Another Theater Going Under? Kentucky Rep Says, Er, Maybe

So dispiriting to come across this story in the Louisville Courier-Journal. Kentucky Repertory Theatre, formerly known as Horse Cave Theatre, is in its 33rd season and used to operating in the black. Due to confluence to events, including last year's $4 a gallon gas, the venue is now facing a mammoth six-figure deficit. Here's some copy from the story -- please make note of the statistic on economic impact. Again and again, and I'm going to keep saying it, this is what people should be talking about. You let a theatre die, you kill its surroundings and you damage the economy. Period.

Anyway:

If the theater closed, it would be a tremendous loss educationally and culturally, he said. Area students would no longer be able to see live theater locally or participate in Kentucky Repertory's in-school workshops.

Not only is the theater important as a cultural arts center, it's also a major economic force in the town of 2,500, as well as for Hart County and the region.

The theater draws 30,000 people a year. The theater itself employs eight people, but the staff grows to as many as 50 people during its repertory season. The professional actors, directors and designers who come to Horse Cave spend money locally. In all, the theater's impact on the community is estimated at $10 million.

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