Donors Eye Theater’s Fiscal Health Before Making New Pledge

The chief patrons of the Philadelphia Theatre Company, considering a gift to rescue the struggling stage, have hired arts-management expert Michael Kaiser to assess the organization’s finances and operations, writes The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Comcast Corp. co-founder Ralph Roberts and his wife, Suzanne, “want to do the right thing, but have significant financial concerns about the future of the company,” said Kevin Feeley, the couple’s spokesman. They have asked Mr. Kaiser, the outgoing president of the Kennedy Center, to report by the end of May on the theater’s viability.

The couple have donated millions of dollars to the company, which named its 365-seat venue for Mrs. Roberts. The theater never completed a fundraising campaign to pay for the hall, and it defaulted in 2012, owing $11-million to TD Bank. E. Gerald Riesenbach, chairman of the theater’s board, said the company is seeking a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Roberts to put it on “a strong financial footing.”