Aggressive marketing and taking risks paid off for the Florida Theatre the past year.
Nearly 171,000 people attended the 178 performances at the theatre during the year that ended Sept. 30.
That makes the 2014-15 season No. 3 on the historic venue’s all-time attendance list, behind only 1996 and 1997, when the Civic Auditorium was closed for its renovation into the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts. That left the old Coliseum and the Florida Theatre the only indoor venues available for concerts and other stage shows.
It makes last year the No.1 season in the theater’s history, when comparing attendance in years the entire inventory of the city’s live entertainment facilities was available, said Numa Saisselin, president of the Florida Theatre Performing Arts Center Inc. since 2012.
“We didn’t listen when people said ‘you can’t do that in Jacksonville’ or ‘you can’t charge more than $32 a ticket’ or ‘you can’t do a show during Florida-Georgia weekend,’” Saisselin said. “When we hear that, we’re likely to say, ‘let’s find out if that’s true or not.’”
Some shows sold out just hours after tickets went on sale; others didn’t sell enough to break even. But overall, it was a very good year for the Florida Theatre.
Seventy percent of the shows solely promoted by the theater or co-promoted made money. On average, 58 percent of the 1,918-seat house was full when the curtain went up and 34 percent of the shows were at 60 percent capacity or greater. The average ticket price for the record year was $48.74.
In addition to more people being entertained, the audience has grown wider in terms of taste in music and demographics.
Last year’s line-up of headliners included all types of music plus comedians, children’s theater, magic shows and dance.
The best-attended two-performance show — 3,817 tickets — was The Wild Kratts, a touring version of the popular PBS Kids series.
Coming in second for two-performance shows was Lynyrd Skynyrd with attendance of 3,564. About 100 seats were unavailable for each of those shows to accommodate camera crews for a concert video production scheduled for release on DVD in November.
The Piano Guys set the single-performance high mark for the year with 1,910 tickets sold.
Saisselin said the “most financially rewarding performance for the theater that was not Lynyrd Skynyrd” was Brit Floyd, a Pink Floyd tribute band.
“We’re willing to do events and build an audience where maybe the audience wasn’t there before. We’re taking more risks to bring more diverse acts into the building. It’s an effort to program and market to the community as a whole,” said Kevin Stone, director of programming.
He said the concept is to provide a mix of shows that will appeal to all ages and tastes. The last seven days of September was a good example of the diversity in programming.
The week kicked off with REO Speedwagon, followed by jazz saxophonist Boney James, followed by Whoopi Goldberg’s stand-up comedy act and capped with “The Screwtape Letters,” a stage production of the classic novel by C.S. Lewis.
“One night it’s 25-year-olds with piercings and tattoos. The next night, it’s their parents — some with piercings and tattoos. It makes our job fun and interesting,” said Saisselin.
It also was a profitable year for people who depend on the theater being busy for their livelihood. Saul Lucio, the venue’s technical director and business agent for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 115, said the payroll collected by stagehands was up by $124,000 due to the increase in shows booked at the theater.
Depending on the type of show, there could be three stagehands called in to work for a single day, such as for a stand-up comic, or as many as 40 for three days, as in the case of the Lynyrd Skynyrd video production.
Booking more acts in more genres is beginning to have an effect on the other side of the industry: talent agents and tour promoters.
Word is getting around that Jacksonville is a good place to perform where an act can make money and perform in front of an appreciative audience.
“Jacksonville is a solid market for entertainment,” said Stone. “We’re making it a viable option for people who are touring in Florida. It doesn’t have to be just Miami and Tampa and Orlando.”
The marketing for the theater also is more aggressive. Saisselin said the average marketing budget for each show was less than $2,000 in 2012; last year, it was $4,800. Digital media also is growing, evidenced by the 80,000 addresses on the Florida Theatre email list that allows the venue to notify supporters as soon as tickets are available for a show.
The record year included total ticket sales slightly above $5 million. Saisselin said there’s already $1.3 million in advance sales for the coming year, so there could be another record in the wings.
“We’re just trying harder and making the effort to do more,” he said.
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