WEST BEND – The West Bend Theater reported today that ticket sales reached 25,000 in 2023, a sharp increase from previous years.
The theater opened slowly in 2020 because of the impact of the Covid pandemic. The board of directors decided to open with very small crowds with spaced seating after its grand opening March 14, 2020.
As the theater slowly reopened, ticket sales in 2021 rose to almost 12,000. The momentum continued into 2022 with sales of almost 20,000.
“We were thrilled to see the sales accelerated again in 2023 to the 25,000 mark,” said Megan Cox, Box Office & Events Director. “Our higher ticket sales last year was a result of a better understanding of what our market place was demanding.”
Bill Buettner, executive director, said, “Our online ticket sales started to show that our brand was becoming much better known. We saw zip codes from all over the state of Wisconsin and some from out-of-state.”
The budget for 2024 projects an increase of 10% to 27,500 tickets sold.
Sharply higher advanced ticket sales going into this year point to achieving that goal.
Because of an increasing number of sell-outs for concert and comedy, theater-goers are scoring tickets well in advance of the performance date.
President Nic Novaczyk said, “Startup enterprises are always difficult for projections. We are gratified that The Bend Theater is off to a successful start.”
