Revelstoke Theatre Company made history Thursday night at the opening of their latest production It’s On, It’s Off, by Ray Lawrence, and directed by Darren McKay, with 127 audience members.
“As far as I’m aware, that’s the biggest audience we’ve ever had at an opening night show,” Anita Hallewas, Revelstoke Theatre Company president and artistic director, said in a statement released Friday. “This figure does not include the much larger community musicals, such as Chicago, which was produced in 2009.”
Generally Revelstoke audiences have a reputation for waiting until the second week to get along and see RTC shows.
“I think it’s a combination of word getting out faster through social media and people realising the standard of our productions are quite high,” she said. “Since we began performing at our new venue, McGregor’s, in the Powder Springs we have attracted a larger following with the appeal of a dinner-and-drink city-type theatre atmosphere and our shows have been selling out. Locals now realise they can’t wait until the last minute to buy tickets.McGregor’s is great as the venue is central and intimate, however we needed a much larger performance space for this play as it has a larger cast with a lot of physical scenes, including a few chase scenes.”
Hallewas was excited with the number for Thursday night’s show and the number for Friday’s show, which attracted an audience of more than 100 people, too.
It’s On, It’s Off is playing at the RPAC (The Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre aon March 1,2 and 7,8,9 with doors opening at 7.30 pm for an 8 pm show. Tickets are on sale online at http://www.revelstoketheatrecompany.org/tickets.html, at Powder Springs or at the door.
