'Pericles,' 'Cabaret,' and 'Spitfire' made for a fine 2017 in Madison Arts

By Lindsay Christians, The Capital Times

At this time of year, I’m always struck by the sheer quantity of arts performances available to Madison audiences.

That abundance can be challenging for companies — schedule a matinee during a Packers game or a dance performance on graduation weekend, and audiences may be sparse. Even the organizations that enjoy longstanding support look for consistent sources of funding and new audiences.

Arts programmers like Meghan Randolph, founder of Music Theatre of Madison, have found creative ways to address this through social media, targeted previews, education and more.  

“Attendance is down across the board, even for things that have instant name recognition,” Randolph wrote on her Arts Marketing Matters blog. Yet Randolph’s new year’s resolution is to “never stop learning ... don’t ever forget that we are creative people by nature, and that marketing is a truly creative endeavor.”

That creativity was on full display in a variety of the work I saw this year.

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