LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Majestic Repertory Theatre in the Arts District has become the latest target for thieves.
The theater's Artistic Director, Troy Heard, said someone broke into the business on Christmas Eve and took off with thousands of dollars worth of equipment.
"Christmas day, I came in to check out the place — I was running an errand — opened up the back door and realized the back door was unlocked. The deadbolt was shot, and as I walked through the building, I noticed things were just a little off. Like locker doors were open, things were misplaced, so I didn't know if someone had come in like a costume designer had come in and worked. So, I called them, and they said no, and that's how I started noticing things were missing," said Heard.
Heard tells Channel 13 that the suspect/s took off with roughly $10,000 of equipment.
The items include a soundboard, laptops, iPad and music equipment. This is all the gear he needs to bring the shows at Majestic Repertory Theatre to life.
"Any other time, we'd figure it out, but right now, it's crucial because our next production is a musical like we are doing cabaret that opens in January. And, like, without this equipment, we can't even do the show to make the money back," said Heard.
He created a GoFundMe page detailing what happened and hopes the community will help keep the show going.
"Unfortunately, we don't have theft insurance right now 'cause we never thought it was a thing we would need," said Heard. "I felt really bad coming out and saying, 'Can you please help us,' because a lot of people do that in times of need, and I know these are the holidays and people are a lot worse off than we are, but we really cannot function without this. So, I did set up a GoFundMe to hopefully cover the costs of our loss. And within 12 hours, we not only met our goal but we exceeded it. I shut down donations because we got what we need, we are so grateful for it. But then we started getting messages, we still want to give, we want to give. Like we don't-- we are good right now. We are ok. So I opened it back up just because people want to give and contribute. And it's really been a testimate how much our community values Majestic, and how much our community values community," said Heard.
Heard said with the extra money from the GoFundMe page, they plan to update their security system and put the money towards other productions for the new year.
Heard said he is extremely grateful for the help his community has shown him throughout this challenging time. He said he's received support from people all across the country.
"These past 24 hours has really proven to me that "Vegas Strong" is a very true phenomenon," said Heard.
This is not the first time a business has been broken into.
Back in March, Channel 13 reported on the break-ins at Dig It! Coffee Co. and Tacotarian.
"It feels a bit violating when someone comes in a space you've created," said Taylor Chaney, owner of Dig it! Coffee Co.
"It makes me very sad and frustrated at the same time because we work really hard," said Miriam Cedeno, manager at Tacotarian, back in March. "Now, I feel unsafe."
In an effort to combat the increasing crime in the area, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) and the City of Las Vegas teamed up in April to fight crime in the Arts District.
The effort is called the Arts District Coalition and involves quarterly meetings with small business owners to address their concerns.
