NC’s ‘The Lost Colony’ will perform this season after meeting fundraising goal

Makers of “The Lost Colony” announced Monday that the long-running outdoor drama reached a critical fundraising goal and will continue this summer for its 87th season.

The show raised $100,000, one month ahead of a March 31 deadline issued by The Anonymous Trust, which will now match those donations. Much of that money came through a $50,000 grant from the Josephus Daniels Charitable Trust.

“During January and February, we were able to raise nearly $50,000 in individual and corporate donations for the Anonymous Challenge,” said Cindy McGann, chair of the Roanoke Island Historical Association’s board of directors. “This generous donation by the Daniels Fund put us over the top.”

The show, which has run on the Outer Banks since 1937, chronicles the meeting between English colonists and Native Americans in coastal North Carolina. Notable alumni of the performances include Andy Griffith, Chris Elliott and Eileen Fulton.

“The Lost Colony” saw its budget increase dramatically as staff updated the production to appeal to modern audiences. Native American actors and actresses are now exclusively cast in those roles, and the show brought new sound, lighting and 3D imaging.

In its Monday news release, the RIHA stressed that those changes added $1 million to annual costs and that the fundraising push must continue. The group noted that the North Carolina Theater recently declared bankruptcy and canceled its 2024 season.

“Theaters across America are facing lagging ticket sales, rising production costs and declining public and private support,” said Chuck Still, executive director of RIHA.

This summer will see “The Lost Colony’s” 5,000th performance. The RIHA noted that the show has survived The Great Depression, World War II, the COVID-19 pandemic, storms, fire and mosquitoes.

“We can’t and won’t stop now,” McGann said. “We believe this show, this story and this history are too important — to the local community, to North Carolina and to the nation. We have no illusions about the harsh headwinds and rough seas that face live theater, especially on a place like Roanoke Island. But, like the first colonists who braved an ocean voyage to begin new lives in a new land, we have the audacity to believe we can succeed, survive and even thrive in this challenging time for theater.”