Economy forces Playhouse to take a hiatus

YOUNGSTOWN — The financially struggling Youngstown Playhouse will suspend theatrical productions until spring.

Despite dwindling attendance and a building badly in need of repairs, the Playhouse has been able to keep its nose above water. But a one-two punch of the national financial crisis and high utility costs expected this winter forced the decision.

John Holt, the Playhouse’s executive director, called it “a perfect storm,” but he stressed that the closing is an intermission, not a final curtain.

Productions of “And Then There Were None,” which was scheduled to open Nov. 7, and “Big,” which was to run Dec. 5-20, will be postponed until summer of 2009, said Holt. Exact make-up dates have not yet been set.

This weekend’s Youth Theater productions of “Hansel and Gretel” will go on as scheduled.

Read more in Wednesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com