LT’s 2015 Variety Show was held in the new Reber Center at NC, and despite still being one of the first major events to be hosted in the new auditorium, attendance for the show was lower than many years past.

“We used to completely sell out both nights,” Variety Show co-sponsor Gary Morrill said. “This year we didn’t sell out either.”

According to other co-sponsor John Musick, there are likely many factors causing this drop in attendance.

“The show was held in the field house last year, so people may still be dizzy from that change,” Musick said. “This is also the first year we’ve had Sunday and Monday shows, so people used to coming Tuesday night may have been lost in the change.”

Another reason that attendance was low this year was the smaller amount of acts in the show this year, Morrill said.

“There were only 30 acts in the show last year,” Morrill said. “Two years ago, there were 54 acts in the show, and 70 or so acts tried out.”

One potential reason for the lower amount of acts comes from the lack of underclassmen in the show, Morrill said. In total, only five or six freshmen and sophomores were in the Variety Show this year.

“If more freshmen and sophomores participate in the show, that brings attendance way up,” Morrill said.

Although the show featured less acts than usual, the show still featured great talent, participant in the show Jack Sylvia ’17 said.

“I think this year the Variety Show was pretty successful,” Sylvia said. “There were a lot of great acts on each night.”

According to LT’s director of student activities Peter Geddeis, the Variety Show, which was held on Sunday, Sept. 20 and Monday, Sept. 21, sold 672 tickets, each sold for $5 at the door this year, with the presale amount yet to be determined.

“Based on the audience reaction both nights, I would say that it was a success,” Geddeis said. “I only wish that more people had been able to see it.”

One of the problems with the show is that people perceive it solely as a musical show, when in actuality it is not intended to be, Morrill said.

“I look at the show more like America’s Got Talent without the judges,” Morrill said. “We just want to entertain people with as much variety as possible, not just musically.”

Despite the lower attendance and participation in this years Variety Show, Musick believes that the Variety Show will soon reach and surpass its former glory.

“The new Reber is beautiful and full of potential for excellent productions, and the diverse talent at LT is incredible,” Musick said. “The variety show will be packing the house in no time.”