Ocean State Theatre Closes
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
One of the emerging local theaters has closed. With little warning Ocean State Theater is gone.
"After a late night board meeting last evening, ongoing financial struggles are forcing Ocean State Theatre Co, Inc. (OSTC) to immediately close the theatre on Jefferson Blvd, cancel its summer programs, and suspend the fall mainstage season. The future of the theatre company is under evaluation. As for the future of the theatre space itself, OSTC has not been given any information by the landlord, Mutual Properties," said the press release on Tuesday.
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“It was a heartbreaking decision for those of us who are passionate about OSTC,” said Andrew Cohen, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Ocean State Theatre Company. “Particularly after what is undoubtedly the best artistic season we have ever had.”
Though the theatre is widely regarded as “the best place in Rhode Island to see a show,” having been re-imagined from an empty garage and office space by OSTC in 2012, the organization simply could not come to terms with the owner of the building, while re-negotiating new lease terms and debt structure. “Additionally, a third party, on behalf of OSTC, had been negotiating to purchase the building for a few months now, however those negotiations were not successful.”
Cohen said that the company's financial situation has been challenging for several years, in large part due to the impact of debt incurred when the company was forced to vacate Theatre By The Sea during construction of the Warwick theatre. The nonprofit theatre had hoped that the strong start to their 2016-17 Season, which has shown a tangible increase in tickets sales, would attract more corporate sponsors, state and federal funding, and private donations to better support its ongoing programming. The inability to reach its projected goals for charitable giving, coupled with the inability to re-negotiate new lease terms and debt obligations, have led to this difficult decision.
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