27, 2020 had their awards from the SVOG program reduced by the amount of the loan.
Applicants who also received Payment Protection Plan loans from the federal government after Dec.
The chief operating officer of Bow Tie Cinemas, Joseph Masher, did not respond to requests for comment.Īccording to the SBA guidance, recipients of SVOG grants can use the funds to pay rent, utilities, payroll or other debts incurred during the pandemic, as well as advertising and capital costs related to producing live shows. “It will be a long road to recovery,” Murdoch said.
#GOODSPEED OPERA HOUSE 2019 SEASON MOVIE#
Movie theaters were “simply devastated” by forced closures and falling attendance during the pandemic, and as of July 27 roughly one-fifth of the screens in the state remained dark, according to Connecticut Association of Theatre Owners Executive Director Doug Murdoch, though he said it was unclear how many had closed for good or were waiting to reopen. The smallest recipient was Artist Magnet, a talent representation firm based in Southbury that received $1,807. The only grant recipient in Connecticut to receive the maximum $10 million amount was Ridgefield-based Bow Tie Cinemas, a chain of movie theaters with operations in six states. The amount of aid that applicants received was based on a portion of their gross revenues in 2019, up to $10 million. “It was an absolute game changer.” ‘A long road to recovery’Įligible applicants for the shuttered venue grants program included theaters, museums and concert venues as well as related entities such as producers, promoters and talent representatives that were operating as of Feb 29, 2020, according to the program guidelines. “I literally think the Shuttered Venue Operator Grants saved the venues in the state,” said Allison Stockel, the executive director of the Ridgefield Playhouse for Movies and the Performing Arts, which received a $2.7 million grant. Tolland and Windham counties together received three grants worth $1.4 million, compared with the 48 grants worth $41.7 million that went to applicants in Fairfield County.Īmong the state’s notable venues to receive relief from SVOG grants were Bridgeport’s Downtown Cabaret, Toad’s Place in New Haven and the Wall Street Theater in Norwalk. More rural and less-traveled areas in Connecticut’s northeast corner received the smallest portion of funding from the program, even when accounting for population. So it’s really been important for theaters like ours that are in more rural areas, but also in more metropolitan centers to get back up and running when we can.” “So when Goodspeed is shuttered, so are the restaurants, so are the boutiques, so are the hotels. “For Goodspeed and so many other institutions, we’re not just producing art, we're economic drivers,” Byrd said in an interview last week. While the state’s heavily populated southeastern corridor received the bulk of the shuttered venue grants, an out-sized portion of the funding also flowed to the shoreline and lower Connecticut River Valley regions, where popular attractions such as the Mystic Aquarium, Mystic Seaport and the Goodspeed Opera House received millions in aid. The SBA closed applications for grants on Friday, so even more money could be allotted to the state in the near future. More than $100 million from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program has flowed into Connecticut in recent months, according to data analyzed by Hearst Connecticut Media, aiding businesses and nonprofits in every corner of the state with grants ranging from several thousand dollars to a few million.Ī total of 140 applicants in Connecticut have received shuttered venue grants, according to the data from the Small Business Administration, which administers the program. Now, more than 21 months since the theater last welcomed guests indoors, Byrd and the staff are planning a September comeback with the aid of $2 million from the federal government’s relief program for the country’s shuttered theaters, cinemas, museums, zoos and concert venues. Instead the “ Home of the American Musical” on the banks of the Connecticut River closed its doors for over a year and a half, hemorrhaging $11 million in lost revenues and reducing its workforce by more than two-thirds during the worst of the pandemic, according to Byrd.
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