Seven dollars and seventy-five cents gets you into a movie at the Richey Suncoast this Friday. That is not a typo, and it is roughly half what a regular multiplex ticket costs on Little Road.
The historic theatre on Grand Boulevard in downtown New Port Richey has five shows left on its August calendar, and the range is wide — a 40th-anniversary movie night, a Woodstock tribute running two shows in one day, a magician, a Bob Seger tribute, and a local awards night. Here’s the whole month, with what each one costs.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, 40th anniversary — Friday, Aug. 14
Cult Classic Movie Night, 8 p.m., doors at 7:15. $7.75 plus tax and fees. Rated PG-13.
Forty years on from the John Hughes original — Matthew Broderick, the stolen Ferrari, the most famous fake sick day in film. The theatre’s own pitch is that it’s the crowd that makes it, and that’s the honest case for seeing a movie you already own on a big screen with a room full of people who can quote it.
The theatre asks you to buy direct rather than through third-party resellers, which is worth doing at this price — reseller fees on a $7.75 ticket are absurd.
One detail from the theatre’s own listing that says more about this place than any description could: 133 people came to this last year, and they are openly trying to beat it. That is a venue that counts its audience individually.
Woodstock 69 tribute — Saturday, Aug. 15, two shows
Two performances the same day, 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., doors 45 minutes before each. $31 to $42, with a VIP box at $177 for four seats, plus tax and fees.
A group of session musicians working through the 1969 festival — The Who, Santana, Hendrix, Joplin. Two shows in a day tells you they expect to sell it, so the 5 p.m. is the one to book if you want a seat without planning three weeks out.
The VIP box works out to about $44 a seat, so it’s only worth it if you specifically want the box rather than four separate tickets at the low end. Full details on the 5 p.m. matinee or the 8 p.m. evening show, including parking.
Rated ‘M’ for MAGIC — Cory Van Valin — Friday, Aug. 21
8 p.m., $25. A four-time Best of the Bay winner with credits on ABC7, Fox 13, CW44 and PBS, doing large-scale illusions with comedy and on-stage audience work. Comedian Ginger Kelly opens.
Two things worth knowing. It’s billed as the grown-up version rather than a family magic show — the “Rated M” is doing work in that title. And Van Valin stays afterward at the merch booth for photos, which is not standard and is the sort of thing that makes a small venue worth choosing.
Two practical notes the listing is specific about: it’s an 18-and-up show running about two hours, and there are seating tiers — $25 general admission, $35 preferred. It’s a one-night booking, not a run.
The Seger Experience — Saturday, Aug. 22
7 p.m. A Bob Seger tribute, and the second tribute act on the month’s calendar — which tells you something true about what sells in this room.
Full details, including parking, are here.
3rd Annual Tommy Awards — Sunday, Aug. 23
6 p.m., $11.75. A local talent and community awards night, now in its third year.
This is the one on the calendar that isn’t touring through. It’s a New Port Richey night about New Port Richey people, and at under twelve dollars it’s the cheapest ticket in the building after the movie.
Doors are at 5 p.m. rather than the 6 p.m. ceremony, and the earlier hour is the actual draw — light bites from local eateries, a cash bar, and time to talk to the board, staff and volunteers who run the place. The ceremony itself includes live performances pulled from the season.
Why this venue keeps turning up
Five shows in ten days, across five different formats, in a theatre that seats a fraction of what MIDFLORIDA Amphitheatre does. That’s the trade — you’re not getting arena production, you’re getting a room where the performer can see you and sometimes stays afterward.
The price spread is the other half of it. The cheapest ticket this month is $7.75 and the most expensive single seat is $42. A single ticket to an amphitheatre show in Tampa, before parking, is usually more than both together.
If you do want the bigger production, we rounded up nine Tampa Bay events worth the drive from Pasco this month — including three at that amphitheatre. And for the rest of the county, there’s what’s on in Pasco this August.
Good to know
Richey Suncoast Theatre is at 6237 Grand Blvd, New Port Richey, FL 34652, phone (727) 842-6777. It’s a non-profit performing arts theatre, which is part of why the tickets read the way they do. Buy direct rather than through resale sites — the venue asks for it specifically, and on tickets this cheap the fees matter proportionally more.
Doors are typically 45 minutes before showtime, though the Friday movie night opens at 7:15 for an 8 p.m. start.
Showtimes and prices are taken from the theatre’s own calendar and can change — confirm with the venue before you go.