From Madison77 Square

An article on ticket sales by 77 Square's Lindsay Christians: Would-be attendees eager to see "Waiting for Godot" at American Players Theatre in June are out of luck; the show is sold out for that month. Samuel Beckett's minimalist, absurd play about two clowns waiting for someone (or something) they never see is also selling out for the month of October. "Who'd have thought Sam Beckett would be the box office hit?" said David Frank, APT artistic director, citing "Godot" as evidence that robust sales in American Players' new Touchstone Theatre weren't just about the novelty of the theater's debut year last season. "This year has been wonderfully reassuring," he said. "People like seeing APT indoors as well as outdoors, and there is an audience for Sam Beckett." According to staff, nearly all of the summer's eight plays are selling as expected at the professional Spring Green theater. Despite attracting a national audience, APT gets the majority of its viewers from Dane County. Earlier in the spring, things weren't going as well. Perhaps because of some trouble with the new website (now fixed), ticket sales were slow, "naggingly behind," Frank said. Then, starting about in mid-April, sales picked up and have been going at a decent clip since then. "Are we coming out of the recession?" he asked. "Is it the new marketing push aimed at a larger audience? The fact that our web woes are over? Or is it just the smell of spring in the air?" American Players is producing only two Shakespeare plays this year -- "As You Like It" and "All's Well That Ends Well" -- and both are selling well, as expected. So is the George Bernard Shaw play, "Major Barbara," which opens in August. "We're in pretty good shape," said APT marketing associate Jessica Amend. "We're very much in line with last year. The Shakespeare (plays) are about half sold, which is where they usually are this time of year." The only play not selling as well is "Another Part of the Forest." It's a Lillian Hellman family drama and a prequel to "The Little Foxes." It was a replacement for William Inge's "Picnic," for which the company couldn't get rights. "Forest" director William Brown led "A Comedy of Errors" and "Hay Fever" last year, and Shaw's "The Matchmaker" and Tennessee Williams' "The Night of the Iguana" in years previous. "He's incredibly excited about it," Amend said of Brown. "He feels this connection with (Hellman) because he's Southern and she's from the South." Frank said he's not sure why the play isn't selling as well as the others. "If ever I was certain of something, it's that audiences are going to just adore it," Frank said. "It's mean, it's funny, it's true, it's surprising, and it's a great story with great characters. (Hellman's) an amazing writer. ... Bill has the cast he dreamed of." Because it's so much smaller, the Touchstone sells out faster than shows "up the hill." If seats are tight, try for a Saturday matinee or a Friday evening. Thursdays, Saturday nights and Sundays are the most popular, Amend said. "Previews are all selling really well," she said. The first preview performances for "As You Like It" begin on June 5. Find more information, including show times, descriptions and directions to the theater, at americanplayers.org.