The Laguna Playhouse EIN 95-1509841

The Laguna Playhouse FY2023 filing

EIN  95-1509841 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Laguna Beach, CA Founded 1929
Form 990 (PDF)
You’re viewing the FY2023 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →
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Verified accurate 8/24/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Presents theater and offers educational programs for the community.
Leadership
David Ellenstein · Artistic Director · $163K
Money in and out
$5.2M revenue, $6.3M expenses
Bottom line
65% program efficiency

Presents theater and offers educational programs for the community. For fiscal year 2023 it reported $5.2M in revenue, $6.3M in expenses, and $4.9M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2023
Total revenue
$5.2M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$6.3M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$4.9M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$1.1M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.65 Management & general $0.27 Fundraising $0.08
Program efficiency
65%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
7.0mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
-21%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2023 · Form 990
Revenue
$5.2M
FY2023▼ -26%
Expenses
$6.3M
FY2023▲ +26%
Total assets
$7.6M
FY2023▼ -11%
Total liabilities
$2.7M
FY2023▲ +6%
Total revenue
$5.2M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$6.3M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$4.9M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$1.1M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$7.6M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B65%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 325
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 420
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $4.1M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2022.
01

Main Stage Theatre Productions

The Laguna Playhouse is the oldest continually operating theatre on the West Coast. It is recognized as one of California's premier resident theatres, performing award-winning live theatre since 1920.

$3.8Mprogram expense
02

Youth Education Programs

-Conservatory: offering comprehensive, after school, year-long theatre training in a professional setting for talented, aspiring young actors, ages 10-18. Scholarships are available for low-income youth.-Youth Theatre: a nationally recognized series of fully-staged productions of popular stories for family audiences.-Theatre for a New…

$239Kprogram expense
03

Youth Education Outreach Program

TheatreReach Bringing Books to Life Is an educational outreach program that supports literacy by performing plays adapted from required books In the California State curriculum and bussing them into the Playhouse for a professional theattrical experience. It serves over 10,000 elementary school students In Southern California each year.

$23Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CThe Laguna Playhouse
EINHdr · item D95-1509841
Principal addressHdr · item CLaguna Beach, CA
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.lagunaplayhouse.com
Year of formationHdr · item L1929
State of legal domicileHdr · item MCA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFArts & Culture (A65Z)
Ruling yearIRS BMFSep 1948

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a25
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b20
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2Yes

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2022); the FY2023 filing did not itemize Part VII
Artistic Director
$162,539Pt VII · Sec A
General Manager
$153,083Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Development
$131,178Pt VII · Sec A
$124,921Pt VII · Sec A
Managing Director
$98,462Pt VII · Sec A
Executive Director (former)
$60,000Pt VII · Sec A
Trustee
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

David Ellenstein’s $165K as Artistic Director is at the 72nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 3917 $1–10M arts & culture nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Ellen Richard$60,000$236,280$224,191$210,295
David Ellenstein$165,000$162,539
David Ellenstein$162,539
Bill Kerlin$160,000$98,462
Ann Wareham$155,780$151,151
Denys Baker$153,083$113,173$120,379
Ann E Wareham$147,344
Denys Baker$134,161$139,194

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Program service revenue$3.4M · 66%
Contributions & grants$1.6M · 31%
Other revenue$108K · 2%
Investment income$64K · 1%
Program service revenue66%$3.4M
Contributions & grants31%$1.6M
Other revenue2%$108K
Investment income1%$64K
— government grantsLn 1e$499K
Total revenueLn 12$5.2M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.65 Management & general $0.27 Fundraising $0.08
Program services65%$4.1M
Management & general27%$1.7M
Fundraising8%$528K
Total functional expensesLn 25$6.3M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$3.7M
Total assetsLn 16$7.6M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$2.7M
Total net assetsLn 32$4.9M
Months of cash on handcomputed6.9

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2023 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $3.7M · Operating expenses/yr $6.3M
7.0 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $4.1M · Total expenses $6.3M
65%
Management & General
Management & general $1.7M · Total expenses $6.3M
27%
Fundraising
Fundraising $528K · Total expenses $6.3M
8%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $358K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $1.0M
$0.35 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $1.6M · Total revenue $5.2M
31%
Government reliance
Government grants $499K · Total revenue $5.2M
10%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $3.4M · Total revenue $5.2M
66%
Investment reliance
Investment income $64K · Total revenue $5.2M
+1%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $3.4M · Total expenses $6.3M
54%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $5.2M · Prior year $7.1M
-26%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $4.9M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $5.2M · Expenses $6.3M
-21%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $7.6M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $4.9M · Total assets $7.6M
65%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $55K · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $7.6M
1%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual David Ellenstein · Reported title Artistic Director · Highest reported compensation $163K · Total expenses $6.3M
3%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $2.6M · Total expenses $6.3M
40%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 65%
Overhead ratio 27%
Fundraising cost ratio 32%
Revenue growth -26%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$500

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024$4.8M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$5.2M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$7.1M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$2.8M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$5.5M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2023IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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