TheatreWorks Closes in on $3 Million Goal For Critical Fundraising Campaign

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley reports it has now received 90% of the $3 million needed by the end of November 2023 in order to complete its current season. Since TheatreWorks’ August announcement that its future was at risk, the Tony Award recipient theatre company has gathered $2.7 million in pledges and gifts, and is counting down the final weeks of its “Save TheatreWorks Now” fundraising campaign.

Says TheatreWorks Artistic Director Giovanna Sardelli, “We are still seeking a match for a $500,000 challenge grant offered by an anonymous donor, which must be paired with another new gift of at least $500,000.” Together, the grant and its match would catapult the company past its goal.

“As time runs out on our campaign, we’re seeking an angel, or an archangel, to answer the call,” adds TheatreWorks Executive Director Debbie Chinn.

TheatreWorks, a 501c3 non-profit, is asking the public for donations of any size to put it over the finish line. To date the company has received more than 600 individual contributions in amounts ranging from $100 to $100,000, as well as major funding donations. For up-to-date information on “Save TheatreWorks Now” campaign progress or to contribute the public may visit theatreworks.org/support/save-theatreworks.

The Silicon Valley-based theatre company also notes it welcomes contributions of stock (which provides exemption from capital gains taxes when donated to a non-profit). For information about stock contribution the public may contact TheatreWorks Director of Development Aaron Nicholson by emailing anicholson@theatreworks.org or by calling 650-463-7157.

In addition, TheatreWorks urges its communities to show support through subscribing to this season’s productions. Says Sardelli, “A subscription is a wonderful way to help, while getting great value for your contribution. Subscriptions start as low as $107 and make great gifts for friends and family this holiday season.” For information about subscribing to TheatreWorks’ Season 53 the public may visit theatreworks.org/subscribe.

On August 9, TheatreWorks, the only professional LORT (League of Resident Theatres) organization between San Francisco and Los Angeles, announced it urgently needed to raise $3 million by the end of November 2023 in order to complete its 53rd season. The financial shortfall is attributable to the devastating after-effects of the COVID pandemic, which saw audience attendance decline at live theatre productions across the country. Reaching TheatreWorks’ $3 million goal will enable the company to solidify contracts to actors, directors, and designers for the remainder of its season, scheduled to run through June 2024 at the Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto, and the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Notes Chinn, “Once we reach our goal, we can move ahead with contracts for the rest of our current season, and begin plans for a robust, and sustainable, Season 54.”

Among those who stepped up to support TheatreWorks in this time of need is internationally-acclaimed pianist and performer Hershey Felder, who donated his services and travel costs, flying in for a special sold-out, one-night-only benefit performance of Hershey Felder’s Great American Songbook Sing-Along. Held in October 2023, the event raised more than $140,000, providing a boost to the “Save TheatreWorks Now Campaign.” Felder will return to TheatreWorks February 7-11, 2024 in a limited engagement of Hershey Felder as George Gershwin Alone, with tickets currently available to Season 53 Subscribers, current donors at the Inner Circle level+, and patrons who attended the October benefit.

TheatreWorks has also received enormous generosity from local supporters including $250,000 from Peggy and Yogen Dalal, and a pledge of $500,000 from Katharine Kleinke, who has also pledged an additional $500,000 towards TheatreWorks’ endowment. “We are so grateful to these incredible supporters whose generosity has propelled forward our campaign,” said Chinn. “Their contributions, as well as the outpouring of gifts of all other amounts, have brought us so close to our goal. We are working tirelessly to secure the remainder of funds to secure strong financial footing for TheatreWorks, something we can build on for the years to come.”

TheatreWorks launched Season 53 in October with the West Coast Premiere of Heidi Armbruster’s Mrs. Christie. The show received raves from critics and audience alike, with The Mercury News calling it “radiant” and hailing its “scrumptiously searing cast of Bay Area theater all stars.” The company is in rehearsal now for its holiday production of the charming musical comedy The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee November 29 – December 24, 2023. In-demand regional theatre director Meredith McDonough helms TheatreWorks’ thrilling new production, with Tony Award winner James Monroe Iglehart collaborating with TheatreWorks as Creative Producer on the hilarious show that gave him his Broadway debut.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley was founded in Palo Alto in 1970 by Robert Kelley as a community-based organization and rose to become one of the nation’s top producers of new works. In 2019 the company was recognized with the theatre world’s highest honor, the Regional Theatre Tony Award, after which it embarked on a victorious 50th Anniversary Season of plays and musicals. But the abrupt pandemic shutdown in March 2020, followed by years of virtual and hybrid performances and a slow return of audiences, led to substantial shortfalls in subscription and single ticket revenue, as well as individual support. As reported in the news, its fate has been shared by many theatre companies, several of which are now ceasing production around the Bay Area, across the US, and abroad. COVID funding helped sustain operations during the pandemic but came with the requirement that they be spent during that period to keep people at work. Now that this source is depleted, theaters are struggling to return to sound financial footing.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley has created a reputation as one of the nation’s leaders in cultivating and producing new musicals and plays, developing and premiering 72 works by new and veteran artists, and presenting 172 Regional Premieres. Prior to the pandemic closures, TheatreWorks reached more than 100,000 people per year, presenting works that celebrate the human spirit and reflect the diversity of its community, with a history of inclusive casting and selecting or creating works that shine a light on the experiences of the diverse populations of the Bay Area. It was at TheatreWorks that the 2010 Best Musical Tony Award-winner Memphis was first workshopped and received its World Premiere. Stephen Schwartz’s musical The Prince of Egypt, based on the DreamWorks movie of the same name, also made its World Premiere at TheatreWorks before debuting in London’s West End in 2020. Among TheatreWorks’ community services are the Children’s Healing Project at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital which serves children in long-term care and their siblings, as well as its theatre program at Stanford’s Ronald McDonald House for children in families seeking lifesaving hospital treatments.

Additional information on this campaign and making donations can be found at theatreworks.org/support/save-theatreworks.

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