Penobscot Theatre Company reports record show attendance

BANGOR – With the closing of the production season, Penobscot Theatre Company-Maine Shakespeare Festival has set new records in attendance at its home, the Bangor Opera House in downtown Bangor.

“A Christmas Carol,” the theater’s annual holiday production, has set an all time high for attendance and gross revenue.

Attendance figures show that more than 3,700 people attended “A Christmas Carol” this year, a significant increase over last year’s high of 3,107 attendees.

“A Christmas Carol” closely followed the theater’s box office success of “The Diary of Anne Frank,” which played in the fall. That production set new records for a season show (excluding Maine Shakespeare Festival) in single-ticket sales. “The Diary of Anne Frank” played to more than 94 percent of capacity for the run, not including the four sold-out student matinee performances.

“Jack and Jill: A Modern Romance” also played to 94 percent capacity in its unusual in-the-round staging on the Opera House Stage, demonstrating that an audience for more adventurous theater exists in the Bangor area.

Maine Shakespeare Festival also set an attendance record for the annual classical theater event. A total of 7,149 people attended the four productions in the Bangor Opera House and on the Penobscot River waterfront. “Richard III,” “The Tempest,” “Anne of Green Gables” and “The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (abridged)” were presented by Maine Shakespeare Festival 2002.