Cancellation of 2023 Productions of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

Dear Park Square Patrons,

The last few months of producing live theatre after months of darkness through the COVID-19 pandemic have been wonderful. The importance of experiencing stories on stage feels even more relevant than before. Returning audiences have been enthusiastic to feel the energy and joy of gathering together as each show begins.

However, audiences have returned in lower numbers than anticipated, and building back to pre-pandemic audience numbers is going to take time. According to the Theatre Communications Group, theatres saw an 88% drop in total ticket income from October 2020 – September 2021. This drop is still affecting theatres across the country and it will take time to bounce back from these financial pitfalls. Additionally, COVID-19 is still a very real budget item in our industry. Ongoing testing, COVID Compliance Officers, and extra understudies have added thousands of dollars in cost for each production.

With this in mind, we are sorry to announce that after long deliberation, we have decided to cancel this season’s productions of The Diary of Anne Frank and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Regarding The Diary of Anne Frank, we know that there is grief that comes with letting go of this production with this particular cast. The up-front cost of production, coupled with the slow return to in-person programming, both from patrons and schools, makes this the best decision for Park Square Theatre as we work to continue steering the organization toward a vibrant, supportive, and sustainable future.  We rely heavily on school matinees for these performances and, unfortunately, do not have the ticket sales to sustain these productions this season.  It would be irresponsible for us as an institution to proceed with these productions. We are producing in an evolving world, and it is not clear if current trends with school groups are permanent, or simply a painful step in the post-COVID/post “everything-that-has-happened” process. We are so grateful for our community and offer our deepest apologies that we have to come forward with this message.

Our transparency in our decision making is of utmost importance and we prioritized intentional discussion of these changes with the cast and crew of these productions first, followed by notifying subscribers, schools and ticket holders before sharing this message with our community at large. We appreciate everyone’s understanding of the realities we and the theatre community at large are facing and look forward to seeing audiences at Park Square Theatre this coming March.

Sincerely,

Park Square Theatre

Tickets

The box office is currently closed. Please email tickets@parksquaretheatre.org with any questions.

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