How are big-ticket theater shows faring in hard times?

It is a Friday night at Seattle's upscale dinner-theater Teatro ZinZanni, and Mitzi Crisp is having a fine time.

The Raleigh, N.C., resident is taking in the antics of clowning waiters and an acrobatic maitre d' as she sits in a booth in ZinZanni's gilded antique show tent, a fixture on Mercer Street near the Seattle Center.

Crisp and her two longtime women friends — all from different cities — are on the threesome's annual rendezvous to "celebrate many years of friendship." But next year's reunion, Crisp says, is up in the air. So is taking in such pricey entertainments as Teatro ZinZanni, which charges up to $165 per ticket for a five-course dinner and a splashy show.

"I was laid off three days ago," says Crisp, a financial administrator."If that had happened earlier, I would have thought twice about making this trip."

As the local and national economies continue to slide, and massive layoffs hit many white-collar workers like Crisp, Seattle arts and entertainment concerns are bracing for the impact.

Not surprisingly, second-run movie theaters like Shoreline's Crest are busy, and pay-what-you-want nights at live theaters are crowded with bargain-hunting patrons. But are people still shelling out big bucks for such premium, high-end shows as Teatro ZinZanni?

A ZinZanni official says they are already seeing a downturn — particularly in group bookings for corporate events, which for years had accounted for 25 percent of their business.

"We've had the good fortune of operating at 90 to 95 percent capacity for so long," says ZinZanni marketing and communications director Beth Brooks. "Now it's more like 79 percent. And with our costs, that's significant."

So far, tickets to other pricey shows appear to be holding steady. At the Paramount Theatre, a recent touring run of the hit Broadway musical "The Lion King" sold extremely well, even prime ducats with a $75 price tag. And over at McCaw Hall, seats for Seattle Opera productions, in a section designated "Dress Circle Preferred," are selling well in subscription packages, according to public relations director Hilda Cullen.

The Pacific Northwest Ballet, like many local arts outfits, had a lighter than usual attendance for holiday fare due to winter snowstorms. But PNB spokesman Gary Tucker says ticket sales for orchestra seats are now back on track.

But with local and national unemployment rates surging, many college-educated, middle-class workers are getting pink slips and squeezing their personal budgets. And they are a big part of the demographic arts and entertainment concerns rely on for strong box office sales.

Also, the current attendance figures might be misleadingly good.

According to Terri Hiroshima, marketing director for Seattle Theatre Group (which runs the Paramount and Moore theaters), many people purchase seats for expensive, eagerly anticipated shows like "The Lion King" well in advance. And even a few months ago, the economic picture did not look so dire as it does today.

"We're being very careful and cautious about what shows we're booking for the future," Hiroshima says.

Though a deluxe night on the town may seem like a frill in hard times, such luxuries contribute to the continuing existence of a vital Seattle arts sector. That labor-intensive wedge of the local economy employs many workers and burnishes Seattle's image as a cultural mecca for tourists. A recent study of local nonprofit arts activity revealed that in 2006 (the most recent figures available) arts and entertainment generated nearly 8,000 jobs in the city, and yielded $12.3 million in local-government tax revenue and $14.4 million in state-government tax revenue.

Furthermore, in venues with a broad range of ticket tariffs, the more posh seats help to subsidize the cheaper ones.

Feeling the pinch already, Teatro ZinZanni's nonprofit producing arm, One Reel Inc., is swiftly taking measures to keep the long-running cabaret show going. Cost cuts have come down, including: trimming the staff by 10 percent, through layoffs and attrition, down to 75; lowering salaries; and consolidating office space to lower overhead.

Brooks says ZinZanni is offering more discount ticket deals now, on a sporadic basis, and is giving away some unsold tickets to needy individuals, through local social service agencies.

At this point the show itself, which changes several times a year, is in a spiffy new edition titled "Under the Gypsy Moon." And sitting in the glittering show tent, surrounded by convivial patrons, you might never guess there was a recession.

The chilled Champagne flows and the dinner, overseen by star Seattle chef Tom Douglas and served by gypsy-garbed waiters, begins with trout pâté and ends with a creamy lemon meringue desert.

"People still have things to celebrate, and this is a place to celebrate," says One Reel president and CEO Norman Langill, who conceived and commandeered the successful ZinZanni operations in both Seattle and San Francisco.

"I think people know that when they come here, they're getting something very special. And there's always a need for joy and laughter."

The sentiment is seconded by Teatro ZinZanni attendees Tom Logan, a self-employed Seattle resident, and his friend Rhonda Franson, who drove down from Snohomish to join him for the evening.

Both have seen other versions of the show. And both have no regrets about splurging on a return visit, even in hard times.

"We knew what we were going to get," Logan says. "And we knew it would be worthy every penny."

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com