Artists Urge Support as TheatreWorks Reaches 95% Of Goal

As the clock ticks down on its “Save TheatreWorks Now” campaign, famed theatre makers are joining the push to put TheatreWorks Silicon Valley over the top. To date the Tony Award recipient theatre company has received $2.84 million in donations and pledges, reaching 95% of the $3 million needed by the end of November 2023 in order to complete its current season of plays and musicals. TheatreWorks announced August 9 that post-COVID recovery left a shortfall of funds urgently needed to complete its 53rd season. In response to this call, theatre artists whose work has been seen at TheatreWorks, on Broadway, and on stages throughout the world have stepped up to help TheatreWorks reach its goal, ensuring the future of the theatre which is the only professional LORT (League of Resident Theatres) organization between San Francisco and Los Angeles. For up-to-date information on “Save TheatreWorks Now” campaign progress or to contribute the public may visit theatreworks.org/support/save-theatreworks.

In addition to donations of any size, TheatreWorks is 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. For those with portfolios, the Silicon Valley-based theatre company also welcomes the contribution of stocks (which provides exemption from capital gains taxes when donated to a non-profit). Those interested in more information may contact TheatreWorks Director of Development Aaron Nicholson at anicholson@theatreworks.org, (650) 463-7157.

“I got my start at TheatreWorks—I learned my craft at this wonderful theatre I love as my home,” said Tony Award-winning actor James Monroe Iglehart from his dressing room at Broadway's Spamalot, where he is starring as King Arthur. Iglehart has recorded a video message telling viewers, “You can be a king or a queen and use your gifts to help TheatreWorks do what they have always done: put on the best theatre in the Bay Area.” Also stepping up is internationally-acclaimed pianist and performer Hershey Felder, who donated his services and travel costs for a sold-out, one-night-only benefit performance of Hershey Felder's Great American Songbook Sing-Along, raising more than $140,000 for the “Save TheatreWorks Now” campaign. Said Felder, “TheatreWorks is vital to the Bay Area community as well as being a theatre where works are developed for a national audience. Theatre might be going through a difficult period, but it is not for nothing that it has survived and thrived for several thousand years. We are simply obligated to usher it through this difficult period to the other side so that great work and communal storytelling continues.”

Other messages of support have come in from playwrights including Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph, who has noted, “TheatreWorks is one of the great laboratories for new works in this country,” and Lauren Gunderson, one of America's most produced playwrights, who says, “TheatreWorks has been a part of my theatre life for a decade—as an artist and writer but also as a theatre lover and audience member—and I would be lost without them. They are a force for such good in our community and the larger American theatre landscape. We need them to develop new plays, musicals, and stories because when they do we all benefit from the inspiration, exploration and evocation of humanity on stage. “

TheatreWorks Founder Robert Kelley said, “When we founded TheatreWorks 53 years ago, I had no idea it would still be going well into the next century. Yet we made it to 50 years and beyond, and were even recognized with the Tony Award as an outstanding regional theatre. I also had no idea there would be a worldwide pandemic, which almost brought the company to its knees.” He joined other voices asking for final donations to help the company reach its goal.

Says TheatreWorks Artistic Director Giovanna Sardelli, “The response has been heartwarming, and we are indeed thankful. Now if we can only encourage a few more theatre lovers to join us, we'll be back on solid ground.” TheatreWorks, a 501c3 non-profit, is asking the public to contribute in any amount, to put it over the finish line. To date the company has received nearly 700 individual gifts, as well as donations of stock, and pledges for ongoing support. In addition, TheatreWorks urges its communities to show support through subscribing to this season's upcoming productions. Says Sardelli, “Subscriptions start as low as $107 and make great gifts for friends and family this holiday season. It is a wonderful way to help, while getting great value for your contribution.” For information about subscribing to TheatreWorks' Season 53 the public may visit theatreworks.org/subscribe.

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, and make sustainable plans for its 54th season.

TheatreWorks 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 as Creative Producer on this hilarious and heartwarming show.

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, theatres 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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