Musical Theatre Dunedin has announced customers who bought tickets for postponed Les Miserables performances will be able to present their old tickets and receive new ones for the show, which has been rescheduled to May.
It was forced to postpone six weeks before its scheduled March opening due to Covid-19, at a loss of $70,000.
Adding salt to the wound, it was advised more than 800 ticket holders had not received refunds from the Regent Theatre’s then exclusive ticketing provider, Ticket Rocket.
Musical Theatre Dunedin president Dean Driver said the organisation was gutted to hear of customers’ issues in getting refunds and decided to take action.
"The executive board see it as our obligation to give a ticket swap to our patrons ... it’s showing faith in our ticket-buying audiences."
"What we’re going to lose on the swings, we will gain on the roundabouts.
"We’re excited to be able to offer this. The ticket-buying audience need this before Christmas."
Denise Henderson was one of many originally left out of pocket by Ticket Rocket after buying 10 tickets for the show for friends and family at a cost of $860.
She said she was overjoyed to hear she would see the show she had originally paid for, and the family and friends she bought tickets for would be making the trip from as far as Auckland for the new shows.
"I’m so grateful to Musical Theatre Dunedin ... they didn’t need to do this — they weren’t the ones who took our money and didn’t provide the service.
"This is a fantastic gesture to their customers."
Mr Henderson said affected customers could bring their old tickets to the Regent Theatre to be exchanged for seats to the May 6-7 shows.
All other tickets for the show, directed by Doug Kamo, will go on sale through the Regent Theatre on Friday.
Fortress Information Systems, the company behind Ticket Rocket, is now in liquidation and has debts of more than $8million.
