Ticket prices to Cats have been slashed.
Slow sales and a desire to finish the season purring have led Dunedin Operatic to cut ticket prices by nearly 50% for the remaining shows tonight and tomorrow.
"It would be nice to have the [Regent] Theatre really full for the last couple of nights," Dunedin Operatic marketing manager Lynda Wright-Sear said yesterday.
"The decision to discount the last nights wasn't taken lightly, but we need the theatre near full now in order to minimise our loss. The $35 tickets are the best of what's left, and those that have paid more have had the choice of seats."
Cats has been dogged by misfortune since it opened last week, with ill-health forcing principal Alex Derbie, of Queenstown, to withdraw shortly before the show opened, leaving Auckland performer Paul Ross just days to master the roles of Old Gus and Bustopher Jones.
The Stephen Robertson-designed and directed show has cost Dunedin Operatic $500,000 to produce.
"I'd say we're going to make a loss. We were at approximately 70% to break-even point and hope by reducing the price we will not make a loss. However, we are now facing that prospect," Mrs Wright-Sear said.
"The thing we're hearing back is that ticket prices are too expensive and that people already know the show. But this is a completely new production of Cats."
Dunedin Operatic still plans to produce The Producers next year and Miss Saigon in 2010.
"What we're looking at for the next show is flattening prices out, so there are no concessions and, hopefully, we can get more bums on seats."
ODT reviewer Elizabeth Bouman described the production as "a dynamic, vibrant spectacle, one not to be missed".
