JULY 8, 2010, 3:45 PM
Pasadena Playhouse Emerges From Bankruptcy
By ROBIN POGREBIN
The Pasadena Playhouse has emerged from Chapter 11 and plans to mount a production this fall, the theater announced on Thursday.Two months after it filed for bankruptcy protection, the playhouse’s reorganization plan was approved on Wednesday by the United States Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles.
In February, the playhouse laid off its entire staff of 37 and scheduled to close its doors because of deep debt. During its 90 years in operation, the playhouse has presented productions — most recently “Looped,” starring Valerie Harper — that have moved to Broadway, but it has also closed and filed for bankruptcy before. News of the playhouse’s struggles led to a $1 million matching pledge from anonymous donors, which helped to put the theater on better footing.
The city, along with the theater’s board, staff and advisers, “have all combined to create a plan to resurrect the Playhouse from years of unbearable debts,” the executive director, Stephen Eich, said in a statement. “Although we will be moving slowly in the future to ensure financial responsibility and stability, we will in fact be back.”
In the next weeks, the theater will announce plans for at least one production, a spokeswoman said, but there will not be a full 2010-2011 season. “The plans are to get back to work,” the artistic director, Sheldon Epps, said in a telephone interview on Thursday.
Pasadena Playhouse Emerges From Bankruptcy - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com
