Save the Pasadena Playhouse
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Remember that scene in Back to the Future where the woman is handing out fliers and urging passersby to “Save the clock tower!” Remember that? That’s how I felt after discovering that the Pasadena Playhouse needs financial help. Hometown Pasadena reports that the Playhouse is in “dire financial straits.” However, the situation isn’t completely hopeless.
“New executive director Stephen Eich, who recently discovered that the Playhouse’s debt was more daunting that he’d realized, has pulled theaters through tough times before; he hopes to use the same strategies he used to give strength to Chicago’s famed Steppenwolf Theatre, which he ran for six years.
“Under the artistic direction of Sheldon Epps, the Playhouse has had a remarkable creative resurgence in the last several years. But it’s been on shaky financial footing since its rebirth in 1997, and the recession has deepened the pain, forcing the recent layoff of fifteen people, the closing of a show early, and the moving of the staff to donated office space in east Pasadena.
“I talked to my old friend Patti Eisenberg, the manager of major gifts at the Playhouse, about the challenges ahead. ‘Most people don’t realize that we’ve only been a nonprofit for 12 years,’ she said. ‘And we started as a nonprofit with a debt of $1.5 million that we inherited from the developer who owned it before. On top of that, we have no benefactor — no Dorothy Chandler, no Mark Taper, no David Geffen.’”
To read the full story, click here.
About the Pasadena Playhouse
As one of the great institutions of the American theatre since 1917, the Pasadena Playhouse remains committed to the development and presentation of a diverse variety of theatrical productions at the highest level of artistry. By cultivating and utilizing the unique resources inherent in our greater community, the Pasadena Playhouse will preserve and amplify the powerful voice of theatre, assuring its vitality for generations to come.
Learn more about the Pasadena Playhouse and find out how you can help! Visit www.pasadenaplayhouse.org
Photo Courtesy of the Pasadena Playhouse
