Midtown Arts Center Fort Collins Colorado Midtown Arts Center Seating Fort Collins Colorado

Midtown Arts Center will fade to black in August, just some longtime season ticket holders are riled up over the theater's final deed.

"I feel I was served a bait-and-switch deal," Tom Schipper said after Midtown Arts replaced the Tony-accolade-winning "Matilda the Musical" with "Take to the Highway," a celebration of the music of James Taylor, Carole Rex and Carly Simon.

Schipper isn't a James Taylor fan and said the terminal testify was of "piffling value" to him. He hasn't asked for a refund but said he "expressed my disappointment to them" and didn't hear back.

In a Facebook response to this article, Midtown Arts owner Kurt Terrio  assist "Matilda" had the "lowest pre-sales of a summer show in a decade. I feel the majority of our audience spoke with their pocketbooks on their overall lack of excitement for 'Matilda' on our master phase."

Production costs, he said, were "pretty identical to what was approaching for 'Matilda.'"

He said anyone who reached out to the box part has received an explanation and response and they are working toward a solution ane-by-one with each customer.

The theater will shut Aug. three after the last performance of "Accept to the Highway."

'Going out with a dud instead of a bang'

Schipper said information technology's a lamentable ending for a Fort Collins staple. "Information technology seems the owners of Midtown have chosen to cut ties in a very unprofessional style going out with a dud instead of a blindside," he said.

The theater is closing later more than xx years, first every bit Carousel Dinner Theatre, and so Midtown Arts. Its building at 3750 S. Stonemason St. was sold last year to Housing Catalyst and volition be renovated and converted to apartments for the currently homeless and near homeless.

The space was formerly Isle of mann Four Cinema, which closed in 1999 and was used by the Lithia car dealership to shop tires and equipment until 2010, when Terrio moved  Carousel into the infinite and changed its proper name. In addition to the theater, the building has a 200-seat banquet/convention ballroom that customs groups ofttimes rented.

Terrio said in previous interviews that he unsuccessfully tried to find a new site for Midtown Arts. When that failed, the theater "merged" with Candlelight Dinner Theater  and Terrio encouraged his customers to patronize the Johnstown theater.

Ray Chavez of Fort Collins, a flavor ticket holder since the Carousel days, said he renewed his tickets based on the season lineup that included "Matilda." He planned to take his ii daughters to the show.

"I despise James Taylor and his music," Chavez said.

Chavez said he made his displeasure articulate to Midtown Arts representatives when he asked for a refund. He says he's been put off every time he's called and has now contacted an attorney about a potential breach of contract.

Are they not getting what they paid for?

Other flavor ticket holders who contacted the Coloradoan said Midtown Arts "was not providing the services and programs (Terrio) promised when he sold those services and programs."

Jeanne Hoag of Fort Collins said she paid $2,000 for two "lifetime" tickets, which were bought when Carousel moved to Mason Street. Information technology was supposed to get her advanced detect on every bear witness, plus tickets for her and a guest for the rest of their lives.

With Midtown Arts' upcoming closure, Hoag said Terrio has left them "high and dry."

"We paid for the privilege and feel like we were taken," Hoag said. "I believe the employees of Midtown are doing the all-time they can, but the shows are not what was advertised when we bought tickets ... casts are not complete, etc. What this homo has done is outrageous."

Terrio said in his Facebook postal service that Midtown Arts has "e'er honored our commitment to providing priority booking" for its lifetime legacy members. "We empathize with their sadness over the closing of Midtown, but are proud that nosotros have provided more than double the budgetary value of annual season memberships (and almost quadruple the value of those respective retail-priced tickets) over their initial sometime $1,000 investment."

Hoag said she will attend the James Taylor show, "but non happily."

She had nothing simply praise for the staff. "They are wonderful, I just love them and don't want to hurt them, but canceling 'Matilda' and having four people sing is not acceptable," she said.

During the transition to Candlelight, Hoag said she and other "lifetime" ticket holders were offered two tickets for one evidence free and two extra tickets for guests. In that location was no talk of honoring the lifetime tickets.

Midtown Arts' 2018-xix lineup every bit advertised a year ago was: "West Side Story," the world-premiere of  "Heart of the Holiday," "Dames at Sea," "My Mode: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra," "My Fair Lady," and "Matilda the Musical."

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include comments from Midtown Arts Center owner Kurt Terrio, who had non responded to Coloradoan requests for annotate until afterwards publication of this article.

Pat Ferrier is a senior reporter covering business, health care and growth issues in Northern Colorado. Please support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by subscribing: See Coloradoan.com/subscribe to learn how.

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