In Gainesville, the show still goes on.
After a sold-out run of “Miss Witherspoon,” the latest comedy produced by UF’s School of Theatre + Dance, students continue to express interest in live art, contrary to the national norm.
Attendance rates for musicals dropped by 9 percent since 2008, according to a recent survey by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Plays have been hit even harder by a 12 percent drop over the same period.
Fortunately for the UF theater department, even with the sold-out run, students were still scrambling to see the stage.
Veronica Salgueiro, a 20-year-old UF advertising and theater junior, arrived an hour and a half early Friday to squeeze onto the show’s waiting list.
“Everyone should experience the art of live performance,” Salgueiro said.
Overflow of audience members may be the result of some students using $2 coupons to attend performances because of class requirements.
Caitlyn Lower, a 20-year-old UF public relations junior, said she understands the widespread declining attendance rates.
She wouldn’t spend more than $10 for a show she hadn’t heard good reviews about.
Than Nguyen, a 20-year-old UF botany junior, said she likes the theater art form.
But she was disappointed she couldn’t see “Miss Witherspoon” because it was sold out.
The show ran from Sept. 20 to Sept. 29.
“Seeing live theater makes you more cultured and rounded,” Nguyen said. “You get emotion and expression (from watching a show).”
A version of this story ran on page 5 on 10/4/2013 under the headline "UF performance sells out despite national attendance trend"
