BATON ROUGE - Theatre Baton Rouge opens its doors to the public tonight to showcase Stephen King’s 1990 thriller “Misery”.

While the theatre is showcasing “Misery”, they are facing some misery of their own in the form of financial struggles. The theatre has been open for 78 years, but is facing closure if they can’t raise $100,000 within sixty days.

“As you see, like I said from the campaign, raising over $37,000 in just one week... the community really wants this theatre to be a part of it. We do feel like we have an important place in the community. So, we're excited about that,” said Lance Parker.

This all happened once COVID-19 hit. They said they were fortunate to make it past COVID-19, but ever since, the price for production has increased.

Theatre Baton Rouge has also had to make some budget cuts, letting go of nearly all of their paid staff. Now they rely on volunteer workers and the few staff members they have left.

Despite their struggles, the show must go on, as they are rehearsing for another show coming November 10. Auditions are also being held for their upcoming Young Actors Program production of “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical”.

If you are interested in helping keep the theatre’s legacy alive, donations can be sent at light.theatrebr.org