You do not, in fact, need a passport to cross county lines to see a show.
Some regional entertainment venues would like to spread the word. Drawing audiences from one part of Northeast Pennsylvania to another is a frequent joke and a problem for some. Right now, it is affecting the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic.
For the first time in many years, the Philharmonic is going on the road. A small group of musicians will play July 5 at Harmony in the Woods, in Hawley, Wayne County. The Brass Quintet show is called “Americana Brass in the Woods.” It will feature works such as “Cheek to Cheek,” a “West Side Story” medley, patriotic tunes and works by Duke Ellington and George Gershwin.
By now, board of trustees President Carol Dembert expected the 200 seats to be sold out. She doesn’t have exact numbers, but said sales are worrisomely weak. She attributes it to a reluctance to travel for regional entertainment, though she acknowledged that the $50 adult ticket cost for a small group of musicians is probably a factor.
Google Maps estimates the drive from Scranton City Hall to Harmony in the Woods at 45 minutes, using Interstate 84. From Wilkes-Barre City Hall, the trip is one hour and 12 minutes, via Interstate 81 and Route 590. Dembert thinks the Poconos are locally underappreciated.
The Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic Brass Quintet (Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic)
LaToya Martin of Scranton in the Scranton Shakespeare Festival musical comedy production of “Sister Act,” opening Thursday, June 26. Local cast amd crew help draw out-of-town audiences. (Scranton Shakespeare Festival)
A previous Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic concert (Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic )
Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic ( Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic)
The Philharmonic splits its concerts and educational outreach between the Scranton area and the Wyoming Valley. Dembert, whose involvement with the Philharmonic goes back several decades, said audiences have always mostly stuck to their own county.
“People for some reason are not taking advantage of the benefits of the sister city,” Dembert said. “It’s not all that far away. So it’s our challenge to try to change that mindset.”
It’s a familiar refrain.
“l would say many people in the theater community feel that way,” said David Parmelee, general manager of the Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre, a century-old community theater group.
“I think there is a slight challenge there,” said Michael Bradshaw Flynn, founder and artistic director of the Scranton Shakespeare Festival, a professional company created each year from a mix of visiting and local performers. “My instincts are that it’s not quite as hard a journey to make as it once was.”
Flynn estimates that 20% to 25% of the audience comes from outside Lackawanna County. Another 5% or so come from farther away.
It helps that Luzerne County and other areas are well represented by performers and crew, both in the main company and the student ensemble, Flynn said. People will travel to see one of their own.
The Shakespeare Festival staged “We Will Rock You: The Queen Musical” at Misericordia University in Dallas a few years ago. For now, out-of-town performances are financially out of reach. It has a theater in the Marketplace at Steamtown.
Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre is taking a fresh crack at the geographical divide, Parmelee said. Leaders are meeting with volunteers who have social media expertise. They are having more chats with audience members at intermission, asking what brings them to shows. It doesn’t have firm statistics on audience breakdowns.
Parmelee said the region has an abundance of talent in community theater. In addition to Little Theatre, there is the Music Box Dinner Playhouse in Swoyersville. In Scranton, there are Actors Circle and Diva Theater Productions, each with small buildings. Hazleton has the Pennsylvania Theatre of Performing Arts.
Actors Circle publicity chairperson Cathy Rist Strauch says its Providence Playhouse, with around 85 seats, draws from a wide area.
There are several big venues that cross boundaries. Moosic has PNC Field, home of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the Triple-A minor league affiliate of the New York Yankees. Wilkes-Barre Twp. is home to the Mohegan Arena. The Mohegan Casino, which brings in concerts and other events, is in Plains Twp.
At the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts in Wilkes-Barre, it all depends on the act, said Neil Prisco, the director of marketing. Big names bring crowds from all over and can sell out the 1,800-seat theater, he said. Vince Gill, Steve Winwood, Trey Anastasio, Dark Star Orchestra and Jo Koy recently filled the house, Prisco said. The Kirby Center also has the option of using its Art Deco lobby as a smaller performance space.
The Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple also has multiple performance spaces in an ornate setting. The main theater has more than 1,800 seats. Its Broadway in Scranton series brings in big crowds for weekend-long engagements of national touring productions. Audience statistics were not immediately available. The six shows of the upcoming season are scheduled to be announced Monday.
Both the Kirby Center and the Scranton Cultural Center are on the National Register of Historic Places.
If you go
What: The Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic Brass Quintet presents “Americana Brass in the Woods.”
When: July 5, 6 p.m.
Where: Harmony in the Woods, 19 Imagination Way, Hawley.
Details: Tickets: adults, $50; children, $25; children under age 4 are admitted free. Online: nepaphil.org or harmonyinthewoods.org/upcoming-events; by phone: 570-270-4444.