“The city has been very good about supporting us, but there are needs that the city just can’t reasonably afford,” says Jonathan Lewis, vice-chair of the Opera House board.īrehm and Lewis would also like to grow the venue’s staff. That would create a pot of money that supporters can grow over time through investments and additional donations, while spending some of it to maintain and upgrade the venue. To help the Opera House build on its success, the Friends Association wants to raise $1 million for an endowment. Two events coming up this week-this weekend’s Catfish River Music Festival down in Stoughton and a July 6 show at the High Noon Saloon-will raise money for the venue, which Opera House director Bill Brehm says will go toward immediate needs. But it would still lose money without its city subsidy, and supporters understand that local governments in Wisconsin aren’t exactly flush these days. Last year’s city budget shows revenue outpacing expenses. The City of Stoughton pays for about half of its staff and contributes additional support, and the rest of its support comes from ticket sales, memberships, and a local non-profit called the Stoughton Opera House Friends Association, formed in the early 1980s when local citizens banded together to rescue the venue from neglect.

And that’s on top of the challenges of keeping a 115-year-old theater in beautiful shape.Ĭurrently the Opera House is doing OK financially, all things considered. Some seasons are better than others, but it consistently punches above its weight and does all its booking without the help of the bigger show promoters who usually bring such acts to the Madison area. A bit like The Shitty Barn in Spring Green, the venue has a solid following right at home and a good number of people willing to make the drive from Madison, and that frequently adds up to sold-out shows.

It’s expanded its audience with bookings ranging from Ladysmith Black Mambazo to Huun Huur Tu to Aimee Mann to comedians like Steven Wright and Emo Philips, in addition to its bread-and-butter programming of country and folk, which has included pretty big gets like Gillian Welch, Josh Ritter, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, and Rosanne Cash. The Stoughton Opera House, a historic theater with a capacity of just under 500 that resides on the top floors of Stoughton’s City Hall Building, has become an unlikely success story over the past 10 years. Madison percussion ensemble Clocks In Motion’s stage setup for its February 2016 show at the Stoughton Opera House.

Stoughton opera house board