The Vision: A Message From President and Producing Artistic Director Bernard Havard

Dear Friend of the Walnut Street Theatre:

As one of our most loyal patrons, you undoubtedly have a lifetime’s worth of memories shaped right here through the stories you’ve watched unfold on our stages. Today, I have the distinct pleasure of inviting you behind the curtain to play a leading role in one of the most exciting, historic and meaningful productions Philadelphia will ever witness—the expansion of our beloved theatre to more abundantly fulfill its mission as a “theatre for the people” long into the future.

You have contributed to our position as the world’s most subscribed theatre company with more than 365,000 people sitting in our audiences every year. This incredible success bears incredible responsibility—to serve our community, contribute to our local economy and sustain America’s oldest theatre, one of Philadelphia’s most precious cultural gems.

Our arts education programs serve more than 150,000 local students annually—the largest education program of any regional theatre in the nation. Our work yields meaningful results in increased academic scores, parental participation and school attendance. Regretfully, our opportunity to fully serve every interested young person is not possible due to space limitations—resulting in thousands of young people turned away from our programs. We must seize an opportunity to expand these life-altering educational opportunities to some of our most at-risk, vulnerable local youth.

The Walnut Street Theatre also makes an unparalleled contribution to our region’s economy. We create nearly $70 million in annual economic impact in the Greater Philadelphia region and employ more than 740 people each season. An opportunity to grow our footprint presents an unprecedented potential to grow jobs and prosperity in our communities.

With our expansion, we open the door to the discovery of new playwrights and the development of new and rarely seen works, as well as the commissioning of new works by established writers.

Finally, the constraints that we work within now prevent us from fully harnessing our power as a world-renowned theatre company, which exists to support the vision of the artists, the desires of the audience, and our role as storytellers and educators. With our expansion, we open the door to the discovery of new playwrights and the development of new and rarely seen works, as well as the commissioning of new works by established writers.

For these reasons and so many more, we have launched our first major capital fundraising effort in more than 50 years. As one of our most devoted audience members, you now have the opportunity to stand center stage at this critical moment in our history and propel our potential with a gift of your choosing. I humbly ask for your help to ensure that The Future Lives Here for generations of audience members as special as you are to us. I thank you in advance for your consideration.

Fondly, Bernard