CLEVELAND, Ohio — Playhouse Square announced Wednesday that it has raised $110 million in its capital and endowment campaign.

Launched in 2014 and dubbed “Advancing the Legacy,” the fundraising drive far exceeded expectations, said retired CEO Art Falco, now senior advisor for special projects. Falco and the Playhouse Square board of trustees had hoped to take in $100 million in donations over five years.

In building a successful campaign strategy, “we really took a look at our needs for the future,” Falco said. “This isn’t about today. This is really about tomorrow and beyond.”

Visitors to Playhouse Square have already seen those dollars at work in the $16 million cash outlay that brought lit gateways and Times Square digital signage to the downtown theater district. Not to mention the now-iconic GE chandelier, suspended 44 feet above Euclid Avenue and East 14th Street and boasting some 4,200 crystals.

The world’s largest outdoor chandelier has drawn droves of wedding parties and gawkers since it was first illuminated to great fanfare and a crowd of 25,000 in 2014.

Donations are also paying for the upkeep and renovation of Playhouse Square’s five core historic theaters that were almost razed decades ago to make way for parking lots: the Allen, the Hanna, the Connor Palace, the KeyBank State Theatre and the Mimi Ohio Theatre — recently renamed after the wife of a donor who has asked to remain anonymous. Playhouse Square’s six other performance spaces will benefit as well.

“We need to spend over $2 million a year to maintain the theaters,” said Falco. “Carpeting, seats, HVAC systems — things that are not very sexy.” Additional spends were made to add restrooms above the balcony in the Connor Palace to cut down on long lines during intermissions and to expand legroom in the seats in the Mimi Ohio.

“It’s all about guest comfort,” said Falco. “How can we make the experience that much better for all our guests, so they want to come back?”

A much sexier act of preservation was the painstaking re-creation of the Gund Foundation Lobby of the Mimi Ohio Theatre, consumed by fire in 1964 but returned to its neo-Renaissance splendor in 2016.

Destroyed by fire in 1964, the Gund Foundation Lobby of the Mimi Ohio Theatre was returned to its neo-Renaissance splendor in 2016 thanks in large part to a $3 million grant from the George Gund Foundation, for which the re-created lobby is named. The project cost $5.3 million in all. (Photo courtesy of Playhouse Square)

The capital campaign got a generous jump start with a $9 million gift from the Connor family in 2014 — Chris Connor is the former chairman and CEO of Cleveland-based Sherwin-Williams Co. and serves on the Playhouse Square board. Such a large, single gift was the exception rather than the rule, said board chair Amy Brady.

While donations came from corporations and foundations, individuals gave, too. “The diversity of contributions I think is pretty remarkable,” said Brady. In the final tally, 2,590 donors contributed to the campaign, a sign, she said, of the passion for the cause.

While there’s probably some fatigue in the community around paying for “new flashy buildings,” that’s not the case for helping to ensure that Playhouse Square’s theaters are preserved for generations to come. “I don’t think that’s a hard thing to get your head and heart and pocketbook behind,” Brady said.

Other uses for the $110 million include $8 million to support the nonprofit’s longstanding education program that provides free tickets to some 10,000 Cleveland school kids a year — and pays for the buses to get them downtown to the theaters, too.

$5 million is also earmarked for a new production fund to help Playhouse Square bring Broadway-bound shows to Cleveland before they appear in New York. Such a fund, for instance, could convince creators of a pre-Broadway production like “The Cher Show” or “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations” to open in Cleveland rather than other cities, said Gina Vernaci, president and CEO of Playhouse Square.

The impact of capital campaign donations can be seen in renovations to the KeyBank State Theatre's Ireland lobby, including new chandeliers and an updated LED lighting scheme to brighten the space. (Photo courtesy of Playhouse Square.)Ken Blaze

So could the recent move to allow theaters to take advantage of the 30% tax incentive offered to filmmakers shooting movies in the state. The Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit was renewed by Ohio legislators as part of the state’s two-year budget, signed by Gov. Mike DeWine on July 18.

Vernaci calls the inclusion of theaters in the tax credit a game changer for the $90 million-a-year arts and entertainment organization as well as the region.

“Our interest is to raise the tide for all the boats, but clearly, here at Playhouse Square, it’s going to be especially meaningful that shows will consider coming here and staying longer, and that not only drives jobs, but it drives spending.”

Also bolstered by the monies raised is the foundation’s nest egg, which has gone from $16 million at the beginning of the campaign to today’s $27.4 million. (The goal is $60 million.)

That figure will only grow, said Falco, with the investment dollars that will flow from the $135 million Lumen project, the 34-story apartment tower under construction across from the Connor Palace on Euclid Avenue.

Falco estimates that the Lumen — which will welcome its first residents in June of 2020 — will bring in another $15 million in endowment dollars.

A healthier endowment, updated, state-of-the-art theaters, new revenue streams from world-premiere productions and real estate investments, coupled with 46,000 season ticket holders, the largest subscription base in the country, bodes well for Playhouse Square’s future, said Falco.

“What a great accomplishment,” said Vernaci. “You see that through the generosity of donors; you see that through the participation of the community. We’re just very fortunate that we’re in the 216.

“Cleveland is such an incredible community that embraces the arts like no other region in this country.”