PROVIDENCE – Christmas came early for Trinity Repertory Company when the theater arts nonprofit found in grand fashion – and on short notice – a major venue to showcase for the 48th time its production of the Charles Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol.” This year’s production will temporarily move up the street from the condensed
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KATIE LIBERMAN, executive director of Trinity Repertory Company, says that despite "A Christmas Carol" only having 18 shows this year, there could be more people in total attending with the performances being at the Providence Performing Arts Center this year. /PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO[/caption]
By comparison, Trinity Rep, at a 550-attendee maximum capacity at Chace Theater, would see at most 29,150 in total attendance across 53 performances of "A Christmas Carol."
Liberman said that with A Christmas Carol being at PPAC, it will give theatergoers who normally take in shows at PPAC but not at Trinity Rep an offering as to what Trinity Rep offers the community – and build new relationships through arts and culture.
“Hopefully, this will be [PPAC theatergoers’] first opportunity to get to know us [at Trinity Rep] a little bit and introduce us to a new audience,” Liberman said. PPAC CEO and President J.L. “Lynn” Singleton told PBN the uniqueness of "A Christmas Carol" being at PPAC will “attract a lot of people” to see the shows.
Plus, Liberman told PBN that Trinity Rep will receive 100% of the ticket revenue for "A Christmas Carol" between Trinity Rep subscribers, PPAC subscribers and the general public. With tickets starting at $58, Trinity Rep could get at least $2.3 million in ticket revenue if all 18 shows sell out at PPAC.
Based on the $27 starting ticket price for "A Christmas Carol" from two years ago – the year in which 16 such shows were canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak among cast and crew – Trinity Rep would get $787,050 at least in ticket revenue if Chace Theater was sold out for 53 performances.
Trinity Rep is also paying a fee to PPAC to work on-site, including ticket offices, stagehands and security, for "A Christmas Carol". Singleton and Liberman did not disclose how much that fee is, with Singleton saying it will be “a modest rent”. Liberman did say the fee to PPAC is baked into the overall Chace Theater construction cost.
Each "A Christmas Carol" ticket will also have a $4 facility fee attached to it that PPAC will collect that goes to facility restoration. That fee could generate as much as $158,400 for the historic venue from the holiday classic’s shows.
[caption id="attachment_473201" align="alignleft" width="387"]
J.L. "LYNN" SINGLETON, CEO and president of the Providence Performing Arts Center, says that with "A Christmas Carol" now on its schedule, the theater will not have an off-night from early November through New Year's Eve. / PBN FILE PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY[/caption]
Singleton reiterated to PBN that his theater will not be dark for a single night from early November until New Year’s Eve. Plus, Singleton said PPAC originally did not have on its