The good news: Nonprofit theater companies contributed more than $2.3 billion to the U.S. economy and attracted more than 10 million attendees in 2022, according to new data from Theatre Communications Group, a New York-based theater advocacy organization.

The bad news:

• Despite all that economic impact, ticket revenue was down 55% from 2018.

• Attendance has fallen a full 59%.

Those are devastating, even existential numbers. Most confounding is that they do not reflect any consistency across the board.

“While some theaters are thriving, for many others, audiences have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels,” said Karena Fiorenza, TCG’s interim CEO. That’s certainly the case in Colorado, where some companies are putting out the sunniest possible numbers, while others are admitting to being in full crisis mode.

In November, the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts estimated that 2022 attendance for Denver metro’s 300 SCFD-eligible nonprofits fell 15 percent from 2019.

But, as I like to call it, “the big old elephant in the room wearing the pink ballet tutu” is the ongoing mid-air collision of declining revenue and attendance with escalating labor and material costs.

And yet, for those looking for some sunshine, there are some rays of good news to catch.

Panic- and pandemic-induced giving brought contributed revenue to an all-time high in 2022. The two largest sources of contributed revenue were federal grants (24% of all revenue) and foundation giving (15%).

In 2022, federal funding was more than 43 times greater than it was in 2018. State support was 120% higher – largely in proactive response to the shutdown’s impact on shuttered arts organizations. Closer to home, the CBCA’s November study said overall giving to Denver nonprofits came to $294 million in 2022, a 37.7% increase over 2019.

Perhaps the most surprising stat from the new CTG report: At a time when most experts have been predicting the death of the subscription purchase – what with changing consumer tastes and a desire to be more spontaneous with their disposable entertainment dollars – TCG is saying the average number of subscribers has actually increased by 12% since 2022.

Humanist Gaza play inspires Bornstein

Lisa Bornstein was a dominant voice in Colorado theater criticism for more than a decade with the Rocky Mountain News. Fifteen years later, the busy teacher and mother is taking the sometimes terrifying step onto the stage herself.

Bornstein will be among the cast performing three readings of Maya Arad Yasur’s short new play “How to Be a Humanist After a Massacre in 17 Steps” starting Sunday at the Buntport Theater.

“When I read the script, I was so moved by its poetic structure and embrace of all it means to be human that I begged (Director Ami Dayan) to let me be involved in some way,” said Bornstein. “To my great shock, thrill, and terror, he put me onstage.”

Arad Yasur wrote the play in the raw days following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel as she grappled, in Bornstein’s words, “with how to reconcile our animal response to trauma with the beliefs we held before the event. It is a remarkably compassionate piece of writing toward everyone involved.”

The 20-minute play opens on the morning of Oct. 7, then sharply transforms into a “how-to” course on maintaining humanity in the aftermath of barbarism.

The program, which will include poetry by Palestinian poets Taha Muhammad Ali and Refaat Alareer, followed by a facilitated panel discussion, is titled “Standing for Humanity in Gaza and Israel.” It will take place at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at Buntport (717 Lipan St.), at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21 at the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder; and at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 25 at the Bas Bleu Theatre in Fort Collins. Joining Bornstein in the cast will be Wendy Ishii, Tamara Meneghini and Mari Brown.

Dayan promises “an afternoon designed to raise awareness and offer pathways to staying informed, engaged and active.”

Tickets are $15 ar basbleu.org. Proceeds will benefit Medical Aid for Palestine and Bring Them Home Now.

Side note: A fourth reading of the play, presented by a different and as-yet unannounced creative team, will be staged March 10 in the University of Colorado Boulder’s Roe Green Theatre. Info at colorado.edu.

CU exhibition celebrates Black women

The CU Art Museum will open a unique exhibit on Friday in partnership with the Denver-based Museum for Black Girls. It’s “We CU: A Visual Celebration of Black Womanhood, Presence and Connectedness.”

Artists were invited to mine CU Boulder’s library archives to create new artwork that either addresses political or social issues or comments on patterns of oppression and cultural norms that disenfranchise communities. The exhibit documents the historical foundation for the university’s Boulder’s Black Student Alliance and its first Black professor, librarian and female graduate. It also documents works by Black female composers.

“At the intersection of race and gender, Black women’s stories are uniquely our own,” said Charlie Billingsley, co-creator of the Museum for Black Girls. “Despite being present, our stories are often invisible and unheard. This exhibition seeks to change that.”

Friday’s opening celebration runs from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at 1085 18th St. in Boulder. The exhibition is free and will be on display through July 30.

Bonfils-Stanton dispenses $607K

The Bonfils-Stanton Foundation has announced $607,000 in grants to area nonprofits (all for general operating support unless noted):

• Cleo Parker Robinson Dance: $160,000 ($100,000 designated for facilities expansion)
• Colorado Symphony: $60,000
• Su Teatro: $50,000
• Levitt Pavilion Denver: $50,000 to support capital improvements
• Newman Center for the Performing Arts: $35,000 for international artist residencies, public performances and community engagement
• Denver Film Society: $30,000
• Athena Project: $23,000 ($5,000 designated as assistance in developing a marketing strategy)
• Latino Cultural Arts Center: $25,000
• Lighthouse Writers Workshop: $25,000
• Biennial of the Americas: $20,000
• Friends of Chamber Music: $20,000 for its “Representing the Voices of All” project
• PBS12 Colorado Public Television: $10,000 to support its “Sounds on 29th” program
• El Sistema Colorado: $15,000
• History Colorado: $15,000 to support Danielle SeeWalker’s “But We Have Something to Say” exhibit
• Vocal Coalition: $15,000
• No Credits Productions (donnie l. betts): $12,000 to support “Destination Freedom: Black Radio Days”
• Stories on Stage: $10,000
• Philanthropy Colorado: $7,000
• Community Minded Dance: $5,000 for program evaluation
• Mudra Dance Academy: $5,000 to improve fundraising capacity

‘The Holly’ coming to public television

Julian Rubinstein’s 2022 documentary “The Holly,” which investigates the city of Denver’s anti-gang efforts through the lens of a shocking 2013 shooting involving community activist and recent mayoral candidate Terrance Roberts, is still making the rounds. “The Holly” will make its public television premiere when it airs at 8 p.m. Feb. 15 on Rocky Mountain PBS. The same day, the Columbia Journalism School will host a screening in New York City. The film has had two screenings in Utah this week and on Feb. 29, it will screen at the Melanin Mountain Project Film Festival in Crested Butte. It is also available for screening on Amazon Prime and Apple Plus.

Briefly …

Concert announcements come in daily by the dozen. Two new ones that have caught my eye: The globally beloved (but probably nowhere more so than in Boulder) Michael Franti will perform an acoustic set with Spearhead on June 1 in the picturesque Chautauqua Auditorium. Tickets go on sale Friday at z2ent.com …

Meanwhile, Iron and Wine (aka Sam Beam) has announced a June 17 stop at Mission Ballroom as part of his Light Verse 2024 tour. Tickets on sale Friday at axs.com …

Denver Film has announced that its annual four-day Women+Film Festival will return April 11-14, with a 2024 lineup announcement coming March 11. In the meantime, all-access passes are now on sale at denverfilm.org.