Virginia Repertory Theatre sent patrons an email on Thursday morning with a dire warning: The company is in imminent danger of closing.

With a current budget deficit of $1.7 million, and some donors having withdrawn after a major staff change last year, the theater said it must raise $600,000 by the end of September to keep its doors open.

"This is absolutely existential," said Klaus Schuller, the Rep's new managing director. "We are going to be sitting down in a room 10 or 11 days from now with our board of directors, and looking each other in the eye and asking whether we can continue.

"If we have the funds, the answer will absolutely by yes. If we don't have the funds, the answer will absolutely be no."

Schuller said Thursday afternoon the group had raised about $90,000 in the first hours after the letter went out, which he said was a very encouraging early sign.

What went wrong

The theater is dealing with a number of issues that are being experienced on a national scale, but also has some problems unique to its circumstance.

Schuller said attendance is up year-over-year, but hasn't yet come close to reaching pre-pandemic levels. He added that the costs have risen considerably, as they have for many businesses due to inflation.

The theater also has obligations stemming from a contentious parting with longtime managing director and co-founder Phil Whiteway last year. The parties reached an undisclosed legal settlement in May.

When Schuller was hired, he said he didn't quite come in blind, but joked that "there were some sunglasses involved," and he quickly discovered the situation was far worse than he had initially been led to believe.

"Basically, when I arrived I discovered that we were without cash," he said. "Our deficits, both from our season that had just finished and the season yet to come, were three times bigger than projected to be."

Business as usual for now

The theater is continuing its normal operations. The Virginia Rep is currently in the middle of a production of Stephen King's "Misery," which will run through Sept. 29.

In the meantime, Schuller said he will fight for every dollar needed to keep the theater open.

"I didn't move my family to Richmond, Virginia, to close a theater company," he said. "I and everyone here are going to fight like hell to make sure we are still here."