Live theater adapts to audience desires

Live theater in Northern Colorado remains strong despite the closing of a Fort Collins dinner theater — in fact, a few local theaters successfully attract the crowds with improved logistics and high quality performances as they compete with multiple entertainment options.

The Union Colony Civic Center in Greeley, in its 30th season this year, changed its definition of season and its package offerings, while also continuing to book local and national shows that attract a wide range of theatergoers.

“We change what we present based on what the audience wants to see and what’s available to buy,” said Jason Evenson, cultural affairs manager of the civic center. “The live entertainment and theater industry in Northern Colorado is doing well, and we’re adapting as we go.”

The civic center, owned and operated by the city of Greeley, is home to two performance venues, the Hensel Phelps Theatre that seats 214 and the Monfort Concert Hall with 1,686 seats. The center holds 100 events a year, including 20 to 30 national acts, and presents a variety of entertainment from Broadway musicals and ballets to concerts and comedy acts.  It serves as a local rental house for community theater groups and dance troupes, offering opportunities for nonprofessional performers through its co-productions and sharing of advertising opportunities.

In fall 2018, the center moved from a season to a semester schedule to improve its bookings. Previously, the center released the names of upcoming shows in June or July for the entire season, September to May. By dividing shows into spring and fall semesters, the center can line up a better spring list by waiting until October or November to make an announcement with three to four months advance notice.

“Agents don’t want to book a year out anymore,” Evenson said, explaining that when performers rise in stardom or receive major awards, agents can charge higher prices.

The center also eliminated its discounted fixed packages last year in favor of offering flexible packages with better discounts. The discounts are scaled and depend on the number and type of shows selected.

“Most people don’t want to buy an entire year of prepackaged theater. They want to buy closer to the event and at different venues,” Evenson said.

As a result of the changes, plus bringing in new management and using new communication methods, ticket sales are up for the 2018-19 season over the previous season. Upcoming shows include the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra and the University of Northern Colorado’s presentation of “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” March 1-2 and the Stampede Troupe’s bringing to the stage murder mystery “Murder by Natural Causes” March 8-17.

“We’re excited to move the Union Colony Civic Center into a new era as we keep growing and adapting to what people in our community want to see,” Evenson said.

The Boulder Dinner Theater, a 274-seat playhouse that opened in 1977, will present the off-Broadway musical “Disenchanted” through March 31 and “Motones vs. Jerseys” April 3-26. The theater presents four professional shows a year in single purchase and flexible packaging.

“The last year has been pretty good for us, but theater, in general, is up and down,” said Michael Duran, producing artistic director of the theater. “With us, it comes down to show selection. People want to see it, or they don’t. Even though we produce pretty good theater and get good reviews on our shows, sometimes people don’t want to come.”

Over the past season, the theater had to add showings to “The Little Mermaid,” which ran June 1-Sept. 8, and extended “A Christmas Story, The Musical” by a week to run Nov. 10-Jan. 5

“People are still interested, but it still depends on the show,” Duran said.

Candlelight Dinner Playhouse, a professional dinner musical theater that opened in Johnstown in 2008, will present “Motones vs. Jerseys” through Feb. 25 and “Nunsense” through March 3. The theater offers individual and season tickets with programming add-ons and presents five shows a season; once the season starts, packages of remaining shows also are offered at a discount.

“We’re experiencing big houses and lots of enthusiasm,” said Pat Payne, production manager of the theater. “We’re aiming to increase the quality of the shows. Our executive director and owner Dave Clark wants us to strive to make it better.”

Ticket sales for the 2018-19 season, from September to August, are up approximately 10 percent over last year, Clark said.

“From our perspective, the health of the industry is quite well,” Clark said. “Our patrons enjoy coming. Our sales are up. Our productions keep getting better. We put effort into our value, and our customers are seeing that.”

Sales are on the rise for the upcoming 2019-20 season from regulars of the Midtown Arts Center, a 350-seat community performing arts center and dinner theater in Fort Collins that will close Sept. 1. The arts center, which opened in 1991 as the Carousel Dinner Theatre, gave Candlelight access to its patron list and is encouraging its 4,000 season ticket holders to renew their season tickets at Candlelight, which has a 3,500 base. Candlelight is offering them a free show this season with the purchase of 2019-20 season tickets.

“We have been trying to fill the void and encouraging them to buy our season tickets,” Clark said. “Of course, there are a lot of people disappointed to see Midtown close.”

Several other theaters in Northern Colorado have a lineup of quality shows that also bring in large ticket sales.

“There’s a lot of theaters, and we’re competing for all of that,” Duran said. “It’s friendly competition, but it’s competition.”

The Lincoln Center in Fort Collins is a performing arts space with indoor and outdoor theaters that presents professional theater, dance and music, among other offerings. It has a 1,180-seat performance hall and a 220-seat theater. The theater’s upcoming shows include “Steel Magnolias,” presented by the Open Stage Theater & Company Jan. 19-Feb. 16, and “Fool for Love” March 1-23.

The Jesters Dinner Theater in Longmont, which features musicals and improvisational comedy shows, will show “Jekyll & Hide, The Musical” Feb. 1-April 14. The Trojan Theater, a performing arts complex owned by the Longmont Theatre Company, will present “Young Frankenstein” Feb. 1-16 and “Anatomy of Gray” March 15-24.

“There is a love of dinner theaters in Colorado, because companies that started it 30, 40 years ago really got it going the right way,” said Scott Moore, co-owner and co-director of Jesters Dinner Theater with his wife, Mary Lou. “There are more options for live theater now than I’ve ever known.”

The theater, founded in 1987, offers conservative shows and flexible passes, allowing theatergoers to select one or more tickets per show of the six shows in the season and to pick the shows they want to see.

“Since 2013, every year has gotten better for us in terms of tickets sold and gross sales,” Moore said. “We’re healthier than we’ve ever been. … We lost some dinner theaters over the last 10 years. The dinner theaters that are still around are doing really well.”

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