Allen Gilmore (Lenck) and Stephen Caffrey (Fasch) in SSC's 2008 production of Bach at Leipzig by Itamar Moses. Photo: r.r. jones.

This morning, one of the Bay Area's most beloved theater companies, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, sent an email to supporters and friends to announce that if the perennially cash-strapped company cannot raise $300,000 by Monday December 22, if may have to cancel its 2009 season, effectively pulling the plug on the company itself. To read the message from the board of directors, click here.

Shakespeare Santa Cruz is a local treasure, a gift to the community that deserves our support, especially in these tough economic times when a lot of us could really use a good laugh and the feeling that we can only get from sharing live theater with a room full of fellow human beings. Let's not let "the numbers" dictate everything...

To make a donation, click here.

Update, 12/22/08: Shakespeare Santa Cruz just announced that it had exceeded its goal by raising $416,417, which means we can all look forward to Shakespeare under the redwoods again this summer!