Pearl Theater Puts Out Emergency Fundraising Call

Jacob J. Goldberg A scene from the Pearl Theater Company’s production of “Figaro” with, from left, Joey Parsons, Robin Leslie Brown, Sean McNall and and Jolly Abraham.

The Pearl Theater Company is an Off Broadway troupe best known for mounting classic plays. But according to a letter sent to subscribers this week, the theater is experiencing a classic problem: a cash flow shortfall that threatens to endanger its current season and its overall financial health. In the letter, J. R. Sullivan, the company’s artistic director, writesthat the theater’s board has raised over $200,000 since it began focusing on the financial shortfall in December, and the company has undertaken “stringent cost-cutting measures.” But he said the the company still needs to raise an additional $250,000 to enable it to have an “immediate future.” Its budget for the current season is $2.1 million.

The company’s financial woes were compounded by its recent move to a new home. Last February the company signed a 20-year lease on a 160-seat venue at 555 West 42nd Street, formerly occupied by the Signature Theater Company. The Pearl is in the middle of a three-year, $3 million fundraising campaign. In the letter Mr. Sullivan blamed the theater’s financial problems mostly on “the expense of moving to the new theater, exacerbated by lower than expected fall ticket sales and the sluggish economy.” Mr. Sullivan also laid part of the blame on Hurricane Sandy. “We weren’t shut down like many of our brother and sister theaters were down! town,” he said in an interview. “But we were impacted by the transit shutdown, and that hurt our attendance.”

The Pearl, founded in 1984, produced shows for about 15 years at Theater 80 on St. Marks Place before moving its productions in 2009 to New York City Center Stage II, which seats about 150. The Pearl’s first production in its new home, Charles Morey’s adaptation of “The Marriage of Figaro,” received mostly positive reviews when it opened in November. Mr. Sullivan said there is “no danger of cutting the season short.” The company still plans to produce its final two shows of the season: “Henry IV Part 1,” now in previews, and Terrence McNally’s new play, “And Away We Go,” scheduled to begin previews in April.

Since the letter went out, the company has received about $50,000, a sign that Mr. Sullivan said gave him confidence that the company would reach its goal. If the money is not forthcoming, Mr. Sullivan said, it would “raise he possibility of cutting back” and giving the rest of the season “an extra look,” particularly at materials like props and sets. “At this point in the season there are not a lot of areas where you can cut except in the productions,” he said. “But we are focused on fundraising and delivering a full season.”