Economy doing well in one area

The Sarasota arts community, long a calling card for tourists worldwide and a local source of pride, could lead the town out of the economic doldrums.

To wit, two local theaters recently set sales records that somewhat surprised even theater company executives. The fact that Season, for theatergoers at least, doesn't begin in earnest until January has some folks even more optimistic.

The Florida Studio Theater in downtown Sarasota led the way late last month when it announced it had already posted record-breaking subscription seasons for both its Mainstage and Cabaret shows. Mainstage subscriptions surpassed 10,000 sales for the first time ever and Cabaret nearly sold out.

“It's pretty incredible growth,” says FST Managing Director Rebecca Langford. “We've been working toward this.”

The Venice Theater, meanwhile, broke records of its own with a four-week run of “Ragtime” that ended Nov. 28. In fact, the theater sold $141,000 worth of tickets for the show, which beat its sales goals by 55%, says Executive/Artistic Director Murray Chase. It was also $30,000 more than its previous top-selling show.

“We thought [Ragtime] would be a good response, but it exceeded my expectations,” Chase tells Coffee Talk. “It's certainly encouraging, considering the tourism drop-off of the past few years.”

Both theater executives say a key reason behind the sales increase was positive word-of-mouth reviews, in addition to a concentrated effort to put on top-notch productions. Neither facility lowered ticket prices.