JENNERSTOWN — After 70 years of comedies, musicals and dramas, there is the possibility that Mountain Playhouse in Jennerstown may be receiving its last curtain call.

A $250,000 deficit has caused the theater’s board of directors to postpone playhouse productions until at least July.

The one exception is a children’s show, “If You Give a Pig a Pancake,” which will be presented by TheatreWorks USA May 7-14.

Teresa Stoughton Marafino, the playhouse producer, said it would be difficult at this point to get a show into production by June, so the July date was chosen.

“It’s constantly changing,” Marafino said. “If it’s not July, we might do something for August. If not July or August, we have the high school production in September and can have another show in October. After that, it gets too cold.”

Marafino emphasized that even if the playhouse only does one or two shows this season, it does not mean its doors will close.

“It’s not that we’ll never open again,” she added.

“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.”

The board has been pursuing financial assistance from several foundations and private individuals and has begun planning for a beer and wine tasting fundraiser to be held April 23.

“That’s Shakespeare’s birthday,” Marafino said. “Guests will get to choose either six wines or eight beers, and there will be light hors d’oeuvres available. From every purchase, $20 will be tax deductible.”

The board will meet in April to choose other fundraisers they would like to pursue.

“We’re looking for ideas for fundraisers and people to work them,” Marafino. “We need money and volunteers.”

Anyone with ideas for future fundraisers should call Marafino at the playhouse.

Donations may be sent to Mountain Playhouse, P.O. Box 205, Jennerstown, Pa. 15547.

The playhouse faced a similar financial situation on a smaller scale at the same time last year, and the deficit has carried over.

The problem stems from the high cost of the 2008 musical Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” and the lower than anticipated attendance.

“It’s not that attendance was less for a musical, but not what we thought it would be,” Marafino said. “We’ve carried the deficit ever since.”

Marafino said that although the playhouse’s funding from Pennsylvania Council on the Arts is less, it has been reinstated from last year.

Finding actors to fill the roles in whatever productions are chosen will not be a problem for Marafino.

“I can set up auditions any time,” Marafino said. “With more theaters closing, I can go to New York and find actors who are out of work. That’s not an issue.”

Mountain Playhouse, which is Pennsylvania’s oldest professional summer theater and one of the last remaining professional resident summer stock theaters in the United States, has been open for all of its seasons except for a period during World War II, from 1941 to 1944, when Marafino’s father and uncle were in the military.

While she is optimistic about the current financial crisis, Marafino knows that not every story has a happy ending.

“If nobody comes to our rescue, I suppose we could never open again,” she admitted.

David Garwood of Jennerstown, an acting fixture at the playhouse for 32 years, was not surprised to hear news of the playhouse’s financial woes.

“I have friends on the board, and this has been rumored for several months,” he said. “I believe chances of the playhouse opening again are slim. It’s an unhealthy situation and would be a cultural shock to the community.”

Garwood believes a major impact of the playhouse’s possible closing would be to those who move into the area looking for cultural outlets such as a symphony orchestra or live theater.

“Any time a cultural institution closes, it affects the lives of the people,” Garwood said.

“It’s been a big part of my life. I did 200 shows there.”

As an actor, Garwood knows the major auditions for the summer season are past, and actors who could have landed a part at the playhouse have gone on to other jobs.

“But there are always actors available to fill jobs,” he added.

Garwood said that not only will a shortened season affect planning for the summer season, it will have an impact on season ticket sales, which begin after the previous season ends.

“It will affect the audience,” Garwood said.

“People plan ahead. If the theater isn’t available, they will look elsewhere.”