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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Don’t go breakin’ TicketsWest

Elton John created a frenzy when tickets went on sale Jan. 25 for his April 12 show at the Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum in Pullman.

In fact, Sir Elton spawned what may have been the most traffic ever on the TicketsWest Web site.

TicketsWest said that after tickets went on sale at 10 a.m., the site was experiencing about 6,000 “concurrent connections” at any one time.

Ticket buyers were confronted with an “under maintenance” page twice that morning, for about six minutes each time, but it wasn’t because the site was actually down.

TicketWest was just trying to catch up with the volume of pending transactions. That’s probably why a number of ticket buyers reported difficulty getting through.

Meanwhile, about 5,000 calls per minute were pouring into the TicketsWest phone centers.

By noon, all 10,000-plus tickets were sold out. This probably means that plenty of moms weren’t able to snap up tickets for this WSU Mom’s Weekend event – although they can always pay big money on the after-market.

The breakdown

In case you were wondering how those Elton John tickets were sold, TicketsWest posted the final breakdown on the Beasley’s Web site. Here are the numbers:

•Online: 41 percent.

•Outlets, in person: 33 percent.

•Phone: 20 percent.

•At the Beasley box office, in person: 6 percent.

New ARt managing director

Raymond Ochs has been hired as the new managing director for the Actor’s Repertory Theatre in Spokane.

Ochs has been the president of the theater’s board, and has extensive experience in marketing, public relations and fund-raising. He is the founder of IMPELUS Marketing and Communications Strategies.

ARt, the professional theater in residence at the Spartan Theater at Spokane Falls Community College, has been without a managing director this season.

Ochs takes over the job March 1, according to artistic director Michael Weaver.

ARt’s former managing director, Grant Smith, moved on to become the Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre’s managing director in September.

‘Ballet Romantica’

Ballet Spokane will present its annual gala and fundraiser, “Ballet Romantica,” on Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. at the Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave.

Artistic director Phaedra Jarrett and her troupe of dancers will present “Aurora’s Wedding” and “Rose Adage” from “Sleeping Beauty; “Four By Two,” a suite of original pieces; and a Can-Can.

A champagne reception and auction begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20, including chocolate and champagne, through TicketsWest outlets (509-325-SEAT, 800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com).

An operatic soiree

Spokane Opera will present a “Valentine’s Soiree” on Friday at 6:30 p.m. in the Cutter Room of the Spokane Athletic Club.

A four-course dinner with wine will be served, and a troupe of singers will entertain with Puccini arias, Broadway tunes and other classic selections.

Tickets are $80, inclusive. Reservations are available by calling (509) 533-1150.

Opera on screen

The live HD broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera at NorthTown’s Regal Cinemas have proven to be a surprising hit, with houses approaching capacity.

Here’s the upcoming schedule:

•Feb. 16, 10 a.m.: “Manon Lescaut,” by Puccini.

•March 15, 10:30 a.m.: “Peter Grimes,” by Britten.

•March 22, 9:30 a.m.: “Tristan und Isolde,” by Wagner.

•April 5, 10:30 a.m.: “La Boheme,” by Puccini.

•April 26, 10:30 a.m.: “La Fille Du Regiment,” by Donizetti.

Tickets are $22, available through the Metropolitan Opera Web site, Fandango.com or at the theater.

Opera auditions

The Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox will be the site of the Metropolitan Opera District Auditions next fall.

These auditions, which cover the Eastern Washington/Idaho/Montana region, have been absent from Spokane for several years. They’ll return on Oct. 12, and the public will be invited to attend.

The auditions will be held in Spokane every other year, alternating with Missoula.

Spokane’s Patrice Munsel won the finals of the Metropolitan Opera auditions in 1943, launching her career at the Met.