After facing financial challenges that only got worse after the pandemic, Park Square Theatre is ready for a reboot. The downtown St. Paul theater company will open the world premiere of the mystery “Holmes/Poirot” Friday after two nights of previews.
“Park Square is back on track,” said artistic director Stephen DiMenna. Troubles had been brewing at Park Square for years, with the theater running deficits in 2016 and 2017. Longtime artistic director Richard Cook retired in 2018 and his replacement Flordelino Lagundino was let go in January 2020 when the board cut the artistic director position to balance funding shortfalls.
Later that year, Park Square and SteppingStone Theatre for Youth became partners due to debt issues. Last year, the theater canceled five of its six productions and cut its staff from 21 people down to just two. It lost numerous grants due to its darkened stage.
“We now have seven full-time staff members and we’re approaching a $1.8 million budget,” DiMenna said. “We’re solvent.
” Park Square’s turnaround happened thanks to the board’s focus on fundraising in 2023 and the work of interim executive director Rachel Murch-D’Olimpio. They also restructured loans, reached a new rental agreement with the company’s landlord that DiMenna called “extremely doable for us” and earned some income from stage rentals and small concerts. DiMenna began working with Park Square in the summer of 2023 as a volunteer consultant and conducting w.
