It can be risky bringing a Broadway show to Grande Prairie but it’s something he’s willing to do. Quatro Entertainment General Manager Ralph Schmidtke and True North Touring plan to bring musicals Kinky Boots and Rock of Ages to Revolution Place in 2019. Schmidtke believes that if both are marketed well, both will be successful in a city this size.
“It’s a big financial risk to take a show of this magnitude to a smaller market such as Grande Prairie. But we believe that with the right title and the right kind of advertising we should be able to get the message in front of the people of Grande Prairie and hopefully they support it.”
This is not the first time a Broadway show has been in the city. Schmidtke along with True North Touring previously brought Dirty Dancing to Revolution Place last May. While he says the turn out for that one was okay, it could have been better.
“We had hoped for some more people, better ticket sales. It was really our first shot into Grande Prairie and maybe people didn’t know what to expect from a Broadway musical playing in an arena setting. Hopefully, the majority enjoyed the show… and will come back.”
Because of the support they did see for Dirty Dancing, Schmidtke decided to try bringing two shows to the area this time.
“We saw some of the support that we were looking for when we did Dirty Dancing and it was enough for us to go back to the market. Sometimes you don’t hit a home run the first time through a marketplace… We’ll keep coming back to Grande Prairie as long as we think people want to see the shows that we want to bring there.”
The curtain rises on Kinky Boots on March 23rd and on Rock of Ages on May 9th. Tickets for both shows can be found on Revolution Place’s website.