Charlottetown Festival sees mixed numbers in 2015 ticket sales

It was a mixed season for ticket sales at the Charlottetown Festival.

The musical Bittergirlat the Mackenzie Theatre proved to be the big hit.

Confederation Centre of the Arts officials say Bittergirlnearly sold out itsentire summer run, with 11,510 people attending 64 shows.

That's about 179 people per show compared to 172 for Searching for Abegweit last year, which was also a success.

There is interest to bringing Bittergirl to several other theatres across the country.

As for Mainstage productions at the HomburgTheatre, Anne of Green Gables continued its upward trend with thehighest sales since 2009.

There were more than 27,000 people attending 49 performances. On average, there were about 558 people per show, up from513 in 2014.

Visitors from outside Prince Edward Island who attend theCharlottetown Festival each year are mainly drawn by the Anne musical, which brought in 16,000 visitors last season, officials said.

But the numbers were not as good for Alice Through the Looking Glass, whichaveraged 252 people per show, compared to 303 last year for Canada Rocks.

Evangeline saw 10,428 patrons attend 28 performances,including 1,000 P.E.I. school children last week. That averages out to 372 people per show.

The small Studio 1 show Hockey Mom, Hockey Dad saw 1,540 patrons to 30 shows,or about 51 people per show.

Oficials say although attendance for Alice and Evangeline was disappointing, regional and local theatre reviews were very positive, as were post-show surveys.