Unlike restaurants, theaters can’t offer carry-out as an alternative, Meleca said. Unlike college and professional sports, there’s no TV revenue available.

When theaters go dark, it’s more than a loss of ticket revenue, she said. Patrons also aren’t spending money on restaurants, parking, hotel stays and other retail purchases.

“It would be very problematic if the state mandated an across-the-board percentage of occupancy rather than allow venues to creatively reimagine their space utilization to accomplish the same goal,” Meleca wrote in an April 22 letter to the head of the state Development Services Agency.

Allowing theater performances again requires a balancing act between safety and letting shows reopen, said Dan Tierney, the governor’s press secretary. As with sports, theater groups can apply for variances if they think they have an unique space situation, he said.

“The social distancing aspect is first and foremost what we’re focused on, for people to be spaced out safely,” Tierney said.

Ohio’s $41 billion arts and entertainment industry has lost 80,000 jobs and $3.3 billion in revenue, according to a Brookings Institution analysis published this month. That compares with the loss of about 1.4 million jobs and $42.5 billion nationally, the analysis found.

In Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Arts Association — which oversees venues housing the city’s symphony orchestra, opera company, ballet company and more — has laid off nearly half its staff of 95, said president Steve Loftin. The arts-and-entertainment impact of the shutdown in Cincinnati is around $41 million.