Theaters feeling economic pinch
The madcap twists and turns of Neil A. Casey and John Kuntz in "The Mystery of Irma Vep" packed the house at the Lyric Stage Company. "The Santaland Diaries" has filled seats at New Repertory Theatre, as did "Let Me Down Easy" with Anna Deavere Smith at the American Repertory Theatre.
A number of theater companies around town are thrilled to report that audiences are seeking escape from the recession by attending their shows.
But the outlook is not wholly rosy: Theater audiences have been flat or declining nationwide, according to a recent study. Locally, some shows have not done well this season, and Boston-area theater leaders are very concerned about the economic downturn and its future effect, particularly when it comes to their fund-raising resources.
A recent National Endowment for the Arts study of 2,000 nonprofit theaters nationwide found that while the number of theaters doubled over a 15-year period and theaters remained generally financially healthy, the absolute size of audiences has declined 16 percent since 1992.
Looking more closely, the NEA study found that while attendance for musical theater has remained largely constant as a percentage of the population, audiences attending non-musical theater declined from 13.5 percent of the adult US population (25 million people) in 1992 to just 9.4 percent (21 million people) in 2008.
Locally, it's a mixed picture. Advance sales for "Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story On Stage" are "extremely strong," said Drew Murphy, president of Broadway Across America-Boston.
At the ART, "the first half of the season, our attendance is up compared to last year," said executive director Robert Orchard. "Now, that could be because of the three projects that we have done, beginning with Anna Deavere Smith, 'The Communist Dracula Pageant,' and 'Aur??lia's Oratorio.' " Next month, the ART will stage "The Seagull" by Anton Chekhov. "That may be more challenging," Orchard acknowledged. " We'll just have to see."
Comedies seem to be weathering the economic tides: In addition to "Irma Vep," Lyric Stage Company managing director Sara S. Glidden happily reports that David Mamet's political satire "November" was No. 9 on the company's top shows list. "This is really, really good news," she said.
At the Huntington Theatre Company, managing director Michael Maso cited two 2007 comedic blockbusters - a Noel Coward confection starring Victor Garber and a Hitchcock mystery adaptation - as among the biggest shows the company has presented in the last five years: " 'She Loves Me' did well," said Maso of last spring's musical, "but not as well as 'Present Laughter,' not as well as 'The 39 Steps.' " On the whole, Maso reported, "I am very happy so far with ticket sales this year," particularly sales for Tom Stoppard's "Rock 'n' Roll," which had an extended run.
But at New Rep, straight plays have suffered. "Eurydice" and "The Lieutenant of Inishmore" saw record-breaking preseason sales, according to New Rep spokesperson Gia Podobinski, but audiences dwindled sharply after the shows opened. "They didn't do as well as we'd hoped," said Podobinski. " 'Eurydice' opened right when the stock market crashed, and boy, did we feel it."
Even musicals have not been immune. Sales for "How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical" at the Citi Wang Theatre were disappointing, said spokesman Joe Ganley.
The general economic climate affects theaters, according to the NEA study, which reported that theater revenues have fluctuated sharply with business cycles. After the 2001 recession, nonprofit theater revenues, including ticket sales and contributions, fell nearly 12 percent in 2002, and they continued to decline slowly through 2005.
Theater leaders are hoping not to get hit too hard in the current economic downturn, but they are seeing troubling signs regarding fund-raising. Corporate giving has been scarce, and they expect a sharp decline in government grant money for the arts.
The Lyric Stage will be about a third short in its fund-raising goals for December, says Glidden: "We are brainstorming ways to come up with new ideas to raise funds."
At New Rep, "We're tracking behind slightly than a year ago, which is encouraging, but I don't think we've seen the worst of it," said board chairman Michael McCay.
As for the Huntington, "We are growing this year in terms of subscriptions, but fund-raising is where we feel we could be most hurt by the economy," said Maso, noting that the Calderwood Charitable Foundation is matching every new or increased donation this year. "That could give us an extra $250,000, and that's really helping us in this early stage of fund-raising."
And at the ART, "It looks like we are slightly down," Orchard said. "The trend looks OK. It's not great, but I don't think we are going to fall behind. Still, some places are going to go out of business." 