Well, if you’re a New England musical theater fan, the North Shore Music Theatre really wants you to embrace that HSM spirit and immediately purchase a ticket to their current production, “Disney’s High Musical 2 On Stage.” Otherwise, this 55 year-old theater may soon be forced to close its doors.
North Shore Music Theatre
How did this New England entertainment institution suddenly find itself teetering on the brink? Well, “HSM2” lower-than-expected ticket sales certainly didn’t help. NSMT officials had hoped that the stage version of this Disney Channel Original would do at least 80% of the business that “High School Musical On Stage” did back in the Summer of 2007. But instead “High School Musical 2 On Stage” has — to date, anyway — only sold 20% of the tickets that the first HSM stage show sold last year.
Which is why NSMT was forced to release this statement yesterday:
“Effects of the crumpling economy, lower than expected donations and
ticket sales all season long have left (North Shore Music Theatre) unable to cover its
operating costs … Further compounding the problem is debt
that resulted from a devastating fire in 2005 that forced the theatre
to make a major investment in its facilities.To keep the doors open, we
need an immediate infusion of nearly a half-million dollars by the end
of January and overall support of as much as $4 million by late spring
(in order) to secure programming for next season.”
Right now, this not-for-profit theatre is just concentrating on trying to keep itself afloat through the end of next month. Which is why NSMT is now urging the public to purchase tickets to the remaining 13 performances of “Disney’s High School Musical 2 On Stage,” which runs through January 11, 2009.
Troy (David Nathan Perlow) and Sharpay (Kate Rockwell) in the North Shore Music Theatre’s production of “Disney’s High School Musical 2 On Stage.” Photo by Paul Lyden
Should all of the upcoming performances of this new Disney stage show not sell out … Well, as David Fellows, chairman of NSNT’s board put it yesterday:
“With the economic
situation so dire, we’ve (now) run out of time … We are hopeful that our friends
and supporters can help save this phenomenal cultural resource and we
are appealing for widespread support.”
Barry Ivan, NSMT’s artistic director and executive producer, then went on to say:
“We
need our collective community to come together in support of (North Shore Music Theatre). We’re appealing to the public to help us keep this artistic
jewel alive.”The company of North Shore Music Theatre’s production of Disney’s “High School Musical 2 On Stage.” Photo by Paul Lyden
If you’d like to help keep New England’s largest non-profit producing theatre alive by purchasing tickets to “Disney’s High School Musical 2 On Stage,” please visit the NSMT website and/or call (978) 232-7200.
