CINDY GOLDFIELD
SOCIAL MEDIA
SELECT TO VIEW
An UPDATE from the Board of Directors-
Greetings from the Board of Directors of 42nd Street Moon…
For the past few weeks, our new Interim Artistic Director Cindy Goldfield, has been writing to you about the difficulties of producing theatre, and the many challenges facing theatre-makers nationwide, and particularly in the Bay Area.
42nd Street Moon has not escaped these struggles…
…including many new complications in this post-pandemic climate: fewer folks coming to live theatre, greater awareness of traditionally volatile and slim-margin financial models, escalating artist, staff, and materials costs, and box office shortfalls. Add to all of this, the increased burden that musicals are about twice as expensive to produce as straight plays.
During an internal audit of Moon’s financials and operations in the past couple of weeks, a number of back office system concerns, and a handful of unexpected large payables, have surfaced to create an immediate and significant cash flow problem that we’re now proactively addressing. We believe we’ve identified and quantified these concerns and are putting a plan in place to quickly resolve them, so that we can pivot soon to announcing and producing a 2024-2025 season of shows, a new cabaret series and orchestra concert this fall, and add staff in operations and marketing.
We are respectfully and urgently
asking for your support right now
to help get us there.
We estimate that to fix our accounting systems, reconcile our major payables and give us sufficient working capital to regain financial and operational stability, fund artistic programming, and add necessary staff support,
Moon needs to raise $300,000
by June 30th.
At this point, we need to ask you, our donors, patrons, artists, and friends, to do what you can to help save this company that has been an integral part of the Bay Area theatre scene for over 30 years.
We are truly grateful for your support over the years and hope that you will join us to support its future. Thank you!
As a meaningful gesture of support for the company, and confidence in Cindy’s management and leadership, the board members of 42nd Street Moon will personally participate in this time-sensitive fundraise to ensure that Moon will continue to bring quality musical theatre to the Bay Area for many years to come.
On top of it’s position as a Bay Area treasure, Moon has been a historical vault of lost and rarely done material, world and West Coast premieres, an artistic home for actors, artisans, directors, choreographers, and technicians…not to mention the hundreds of kids who have learned, grown, and found their voices through participation in our MoonSchool education programs.
If you are a yearly/year-end donor and have the capability to move your giving up 6 months this year…
if you are a patron who has never donated…
if you are an artist who has worked with us in the last 31 years…
if you have a company that you can appeal to for a corporate giving arrangement…
if you can pledge to help us through this time…
Moon will not only stay alive and but thrive.
DONATE TODAY!
Please consider donating today. If you would prefer to donate via check, you can address your envelope to: 42nd Street Moon, PO Box 426470, SF 94142.
If you would like to talk further about corporate giving or ACH transfer for larger donations, feel free to email our interim Artistic Director, Cindy Goldfield, directly at cindy@42ndstmoon.org.
If you wish to contact the Board, you can reach us at board@42ndstmoon.org
We thank you in advance for any contribution you make and hope to see you soon at the Gateway.
~The Board of Directors, 42nd Street Moon
Comment on Facebook 49792582357_967534182041970
No. There must be much more to this story than what you’re revealing, and interpreting what you’ve said, and haven’t said, leads to one inescapable conclusion. The 42nd Street Moon Board of Directors has failed, and its failures probably go back years. “Back office systems concerns” must mean some sort of impropriety. Why the Board did not look into finances prior to your annual fundraising gala earlier this year is dereliction of duty at best. That would’ve been the appropriate time to reveal these challenges, if the Board weren’t so dysfunctional. What “unexpected large payables” did you identify, and why did they come as a surprise? Are these items bona fide emergencies, or resultant from poor accounting? Any board of directors has one most important responsibility, and that is fiduciary accountability. While the specifics remain shrouded in opacity, it’s clear *this* board failed in financial oversight and accountability. I think it is completely unreasonable for you to expect donors to keep throwing money your way with your lack on transparency on the tails of such a fantastic fiscal failure, evidently mismanaging graciously donated funds to a major degree. You cannot blame the pandemic indefinitely. It is as much the Board’s lackadaisical oversight that has brought the Company to where it stands today. With such a lack of credibility, your individual Board members have little choice but to RESIGN so a caretaker Board can be put into place to restructure this Company and mop up the mess you lot have allowed to develop.
Premiere Musical Theatre Training for All Ages
