Copyright berkshireeagle
LENOX — For the first time in its four-decade history, Shakespeare & Company is out of debt and on firm financial footing. Through a combination of lucrative property sell-offs for a redevelopment deal, contributions and a strong box office season, the $4 million mortgage on the Kemble Street property is completely paid off and the company is maintaining a break-even stability, according to Artistic Director Allyn Burrows. “Now that we don’t have any more mortgage, we have more flexibility,” he explained. “We are no longer beholden to a bank in Boston. That really gives us a firm footing. It really feels good to be free and clear — retiring our mortgage, getting out of debt, signing the development deal and making 104 percent of our box office target.” After relocating in 2000 from its original home — founded in 1978 at The Mount, Edith Wharton’s estate — the nonprofit educational theater was saddled with a $4 million mortgage on its campus. A "condominium village" concept, presented as a financial lifeline to the town's zoning board, had been unveiled in September 2024 by Burrows and developer David Carver of CT Management Group. Ultimately, the town agreed and plans to redevelop the property moved forward. Attendance this past season came in at about 40,000 and box office revenue was ahead of the $1,126,000 goal, Burrows said, coming in at $1,170,000. Contributions total about the same amount, plus education and training income. The annual budget is $4.5 million, with a slight surplus expected when the books close on March 31, the end of the company’s fiscal year. Burrows ticked off a list of specific deals that also made the achievement possible: • The sale of a company-owned residence at 125 Old Stockbridge Road to a private owner yielded close to $1.5 million. A two-acre lot near the road has been sold for $250,000, and an additional four lots will be developed by Carver as three-bedroom condominium homes. • As part of the campus reconfiguration and development partnership, Carver purchased South Cottage, a single-family residence at 68 Kemble St., for an undisclosed price. He renovated it and created a pair of two-bedroom apartments, included in the transformation of the 30-acre campus into a condominium association controlled by the theater company. • Lawrence Hall, a residence for seasonal artists, has been rented to Semester Cinema, based in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom area from February through April to house students producing a film in the adjacent Elayne Bernstein Production Center. One of the largest buildings on the campus, St. Martin Hall, is being scoped out for renovation and use by Shakespeare & Company as an education center, artist housing or offices, Burrows said. Burrows admitted to being “a really superstitious person, so I don’t take anything for granted and I don’t want to rest on my laurels.” The overall approach is to “be strategic about what exactly we do at what time of year,” he noted. “We want to make sure what we do is smart programming, and that maybe means not trying to do as much as possible all the time.” However, interviewed on a sparkling mid-October day, Burrows acknowledged that he’s keen on expanding the use of the 540-seat, open-air terraced Arthur Waldstein Amphitheater for programming. “I would like to get back more into the shoulder season, which is still kind of untapped,” he observed. “I’d like to figure out a way to start the season earlier, in the spring shoulder.” The former Roman Garden Theater was transformed into a revenue-producing, freshly-graveled beer garden this past summer. “That was a very popular off-night activity for folks,” said Burrows. A building that once housed a swimming pool when The Bible Speaks religious cult owned the campus from 1976 to 1987 could be renovated into a 6,500-square-foot shaded space for summer camps and education programs, Burrows said. As for the conversion of the campus into condominiums (including the playhouses and every other occupied building), it’s awaiting the final touches. Condo owners will be responsible for contributing maintenance dues to the condo association, based on the square footage of each building. “We will always control at least 51 percent of the buildings,” Burrows explained, adding that the condo plan is the theater company’s pathway to solvency. “With all the expenses, the price of materials, everything we have to build, it’s definitely a big undertaking, a big endeavor, really worthwhile but there’s no question that it’s a heavy lift,” he conceded. “As a cultural medium, theater is challenged all around, we’re up against live streaming, theaters are closing all the time,” he said. “We just want to let folks know we’re here to stay, with the vital education and training programs that we run. We like to do meaningful live theater performances and also let people have a really good time. We try to stay vibrant, but you’re always just one step ahead.”
