Massachusetts' North Shore Music Theatre to Shutter Permanently

North Shore Music Theatre, located in Beverly, Massachusetts, announced June 16 it will close its doors permanently, citing lack of funding. According to The Salem News, theater board chairman David Fellows says the organization will seek potential buyers, and may declare bankruptcy to wipe away its estimated $10 million in debt.

The news comes after months of fundraising on behalf of North Shore, which announced in April it needed $2 million to go forward with plans to reopen in 2009 with a shortened season. The theater was only able to secure roughly $500,000.

The closing leaves the theater’s estimated 4,400 pre-paid 2009 subscribers without a refund. Fellows was quoted as saying it was “very unlikely” ticketholders would get their money back, as North Shore must first address its debts with the banks, which include large mortgages on its property as well as money owed to vendors.

A year-round nonprofit theater, North Shore was founded in 1955 to provide quality musical theater entertainment and arts education for the greater New England area. According to the theater’s web site, NSMT enjoyed one of the largest regional theater audiences in the United States with more than 350,000 patrons in 2004. The theater also boasted a subscription audience of 20,000, making it one of the top theaters in the country. In 2002, the group expanded its educational programs to include its celebrated Touring Program, which brought productions directly into local schools. The company also nurtured the growth of rising composers, lyricists and playwrights through its New Works Development Program, receiving substantial grants from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2004 and 2005 to assist with the agenda. In 2005, a fire left the theater with roughly $5 million in damages.

North Shore’s 2009 season was to include Maury Yeston’s Phantom, The Wedding Singer, Anything Goes, Altar Boyz, Little Shop of Horrors, Hello, Dolly! and the return of its holiday production of A Christmas Carol, which was replaced last year by the stage adaptation of Disney’s High School Musical 2.

“Our new business model represents a road map for any group interested in reviving the theater in the future,” Fellows said in a statement. “We are grateful to our loyal supporters and urge all who care about musical theater and arts education on the North Shore to support any effort that would preserve this cultural resource for future generations.”