It seems to me that the PTB don't feel entertainment is as important as it used to be. I have gone to the city for some 38 years and on recent trips I have notices empty stages, lifeless. This seems to be a trend at the park. I was never a pure heart fan but I hate to see another bit of energy being snuffed from the park. Entertainment appeases the parents that don't want to go on the rides and those that visit during the parts of the year that school is in session. Empty stages are bad things. I have said before that although not every stage would be used at all times if you walked from hill street down to the lake and back up near the candy store you would almost always see someone on a stage but that is not the case any longer. Trimming down the budget?
It's absolutely a trend. Performers are probably their highest paid employees, and I'm sure most market research tells them that people are coming for coasters, not performers. At least most of them anyway. The trend is to bring in individual performances like concert series, especially during festivals, and not have to pay actual salaries all year long. Maybe they'll eventually outsource the big Christmas plays as well.
I doubt Pure Heart was forced out, but I also doubt the PTB was sorry to see them finally leave. Of all the performance groups, they surely had the least draw. I appreciate them for being an SDC staple, but their show was basically the same thing you can see in the average church on Sunday morning. The Saloon Show always fills up, and the Homestead Pickers have a serious cult following, so I'd think they still make sense to keep around.
And some of it is simple supply and demand. There's a lot less of both these days. Just like all the craftsmen that have simply disappeared over the years and there is simply no one to replace them. It's still getting harder and harder to support yourself as an artist, and SDC isn't exactly a safe haven.