MLT has two more productions this year: “The Glass Menagerie” this month and “The Thanksgiving Play” in November.
Recently, the theater company informed its donors and season ticket holders that this season will be the last performance at 1530 Central Ave., its home the last 16 years.
Like many non-profits, MLT has struggled to recruit enough volunteers.
“I’m not knocking people for that,” Shafor said. “Times are different today.”
MLT also experienced a dwindling demand for tickets from local residents, Shafor said. He said the MLT could not have succeeded without the financial support from the Middletown Community Foundation and the Miriam Knoll Foundation.
“It was a hard decision; a really hard decision,” Shafor said, noting MLT was four years shy of celebrating its 50th anniversary. “Some people may think we are failing. We are not failing. We are re-evaluating. We need to step back and take time to breathe.”
He said the MLT could eventually partner with the Sorg Opera House or the Middletown City Schools District. He wants the show to continue, but it may be performed differently.
Shafor said he doesn’t understand what direction Middletown, with its economic challenges, is heading.
“We don’t fit right now,” Shafor said, adding there are more than 70 theater companies between Dayton and Cincinnati.
Carole Schul and her husband, Dave, have been season-ticket holders for decades, she said. They were “shocked as anybody” when they were notified this was MLT’s last season.
“I’m not sure what the magic answer is,” Schul said when asked why the theater is closing. “It’s a shame because Middletown needs come cultural things.”
Sue Wittman, another season-ticket holder and president of Art Central Foundation, said surviving in the non-profit world is challenging.
“It’s a struggle for all of us,” she said. “I’m sad about it. This will leave a gap in the community.”
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