Million-Dollar Standing Ovation: Secret admirer rewrites future of Lake Worth Playhouse
The endowment is the largest single donation in the 73-year-old playhouse’s history
THE LAKE WORTH PLAYHOUSE just received a financial standing ovation: a record $1 million endowment gift from an anonymous donor.
“We are beyond awestruck for someone to believe in our mission to award us this gift,’’ said Michael McKeich, the playhouse’s board president.
The transformative endowment, the largest single donation in the 73-year-old theater’s history, “will help ensure the future of live theater in our community for generations to come,’’ said Shoshana Davidowitz, the playhouse’s executive director.
An endowed gift is a permanent, self-sustaining source of funding, with assets invested to build the fund’s market value and offer support in perpetuity.
“This extraordinary gift strengthens our foundation and allows us to look toward the future with unprecedented stability,’’ Davidowitz said.
The playhouse, at 713 Lake Ave. downtown, encourages additional contributions “to help expand” the endowment’s impact “for generations to come,’’ she said.
“As we continue to serve as a cultural anchor for Lake Worth Beach, this endowment ensures that future generations will always have a place to experience the magic of live theater.”
The money will be used for the “continued care” of the 102-year-old building the playhouse has called home since 1975 and to ensure the financial stability of an organization formed in 1953, she said.
It will also provide long-term support for stage productions and youth education and outreach programs.
“We are honored and humbled that someone believes in our mission,’’ McKeich said. “Hopefully this will continue to encourage others to help us grow.’’
The playhouse learned about the gift in April. The donor lives in Palm Beach County and “is a huge supporter of the arts and of our playhouse,’’ Davidowitz said.
The playhouse’s previous largest donation was $350,000 in 1992 from the estate of Elfriede “Lee” Stonzek, a longtime subscriber who died a year earlier. The money launched the opening in 1995 of the Stonzek Studio Theater next door to the mainstage.
The playhouse has grown from humble beginnings, hosting its first performance, the light comedy Springtime for Henry, on the second floor of City Hall in February 1954.
Among the notable actors who performed in playhouse productions: Burt Reynolds, in a 1958 production All My Sons, and Watson B. Duncan, the founding theater instructor at Palm Beach Community College (now Palm Beach State College), in a 1960 production of Springtime.
Aside from showcasing affordable award-winning live performances, the playhouse is Palm Beach County’s oldest-working theater. It’s also the oldest building on the Art Deco Society of the Palm Beach’s historic register.
Last summer, the playhouse’s theater underwent a partial renovation, replacing outdated seats with new vintage-style seats.
WOW!! What a wonderful piece of news! The shot in the arm downtown El Dub needs -
This is so exciting to hear! The Lake Worth Playhouse is truly a little gem. I have never seen a bad show there yet. Hopefully Lake Drive will grow into a street we can be proud of.