Community theatres do not exactly operate with hidden vaults of cash sitting backstage next to the fog machine and the emergency bobby pins. Most are held together by volunteers, donated time, modest ticket sales, local sponsors, and the kind of people who will spend six hours painting a flat because they love the place. Every dollar matters. Every little bit of trust matters.
So when someone allegedly steals from an organization like this, they are not just taking money. They are taking opportunities from actors. They are taking jobs, however small, from designers, directors, musicians, and technicians. They are taking a summer musical away from audiences. They are taking away the thing a community has spent decades building together.
Washington Community Theatre has been producing shows since 1969, meaning generations of people have passed through the organization. That is what makes this so painful. This was not some faceless institution. This was a community.
I hope the legal process plays out fully. There is no cute explanation for stealing from a nonprofit theatre. There is no “mistake” big enough to explain away more than $41,000 disappearing from a group that depends on that money to survive.
The encouraging part, at least, is that the community seems to be rallying around them. Fundraisers are already being planned, including a dinner theatre fundraiser in June and additional events later this year, with hopes of bringing the organization back for a full 2027 season. I truly hope they get there.