By Park Square Theatre

Today Artistic Director Richard Cook announced that the theatre has raised nearly $3.2 million (75%) of its $4.2 million Next Stage expansion campaign goal. The Next Stage Campaign is a comprehensive effort to transform Park Square, enhancing the theatre’s ability to serve the community by investing in its facility, capitalizing its operations with working capital and artistic innovation funds, and doubling its artistic output. The first physical change has already taken place – a $500,000 remodeling of its 350-seat proscenium auditorium. When the campaign has reached its goal, construction will begin on an additional playhouse–an intimate 142-seat thrust stage in the company’s Historic Hamm Building home.

More than 120 campaign donors and friends toasted the theatre’s success at a fundraising dinner and concert at Dove Hill, the home of committee members and 20-year subscribers Dick and Nancy Nicholson. Just before Park Square regular Thomasina Petrus filled the ballroom with lush jazz stylings, campaign co-chair Linda Kelsey announced new gifts totaling $600,000 from local arts supporters, including $350,000 from The St. Paul Foundation, $200,000 from the F. R. Bigelow Foundation and $50,000 in new gifts from individuals. The St. Paul Foundation gift is the largest single grant in the theatre’s 35-year history, marking a campaign that has already received major support.

The crowd also applauded Park Square’s growth in a sluggish economy. With its sell-out run of To Kill a Mockingbird, the theatre has already sold more tickets than in all of last year’s record-breaking season, with two shows yet to open. Subscriptions continue to buck the national trend with sales for next year ahead by 38% over the record set in 2010 ($264,242 collected to date compared with $190,200 for the same period last year).

“What’s most exciting to me as an actor is how Park Square is investing in local talent,” said Linda Kelsey, on stage in Doubt in 2012. “It’s true that the theatre has grown its operations by 30% over the past three years, as well as hiring 98% more local artists.”

Austene Van, who directed Gee’s Bend last fall and was just on stage in To Kill a Mockingbird, echoed those sentiments. “When almost everyone is cutting back and doing less with less, it’s a thrill to work in such a supportive and energetic environment. Every time I’m at Park Square I’m treated so well, I have great artists to work with, and the house is full – you can’t beat that!”