The Rep Hits 80 Percent of Goal, Extends $2.5M Campaign Through January

The Webster Groves theater will move forward with its next show, Moby Dick

Jan 4, 2024 at 12:02 pm

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis shows out of the Loretto-Hilton Center in Webster Groves. @virtualfarmboy / Flickr

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The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis announced today that it has raised about 80 percent of the funds needed to close a $2.5 million budget shortfall and that it will extend its Rally for the Rep campaign through the end of January.

The fundraising goal, announced in October, came with the news that the Webster Groves theater might have to cancel the rest of its season. With the success so far, that specter has been averted: At minimum, the Rep will mount its next show, Moby Dick. That show begins Tuesday, February 6, and runs through Sunday, February 25.

Rep Managing Director Danny Williams told the RFT in late December that the campaign's success has come from multiple sources, including a significant board of directors' contribution, as well as a benefit event starring actor John Goodman, who himself made a donation to the theater.

"We are so grateful for the outpouring of love and support that we’ve received from the St. Louis community and are hoping to use this momentum to reach our end goal and ensure The Rep continues to bring world-class, adventurous new works and beloved classics to our stage,” Williams said in a statement. “The Rep is looking towards building a more stable future for the theatre in the midst of an industry undergoing radical change. Just three years shy of our 60th anniversary, we are working to build a model that responds to today’s cultural landscape so that we remain an anchoring cultural force for St. Louis, using the transformative power of the arts to build bridges in our region and beyond.”

The fate of the rest of the theater's season will be announced in the coming months.