Coconut Grove Shut Down Suddenly Over Financial Issues

Coconut Grove Playhouse has been shut down over financial issues and the theater's future is in question. Paychecks of some personnel have bounced and a sign on the door of the venue reads "Building closed until further notice," according to The Miami Herald.

Florida's Coconut Grove Playhouse opened on January 3, 1956 with a production of Waiting for Godot. In the four decades that have followed, the Playhouse has been home to many eminent theatrical artists, including Tallulah Bankhead, Maureen Stapleton, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Carol Channing, George C. Scott, Colleen Dewhurst, Ethel Merman, Liza Minnelli, Linda Lavin and Bea Arthur. Arnold Mittelman serves as the company's producing artistic director.

The news of Coconut Grove's woes comes less than a week before the theater was supposed to present Melinda Lopez's Sonia Flew with Lucie Arnaz and her daughter Katharine D. Luckinbill. The cast has been rehearsing at an off-site location and are dedicated to doing the show. In an effort to see the play produced, Arnaz has launched a major fundraising drive aimed at community members. ''It would be a tragedy if this play didn't get to open in Miami,'' Arnaz told The Miami Herald. "This is the best show I've done since I have been down here. The worst thing to do is not to let this play open and that the playhouse would stumble on the way to its 50th anniversary. This is not going to happen!'' If Coconut Grove cannot be saved, Sonia Flew might be done at another venue, if financing can be found.

A meeting of the Coconut Grove Board of Directors has been called for April 13 to discuss the future of the theater.