eve Cohen, Feb. 4-24; and “Beau Jest,” by James Sherman, March 11-31.

Each reading will get a personal touch through videos from the directors, writers and actors. The shows will be available throughout their three-week runs. Tickets are $20, with subscriptions available, at jewishrepertorytheatre.com.

Theatre of Youth

TOY will open its season by streaming an archival recording of its 2018 production of "New Kid" by Dennis Foon from Nov. 6-20. Recommended for ages 8 and older, the play is about acceptance and inclusion after a boy settles into his new life in America and has problems with his classmates. It is directed by Meg Quinn.

Plans for the spring include filming and streaming "The Outsiders," which was shut down after its opening weekend in March because of the pandemic. More info is at theatreofyouth.org.

Kavinoky Theatre

In the fingers-crossed department, the Kavinoky is hoping to have a live audience back in the theater for “I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers,” scheduled for Nov. 6 through Dec. 6. The show also will have a streaming option as a back-up and for patrons who aren’t ready to go out at that time.

And, like several other theaters, the Kavinoky is presenting cabaret-style shows on its D’Youville College campus stage while listeners watch at home. Actor and director John Fredo kicks it off Sept. 19 with pianist George Caldwell. Singer Lorenzo Shawn Parnell is up next at 8 p.m. Sept. 25. Then, they go for the laughs with Charmagne Chi and pianist Joseph Donohue at 8 p.m. Oct. 9.

For more information, visit kavinokytheatre.com.

MusicalFare Theatre

At MusicalFare, cabaret has been part of its seasons for a while now, and it continues at 8 p.m. Sept. 17 with the aptly titled “Songs of Love and Longing,” featuring vocalist Alex McArthur, also accompanied by George Caldwell. Tickets are $10, at musicalfare.com. You’ll also see the theater’s upcoming season, which it hopes to start on stage in February with “American Rhapsody.”

Second Generation Theatre

In contrast to the intimate cabaret, Second Generation is going bigger with a collaboration with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Second Gen’s Arin Lee Dandes and Brian Brown will be singing with the symphony in a BPOnDemand video-streamed concert at 8 p.m. Oct. 3. Tickets are $10 at bpo.org.

Then, if reopenings stay on track, Second Generation will open its live season with “Songs for a New World” in February. Meanwhile, it is continuing to offer online theater academy classes; find out more at secondgenerationtheatre.com.

O’Connell & Company

Back at O’Connell & Company, simplicity remains the key.

“We are not a big company and can’t do a lot (virtually),” MaryKate O’Connell said. “We are probably going to open with two weeks of ‘Memories and Martinis’ (a combination of theater reminiscence and song) with one guest, and we’ll be separated on stage.”

Dates for those shows will be announced soon, as well as a hoped-for “Diva by Diva” performance.

O’Connell said that, while deeply missing the chance to bring live entertainment to the community, she remains hopeful.

“We just need to be smart, cautious, caring and diligent to make sure that everyone involved with our company is thought of, cared for, safe and enlightened,” she said. “Audiences are waiting.”