COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — A theater in Coeur D'Alene is giving away free 'test drive' tickets to their shows, hoping it will generate more fans for local theater in the area.
Red Bird Theater is owned by Marie and Daniel Hunt. They are preparing for opening night of their production of Into the Woods.
Marie Hunt said that it's been her dream to own a theater for a long time. Now that she does, she is hoping that the unique business model will encourage more appreciation of the arts. She said the idea was her husband's.
"So, we're saying, 'Why don't you come and see the show, and you can pay us via Venmo or cash or pay pal afterwards -- whatever you think it was worth?'," Daniel Hunt, Marie's husband, said.
The couple is asking that attendees only use the free ticket promo code if they've never seen a live show before. The point is to give newcomers the opportunity to become fans of local theater.
"Something we've noticed around here is there's so much great theater for such a small city, and we wanted to invest in the future of theater at large in the area by gaining new audiences, fresh eyes," Marie Hunt said.
The promo code is available on the Red Bird Theater website. The Hunts are letting anyone use the code, but hope people stick to the honor system and use it only if they've never seen a live show.
Their production of Into the Woods is running the last two weekends of September.
"What's so unique about live theater that literally cannot be replicated anyplace else is the ability for it to be a little bit different every night. Its not edited. Its true," Marie Hunt said.
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