Jeff Miers is a writer, a musician, a composer, a father, and a reviewer for The Buffalo News…not necessarily in that order! And on this week’s “Off Road,” this man of many talents and many passions sits down to talk about where he’s been and where he’s going in a fascinating chat with Peter.

With a flourish of diverse theaters, the telling of the modern age of “A History of Buffalo Theatre” comes to a close. In this episode, Torn Space, Raíces and others, are joined by the well known initials of JRT, RLTP, SGT, and ARTA, among others. And with this, our saga comes to and end…until tomorrow!

In the penultimate history episode, Peter approaches the home stretch with an episode jam packed with origin tales and big names from some of the most familiar theaters and producers in town. These include Kramer, Bustillos, O’Connell, Lambert, Rausa and O’Neill!

The growth of dinner theater, from John Cimasi to Jay Desiderio, takes center stage in this edition, but it's quickly joined by Vincent O’Neill and Neal Radice, as the seeds of their theaters are planted and develop. Finally, the creation of the Artie Awards brings excitement and friendly competition to the arts scene.

In this episode, we learn about the Buffalo Entertainment/Ensemble Theatre from Bob Waterhouse, plus more from Messrs. Elkin, Radice, and Chase, along with a discussion of the growth of community theater by Peter and Tony. Plus, the saga of the birth of the Kavinoky Theatre concludes with final thoughts from David Lamb, and much much more!

As we continue through our timeline, the “Modern Age” gets so busy we could only cover five years of events! This time we hear about the roots of The Kavinoky, Shakespeare in Delaware Park, and Ujima…along with other surprises during this very active time.

Peter’s on his own starting with this episode. But he is joined via audio clips by some of the most important people in Buffalo theatre history from 1962-1973, as the Studio Arena, African American Cultural Center, and Theatre of Youth begin producing!

Covering a fifty-year period in which there was almost too much to talk about, this amazing podcast includes Al Jolson’s appearance at the Teck Theater, the Studio Arena precursor known as the Buffalo Players, The African American Cultural Center’s birth, The Town Casino, and the grand opening of "The Wonder Theatre”: Shea’s Buffalo! Plus, Anthony Chase makes the first of many welcome appearances.

In this first chapter, Peter is joined by Steve Cichon and Ron Ehmke, both fans of Buffalo and its rich history. Included in the discussion are the very first mentions of “theatre”  after the War of 1812, Michael Shea’s first ventures into the entertainment world, and the birth of the “First Lady of The Theatre” Katharine Cornell.

John Murphy is well known as the premier local broadcaster who is the voice of the Buffalo Bills. But in this episode of OFF ROAD, he uses that voice to talk about his life, his upbringing, and his future with the Bills and other ventures.