Breakthrough Theatre closes doors in its current location

The Breakthrough Theatre of Winter Park will not reopen its Fairbanks Avenue location, owner Wade Hair announced Tuesday in a video message to supporters.

The community theater had operated out of a storefront just a stone’s throw from Rollins College and Park Avenue for 11 years. Its closure is the latest, and most visible, sign of the toll the coronavirus is taking on the arts community.

“COVID-19 has claimed another victim,” said Hair, who made the decision to close “with a heavy heart.”

The theater has not staged an inperson show since March 13, Hair said. Since then, to raise money for rent and other bills, Hair has held online fundraisers, including a telethon that brought in thousands of dollars. But, he said, he couldn’t ask supporters to reach into their wallets again.

“We just don’t feel comfortable continuing to ask our friends to make donations for a building that’s just sitting there empty with no clear answers as to when we can reopen,” he said.

The uniqueness of Breakthrough Theatre’s space, which seated only a few dozen patrons, made productions there feel particularly personal. But