2 years ago
SACRAMENTO, CA - The worst advance ticket sales in memory has led the Sacramento Ballet to issue an urgent plea to save the annual "Nutcracker" production.
"Ticket sales have never been this slow this late," said the ballet's Executive Director Kerri Warner.
With the "Nutcracker" opening on Saturday, Warner said less than one-third of all the seats available for public performances have been sold.
"We usually sell out," she said. The ballet company has responded to the sluggish sales by offering hundreds of discounted tickets for each public performance.
Warner said the three-week run of the "Nutcracker" usually covers nearly half of the ballet company's $2.5 million annual operating expenses.
Warner said they began getting worried when attendance for the recent production of "Alice in Wonderland" was only about two-thirds of their projections.
Artistic director Ron Cunningham, who has produced the "Nutcracker" for more than half of its 40-year run, sent an email this week to ballet supporters asking them to encourage their friends to buy tickets.
"Let them know what a loss the "Nutcracker" would mean to our community," Cunningham wrote.
In an interview with News10, Cunningham said arts and entertainment were often the first expenses cut by families during times of economic turmoil.
"But it's times like these that we really need the arts," he said.
"Nutcracker" tickets range in price from $28 to $58 for adults with children under 12 half price.
Because of economic conditions, this year the Sacramento Ballet is also offering vouchers for hundreds of $10 seats at each public performance.
News10/KXTV
