Throughout the pandemic, local nonprofit theaters received federal funding to prevent them from having to shut down permanently, even if few shows were playing at the time. According to U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) at a conference in the Shubert Theater in New Haven on Monday, the funding has since run out, and theaters are finding it difficult to regain footing.
“We're at a critical point for theaters in Connecticut,” he said. “Many of them are still struggling with the economic impacts of the pandemic. They are working hard to meet payrolls and pay rent and all of the expenses of continuing to put on productions, not to mention the cost of those productions.”
Blumenthal introduced a bill on Monday that would devote $1 billion in federal funding annually to nonprofit theaters across the country. Local leaders of nonprofit theaters spoke in support of the measure.
“We have faced so many uncertainties; I think it's very difficult for us to feel confident in supporting our employees and our communities,” said Tiffani Gavin, executive director of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford. “[We need] this sort of sustained support for… what we provide our communities, and for what we provide to the economy and the ecology of Connecticut.”
According to Blumenthal, local theaters are well worth saving; in addition to the cultural and educational benefits they provide the surrounding community, the nonprofit arts sector generated more than $150 billion nationwide in 2022.
Research from Americans for the Arts shows that nearly $13 billion of that came from Connecticut, alongside more than 16,000 jobs related to arts and culture.
