Looking Forward: Why One Subscriber Returns Season After Season

Broadway buzz is booming following this year's Tony Awards, and we're thrilled to host another brilliant lineup of shows in our 2018-19 PNC Broadway Lights season. Have you renewed your season subscription yet? See what decade-long PNC Broadway Lights season subscriber Bryan Downey has to say about his Broadway experience in Charlotte: 

My partner and I have been Broadway Lights season subscribers for 10 years now. When anybody asks why, I think of four reasons. 

First, surprises. Everybody in Charlotte has been buzzing about Hamilton since 2015. But until The Band’s Visit won 10 Tony Awards this month, who here had heard of this intimate musical about an Egyptian ensemble stranded in a small Israeli town? The programmers at Blumenthal Performing Arts had – and it’s coming in the 2018-19 season.

Second, consistency. Years ago, national tours were a hit-or-miss business in Charlotte. Too often, they were inferior to Broadway productions that inspired them or starred old-timers whose glory days were long past. Whether or not we like an individual show, we know each production now will meet a higher standard for quality. If a Broadway star in her 70s does a tour, as Betty Buckley will do in Hello, Dolly! this season, she’ll bring something fresh to the role.

Third, flexibility. No show ever produced can appeal to every theatergoer. The Blumenthal knows that and lets us swap tickets to things we’d rather skip for tickets to things that arouse our curiosity – not only other productions in the Broadway Lights series but any Blumenthal shows throughout the year.

Fourth, fun. Once we get the tickets, we mark the dates on our calendars. Sometimes I even forget we’re going, until the relevant month pops up. Then I think, “Hey, it’s Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella. Avant-garde ballet in January, during the blah period after the holidays? That’s something to look forward to. We’ll have a good dinner first and enjoy a night out.”

And that’s why we renew every year.

-Bryan Downey

Don't let your GUARANTEED seats and the best price of the year slip away - RENEW today! Renewals by June 30th will be automatically entered to win a GETAWAY TO BROADWAY featuring airfare for two to New York City, a two-night hotel stay, and tickets to see Hamilton and Come From Away!   

For more info, visit BlumenthalArts.org/Broadway or call 704.335.1010