The Portland Playhouse

What it reported doing in 2024

Artistic services: during our 17th season (2024-2025), we produced four plays that drew 9,204 audience members. The season opened in fall 2024 with the musical "amlie," based on the beloved 2001 french film, which played to sold-out houses across its five-week run. Our annual holiday show (inspired by dickens' "a christmas carol") sold 3,618 tickets over five weeks. In winter 2025 we produced notes from the field," anna deavere smith's powerful one-person exploration of the school-to-prison pipeline, drawn from interviews with students, teachers, parents, and advocates across the country. We closed the season in spring 2025 with august wilson's "joe turner's come and gone," the second play in wilson's american century cycle, which follows a group of black boarding house residents in 1911 pittsburgh grappling with the legacies of slavery and the search for identity. Joe turner also played to sold-out houses and capped a season of record ticket sales.audience feedback from "joe turner's come and gone"-"it brought new insights and personal connections to my understanding of american history - very troubling but so helpful to appreciate a period fraught with change, not unlike what we are experiencing now. This is why theatre and all the arts are so important for a strong nation. Absolutely great story, superb presentation, moving performances by topnotch actors. Thank you! Notes from the field" included that "everyone should see this show! It is everything art and theater should be - moving, memorable, inspirational, reflective, and relevant. We'll be thinking about this play for a long time."

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 69%; rating input score 69
• Program expense ratio: 75%; rating input score 75
• Fundraising efficiency: $11.41 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 8%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.39; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 3.6%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 10.6% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 10.1% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings