Count us among the many area groups and residents rooting for a return to financial stability for the Mountain Playhouse at Jennerstown.
For 70 years, this wonderful venue has provided our region with top-notch theater productions to rival some of what is seen on the stages in cities such as New York and Pittsburgh.
Unfortunately, the summer theater is having trouble overcoming a quarter-million-dollar deficit and its future appears to be in jeopardy.
“It’s not that we’ll never open again,” Teresa Stoughton Marafino, the playhouse producer, said last week.
“It’s not a matter of if we don’t raise the money. We need to survive this problem and move forward and get the community behind us. It’s about resolving the deficit.”
“Getting the community behind us” shouldn’t be a difficult task. Thousands of area residents faithfully put Mountain Playhouse productions on their calendars each season.
At this point, Marafino said, a children’s show, “If You Give a Pig a Pancake,” remains on schedule for May 7-14.
After that, who knows? But Stoughton still holds out hope something can be put together for mid- to late summer.
We hope so.
Meanwhile, playhouse management and the board of directors are doing exactly what they should to get the financial ship righted. They’re putting together ideas for fundraisers and are seeking assistance from several foundations and private individuals.
A beer and wine tasting fundraiser already is on tap for April 23.
“If nobody comes to our rescue, I suppose we could never open again,” Marafino admitted.
That would be sad indeed.
Along with a few other entertainment and cultural venues, the Mountain Playhouse’s comedies, musicals and dramas add greatly to our region’s quality of life. Even people living hours away are bused to Jennerstown to catch a production – and to spend money elsewhere in our region.
We urge its many supporters to rally around the playhouse. It would be a real shame if it’s facing its last curtain call.
