Monday, October 5, 2009 10:02 PM CDT
Financial woes to end Rosebud Theatre's run
By ASHLEY RUEFF, Staff Writer
EFFINGHAM — The Rosebud Theatre announced Monday that it will close its doors after nearly two years of operation.
The theater’s finances have been in the red since it opened its doors in November 2007 and it was never able to make up for it, said Dean Bingham, chairman of the theater’s investor board, and president of Agracel, Inc.
“We’re thoroughly disappointed that we had to make the announcement,” Bingham said. “If the economy wasn’t where it is, we would have had a better shot.”
The theater’s investment board recently revised its financial outlook to factor in the down economy. Future profits looked grim because most people don’t have extra income to spend on theater tickets, Bingham said.
“It projected a loss much greater than we anticipated,” he said. “We just think the hole is too big.”
Bingham wouldn’t say how much debt the theater is dealing with, only that it is a “significant amount,” and that all 30 investors will lose their money.
“All their capital will be washed away,” he said. “Nobody will get anything.”
The theater will still host the remaining shows on its calendar, ending with the Dec. 5 production of the traveling show, “Happy Holidays, The Spirit of Christmas.”
“We still hope that people would come to the performances for the rest of the year,” Bingham said, “and are hopeful that maybe there’s somebody out there that would be willing to pick it up and run with it.”
There are about 1,500 seats in the theater, and ticket prices for its remaining shows range from $18 to $105. The most expensive upcoming show is a George Jones concert, with the cheapest ticket for that evening running $56.
Bingham said he knows some people were unable to pay the ticket prices, but said the theater charged what was necessary to bring in the entertainment.
“Some of our shows did real well, with some of them selling out,” Bingham said. “But unfortunately, we had some shows that only had 200 or 300 people, and that makes a troubling financial situation.”
Effingham resident Martin Hubbard was the visionary behind the theater, and saw it through its construction and first year of operation. He was replaced by the board, Bingham said, because the investors felt he wasn’t equipped to make it a success.
“Martin was a great guy, but he didn’t have a lot of experience in running a theater,” he said. “So the investors thought we needed to have somebody come in that had experience in the industry.”
In 2009, Janie Oldfield took over as the president, but Bingham said the theater was already struggling financially when she arrived.
“I think she really kind of came in too late,” he said. “She didn’t get a fair chance to make the theater turn around. I think Janie and the crew out there were doing the best they could.”
The theater has seven full-time, and 79 part-time employees who will be out of a job, Oldfield said.
“The summer was certainly disappointing in terms of ticket sales,” she said. “And we also were very careful about the programming that we offered in the summer because there’s so much competition. We really have, in the last year, felt the effects of the economy.”
She plans on leaving Effingham once the theater closes.
“I have loved living here. This is an incredible community,” she said. “No one’s looking forward to the Dec. 5 show.”
Debbie Ford, director of the Lincoln Square Theater in Decatur, said she can empathize with the Rosebud Theatre and their financial troubles.
“It’s a shame because it’s a nice theater,” she said.
The Lincoln isn’t operating in the red, but it does struggle to bring acts to town that the community will pay to see.
“They want the stuff in, but nobody wants to or can pay for it,” she said. “It’s a struggle, but maybe we’ll get over it soon.”
arueff@herald-review.com|421-6986
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61938 wrote on Oct 5, 2009 2:43 PM: