We won’t know the full impact of the economic meltdown on area theaters for a year, but most will face reactionary declines in everything from corporate and individual donations to season subscriptions to program advertisements.
But, with a few encouraging exceptions, audiences already are cutting back, and that may be the most long-term injury.
Still, this crisis brings with it inadvertent marketing opportunities. Here are some initiatives theaters might try not only to save themselves, but to build new audiences for the future:
Let’s make a deal. Get people through your doors however you can, then let your work sell your future for you. Offer 2-for-1 Thursdays, e-mail coupons, promo codes and “build your own” subscription packages. Offer “pay what you can” admission. Let kids in free. Theatre Communications Group’s fourth national “free day of theater” Oct. 16 drew 60,000, an estimated 45,000 of whom were new to the 650 participating theaters. None of which, unconscionably, were in Colorado.
Give women what they want: Surveys consistently find women comprise 68 to 72 percent of theater audiences. The Galleria Theatre’s “Girls Only” may be artistically specious, but it’s just been extended through Feb. 15. And here comes “Menopause, the Musical” again, this time at the Paramount Theatre (Nov. 11-16).
Make ’em laugh: Audiences voted “no” on Listen Productions’ “DNC Mediamockracy,” a compelling examination of the role media play in our political process. They are voting a resounding “yes” on David Mamet’s “November,” an election-season jokefest that’s stuffing the Avenue Theatre like a ballot box.
Play to a demographic. “Girls Only” and “Menopause” are economically bulletproof, as are franchises like “Nunsense” and “Escanaba,” because they appeal to built-in and identifiable niche groups or regions.
But recycling can be risky. “Mid-Life, the Crisis Musical” is one of the worst — but most popular — shows Boulder’s Dinner Theatre has ever staged. The surprise 2007 hit spoke directly to an older and reliable theater demographic. It drew repeat customers, higher group sales and wait lists. Bringing it back was a no-brainer. But no guarantee. Attendance plunged 44 percent the second time around, in part done in by recent record gas prices.
Seasonal fare sells: Hunger Artists just extended “Haunted,” its Halloween-timed look at Colorado ghosts, through Nov. 8. And here’s where retreads are a much safer bet. The Denver Center Theatre Company is staging “A Christmas Carol” for the 18th time because it is almost always its highest season-seller. Also, look for The Bug Theatre to bring back “The SantaLand Diaries” for a 10th and final year.
Offer child care. This is what volunteers are made for.
Stick to what you do best. Especially if you offer something no one else does. Heritage Square’s blue-collar fun fare and Germinal Stage’s mind-twisters may not be for everyone, but both service large and loyal fan bases that count on consistency.
Videos: Self-produced videos are an emerging trend in both marketing and media, both of which benefit from making more visceral and visual direct appeals to audiences (and readers). Recent Harvard grad Charlie Miller has launched an inspired and popular series of witty backstage videos for the DCTC called “10 Minutes to Curtain.” Publicists like Gloria Shanstrom now regularly make backstage videos available to both media outlets and theater subscribers. Our own 3-year-old weekly theater podcast has recently gone primarily video. Let people see what you have to offer.
The audience’s role. In good times or bad, the audience bears some responsibility for the health of its local arts scene. A vital arts community is necessary for a vital community, period. So before you get lost in the holiday madness, make a reservation today. Escape into another world, entertain your out-of-town friends, have a girls’ night out, set a good example for your kid. Whatever the reason: Just get to a theater.
Briefly…
Denver’s Maggie Roswell, who plays the voice of Ned Flanders’ dead wife, among other roles, on “The Simpsons,” will star in “Bunny Bunny: Gilda Radner, a Sort of Romantic Comedy” at the Avenue Theater, opening May 1. The play takes place from July 1975 (the beginning of “Saturday Night Live”) to Radner’s death in May 1989. . . .
Longtime Su Teatro actor Aaron Vieyra makes his TV debut at 8 p.m. tonight in “Easy Money” on Channel 2. He’s also appearing in Su Teatro’s “Braided Sorrow,” about women disappearing from American factories in Juarez. The play returns by popular demand Thursday through Nov. 9 (303-296-0219). . . .
And finally, congrats to DCTC veteran Kim Staunton (“Doubt”), one of 11 actors selected for the inaugural class of Lunt-Fontanne Fellows. Each gets a stipend to participate in an intensive, weeklong master class in Wisconsin with teacher Lynn Redgrave.
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com
This week’s theater openings
Opening Thursday, Nov. 6, through Nov. 9: El Centro Su Teatro’s “Braided Sorrow”
Opening Friday, Nov. 7, through Dec. 21: Miners Alley Playhouse’s “An O Henry Christmas” Golden
Opening Friday, Nov. 7, through Dec. 21: Nonesuch’s “Plaid Tidings” Fort Collins
Opening Friday, Nov. 7, through Dec. 31: Union Colony Dinner Theatre’s “Nunsense” Greeley
Opening Friday, Nov. 7, through Nov. 29: Colorado Stage Company’s “The Diaries of Adam and Eve . . . as translated by Mark Twain” Lone Tree
Opening Friday, Nov. 7, through Dec. 28: Theatre Group’s “Howard Crabtree’s ‘When Pigs Fly’ ”
Opening Friday, Nov. 7, through Nov. 23: Red Rocks Community College’s “Sylvia”
Opening Friday, Nov. 7, through Nov. 29: Adams Mystery Playhouse’s “Who Wants to Murder a Millionaire?”
This week’s theater closings
Today, Nov. 2: Vintage Theatre’s “Murderers”
Today, Nov. 2: Festival Playhouse’s “It was a Dark and Stormy Night” Arvada
Today, Nov. 2: And Beyond Theatre Company’s “An Authentic 1908 Vaudeville”
Saturday, Nov. 8: Firehouse’s “Sleuth”
Saturday, Nov. 8: Hunger Artists’ “Haunted” (at Byers-Evans House)
Saturday, Nov. 8: Victorian Playhouse’s “Tales of the Night” (“Sorry, Wrong Number,” “The Hitch-Hiker” and “The War of the Worlds”)
Saturday, Nov. 8: Theater Company of Lafayette’s “Sherlock Holmes and the Doom of Devilsmoor”
Saturday, Nov. 8: E-Project’s “Mooncalf and Silverheels” Lakewood
Nov. 9: TheatreWorks’ “I Am My Own Wife” Colorado Springs
Nov. 9: Evergreen Players’ “Night Watch”
Nov. 9: Heritage Square Music Hall’s “The Hound of the Baskervilles” Golden
This week’s video podcast: “Speech and Debate”
Running Lines with . . . Laura Jo Trexler, Steven J. Burge and Glen Moore, who don the personas of their Curious Theatre alter egos for a short conversation with John Moore. Run time: 4 minutes.
Most recent theater openings
“Anything Goes” Coal Creek Community Theatre presents Cole Porter’s classic musical about Reno Sweeney and Billy Crocker. Through Nov. 16. At Northglenn High School, 601 W. 100th Place, 303-665-0955 or
“As You Like It” Shakespearean comedy featuring his greatest heroine, Rosalind, the girl who dresses like a boy to teach the boy how to get the girl. Through Nov. 29. OpenStage & Company, Lincoln Center, 417 W. Magnolia St., Fort Collins, 970-221-6730 or
“I Am My Own Wife” Erik Sandvold comes to Colorado Springs’ TheatreWorks to reprise his acclaimed 2006 role as the real-life German transvestite who has survived both the Nazi and Communist regimes. Through Nov. 9. At Bon Vivant Theater, 3955 Cragwood Drive, 719-262-3232 or
“Fat Pig” Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company presents Neil LaBute’s tale of a young, handsome exec who falls for a “plus-sized” woman. Will their relationship be able to endure the societal pressures that surround them? Don’t count on it. Through Nov. 23. Dairy Center for the Arts, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder, 303-440-7826 or
“Fuddy Meers” David Lindsay-Abaire’s freaky screwball comedy (and Pulitzer winner) about a woman who wakes each morning as a blank slate. Through Nov. 16. Longmont Theatre Company, 513 Main St., 303-772-5200 or
“Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” Throwback musical based on the 1954 film, including “Blue Skies,” “How Deep is the Ocean” and, of course, the title song. Through Jan. 3. Carousel Dinner Theatre, 3509 S. Mason St., Fort Collins, 970-225-2555 or
“Mame” Jerry Herman’s classic musical about the eccentric Mame Dennis and her bohemian clique. Through Dec. 14 (reprising Dec. 31-Jan. 4). Jesters Dinner Theatre, 224 Main St., Longmont, 303-682-9980 or
“Speech and Debate” Three high-school misfits linked by a town sex scandal decide the only way to get to the truth is to form their school’s first speech and debate team. This is one of the first stagings of this clever comedy anywhere since it premiered in New York last year. Written by Stephen Karam. Through Dec. 13. Curious Theatre, 1080 Acoma St., 303-623-0524 or
Complete theater listings
Go to our complete list of every currently running production in Colorado, including summaries, run dates, addresses, phones and links to every company’s home page.
