The pandemic may be over, but it’s still putting a dent in Maine live theater ticket sales
SPECTRUM NEWS – As Maine and the world moves on from the coronavirus pandemic, those in Maine’s live theater community are still feeling the financial blow.
Most theater companies are no longer requiring masking, but ticket sales are still in a slump compared to before March 2020.
“It’s very much still on our minds,” said Jennifer Shepard, executive director of the Penobscot Theatre Company in Bangor.
Shepard said the company is producing a full slate of performances, with the current 2022-2023 season finishing up this month, but ticket sales are still not what they used to be.
The company has 690 season ticket subscribers. While Shepard said that figure is “pretty good,” she also noted that before the pandemic the company had 1,000 subscribers.
“We’re still experiencing diminished numbers,” she said.
Michelle McGrath runs a Massachusetts-based public relations firm (McGrathPR) that represents theater companies and arts institutions, including Deertrees Theatre in Harrison. She said theaters throughout New England overall reported ticket sales in 2022 were down 40% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
“Last year was definitely impacted, still, by the pandemic,” she said.
McGrath said people may still want to go out, but financial concerns may make them less likely to buy tickets. She also said people worried for a longer time about packing into enclosed spaces.
“It took longer for people to get comfortable with that,” she said.
That said, McGrath thinks companies are seeing gradual improvements.
“We definitely see increasingly better numbers as time goes on,” she said. “The public has been increasingly comfortable.”
One sign of the pandemic’s impact — and a possible sign of recovery — may be in shows that still sell out.
Curt Dale Clark, artistic director at the Maine State Music Theatre in Brunswick, said in 2019 the company presented 96 performances, 90 of which were sold-out shows.
Since then, the company has not sold out a single performance until “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story,” which the theater is running this month. Even that, Clark said, might be attributed to the show’s broader appeal to music fans, not just theatergoers.
“It’s got a crossover audience,” he said.
While Clark said “there’s no way” the company will get 90 sold-out shows this season, he said he is optimistic that attendance will continue to climb.
“It’s been incrementally getting better as people feel safer,” he said. “I’m hoping that by next season we’ll be back to normal.”
Shepard said the Penobscot Theater Co.’s season, which started in September 2022, comes to a close this month. She also said sold-out shows were more common pre-pandemic.
The first sold-out performance the company has had since 2020 is its current and last show, “Mary Poppins.” She said this is also the first full season of performances with live, instead of digital showings.
“I kind of feel like we’re turning a corner,” she said.
Deertrees is starting its 87th season this month, and McGrath is also optimistic that sales will continue to go up.
“For certain, people are coming back out,” she said.
By Sean Murphy
