How 59E59 Theaters improved audience experience and unlocked real-time insight

A High-Volume Theatre with a Complex Operation

59E59 Theaters runs an unusually dense programme. With three theatres operating simultaneously and up to 15 shows in rotation, the venue manages a constant flow of audiences, performances, and front-of-house activity.

This creates pressure across both the box office and the wider team.

"We are very high volume… three shows happening every day usually. Our box office is very high volume because of it."

Historically, much of that pressure showed up in the lobby experience. Will Call was once the default, leading to congestion and frustration in a relatively small space.

Reducing Friction at the Front Door

The shift to digital ticketing — particularly via SMS — helped ease that pressure immediately. Instead of relying on printed tickets or hard-to-find emails, audiences now receive direct, accessible links to their tickets.

"It used to be all Will Call… you can imagine how insane that was in our teeny tiny lobby."

"Having a text message is just… really great. People are happier. We're not hearing as many complaints."

Even for a traditionally older theatre audience, adoption was strong.

"We were originally reluctant… but they've all taken to it. Everyone seems to have taken pretty well to it."

Freeing Up the Box Office Team

Beyond the audience experience, operational gains were immediate. Previously, staff were manually regenerating tickets ahead of each performance — an intensive, repetitive process across multiple shows.

Now, that work is automated.

"They used to manually regenerate tickets the day before the show… now they don't."

"They can focus on selling tickets… their actual jobs."

This shift hasn't removed the need for the box office — but it has allowed the team to focus on higher-value interactions rather than admin.

Turning Feedback Into a Strategic Advantage

While ticketing improvements were valuable, the biggest impact came post-show. By sending surveys via SMS shortly after performances, 59E59 unlocked a step-change in audience feedback.

"We had a show last year… with 11 survey responses. The same slot this year was like 120."

"We had over a 200% increase in survey responses."

Timing proved critical. Sending surveys while the experience was still fresh — often just hours after curtain down — dramatically increased engagement.

"People are still talking about the show… they're filling it out a lot more."

"Three hours after the start time… that's what has made it so successful."

From Data Collection to Real Decisions

With significantly more responses, the team moved from anecdotal feedback to meaningful insight. They can now gauge audience sentiment within days of opening, identify issues in real time, and understand how perception evolves across a run.

"We can immediately tell the temperature… whereas before we'd be lucky if we got a few."

The feedback is also directly shaping decisions across the business — from improving wayfinding for concessions to building the case for a new website.

"We put in a question… how do you like our website? That's helped us say — we need to fix this."

It's even influencing programming confidence.

"People were like, you have to bring these people back… so that's kind of a built-in signal."

A More Responsive, Audience-Led Approach

Perhaps most importantly, the team now has a direct, continuous line to their audience. They're not just collecting feedback — they're responding to it.

"We actually did things with it… not just gather data because that's what we're supposed to do."

For a venue operating at this scale, that shift is significant. More responses. Better insight. Faster decisions. And ultimately, a stronger connection between the theatre and its audience.