Are Audiences Returning To CT Theaters? Some Troubling Answers

As the pandemic continues to fade and most Connecticut theaters lift COVID-19 restrictions, there’s a major question on the minds’ of many performance house CEOs: Are audiences returning?

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The answer is: “Yes, but … .”

Yes, but not at pre-pandemic levels.

Yes, but season ticket sales — known in the theater industry as subscriptions — are still significantly down.

Yes, but the federal financial support to weather the drop-off is running out.

That “but” is a major concern for many of the state’s theater executives who fear some not-for-profit presenting and producing venues face the risk of closure if things don’t turn around..

“We’re coming back ever so slowly,” said Freddie McInerney, director of marketing and communications of TheaterWorks Hartford.

“People have lost the habit of going to the theater,” said Florie Seery, managing director of Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven.

“We’re in a crisis,” said Cynthia Rider, managing director of Hartford Stage.

Rider said Hartford Stage’s pre-pandemic subscriptions totaled more than 7,000, but for the 2021-22 season, which ended in June, they were just under 4,000.

“We took a big hit,” with subscription revenue alone dropping from nearly $2 million to $1.3 million, she said. “While other industries and businesses are out of the pandemic, we’re not.”

McInerney said pre-pandemic TheaterWorks was close to capacity at most shows “and now we are at the 50 percent to 60 percent level on average.”

For large presenting houses, which host Broadway tours, Fay said, “the trend line nationally is good overall. But here ….|CONTINUED|