I Had My Issues With the Downtown Cabaret Theatre. I Still Want It Saved.

by Chris Peterson

Bridgeport, Connecticut’s Downtown Cabaret Theatre is facing possible closure after more than 50 years, and the response from the community has been pretty hard to ignore.

A Change.org petition calling for the venue to be saved has gathered thousands of signatures, with supporters asking Bridgeport officials, state leaders, the building owner, and anyone with influence to step in before one of the city’s longtime arts spaces goes dark.

The problem, at least from what has been reported, is not that people stopped showing up to the theatre. The problem is money. More specifically, it is the cost of keeping a 250-seat theatre alive when the annual rent alone is reportedly around $120,000. Add utilities, insurance, staffing, production costs, and all the other unglamorous expenses that come with running a theatre, and suddenly “beloved local institution” does not automatically translate into “financially stable.”

That is what makes this story so frustrating. The Downtown Cabaret clearly means something to a lot of people. You do not get thousands of signatures for a theatre no one cares about.

And here is where I have to be honest. I have a complicated history with this theatre.

More than a decade ago, the Downtown Cabaret staged a production of In the Heights that I called out for whitewashing its cast. At the time, their leadership responded by calling the accusation “silly” and “unfounded” and said it barely deserved a comment. Then, in one of the stranger responses I’ve ever received from anyone connected to a theatre, a now-former staff member publicly insulted my then nine-month-old son, calling him an ugly baby.

So no, I am not writing this because I have some perfect, glowing relationship with the Downtown Cabaret. I don’t. I’ve attended performances there. I also know that my own history with the place is complicated.

And even with all of that, I still do not want to see it close.

I don’t think that is a contradiction. You can criticize an arts organization and still recognize its value. You can remember when a theatre handled something badly and still recognize that the community loses something real when that theatre goes dark. I don’t need every theatre I’ve ever criticized to disappear.

Actually, I’d prefer the opposite. I’d rather see theatres learn, grow, fix what they can, and continue serving their communities better than they did before. As far as I have seen over the last 10 years, the Downtown Cabaret has done exactly that.

The bigger issue here is whether Bridgeport is better off with one less performing arts venue, one less reason for families to come downtown, and one less cultural anchor in a city that should be trying to keep those places alive. I don’t see how it is.

Signing the petition matters. But if the Downtown Cabaret is going to survive, the answer probably has to involve some combination of city support, state support, private donors, the building owner, and a serious conversation about whether a theatre like this can be treated like just another tenant.

The time to value an arts institution is before the doors shut, not after the final performance.

I had my issues with the Downtown Cabaret. But there has been plenty of water under the bridge. And I do not want Bridgeport to lose this theatre.

If you feel the same way, sign the petition to help save the Downtown Cabaret Theatre. I have.