For 50 years, the Downtown Cabaret Theatre has been the cultural heartbeat of downtown Bridgeport, Connecticut. This summer, it is set to close its doors for good — not because audiences stopped coming, but because the economics of running a 250-seat community theater simply cannot support $120,000 in annual rent.
Director Hugh Hallinan, whose family has run the theater since 1980, has given everything to keep it alive. "I'm doing five jobs myself," he said recently. Board chair Bob Scinto, who has led the theater's board for 40 years and put his own money into keeping it open, said plainly: "Everyone worked their guts out to keep that place open."
The building's current owner, Kiumarz Geula of Pillar Property Management, has said publicly that he wants the site to remain a performing arts venue. "Entertainment is very important for the city," he said. "One of the reasons we purchased this property is as an entertainment venue. We did not want this venue to leave the city."
The pieces of a solution exist. The city could buy back the building. A nonprofit or anchor institution could take it over. State arts funding could close the gap. What is missing is urgency.
The Downtown Cabaret's closure will ripple through the entire downtown — restaurants, local businesses, and a community that has already absorbed the loss of the Bridgeport Islanders hockey team. Bridgeport cannot afford to lose another anchor.
Sign this petition to demand that Mayor Ganim's administration, the state of Connecticut, and the building's owner work together immediately to find a path forward and keep the Downtown Cabaret Theatre alive.