The Jungle Theater pauses the remainder of their season

Minnesota's theatre scene says financial hardships are at an all-time high. High costs have caused venues to pivot and make drastic changes.

The Jungle Theater has sat on the corner of Lake and Lyndale since the late 90's.

"If you had a real depiction of what 'the jungle' is and the people who this matters to, we would fill up this house 200 times over," said Christina Baldwin, artistic director for The Jungle Theater.

Jungle-goers heard a hard-to-hear message in January.

"It was a very tough decision to get to," said Baldwin.

Programming had paused for the remainder of the season. Theater leaders and its board say this would help them create a plan for long-term sustainability.

"It came to the point where the money wasn't going to be there," said Rachel Murch-D'Olimpio, the managing director.

Rachel and Christina say financial struggles for non-profit theaters have hit their max.

"You go back to the same well and every year it's dry and you go back again thinking it wont be, but it always is," said Murch-D'Olimpio.

The two say they understand people have had to turn the gear on their giving.

"We've been operating on a model that worked in the 90s," said Baldwin. "When there were corporations pouring more money into arts and culture but we just don't see that same kind of channel."

The Jungle Theater says about 30 - 35% of their revenue comes from their ticket sales, but the whole other chunk comes from what they call "unearned". That's government funding, corporate giving and more.

"The path forward for us and probably for others like us is this idea of collaboration," said Murch-D'Olimpio.

For others, the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis gave WCCO this statement:

During the months of January and February, when Operation Metro Surge was at its highest impact on our community, we saw a dramatic decline in attendance to our show Go, Dog. Go! • Ve Perro ¡Ve! It finished at just 41% capacity, whereas similar shows in the same time period traditionally sell at 60-75% of capacity. We've estimated $230,000 of lost income during the months of January and February, and with sluggish sales continuing through March. -Ryan French, Managing Director

"I'm not arguing whether or not theater will survive," Baldwin told WCCO. "Theater will always survive. There are so many stories to tell and we need to have the right people with us to tell those stories."

If you're looking to help, The Jungle Theater says to buy that ticket for something you want to see. For updates on their future, visit their social channels.