To The City of Yes,
In this season where we have already shared the sad and necessary news of our closing as a company, we at Cripple Creek must continue that trend, and announce today that we are cancelling our planned production of The Visit at the Allways Lounge this July.
The reason is simple, painful and ever-present to the fine theatre artists of this city: lack of funds. For our current production of Sueño, which has just finished a truly inspiring tour of prisons, rehab facilities, community centers, and shelters across the region, we set a ticket price of $25 for our home shows in order to pay for that tour, compensate our actors, and to generate the funds which would support our final production. We were able to accomplish the first two of these goals - the third is unfortunately impossible.
Our ticket sales for Sueño have not been what we had anticipated; and those numbers make any further theatrical action impossible. Perhaps it was the Uptown location for our Downtown scene, perhaps it was a new play that that was unfamiliar, or an audience simply unwilling to pay that price. Regardless, Cripple Creek must take the responsibility for this reversal, and that ownership requires further painful actions.
To our talented and generous collaborators, partners, and audiences who planned for this production, we apologize.
To our city which we have sought to engage again and again, you have three more chances to see Cripple Creek tell a story with passion, with pride, and without pretension.
While the sadness of this situation is real, we take solace in one small fact. We announced earlier this season that we would disband after we produced The Visit. Since we cannot complete that production, Cripple Creek cannot disband. So now instead of parting forever, we must part until this story can be told and told correctly. Cripple Creek begins its self-imposed exile Sunday night after we take our bows at the final performance of Sueño.
We part knowing that our work is not done, that there is still one more story to tell, another opening, another show. It is a small consolation, one maybe not significant enough to mute the sadness of this moment. However, this company began as a fool's errand, and somehow for twelve years persevered and prospered. And we will again, even for the briefest of moments.
Join us this weekend for the final performances of Sueño; we cannot know where the time goes.
May our labors bear fruit, may struggles be overcome, may our journeys reunite us.
Truly yours.
The once and future Cripple Creek Theatre Company
