Scranton Shakespeare Festival, in financial need, to charge for some shows
The Scranton Shakespeare Festival will now charge $20 for its previously free summer musicals, a response to financial strain.
Its Shakespeare plays, which begin June 20, remain free.
'Despite our best efforts through fundraising and grants, we have reached a point where we simply cannot sustain our work without additional support,' according to an email the nonprofit professional theater troupe sent to patrons Sunday. 'To continue offering the kind of vibrant, ambitious productions our community deserves, and to ensure the future of Scranton Shakespeare Festival for years to come, we must ask for your help in a new way.'
Tickets can be earned by helping out with productions.
'No one will be turned away for lack of funds,' according to the email.
At all levels of theater, musicals generally draw bigger crowds than plays. The musicals are reliable crowd-pleasers: 'Sister Act,' 'Hairspray' and 'Little Shop of Horrors.'
The first, 'Sister Act,' is June 26 to 29, plus July 26. The musical is based on the Whoopi Goldberg movie about a singer who hides out in a convent and brings new life to it.
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The upcoming season of the Scranton Shakespeare Festival. (Scranton Shakespeare Festival)
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Dane Huggler and Violet Martin in a past production by the Scranton Shakespeare Festival. Martin, a Scranton High School student, will play Juliet in the Festival Youth Ensemble production of 'Romeo and Juliet' and will be in the main stage production of 'Hairspray.' (Brandon Lam Photography)
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The upcoming season of the Scranton Shakespeare Festival. (Scranton Shakespeare Festival)
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Buying the rights to the scripts for the summer productions cost $10,417.
The total cost of this season, including stipends for the ensemble and staff, is $115,655.
The festival receives Lackawanna County grants and solicits donations and sponsors. It stages fundraising shows in the off season, such as a Christmas pantomime.
The Shakespeare plays remain free thanks to a new $5,000 sponsorship from PNC Bank. They begin with a youth ensemble production of 'Romeo & Juliet,' beginning June 20, followed by 'Julius Caesar' and 'Timon of Athens' in July.
The schedule and box office are online at scrantonshakes.com. Reservations are encouraged for the free shows.
The festival was started with a 2011 production in Nay Aug Park. Each year brings a different mix of visiting professional and local performers. This year there are 34, who will perform in a theater inside the Marketplace at Steamtown in Scranton.
Co-founder and artistic director Michael Bradshaw Flynn could not be reached for comment.
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