90.5 WESA: During the pandemic shutdown, performing-arts groups developed new online programming to try to reach audiences literally where they lived.
But once the shutdown ended, many patrons stayed home. So this week, Pittsburgh Opera is rolling out a new way to physically carry at least some audiences back to theaters — free door-to-door car service.
2 comments:
This concept is so cool to me. I have heard of companies providing discounts to parties who only use one car to get to the opera. However, I believe most of those discounts were given to encourage riders to bring their friends as well as to be more environmentally conscious and potentially to dislodge high parking volumes. So, this take on ride vouchers is interesting to me. I think in this city, with patrons who tend to be older, this is a very smart move. For patrons who have mobility issues and are potentially nervous to get themselves downtown during a busy event, this takes the pressure off of their shoulders. I am curious to know how the financials are playing out for the company. Does the ticket cost more than the voucher, so that, in general, it is essentially giving away however many discounted tickets? Or does the money come from an entirely different place, and the ticket sales remain as usual?
I love it when organizations strive to make their art more accessible to all, and this program by the Pittsburgh Opera is a beautiful example of that. Transportation is such a large part of attending live entertainment that often is taken for granted by those that attend but it can be a real struggle without access to a car and/or reliable transportation. One of the hardest parts about getting to the larger shows downtown has been the actual reliability of transportation, especially after the show later at night (a problem which I can imagine is compounded by the length of operas compared to your average theater show). Overall, this program is a great step in the right direction, and I hope it will accomplish its goal of being able to draw more patrons in to see the productions at the Pittsburgh Opera, and help begin dismantling the very large barrier that transportation can be.
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