Virginia Repertory’s November Theatre at 114 W. Broad St. (BizSense file)
It looks like the show will go on after all for Virginia Repertory Theatre.
The performing arts nonprofit announced Monday evening that its emergency fundraising campaign had garnered enough money to allow the group to stay open and implement a restructuring plan.
The milestone follows a public appeal nearly two weeks ago, when the long-running theater group said that if it didn’t raise $600,000 it would close down permanently at the conclusion of its production of Stephen King’s “Misery,” which wrapped up Sunday.
Virginia Rep exceeded its goal thanks to more than 1,300 donations, 70% of them people who had never given to the organization before, over the course of 11 days, according to posts on Virginia Rep’s social media pages.
The money provides Virginia Rep the funds it needs to operate long enough to figure out a longer-term strategy to make the organization more financially sound, managing director Klaus Schuller told BizSense earlier in the day.
“What Virginia has really done is given us the runway and the time to make the hard choices and do the planning and restructuring we have to do to make sure the organization stays sustainable. We’re incredibly grateful for that,” he said in a brief interview as the organization was on track to meet its goal Monday afternoon.
Klaus Schuller
In its public appeal for funding support on Sept. 19, Virginia Rep said it has a $1.7 million budget shortfall in its current fiscal year and anticipated a $1.6 million deficit for the coming year.
The organization has an annual budget of roughly $5 million, according to recent tax filings. It has 200 employees, including 40 full-time workers.
Virginia Rep blamed its financial difficulties on the departure of donors following the exit of its co-founders, as well as rising costs and the slow return of audiences to its performances since the COVID-19 pandemic, both of which Schuller previously told BizSense were industry-wide challenges.
Virginia Rep fired co-founder Phil Whiteway in August 2023, after which Whiteway, sued the theater, alleging he was forced out because of his age, which was 71 at the time of his departure. Virginia Rep denied the accusation. The two parties settled out of court earlier this year. Whiteway’s exit followed the departure of fellow theater co-founder Bruce Miller in 2019.
The theater group stated that withdrawn donor support in the wake of the co-founders’ departures amounted to a loss of $500,000.
Virginia Rep’s audiences, while increasing year over year, are still 40 percent lower than attendance during the 2018-2019 season, according to an FAQ about the organization’s financial difficulties posted to its website.
Schuller, who assumed his role in early August, previously told BizSense that it quickly became apparent to him that the theater was in financial trouble, and that a campaign was mounted to secure funding to keep the organization going until it could become more sustainable.
He said organizations of Virginia Rep’s size typically have an endowment of $10 million to $20 million, which is something the theater doesn’t have and would be a priority to establish in the coming years.
Virginia Rep reported a net income of $2 million in fiscal year 2023. The previous fiscal year, the nonprofit reported net income of $1.8 million. In fiscal year 2021, the organization had a net income of $713,121, per tax filings. Budget cuts are expected to be implemented as part of Virginia Rep’s restructuring.
Schuller has previously said that revenue figures in fiscal years 2022 and 2023 were inflated by fundraising efforts tied to Virginia Rep’s 2022 acquisition of the former Scottish Rite Temple on Hermitage Road for $3.5 million. The building is now the organization’s Center for Arts and Education. Schuller said the relatively new asset could potentially be sold as part of a restructuring.
Virginia Rep was founded in 2012, and runs the November Theatre at 114 W. Broad St. downtown and hosts performances at Hanover Tavern in Hanover County.