Future of opera house uncertain as poor attendance continues

?The future of live entertainment at Thompson?s Opera House in Pioche is on a rocky road.?

These were the first words in a letter sent to the Lincoln County Record in November 2019, where the owner of the opera house, J. Leslie Derkovitz, lamented the loss of attendance over the last few years at the opera house?s live shows and concerts. Derkovitz has run the historic site in Pioche for years and hoped to return it to its full glory, but after ?attendance for the bluegrass band was a dismal 20 people,? he?s now trying to find a reason why he should keep the doors open.

A large portion of the expenses for the shows comes out of Derkovitz?s pockets, he explained in his letter, which puts a considerable financial strain on him. ?Along with the payment to the performer coming from the donor money, I have paid the promotion costs myself out of pocket for many years.? During 2019, many shows were hosted at the opera house, including the Wild West shows during Labor Day, as well as the aforementioned bluegrass band.

Derkovitz added, ?This might have to stop ? because I have larger expenses now than in the past ? All in all, it?s not cheap to bring in a live entertainer to the opera house, and when the locals don?t seem to value having the opera house, or the live entertainment, the motivation for continuing it is getting weak.?

Derkovitz noted that he is the only person that works on the shows, since he cannot find enough volunteers to help with things like lights and sound, and part of this he blamed on county officials: ?I can?t even get one more volunteer to help me keep the opera house open over the weekends to show tourists the place. I sure wish I could get a couple more people to have it open to tourists for a three-day weekend. The county pays someone to man the old courthouse and the museum, but when I asked the commissioners for the same at the opera house and help to do the shows, all I got was a ?we appreciate all you do, Les?.?

Another thing that lessens attendance to the shows, according to Derkovitz, is the lack of effort from people in the county to introduce their kids to culture. Derkovitz explained that during weekends with major sporting events, he can?t get anyone to come to his shows: ?Again, just like always, the school went to state and I lost half the community to chasing their kids and grandkids to a game up north. It has never, I mean never, failed that this happens whenever I have a show. I again gave away 20 free tickets to the school to give to any student or staff, but as always, not one came.?

This is all in stark contrast to when Derkovitz first started having shows at the opera house, where there would be upwards of 100 people in attendance. Three years ago, he had to turn people away because he ran out of room, but in 2019 he barely pulled in 16 people for the Juni Fisher show, despite wide advertising.

In small communities like Lincoln County, losing a business or an activity can be devastating. When the Ghost Town Caf? closed (just down the street from the Thompson), Pioche?s citizens lost half their options for a quick meal, and while the reasons for the closure might be varied and complicated, the loss is still palpable.

?How does one explain all this behavior?? Derkovitz laments in his letter. ?I sure can?t.?