The ensemble for Local Theatre Company’s staged reading of “Stockade,” by Andrew Rosendorf with Carlyn Aquiline. From left, Alex J. Gould, Lisa Hori Garcia, Betty Hart, Bobby Bennett, Casey Andree. There are some tried and true ways to deepen a relationship to a theater. The simplest is to become a subscriber, the equivalent of being a season ticket holder in sports. Cherye Gilmore became an annual patron to the Denver Center for the Performing Arts thanks to a happy convergence.
With its marketing muscle, the Denver Center — both its Broadway and its theater company arms — have made a fine art of building and sustaining its subscription base. That means guaranteed seats, exchange flexibility, and discounts for friends and family, and, for the Broadway division, access to the hot national tour that isn’t part of the season package. Think this fall’s “Hamilton” and next spring’s “Mean Girls.
“Our patrons are just so unique, Boulder’s a very academic place. And so, you have a lot of intellectuals that are just, they just crave this, you know, when we have new readings, new readings, it impacts the house,” said Mark Ragan, managing director of the Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company. “I think we are so lucky,” he adds. “… we are so blessed at BETC because our patrons are the most loyal, wonderful, dedicated, trusting people that I’ve seen in my years of working in the theater.
Looking to deepen your arts and entertainment experiences? Here are five theater companies whose artistic choices, craft and subscriptions may prove habit-forming.One expects the team at the daring company to import the goods from off-off Broadway to its digs in a former church in Denver’s Golden Triangle neighborhood. The 2024-25 season is rife with regional premieres and a bonus world premiere.
Intangibles: The company’s stated motto? “No Guts, No Story.” Yes, producing deeply engaging theater takes intestinal fortitude. What that looks like onstage comes by way of a heady mix of searing dramas and deft and timely comedies that often pose questions about who we are: to our families, our nation, each other. It also takes ducats. Single ticket sales are a wonderful measure of programming, but not the only. It is subscriptions that enable the work and the risks year-in, year-out.
Tangibles: The company is a week out from officially announcing its new season but expect a continuation of their civic collaborations with another Colorado history-infused work, this one unfolding in Westminster. They’ll produce a show at the Dairy Arts Center in the fall and in the new year, guests are invited to a FEED, their signature mix of a communal gathering of food, libations and performance.
Intangibles: Subscriptions help budget one’s entertainment dollars and nail down one’s calendar, but purchasing them can also reflect a deeper commitment to art, to artists, and to the culture more broadly. Co-artistic director Nick Chase described the company’s community of subscribers as “theatergoers who are interested not only in the content of a specific play, but the artistry and value system of a theater company as a whole.”Goodbye Playhouse. Hello, gorgeous performing arts center.