Smaller Markets Like Dayton, Ohio, Have Big City Entertainment Goals

Being situated between larger markets makes attracting tours challenging for smaller towns with big city entertainment dreams.

Having an engaged arts organization at the helm, a strong partnership between the city and downtown businesses and a customer-first mission has made a difference in Dayton, Ohio, which is 70 miles from Columbus and nearly 55 miles from Cincinnati.

Nonprofit Dayton Live owns and operates a catalog of historic venues in the city, which has a population of 135,500 (metro population 850,000), including the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center, The Victoria Theatre, The Arts Garage and the Metropolitan Arts center, which is home to the Loft Theatre. The group also manages the PNC Arts Annex.

Dayton Live owns and operates the venues and is solely responsible for preserving and maintaining the properties, which include 700,000 square feet of downtown space. Dayton Live receives no levied tax dollars for the maintenance of the facilities. The annual operating cost is nearly $20 million and all maintenance is covered by operating revenue and fund raising including the current Spotlight on the Future $25 million capital campaign.

Collectively, the venues attract more than 400,000 patrons to more than 400 events a year. Dayton Live fills the role of presenter bringing in touring artists and shows.

“The experience of people coming to a performance is extremely important to us,” said Sue Stevens, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Dayton Live. “We have a director of customer experience and we pride ourselves on the customer service that we offer down to how you park in the garage and how you get out after a show.”

Relationships with the city, local businesses, live industry stakeholders and the fan base are central to their success including customer survey that watch expectations from ticketing to parking and programming.

“Our challenge in a tertiary market is largely about programming,” offered Stevens. “Here in Dayton, we are sometimes challenged with booking the kind of programming that we know will do well because of our proximity to Cincinnati or Columbus. And we have worked very strategically for the past six to eight years to prove ourselves to the booking agents and promoters that you can successfully play Dayton – and Cincinnati and Columbus.”

Stevens points to the success they have had with Broadway shows to make a case for music and comedy including selling out three Nate Bargatze shows in the 2,300-seat Benjamin & Marian Schuster PAC. Dayton Live today announced the 2025-2026 Broadway Series a combination of classic hits and contemporary musicals including “The Sound of Music” (Oct. 14-19), “The Wiz” (Nov. 11-16), “Back To The Future: The Musical” (Dec. 2-7), “Les Misérables” (Feb. 3-8, 2026), “Suffs” (March 31-April 5, 2026), “Mrs. Doubtfire” (May 5-10, 2026) and “Beetlejuice: The Musical” (June 23-28, 2026).

“Dayton is a considerably smaller city than Cincinnati or Columbus but it has always had a very robust – particularly musical theater – audiences,” said Stevens. “And we have shown that they will really come out in droves for comedy. Dayton loves comedy and musical theater and Dayton loves all kinds of live events.”

Thinking strategically about resources matters. If a show in Dayton isn’t playing Cincinnati or Columbus, Dayton Live will expand the advertising footprint to reach those markets, which are an hour away.

“Because we are a smaller market, we have to be super efficient with our time and our money,” offered Stevens. “When you have a smaller team – as we admittedly do – and a smaller budget than a primary market would have, we have to work that much harder.”

Dayton Live also partners with downtown business to expand their reach including themed retail and hospitality offering that include specialty cocktails and advice about what to wear from a local boutique.

“The downtown business really gets into it,” said Stevens. “And we are there to help support them and provide content that is sanctioned and approved by the tour. They see that as an advantageous thing to do, because they know they are going to come back. And every time they come back, their brand will be that much stronger.”

“Dayton Live is a fantastic partner and we have been very fortunate to have partnered with them for a very long time,” said Jessica Sands, Public Relations and Marketing Manager for the non-profit Downtown Dayton Partnership. “They are one of the main drivers of why folks from outside downtown are coming to downtown.”

Dayton Live is attracting new patrons through diverse programming including the paranormal presentations and horror genre.  

“We’ve been finding new people to reach out to who would never want to be caught dead at a musical,” laughed Stevens. “And that’s fine, but we are going to find something they do like.”

Caryn May, the Director of Marketing and Communications for Dayton Live, said that coming out of COVID there was rapid growth in the use of technology and social media to connect Dayton Live to the broader community.

“Targeted online ads became much more robust,” said May, who turned to Meta, YouTube, Google and other platforms to reach consumers. “We were able to target specifically to their interests.”

Chloe Johnson, Manager of Social Media and Public Relations at Dayton Live, drives the content and conversation while engaging local media and working with local influencers.

“For me, it’s understanding who we are trying to reach and who their influences are,” explained Johnson. “My role is trying to make those partnerships and connections with the influencers who have a really engaged audience – partnering with influencers, community organizations or other businesses who have an audience that is really wanting to engage, connect, comment and like.”

For example, when “Hamilton” had a run at the PAC, Johnson partnered with a local pet adoption shelter for a social campaign featuring George Woffington. In another case, a local influencer and parent uses shows based on books to read to her family.

Communications is a priority and prior to shows, Dayton Live sends out “Know Before You Go” emails with details about the performance but also includes information about downtown restaurants and hotels.

“Their customer base is really interested in seeing what they can eat and making it a whole evening out making it a full experience rather than just coming out for a show and heading home right after,” explained Sands.

Dayton Live contributes more than $35 million of economic impact to the community and supports nearly 1,000 full-time equivalent jobs. The organization dates back to 1976, when it was created as the Victoria Theatre Association, to save the Victoria Theatre from demolition and ensure that performing arts remained accessible for future generations and support for the arts stays strong.

“Being a not-for-profit, we have a mission beyond selling tickets,” explained Stevens. “And our actual mission is to strengthen community engagement and the arts through inspiring performances, educational opportunities and our world-class venues. Inviting people in and giving them a unique experience with the arts is deep within us.”