Jersey Boys 'breaks even' in tough ticket selling climate
"Musical theatre societies around New Zealand are all struggling to pass break even these days, it’s just the way things are in a post-Covid world I think.”
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The Invercargill Musical Theatre appears to have hit the all-important breakeven point with over 6000 tickets sold for its latest production Jersey Boys.
The outstanding 12-show production at the Civic Theatre received impressive reviews, with the final show held on Saturday.
On top of the quality of the production, the organisation worked hard to promote the season to sell enough tickets and cover the around $370,000 cost.
The Invercargill Musical Theatre needed to sell about 6000 tickets across the 12 shows to break even financially.
President Bernadette Gourley said they were still tallying up the final costs, but she was confident they will not have lost money on the show.
“We are very pleased with the quality of the production. We were incredibly proud of the Jersey Boys and pleased with the ticket sales.
“Another 1000 would have been fantastic, it would have put some money in the bank for the next production, but nevertheless, I’m confident we won’t have lost money.”
Gourley acknowledged it had taken a lot of hard work to hit that break-even point and they were currently operating in a tough climate, in terms of pulling in crowds.
She pointed to the fact that they sold close to 10,000 tickets for its Mamma Mia production in 2014.
“Musical theatre societies around New Zealand are all struggling to pass break even these days, it’s just the way things are in a post-Covid world I think.”
“Things have changed. It’s not that our shows are not worthy of a big audience, it’s just where the market is. People have got a lot of other opportunities to spend that disposable income.”
“We now know the market for a top-quality show, that has great reviews that Southlanders love, is around the 6000 mark.
“That is with quite a lot of pushing and effort on our behalf to keep it in front of people’s eyes that the show is on.”
“We’ve just got to make our shows fit the budget for 6000. If people do want the opportunity to go to what is really top-quality entertainment, they do have to support it.”
“Because it’s local it doesn’t mean it’s not as good as a show in Auckland…. It is as good as anything you’d see anywhere else.”
Gourley said they were reluctant to increase ticket prices and potentially put shows out of reach for some people to attend.
She added that they were fortunate to have the backing of the SBS Bank, Invercargill Licensing Trust, and Community Trust South to ensure Jersey Boys stacked up financially.
On top of that, the show is almost entirely put together through volunteer work, including the cast.
“Without all the volunteers that work on a production, there is zero chance we could do shows.
“They do it for the love it. [The cast] started in April and for the month before we opened, it was virtually every night. It’s hard work, they’ve all got day jobs, as have the committee.
“There’s a massive amount of volunteers.”
The Invercargill Musical Theatre is now working through what its main show for 2024 will be with an announcement expected in the coming weeks.
Gourley said there were a lot of factors that need to be taken into account, including budget, and what shows they expect will sell enough tickets.
“We can’t do a show that is going to cost half a million dollars because we are just never going to cover that, unless we had an amazing sponsorship or a benefactor that says, ‘we are going to underwrite it’.
“We are just not really in a position to do that. We’ve just got to make good business decisions, that’s where it is at the end of the day. We’ve got to keep our doors open.”
The Invercargill Musical Theatre is putting on a theatre restaurant event in November at the Ascot Park Hotel, which does provide a lower risk.
“It’s a small cast and an eight-night show so that’s great.”
They will also put on Spongebob, a junior production, in March.
“That will be a four-show season with a cast of eight to 18-year-olds to bring up the next generation of performers.