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The Penobscot Theatre Company exterior, photographed Tuesday. Maine Preservation has recognized the Penobscot Theatre Company for its restoration of the Bangor Opera House facade. BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY JOHN CLARKE RUSS CAPTION Penbscot Theatre Company exterior--photographed Tuesday, June 2, 2009. Maine Preservation has recognized the Penobscot Theatre Company for its restoration of the Bangor Opera House facade. (Bangor Daily News/John Clarke Russ) Buy Photo

When a singing quartet’s car gets hit by a bus full of Catholic schoolgirls who are on their way to “The Ed Sullivan Show,” the boys die and are resurrected to perform their last show. The show, Penobscot Theatre Company’s “Forever Plaid,” is the best-selling and highest-grossing production the nonprofit has put on in its 36-year history, the theater said this week.

“As of right now I’d say it is at least 20 percent more than the last previous held record, which was ‘Almost Maine’ in the spring of 2006,” producing artistic director Scott Levy said Wednesday, days before the final weekend of the show.

This comes at a time when the theater company has decided to try running shows in three-week stints. Formerly, shows ran for two weeks.

“One of the reasons local performing arts are seeing increased attendance could come from a variety of areas, but people are generally looking to do things closer to home,” said University of Maine professor of economics Jim McConnon. “They’re looking to be involved with creative things closer to home. This is an effect of the recession were in.”

As a national trend, McConnon said, corporations that gave donations before the recession are not giving as much now.

“In general, nonprofits have been looking for ways in which they can survive as donations have declined,” McConnon said.

Penobscot Theatre Company relies on donations for approximately 50 percent of its funding.

“When we have highly successful shows, we don’t have to rely as heavily on those contributions,” Levy said.

“Forever Plaid” is not the only successful show Penobscot Theatre has put on recently. “Steel Magnolias,” which had its run in September, also was in the top five of all-time grossing productions for the nonprofit.

McConnon attributes the profits, in part, to stress reduction.

“In tough economic times people look for ways to deal with stress associated with that and participating in arts events is one way to experience stress reduction,” he said.

Donna McNeil, a director of the Maine Arts Commission, said several theaters in Maine are thriving in the recession.

“It sounds Darwinian, but it is a time of separating out who will make it,” McNeil said.

She attributed smart programming, good grant writing and sensible pricing to the success of some live art venues in the state.

Penobscot Theatre’s managing director Marcie Bramucci thinks the fun factor is what is drawing people to buy tickets.

“It’s an incredibly infectious show,” she said of “Plaid.” “People come and see it and they bring people back to see it again.”

The show consists of 29 hit songs from the 1950s. Four men in a quartet get a chance to prove themselves in a time when the quartet was going out and the Beatles were barging in.

“It really can cross generations,” Bramucci said. “You have people who really do know the songs and you have people who have never seen ‘The Ed Sullivan Show.’ You don’t need that context.”

“It’s a really visceral experience that makes the audience participate,” Bramucci said.

Levy, who picked the shows for the season, said he tried to program in what elsewhere have proved to be popular shows, especially in the first half of the season.

“This season is generating a lot of interest in the theater,” he said.