Instead, another production had been planned and complications led to ‘Beast’ being the season capper. The irony is that Summer Theatre sold out all 10 performances of the show and broke its season attendance record.

Summer Theatre attracted just under 12,000 people over 28 performances.

“In recent seasons, the number has been more like 8,000 or 9,000,” said artistic director Chad Gifford. “I think one reason we had quite the increase was online ticketing.”

In the past, patrons reserved tickets, which they then might or might not pick up. Purchasing online inspires attendance.

Submitted Photo “Beauty and the Beast” sold out all 10 performances last month, capping off a very successful season for MSU Summer Theatre.

“Our new online ticketing system and the addition of credit card machines went over extremely well,” Gifford added via press release. “We also created a photo booth for audience members to pose with characters from ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ which was incredibly successful.”

Ten straight performances is a rarity for Summer Theatre, but given the success of ‘Beast’ Gifford said that for the right show, they would consider doing it again.

Attendance numbers were buoyed this season both by a notable increase in first-time audience members and patrons who returned to see the same play again and again, Gifford said.

“We have a solid fan base and I believe we are building on that,” Gifford said. “I believe we will see a steady increase. It also helps that there isn’t much competition that time of the year and Summer Theatre is an enjoyable thing to do without having to travel out of town.”

Naturally, the specific productions also matter, but if Gifford already has plans, he isn’t revealing them.

Submitted Photo MSU Summer Theatre just ended its 54th season.

“Some choices require more advance planning,” he said. “Usually in October and November we talk about what we’re going to do. We try to know what we are going to do by January.

“Of course, we started planning much later for ‘Beauty’ and it was still very successful. Part of the magic of theater is that sometimes, things just fall into place.”

One thing that is on the lineup for next year is that there are changes coming to the venue. Minot State announced plans for a renovation to the amphitheater, with construction expected to start immediately after the conclusion of Season 55 next summer.

Gifford said the major improvements will be to the bathrooms and to the concession stand. The facility has a septic system and bathrooms were made then there were far fewer visitors. Additionally only one is handicap accessible.

Plans call to move the concession stand to the ground level to make it easier for patrons to access.

Gifford said he is confident the new building project will be in place by 2021.

“We obviously don’t have a lobby and the place where people get their tickets and hang out is on uneven pavement,” he added. “We want to turn it into the kind of place people will enjoy hanging out.”

Gifford pointed out the need of support from the community to make the improvements happen and suggested visiting msusummertheatre.com to learn more about the project.