NORFOLK - Tickets to the Attucks Theatre were as golden as Nat King Cole’s voice when he and other famous black performers sang the stage into history.
Decades later – after closing, renovating and reopening – the small theater is struggling to strike a chord in a market full of giants. Ticket sales are down and attendance is slumping, costing taxpayers nearly a half-million dollars last year.
It’s a common challenge for similar venues across Hampton Roads – book attractive acts, set affordable ticket prices and keep losses at a minimum.
Few would dispute the value of the Church Street landmark, its old brick wall echoing the voices of a new generation. But the right formula – one that will better connect the theater to the community – remains elusive.
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