Mittelman Resigns from Imperiled Coconut Grove Playhouse

Arnold Mittelman, the artistic director of the imperiled Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami, FL, has resigned.

Mittelman, who has led the regional theatre for 21 years, sent an e-mail to board of directors and trustees of the Coconut Grove, according to the Miami Herald.

"Unfortunately your continued wrongful breach of my employment agreement has forced me this day to vacate my position," he wrote, referring to the fact that he had been stripped of his administrative duties prior to his official resignation. A few weeks ago, he had announced that he did not intend to resign from the Coconut Grove.

Mittelman got into trouble for taking out an unauthorized loan for $125,000 from Coconut Grove Bank on March 30; he had used a restricted state grant for collateral. He later admitted that he had used all of the loan--which was meant for building improvements--to pay his own salary and the salaries of other theatre workers. Board Chair Shelly Spivack said in a written statement that he had not secured the Coconut Grove's permission to take out the loan, and chief interim officer Lou Freeman was then assigned to assess the Coconut Grove's finances.

The future of the Coconut Grove Theatre is still uncertain. It is more than $4 million in debt and the majority of the theatre's staff was recently fired. It has not yet been announced whether it will present its 2006-2007 as was scheduled.  Souvenir, Wrong Turn at Lungfish, The Fourposter, Burning Desire, Talley's Folly, The Duchess of Chutzpah and Enchanted April were among the announced line-up.

For more information on the Coconut Grove Theatre, visit www.cgplayhouse.com.