Pitt Arts offers great summer theater deals

By: Colleen Counihan / Staff Writer

Posted on 01. Jul, 2009 in Magazine

Compared with the ticket sales of last summer, Pitt Arts has found that its sales have increased by 17 percent this summer — proof that even in tough economic times, students will still indulge in their passion for the arts.

Or their passion for discounts.

During the warmer months, Pitt Arts ­­— the program students use to satisfy their artistic cravings — does not offer the free museum visits or free trips to local shows that it offers throughout the fall and spring semesters.

Still, the organization doesn’t go into total hibernation. Students can still take part in the city’s cultural events through what Pitt Arts calls “Cheap Seats.” Buying tickets through Cheap Seats is a way to snag seats to some of the most sought-after events for a cheaper price than buying them from the primary organization.

Linnea Glick, assistant director for Pitt Arts, said that Cheap Seats gets a lot of involvement, even in a summer session when the majority of undergraduate students are not enrolled in classes.

“We don’t have a set amount of tickets, we just keep selling until they tell us that the show is sold out,” Glick explained.

“According to records for the months of May and June, we’re selling over 600 tickets a month, which means we’re doing pretty good.”

From July until the end of summer, Pitt Arts will offer tickets to events that range from musicals adapted from classic novels to orchestra productions playing translations of classic rock songs.

Pittsburgh CLO will present “Les Misérables,” “Barry Manilow’s Copacabana” and “Into the Woods,” a Stephen Sondheim musical that takes many characters from well-known fairytales and places them in a single, complex narrative.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will also be reaching into the music of the ’70s with its performance “The Machine – Pink Floyd Tribute.” Using various instruments, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will play alongside one of the most well known Pink Floyd tribute bands, The Machine, to recreate the sounds of a rock band that has never grown out of style.

Glick said she thinks this alternative use of an otherwise traditional orchestra will attract more students to buy cheap seats to the show.

“It’s a little different for Pittsburgh Symphony, and it definitely creates a new audience,” she said. “We’ve had people coming up and wanting to buy tickets though, so students are showing interest.”

In addition to the Pink Floyd show, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will perform “Video Games Live,” a concert dedicated to the background sounds of well-known video games that should translate well with younger audiences.

According to Glick, Pitt Arts tends to slow down during the summer, but by continuing to use the Cheap Seats program to keep students interested in the arts, there is still extra time to plan for the fall.

“We take a little break until August, which is what most of the cultural organizations do,” she explained.

Although Pitt Arts eases up on its activity once the spring semester ends, student interest does not dwindle.