Are we copying the right model from Seattle?

Are we copying the right model from Seattle?

WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.

As Kris Vire reported recently, Theater Wit is introducing a monthly pass which enables theatergoers to attend as many shows in the complex as many times as they want. The idea was copied (or at least is in force) from Seattle’s ACT (A contemporary theater); but what’s interesting is the model Theater Wit did NOT copy, which is ACT’s decision to make all performances pay-what-you-can. Provided only that patrons buy their tickets on the day of performance, they can pay a nickel for a $50 ticket. So people who are willing to trade off certainty for affordability will, presumably, be enticed into the theater.

So here’s my question: why doesn’t Theater Wit (or any other theater in Chicago, for that matter) adopt THAT policy of ACT: pay what you can, for any show, forever? Responses strongly encouraged.