Theatre Horizon’s new ticket pricing model tells audiences what a play really costs

Forget about the electric bill, invoices for cleaning supplies, or even paying her own salary. Theatre Horizon’s artistic director Nell Bang-Jensen isn’t including any of those expenses in her calculation of what it really costs to put on a play.

She wants audiences to know that theater isn’t free, or cheap, which is why the Norristown theater is using its current season to introduce a new ticket pricing model, unique in its financial transparency.

Through March 12, patrons can buy tickets to the delightful musical comedy Head Over Heels.

The production’s cost? $220,159.

“We explain that to the audience in the curtain speech and there are gasps,” Bang-Jensen said. “People don’t realize how much it costs to make theater.”

What did the $220,159 buy?

It paid the salaries of a cast of eight, a five-piece band, a stage manager, an assistant, a director, a choreographer, a music director, an audio engineer, a box office manager, a house manager, and four designers — sound, light, costume, and set. There’s even money set aside for a COVID-19 compliance officer, as required by the actors’ union contract. Then, there are the rights to the play, contributions to union pension and health benefits, and COVID testing.

To cover the costs, audience members would have to pay $90 a ticket, assuming a sold-out house for every performance in the 123-seat theater. Patrons learn about this breakdown when they buy tickets online. They are offered tickets at four price points, $25, $40, $60, or $85. There are seats available for $2 under a program for low-income theatergoers. For Bang-Jensen, access is important, as is affordability, particularly in Norristown, where more than one in five residents live in poverty.

Regular attendees at most theaters know that ticket sales don’t cover production costs. But no other theater in the region has been so forthright about the actual costs and the size of the gap between sales and expenses.

The $220,159 sum does not cover the rent, fund-raising expenses, non-production salaries, or necessary insurance policies. All those costs, plus running Theatre Horizon’s educational program, total $1.4 million a year.

“This is the challenge of the funding landscape in general,” Bang-Jensen said. Donors and foundations “are more interested in funding actual productions. It’s not an enticing ask for a foundation to cover general operating expenses.”

It’s too soon to tell how this model will work. Bang-Jensen said that pre-pandemic, Theatre Horizon had experimented with dynamic pricing and would average 80% attendance over a season. So far Head Over Heels is running about 60 to 65%, with some sold-out performances.

Most audiences, Bang-Jensen said, are purchasing tickets closer to $25, while some are paying higher prices and others are adding donations to their purchases.

“I think there’s much to admire about that model, but I worry that it can be mistaken [for the idea] that there’s not value in [theater making],” she said of the pay-what-you-can model now common in many local theaters. “Unfortunately, in our capitalistic society, when people do have to pay for something, they equate that with value.

“The step that’s missing is audience education and helping people think about the value of the arts,” she said.

(Through March 12, “Head Over Heels,” Theatre Horizon, 401 DeKalb St., Norristown, 610-283-2230 or theatrehorizon.org)

Lawrence Pressman, an actor known for his roles in Doogie Howser, M.D., Ladies’ Man, and Mulligan Stew, plays Prospero, the lead character, in William Shakespeare’s drama of revenge and reconciliation at Quintessence Theatre Group.

Pressman was nominated for a Barrymore Award for his performance as Jacob in Quintessence’s Awake and Sing.

Scholars consider The Tempest one of Shakespeare’s finest works. He combines star-crossed lovers, crafty clowns and lackeys, and supernatural creations in the story of Prospero. Abandoned on an island for 12 years, Prospero brews a storm to seek revenge on the sister who stole his crown. Quintessence’s artistic director Alexander Burns directs.

(Through March 26, “The Tempest,” Quintessence Theatre Group, Sedgwick Theater, 7137 Germantown Ave., Phila. 215-987-4450 or quintessencetheatre.org)

Childhoodslost Chronicles: The Stage Play tackles issues of gun violence from the perspective of those impacted. The play, presented by Children of the Arts Foundation and the Urban Art Gallery, is a series of vignettes about gun violence, with teenage actors playing many of the roles. Written and directed by local playwright Bilal Islam.

(March 11, “Childhoodslost Chronicles,” Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St., Phila. Chroniclestheplay.eventbrite.com)

Many theater companies hold readings, sometimes to workshop new or future works for upcoming seasons. Inis Nua, a Philadelphia company that focuses on work from the British Isles or about them, adds a theme to its series of readings. This year’s is Queer Connections. Based on playwright Sonya Kelly’s experiences, How to Keep an Alien tells the story of a woman trying to find her way — and a way to bring the love of her life across the border. Charlotte Northeast directs.

(March 13, “How to Keep an Alien,” Inis Nua Theatre Co., Louis Bluver Theatre at the Drake, 302 S. Hicks St., Phila. 215-454-9776. Inisnuatheatre.org)

Check with individual venues for COVID protocols.