HARTFORD, Conn. — Audiences are punching their tickets again to downtown Hartford theaters — long a key contributor to downtown vibrancy — but patrons are returning so slowly even as the pandemic eases that theaters face a tough fight for survival.
TheaterWorks was so worried about lagging subscriptions for the new season launched this month that it took the unusual step of sending a letter to longtime subscribers sharing the stunning fall-off and urging them to renew.
“It’s a critical moment that is heading toward crisis,” Rob Ruggiero, producing artistic director at TheaterWorks, said, in an interview. “We have tried to avoid a moment like this, but I really felt like before we are plunged into some crisis that it was important to make it clear how critical this moment was.”
