Message from The Shakespeare Theatre Company

Received by e-mail this morning:

Dear Friend,

I am writing to you today to let you know about a legal issue we are currently addressing in regard to the Lansburgh Theatre, our home for the past 20 years.

For some time now we have been in negotiations with the management company that oversees the Lansburgh Theatre regarding our rent. Thus far we have been unable to resolve the issue and therefore, as a last resort, have filed a lawsuit this week including a request that the court issue an injunction so that we may continue to perform at the Lansburgh Theatre.

The particulars of the issues are complicated, so I’d like to offer a bit of detail about the creation of the Lansburgh Theatre. In 1992, the developer of the Lansburgh apartment building gained the development rights from the city of D.C. in exchange for building and donating the Lansburgh Theatre for use solely by the Shakespeare Theatre Company. Also established was Lansburgh Theatre, Inc (LTI) a specialized non-profit charity that only exists to support STC and serve as our landlord. By law, as long as the Shakespeare Theatre Company performs its charitable purpose, LTI lacks the power to terminate either STC’s status as the supported organization or STC's/our right to occupy the Lansburgh Theatre.

In the current dispute, LTI has demanded a rent increase of 700%, a demand that we feel is unfounded given the unique relationship of an organization that exists only to support STC. Additionally, through these discussions, it has become very clear that LTI is not operating and abiding by the charter by which it was created and the best course of action was to allow a court to resolve these matters.

We are very confident that a judge will honor STC’s long standing and clear rights to perform at the Lansburgh Theatre. Please be assured, this will not affect any of our current performances and the best thing for you to do is support STC in the same ways you have for the past 25 years. If you are a theatre-goer, keep subscribing and attending performances and if you are a donor (or want to become one), we are grateful for your continued contributions.

We will update our website with any new information and will be sure to send out updates to you as we progress in resolving this matter.

Thank you for your continued support.

Chris Jennings
Managing Director
Shakespeare Theatre Company