Three Houses To Honor Some Of Plaza Theater’s Tickets

By Bill Hirschman

Three South Florida theaters have agreed to honor some of the tickets sold to patrons of The Plaza Theatre which shuttered late last month in Manalapan.

Broward Stage Door in Coral Springs, Outré Theatre Company which will be operating this season in the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, and Slow Burn Theatre Company in west Boca Raton have agreed to honor some of the Plaza tickets in different configurations.

The Plaza closed Oct. 17 and founder Alan Jacobson said he immediately began asking theaters to help his customers; some theaters volunteered without being asked.

The arrangement has occurred in the region before this. Jacobson stepped forward to honor tickets when The Caldwell Theatre closed in 2012. Stage Door also has also volunteered in the past such as when the Drama Center closed in Deerfield Beach and when Jan McArt’s Royal Palm Dinner Theatre shut down.

Each theater has a slightly different process and availability. None of them can refund any money paid to the Plaza.

Broward Stage Door, 8036 W. Sample Rd., Coral Springs; (954) 344-7765;
www.stagedoortheatre.com

Tickets will be honored for shows this season only produced by Stage Door; that does not count the upcoming road show Old Jews Telling Jokes. It will be based on availability, meaning no Saturday nights or Sunday matinees as a general rule. The patron can make a reservation by calling the box office. They can either mail in their tickets from the Plaza or bring them to the box office to exchange. If the patron is already a Stage Door subscriber, they can give the tickets to a friend. In most cases, proof of purchase of Plaza Theatre tickets must be given in exchange for new tickets. But the Stage Door expects to receive a list of patrons and confirmation numbers from the Plaza. If the list is sent, tickets can be claimed by confirmation numbers.

“It is not fair for those people to be abandoned, simply because they do not hold their tickets,” said Stage Door producer Derelle Bunn.

Slow Burn Theatre Company, performing at West Boca Performing Arts Theatre, 12811 West Glades Rd., Boca Raton; (954) 323-7884; slowburntheatre.com

Plaza group sales patrons are being provided with Slow Burn’s contact information. Since Slow Burn is moving to the Broward Center next season, the offer is only to group sales patrons of the Plaza, not individual ticket buyers.

Outré Theatre Company Boca Raton (954) 300-2149; Performing at Abdo River Room at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale; outretheatrecompany.com

They will honor up to 20 season ticket subscribers per performance (up to 180 per production). Contact Jason Fisher, box office manager, at boxoffice@outretheatrecompany.com or at 954.300.2149. Subscribers must contact the box office at least 48 hours before opening night of the production