Paul Bunyan Playhouse Suspends 2025 Season: 'This Is Not an Ending'

The Paul Bunyan Playhouse's 2025 season has been suspended. The Bemidji, MN-based theatre announced through their Facebook page that their board of directors had made the "incredibly difficult decision" to suspend their current season. The decision came after "exhaustive deliberation," during which the board decided that their current path is "unsustainable."

"The walls of the Chief Theater have stood for decades, bearing witness to countless performances, laughter, and applause, but now, they bear the weight of time and neglect. Without decisive action, we risk losing not only a stage but a cornerstone of Bemidji’s artistic identity.

And so, with the heaviest of hearts, we must make an incredibly difficult decision—one no Board of Directors before us has dared to face. We must suspend the current season. This is not an ending. It is a necessary pause.

For every artist who has stood under our lights, for every audience member who has been moved to tears or laughter, for every dreamer who has stepped onto our stage for the first time—we are not walking away. We are not giving up. Instead, we are choosing to fight for the longevity of the Paul Bunyan Playhouse and the Chief Theater. We are choosing to rebuild.

This time will not be wasted. It will be spent securing the future, ensuring that what we cherish today will still stand tomorrow. It will be spent preserving the space that has shaped generations of performers and theatergoers alike. The work ahead will be arduous, but it is work worth doing—because Bemidji deserves a theater that thrives, not merely survives.

To our community, our patrons, our artists, and our supporters—you are the heartbeat of this institution. We ask for your patience, your faith, and your belief that together, we can restore what has been entrusted to us. We will be back, stronger and more steadfast than ever.

Because the show must—and will—go on."