Anne was the box office superstar for Confed Centre in 2018
Musical enjoyed its most successful year since 2008
Sales of tickets to Anne of Green Gables: The Musical at the Charlottetown Festival this summer were the highest they've been since 2008.
But the second mainstage performance — Jesus Christ Superstar — averaged only 443 people per show, about 40 per cent capacity.
Dean Constable, general manager of the theatre for the Confederation Centre of the Arts, says that doesn't mean the show wasn't a success. He said the audience feedback was positive, but Jesus Christ Superstar may not have had the same broad appeal as 2017's hit Mamma Mia!.
"It was very popular but coming after Mamma Mia! maybe gives that perception that it was much lower but it was in that range of attendance to other second shows," he said.
In a survey of 2,610 respondents released by the Confederation Centre, 83 per cent rated Jesus Christ Superstar as excellent, compared with 96 per cent for Mamma Mia!, which is returning to the festival in 2019. Jesus Christ Superstar also did not perform as well at the box office as second shows Million Dollar Quartet, Evangeline 2013, Ring of Fire, and British Invasion 2007.
Averaged 615 tickets per show
Meanwhile, Anne of Green Gables continued to resonate with audiences after 53 years at the festival, Constable said.
This idea of the second show being so critical to funding is something we would love to build the capacity to move away from.— Steve Bellamy, CEO, Confederation Centre
The musical sold 33,229 tickets over 54 performances for an average of 615 per show, the most in 10 years. The average for August, 755, was the highest August average since 2005. The Aug. 8 sold-out performance, with 1,005 paid tickets plus complimentary passes, was the highest grossing ever, according to the Confederation Centre.
The survey showed 92 per cent of respondents rated it as excellent.
Mack shows at 60 per cent capacity
"Ultimately what I think it shows us is just how much that story still has to tell today," Constable said. "I know some people, they say, well it's been around 53 years, clearly it still has an impact and has something to say to audiences coming in. That story still means something very deep to our audiences."
Shows at The Mack — On the Road with Dutch Mason and Stories From the Red Dirt Road — averaged about 60 per cent capacity, which Constable said was "really in that range for a successful show for us that is connecting well with audiences."
Steve Bellamy, who recently took over as CEO of the Confederation Centre, said he considers Jesus Christ Superstar a "resounding success," but would like to take the pressure off the second show to be a money maker.
"This idea of the second show being so critical to funding is something we would love to build the capacity to move away from, to move away from the reliance on the second show in order to meet our financial needs each year," he said.
Bellamy said one of his challenges will be finding new ways to build revenue beyond the second show.
"We're grateful to the province and the government of Canada for the funding we do receive but together those two envelopes are about 30 per cent to 35 per cent of our budget, so we really do have to raise eight to $10 million every year."
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With files from Mainstreet P.E.I. and CBC News: Compass