Leiba Alpert wants theater to survive and thrive in Denver. But as a 30-year subscriber to the Best of Broadway series now run by Denver Center Attractions, it will have to do so without her from now on. Her decision not to renew for the season that began May 26 reflects one reason DCA subscriptions are down 8 percent from 2004-05.
The touring industry has a dearth of hit shows to export at present, and the only title on DCA’s season that remotely appeals to Alpert is “Wicked.”
“So why would I pay $1,000 for two season tickets just to see ‘Wicked’ and a bunch of other substandard shows I don’t want to see, when I can just pay $120 for two single tickets to ‘Wicked’ instead?” Alpert said. “Seeing one good show for the price of five is just not worth it to me anymore.”
Alpert is not alone. Although Denver is one of the nation’s top five markets for ticket sales to tours, the DCA’s subscription base has declined from 16,588 last season to 15,278 as of last week (though because subscriptions continue to be sold, that number will rise).
There are other factors. The decline of season subscriptions and the concurrent rise of single-ticket sales has been a pronounced national trend at all levels of theater since 2001. And because of budget cuts, the DCA marketing team had to open its season for the first time without radio advertising.
“The mind-set right now is, ‘I am just going to take my chances on buying single tickets to ‘Wicked’ and not subscribe for the whole season,”‘ Denver Center director of marketing Jeff Hovorka said. “But unfortunately, we were only able to book ‘Wicked’ for 2 1/2 weeks in September, which means there will only be a very few scattered seats available – certainly not prime orchestra seats on a Saturday night. So if you really want to see ‘Wicked,’ that’s actually the best reason to subscribe.”
Alpert sees the greater problem as a five-year decline in quality – not just in what Broadway brings to Denver but in what Denver chooses to produce itself.
“They gave us a Rat Pack musical in which Sammy Davis was played by a bald-headed white guy,” Alpert said, also citing failed local productions of “Triple Espresso” and “Dorian.” “The way I see it, last year was the fourth straight year where we got one good show, and the rest were terrible. I can’t even get friends to take my second ticket anymore.”
Hovorka doesn’t want to lose a single subscriber, especially one as loyal as Alpert, but the irony of her argument is not lost on him.
“We all agree that Broadway desperately needs some quality new work right now, and we are one of the only regional theater centers in the country trying to help them by finding and developing quality new works for them to do,” Hovorka said, citing audience favorites “I Love a Piano” and “Terracotta Warriors.”
“That means sometimes we have to go out on a limb, and in the case of those two shows, the gamble really paid off.”
Not that Broadway was smart enough to pick up either.
But while the DCA is staging “On the Record,” the fifth engagement of “Phantom of the Opera,” a revival of “Little Shop of Horrors” and the Dame Edna showcase “Back With a Vengeance!” this season, Alpert figures, “I can have a lot more fun for my $1,000.” So what will she do with her grand?
“I’ll probably go to New York and see some theater.”
DCTC alum in “War”
Denver Center Theatre Company alumna January LaVoy (“Lobby Hero”) plays “Brazilian Neighbor’s Wife” in Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster “War of the Worlds.” “We are the couple that lives in the house next door to Tom Cruise – while we still have houses,” she said.
LaVoy, who lives in New York, shot her scenes over two weeks in November in Bayonne, N.J.
“It was an amazing experience,” she said. “Spielberg only uses the best of the best for his crew, and I got to work with people who have been on his team since ‘Jaws,’ which was sort of awe-inspiring.”
LaVoy also recently starred in the world premiere of Dael Orlandersmith’s new play, “Raw Boys,” at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia.
Briefly
Want a say in what original show Buntport develops and performs next season? Head to 717 Lipan St. at 8 p.m. Friday or Saturday. The company will perform 20 minutes of three partially developed shows; the audience will vote on which will be developed into a full-length production in April (720-946-1388). …
The theater community mourned the death of Beverly Mango, the primary musical director at the Bonfils Theatre from 1953-86. “She was beloved by a whole bunch of us who have been around forever because she was one of God’s true characters,” said Bonfils director Bev Newcomb Madden. …
Fans of Martin Moran and “The Tricky Part” play and book were saddened to learn of the death of his father at age 72. Martin Moran Sr. was a reporter for the Denver Catholic Register. An excerpt from Moran’s book in which he talks about his dad is posted online at . …
On a happier note, one of the community’s few true giants, Bonfils producer Henry Lowenstein, turns 80 on Monday.
Theater critic John Moore can be reached at 303-820-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com.
