North Shore Struggles To Stay Afloat

A nonprofit theatre in Beverly, Mass., is considering a possible venue sale in order to keep operations afloat.

The North Shore Music Theatre has hired Boston real estate company Colliers Meredith & Grew to scout a potential buyer for the property, which would then lease the venue back to the nonprofit’s board, according to the Salem News.

“Until we have some numbers, we don’t know whether we’re going to do it or not,” board chair David Fellows told the paper. “It’s one of the things we are exploring as we look to reopen next season.”

While the North Shore property was reportedly assessed at more than $12 million, the theatre itself released a statement in December that it was forced to lay off 57 employees effective Jan. 11 and would need a cash infusion of “as much as $4 million by late spring to secure programming for [2009].”

According to the venue Web site, $311,000 had been raised to save the theatre as of Feb. 6.