CLEVELAND — Playhouse Square has announced that outdoor events and indoor performances at its theaters have been suspended through Aug. 31 due to the financial impact of COVID-19.
According to the venue, Playhouse Square expects to lose nearly $4 million from now to the end of the calendar year.
Additionally, due to the “depth and unpredictable length of those losses,” Playhouse Square said it is reducing the size of its workforce. The move affects 193 staff members. Many of those individuals are part-time workers, who due to there being no shows, have no work.
“All affected will be provided with help accessing unemployment and it is anticipated that those furloughed will return as soon as late summer,” the venue stated.
Individuals who purchased tickets to the impacted shows are being offered credit, refunds or the donation of the ticket’s value back to the venue. You can find more information about tickets, here.
Playhouse Square President and CEO Gina Varnaci made the following statement in a news release:
“With the important health and safety precautions put in place to protect the community, we currently are unable to present large performances such as touring Broadway. Although many businesses are reopening, restrictions on theaters remain in place. We must take the necessary measures to overcome the impact caused by the crisis so that Playhouse Square can return to a place of strength, continue our not-for-profit mission and welcome our audiences back safely.
Our trustees and executive leaders have made these decisions with great care, balancing the well-being of our team with the long-term health of the organization, because It is our dedicated and talented staff that makes Playhouse Square so special. While our rebound will be lengthy, it is in the Playhouse Square DNA to find creative solutions and new possibilities, including working with our resident companies to present their shows in our larger spaces this fall. We will be ready when our curtains rise again.”
Anyone wishing to support Playhouse Square’s nonprofit mission work can do so, here.
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