Strapped San Jose Theater to Close and File for Bankruptcy

After several years of financial struggle and falling ticket sales, the San Jose Repertory Theatre announced Wednesday that it has shut down and will file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the San Jose Mercury News writes.

The 34-year-old company’s trustees mulled an emergency fundraising campaign but determined that the theater’s fiscal situation was too shaky to continue operations. “The money just wasn’t there. No one wants to give to an organization that is in trouble,” said Paul Resch, the board’s vice president. “We went from crisis to crisis, and there was no cash buffer.”

Known as the Rep, the theater flirted with insolvency in 2006 but was bailed out by a $2-million loan from the city. Subscription sales, which totaled 11,000 that year, have fallen by half, and donations have slumped. Rep officials estimated the organization’s total debt at $3-million.