May 1, 2026 By Mike Jones 3 min read

The recent theft from the Washington Community Theatre allegedly by its treasurer is forcing the nonprofit to cancel its performances this year, although fundraisers are now in the works to hopefully give the organization a financial boost to continue in 2027.

Less than an hour after Andrew Mours was arraigned Wednesday on felony theft charges on allegations of embezzling more than $41,000 from the group last year, Community Theatre President Jeff Zollars announced they had “temporarily suspended operations” for 2026 due to the loss of funds.

A production of “Legally Blonde” planned for Washington Park in late July and “The Full Monty” at 19 North in Washington scheduled for November were canceled. Zollars said the organization’s annual production budget of about $60,000 – which includes summer, fall and children’s shows – meant it could not afford to put on those performances after losing two-thirds of its funds.

“That was pretty much all we had to start out with for the season,” Zollars said in a phone interview Thursday. “So we had no choice but to cancel the season. We didn’t have enough money to put on the shows for 2026.”

Mours, 35, of Pittsburgh, had served as the non-profit’s treasurer since January 2025, and is accused of embezzling $41,140 from last May until December. Members noticed missing funds in March and alerted Washington police, which filed felony theft charges against Mours. He was arraigned Wednesday afternoon by District Judge Kelly Stewart and is free on $30,000 unsecured bond.

Zollars said they have since “taken a lot of measures to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again” with its finances.

After the news broke of the criminal charges, Zollars said the outpouring from the community has been inspiring for the organization and its volunteers. The Washington-based production company has been putting on performances since its founding in 1969.

“The community has been very helpful,” Zollars said. “Different organizations have reached out to us and offered us opportunities for fundraising.”

The non-profit announced it would hold a Dinner Theater Fundraiser at Washington Park on June 26 and 27 hoping to raise enough funds to support a full 2027 theater season. Two other fundraisers are also being planned with the help of Hickory’s Old Schoolhouse Players in August and another event at 19 North in November.

“We feel like we’re getting a lot of community support and it’s wonderful,” Zollars said. “Everyone wants to help and how they are able to help. It’s been very refreshing to have that response from the community.”

The two-night dinner theater fundraiser at Washington Park will be catered by Countryside Deli and be similar to another event held at the main pavilion last year. Zollars said the McIlvaine Family through Coen Markets has pledged “seed money” to help get the dinner fundraiser off the ground, along with offering a matching donation up to $5,000 to boost proceeds from the dinner.

Zollars said the Old Schoolhouse Players in Hickory offered to let the theater troupe use their location in Hickory for one night, while President’s Pub owner Mark Kennison also reached out in an effort to help.

“He felt so bad with what happened to us, he wanted to help us with what he could,” Zollars said. “We’re receiving an outpouring of support (with people saying) we’re a staple of the community.”

Tickets for the fundraisers will eventually be posted on the organization’s website at www.wctheatre.org, and there is also a button to make direct donations to the group.