Tulsa Theatres Seeing Higher Attendance Post-COVID Lockdowns

Theatres faced a long struggle during the pandemic, forcing doors to be closed for the safety of cast members and the public. Now, seats are being filled, but actors and volunteers are still needed.

"It has been interesting trying to get casts together. I think it's gotten harder,” Tulsa Performing Arts Center’s Director of Communication, Amanda Nichols said.

Nichols said show attendance is nearly back to pre-pandemic numbers. With opening weekend for multiple shows beginning tonight, nearly 2,000 seats will be sold out of the 2,400 available.

"It's great to see so many faces in our doors again. All the little girls in all the dresses here for frozen has been so much fun. So, this place is completely alive this weekend with art and love and life and its just great to see everyone back,” Nichols said.

But in order for shows to go on, the venues have to be sure they fill important roles.

"Finding volunteers has gotten a lot harder and I think just staffing overall, like what everyone else is dealing with, has gotten a lot more challenging,” Nichols said.

Theatre West's Caleb Vaughn is the director of "Dear, Brutus," which also opens Friday night.

He said their production team has to cover multiple roles when they don’t have enough actors, but the team knows the challenge pays off.

"There was a time, just a couple of years ago, where there was nothing. You could not even go to the movie theater to watch anything. It's nice to have support from every body and that we also get to go and support them too. I think it's cool,” Vaughn said.

Both venues will be deep-cleaning between shows for safety. Masks are optional.