The Magic Theater in Danger of Closing Doors

The New York Times is reporting that The Magic Theater in San Francisco, a 42-year-old institution that has staged the premieres of works by Sam Shepard, David Mamet, Nilo Cruz and many others, may be on the verge of closing unless the company can raise $350,000 by this Friday, January . The theater's Web site, magictheatre.org is urging audience members to help it survive.

The Magic is facing a $600,000 debt and is one of a number of regional theaters on the precipice because of the dismal economic climate. By Sunday afternoon the fund-raising goal seemed to be within reach reports The Times, the Magic's Web site reported over $213,000 in donations received.

Founded in 1967, Magic Theatre is one of the most preeminent theatres in the nation solely dedicated to development and production of new plays. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Loretta Greco and Managing Director David Jobin, Magic Theatre operates with a budget of $1.9 million in San Francisco's historic Fort Mason Center. Magic Theatre's plays and playwrights have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer Prizes, Kennedy Center Award, NAACP Image Award, Obie Awards, Pen-West Awards, Bay Area Critics' Circle Awards, and Los Angeles Drama-Logue Awards. The list of playwrights whose works have premiered at the Magic reads like a "Who's Who of American Theatre": David Mamet, Sam Shepard, Paula Vogel, Nilo Cruz, Charles Mee, Anne Bogart, and Rebecca Gilman amongst many others. Magic Theatre is instrumental in the development of works throughout the Bay Area, with its Commonwealth Club Reading Series, Magic/Z Space New Works Initiative, Martha Heasley Cox Raw Play Series and its education program Young California Writers Project amongst others.

For more information, visit the Magic Theatre website at www.magictheatre.org.