Danny Williams won’t say exactly how much actor John Goodman donated to the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. All he’ll reveal is that it was a “sizable gift” in the “five-figure range.”
“On top of actually coming in to St. Louis to do the benefit, he actually made a financial contribution to our efforts, which is really, really wonderful,” says the nonprofit theater’s managing director. “We are deeply appreciative of that.”
Williams has good reason to be thankful. Just two months ago, the Rep’s financial situation was dire. The Webster Groves-based company announced it had a $2.5 million budget shortfall, was canceling two productions and might not be able to finish its season.
Today, things — while still not perfect — are looking up. Not only did the one-and-only Goodman come in for the theater’s benefit, Rally for the Rep, dropping some cash along the way, but St. Louisans have stepped up to ensure the future of one of the area’s most prominent theater companies.
Williams says that the Rep has raised nearly $2 million since the initial announcement and that he’s hoping that enough will come in by the end of the year, or shortly after, that they can mount the rest of the season as planned.
“Being close to $2 million gets us almost there,” he says, noting that getting the attention of people this time of year can be tough. “If you were thinking of making a gift at the end of the year to support your local theater, and you want to support the Rep, I really encourage folks to do so.”
The nearly $2 million raised thus far came from a variety of sources. That includes more than $150,000 from the benefit alone, which almost sold out the 700-seat theater (“to be perfectly honest with you. I had never seen the theater that crowded,” Williams says); an “overwhelming” response from the Rep’s board of directors and from individual donors; and from theatergoers who purchased tickets or subscriptions.
“No one walked in and said, ‘I'm a millionaire, and here's a million dollars,’” Williams says.
In an ideal world, he says the theater will make its goal, keep its season going and finish hiring a new artistic director to replace Hana Sharif, who left for a position at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. earlier this year. The process to replace her is ongoing, and Williams hopes they’ll be able to review a list of finalists in January.
If the Rep doesn’t make its goal, it will look at trimming the season, maybe moving a show to the subsequent year. Even if that happens, Williams says, the Rep is not in danger of shutting down.
“It's not like if we don't have $2.5 million in the bank by the stroke of midnight [on December 31] we’re closing our doors for forever,” he says. “It's not that dire, but the campaign was to really ensure that we could finish the end of our season.”
Nevertheless, Williams says the Rep has taken some lessons away from this experience and that they might choose to do shows with slightly smaller casts and pay attention to choosing plays that are entertaining. He also thinks there will be more local actors on stage, which has proven a success with the theater’s current show, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.
He’s careful to note, though, that the Rep didn’t get to this shortfall through excess spending but rather from a national trend in how people now buy tickets, forgoing season subscriptions for single tickets.
“My hope is that over time we find new audiences and we welcome ones that have been with us for a long time back to the organization,” Williams says.
Until then, all he asks is that St. Louis remembers its local arts scene. After all, he still has half a million, and counting, to raise.
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