Are Long Island theaters struggling to win back audiences?

It's been more than three months since the musical "Head Over Heels" had its Long Island premiere at The Gateway in Bellport. Everyone at the theater figured they had the makings of a surefire hit — romance, quirky humor, lavish Elizabethan-era costumes and best of all, a score featuring "We've Got the Beat," "Our Lips Are Sealed" and more hits from The Go-Go's.

For whatever reason, The Go-Go's were a no-go with audiences. 

"We weren't exactly sure what was happening because we thought people were going to be raring to get out of their houses," says Paul Allan, The Gateway's executive artistic director. "We did some really cool things with the show, and we thought the hook of the Go-Go's seemed like a nice summery thing."

"The Little Mermaid," which followed, was also sparsely attended. It wasn't until "The Cher Show," which opened in August, that Gateway finally landed a hit, but it did mean dipping into the rest of the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant dollars that got Gateway through 2020 and 2021.

"I didn’t expect that we’d need that money in 2022, because I thought things would be a lot better," Allan says. "We wound up spending the rest of the money just to make up for the loss of the first two shows this year. I was concerned about being able to make it all the way through December."

Spanning the Long Island theater spectrum, each company has had its share of hits and misses this past year. Richard T. Dolce, producing artistic director of the John W. Engeman Theater in Northport, says overall attendance last season dragged behind pre-pandemic numbers, although tickets sales for this summer's "On Your Feet" and current show "Mystic Pizza" were on an upswing.

Jeffrey Sanzel, executive artistic director of Theatre Three in Port Jefferson, said none of the theater's shows did poorly this past season. "Mamma Mia!," he adds, "could not have been a bigger hit had it been pre-COVID."

"Maintaining and growing attendance is continually challenging as we come out of the pandemic and pick up where we left off as a theater still in its infancy," says Dylan Perlman, who opened The Argyle Theater in Babylon with his father, Mark, in 2018. "At the same time, we do see a pent-up demand for high-quality live theater."

For smaller theaters, pent up demand isn't enough. Hampton Theatre Company, which operates out of the 180-seat Quogue Community Hall, has only been drawing about 50% to 66% of its traditional audience since reopening last fall, says Andrew Botsford, the group's president.

The situation has been even more dire for Modern Classics Theatre Company of Long Island, housed at the 60-seat BACCA Arts Center in Lindenhurst. November's "The 39 Steps" was a crowd-pleaser, but summer's "Now and Then" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" ranged from about 20 people on a good night to single digits on its worst, says group president Dan Kani.

"We’ve always prided ourselves on doing shows that other people didn’t, but we’re really going to have no choice in the matter but to do one or two that are more well-known just simply from a financial perspective," Kani says about future productions.

Another factor hurting theaters is their high operational costs. "Between rent and insurance and salaries, licensing, production costs, it's very difficult. It’s almost like we’re treading water in a way," says Michael Blangiforti, managing director of Manes Studio Theater in Lindenhurst and Bayway Arts Center in East Islip. "Putting up a musical like 'Something Rotten' at Bayway, we had production costs of $25,000 to $30,000."

IS THEATER A NECESSITY?

Trying to figure out why audiences are coming back so slowly has been a puzzle that theater owners are still trying to solve.

"The only answer I can really say is COVID because it’s the only thing that makes sense," Kani says. "I also think that there’s a lot of shows that are going on at the same time, so people are having to choose what performances to go to because they’re being stretched."

Also being stretched are their wallets, Blangiforti says.

"You have to eat, you have to go to the supermarket, you have to go to the doctor. You don’t have to go to the theater," he says. "We're not a necessity, and if people are watching every dollar they spend, guess what? Going out to a show at 30 to 35 bucks a ticket is something that people don’t want to spend. The economy is definitely a concern."

Another concern is that people have become housebound since the pandemic hit, Botsford says. "I don’t think it’s COVID fear so much anymore as people just getting out of the habit of going to the theater," he says.

GETTING CREATIVE

Bringing audiences back has inspired theater operators, such as Kevin Harrington, president and founder of Plaza's Broadway Long Island in Elmont, to rethink the way they've been doing business.

Thanks to a boost in sponsorships and donations from its patrons as well as some cost-cutting measures, Plaza has been able to reduce ticket prices as it enters its second season.

"Last year, they were $75 to $80 and now our highest price ticket is $49. Consequently, our subscription prices to see all four shows is $160. Quite honestly, our subscription numbers are up significantly from last year," says Harrington, who adds that Plaza shows averaged about 50% capacity last season.

In addition, Plaza lowered the minimum number for group sales from 25 to 15 and is offering a free ticket to the group leader.

Manes Studio Theater in Lindenhurst, which typically does plays aimed at adult audiences, is looking at alternative programming such "Scrooge the Musical" to draw families. "We want to make it not just a musical, but a family-friendly event," Blangiforti says. "We're going to decorate the lobby, give out candy canes and have children take pictures with Santa Claus and the ghosts after the show."

How successful these strategies will be remains to be seen, but the local theater community is feeling pretty optimistic for the future. While Allan says he's no longer worried about Gateway closing anytime soon, he adds "we're certainly not sitting pretty. Only time will tell what happens in 2023."