For the Theatre and Performing Arts Lover
 Already home to fourteen professional theaters, Buffalo's reputation as an emerging national center for the arts continues to grow. You?ll find Broadway musicals at Shea's Performing Arts Center, a European-style opera house of real grandeur in the heart of the city's downtown; comedies, dramas and mysteries at Studio Arena Theatre, Buffalo's nationally-recognized producing theatre; the greatest works of dramatic literature at the Irish Classical Theatre Company; pieces by African-Americans and people of color at Ujima Theatre; work by up-and-coming and undiscovered playwrights at the Alleyway Theatre; an eclectic menu of musicals, comedies and drama at the lovely and intimate Kavinoky Theatre on the campus of D?Youville College; and entertainment for young audiences at Theatre of Youth in the beautifully-restored Allendale Theatre in the historic Allentown district.
In summertime, Shakespeare in Delaware Park is the second largest outdoor Shakespeare festival in the country. Nestled in the natural amphitheater that has come to be known as "Shakespeare Hill," a grand Tudor-style stage is constructed each summer as the home for performances of Shakespeare's stories of passion, laughter and love.
 The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Buffalo Chamber Music Society are both at home in the acoustic and architectural perfection of the internationally acclaimed Kleinhans Music Hall. The BPO's summer home at Artpark in nearby Lewiston overlooks the magnificent Niagara Gorge, where a series of shows ? from Broadway to bluegrass and the blues ? is held between June and September.
HSBC Arena on the city's waterfront regularly reverberates when the monsters of rock come to town. And the University at Buffalo's Center for the Arts in suburban Amherst also hosts a full schedule of concerts, dance performances and lectures.
You?ll find jazz at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery as part of its Microsoft Jazz Series; concerts of every description at the Town Ballroom on Main Street downtown; and experimental and avant-garde music at Soundlab. There's roots rock, blues and jazz at Nietzsche's and the Allen Street Hardware Café in Allentown, country at the Sportsmen's Tavern on the city's West Side, alternative rock at Mohawk Place downtown and Buffalo's very own soul legend, Lance Diamond, at the Elmwood Lounge.
Come see ? and hear ? what you've been missing.
Babeville: A Righteous Restoration
 Buffalo's already vibrant theater and performing arts scene receive dan infusion of new energy when Ani DiFranco's Righteous Babe Records recently opened a state-of-the-art performance space in the former Asbury Delaware Church. Re-christened Babeville, this remarkable adaptive re-use of a Buffalo landmark dating from 1871, will play host to an eclectic array of performers and styles and provide another anchor to the city's burgeoning entertainment district. Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center will share the space and continue its tradition of presenting exhibits, film screenings and musical performances by the most adventurous and provocative artists working today.
 The story of Babeville is one of patience and persistence in the face of daunting odds. More than a decade ago, Righteous Babe Records became involved in the fight to save what was then known as the Delaware Asbury Methodist Church.
Ani DiFranco and Righteous Babe Records President Scot Fisher were determined to see the historic structure saved and transformed for a dynamic new use as a way to bring fresh vitality and culture to downtown Buffalo. Ten years later, the goal of saving the building has been met. Extensive structural repairs to the interior and exterior have been completed, and work is nearly complete on the interior renovation that has transformed a 19th century house of worship into a 21st century arts complex including offices, the Hallwalls gallery, and a 1200-person performing arts hall.
"I think it will be a really dynamic place that will have a momentum of its own once all the creative people are in there, and there is music happening at night, and art hanging on the walls and crazy cinema in the basement," DiFranco told the Buffalo News. "I think that the collective energy of all these people coming together will emanate out through the neighborhood."
In summer 2006, Righteous Babe Records will move into its new headquarters; the concert venue Asbury Hall will begin operations; and a basement lounge will open. In each case, the building will provide an exciting focal point for Buffalo's vibrant visual and performing arts scene.
"The space itself has a soul ? it's vibe-y, it's cool and it's beautiful," DiFranco said. "I think it's going to be awesome."
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