Despite the fact that the Performing Arts Center is one-third finished, thrusting masses of girders 90 feet into the air on downtown Miami's Biscayne Boulevard, most residents who don't regularly buy opera or theater tickets have never heard of it. And seasoned arts patrons who know about it have heard mostly negative news about delays, construction flaws and rising costs. That's the conclusion of a new study using focus groups and 1,500 telephone interviews to measure awareness and attitudes about the new center, set to open in February 2006.

TALL ORDER

It means PAC Trust managers have their work cut out for them, says trust president Michael Hardy.

''We needed to find out the level of perception, what people know,'' he said.

However, the study also shows an appetite in South Florida for the kinds of performances that will be presented in the PAC's 2,200-seat symphony hall, 2,480-seat ballet/opera house and 200-seat studio theater, he said.

The study grouped respondents into subscribers -- those who buy season tickets to opera, ballet or music, attendees who buy at least one ticket a year, and nonattendees who don't.

Among the findings:

• Subscribers' favorite events are opera, classical music soloists, ballet, Broadway musicals and classical symphony.

• Single-ticket purchasers like Broadway musicals, theater, ballet, opera and classical symphony.

• Nonattendees prefer children's shows, Broadway musicals, big-name stars, pop singers in concert and pop Latin entertainers. In fact, one third of this group said they were very interested in attending PAC events if they were the right kind of performance.

BROAD EXPANSION

Aiming at that potential audience, the PAC plans an expanded Broadway series, Hardy said. And it has hired Justin Macdonnell, veteran project manager for the Australian Opera, to expand PAC performances far beyond those of its four resident companies -- the Florida Grand Opera, Miami City Ballet, Concert Association of Florida and New World Symphony.

Macdonnell will be seeking comedy shows like Bill Cosby, children's shows like the popular Toronto-based production of The Hobbit, a jazz series similar to Jazz at Lincoln Center, Latin and South American national symphonies and pop performers and well-known musical soloists.

The survey also asked respondents to rate existing performance halls; it found that South Florida's favorite venues are: Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Gusman Center's Olympia Theater, Coconut Grove Playhouse, Lincoln Theater, and Actor's Playhouse.

South Florida's least favorite venues, due to acoustical and other problems, are Dade County Auditorium and Jackie Gleason Theater of the Performing Arts.

WHAT PATRONS WANT

What patrons want in entertainment halls, the study said, is:

• Good acoustics and comfortable seating.

• Halls with a ''sense of event'' -- the feeling of attending a special occasion, created by high-quality performances as well as audience dress and comportment.

• Good sight lines, abundant, clean restrooms and a safe location.

• Good parking, preferably in garages with covered access to the performance halls. Miami's PAC doesn't have this yet, Hardy says, but it's working on it.

Fuente: The Miami Herald
Noviembre - 2003