A Lansburgh Theatre update from Chris Jennings

All continues to go well in STC’s fight against a 700% rent increase by the Lansburgh. We have taken this matter to court only after a year of endless negotiations and faced with a threat of eviction—a threat that we believe violates Lansburgh’s legal duties of trust as STC’s “supporting organization.” We have had two victories since you first heard about this dispute.

First, we were successful in enjoining Lansburgh Theatre, Inc. from taking any action against us while we work toward having this dispute heard in court.

Second, after the initial injunction, Lansburgh Theatre, Inc. filed a motion to move the case to the federal level. A federal judge rejected Lansburgh’s tactic and determined that the Lansburgh Theatre lawsuit will be tried in D.C. Superior Court. “This was an important victory for us. This is a D.C. issue. The theatre is a D.C. cultural treasure,” said Randall Miller representing. “The court that should be most interested in protecting this is the D.C. Superior Court.”

The trial date has not yet been set, but we’ll continue to update you as we find out more.

We continue to thank everyone for their support as we remain confident that a legal remedy is forthcoming.