By Joyce Kryszak
Buffalo, NY – From the largest venues like Kleinhans Music Hall to smaller halls and theatres, arts groups took another financial hit. Only this time it wasn't government, but Mother Nature who dealt the blow.
The freak October storm turned out the lights on performances across the region.
They ranged from full-scale orchestra concerts, involving scores of musicians to a one-man show starring crooner Michael Civisca. Both Civisca performances at Rockwell Hall were scratched until February.
Jeff Marsha is Director of Operations for Rockwell Hall. Even with the rescheduling, Marsha said it still could cost them as much as ten thousand dollars in lost advertising and other expenses. And he says the losses don't stop there.
He said ticket sales for upcoming shows have slumped.
Other stages were also hurt. The Kavinoky Theatre reschedules four perfromancces to the following weekend. However, Steve Cooper with the Kavinoky said that thoses shows were poorly attended due to the lingering storm recovery. He estimates their losses at about $10,000.
Even those stages without cancelations are suffering.
The Irish Classical Theatre Company was between productions. They're opening a new show this weekend. But Administrative Director Mike Sawicz sid presale tickets are down - way down.
And Sawicz said any relief from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is highly unlikely. He said they'd have to prove potential lost income and that is nearly impossible to document.
Still, Sawicz is optimistic that ICT and the other stages can recover now that people are getting out and beginning to seek entertainment.
And after spending a week in the dark, here's a bit of literary irony. ICT's upcoming production just happens to be "Long Day's Journey into Night."
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