AG Gets Westchester Broadway Theater To Refund Ticket Holders

ELMSFORD, NY — More than $1 million in refunds will be issued to thousands of Westchester Broadway Theater customers who couldn't attend performances because the theater closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The theater, according to state Attorney General Letitia James, agreed to refund tickets and gift certificates purchased prior to the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Gov. Andrew Cuomo shut down all theaters at the time.

Westchester Broadway Theater, which was located in Elmsford, closed its doors in October 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Co-founders Bob Funking and Bill Stutler said the building would be turned into a warehouse.

James said customers have already begun receiving their refund checks.

"After the Westchester Broadway Theater took its final bow," she said, "thousands of theatergoers were unable to get refunds for tickets they had already purchased.

"For months, theatergoers were stuck in the wings, but today, my office helped put more than $1 million back into New Yorkers' pockets," James said. "While the curtains are finally closed on this saga, we will continue to go after companies that refuse to reimburse consumers."

The theater presented dinners along with live performances of popular musicals and concerts.

As of March 2020, it had sold more than 30,000 tickets to upcoming performances which were then canceled when all theaters were forced to close.

Following the shutdown, James's office received numerous complaints from ticketholders who said the theater refused to give refunds for canceled shows.

An investigation was opened in October 2020 after it was reported that the Westchester Broadway Theater had permanently closed and would not reimburse patrons.

Instead, the theater created a ticket exchange police with the White Plains Performing Arts Center, where the center would honor tickets and gift cards bought for the Westchester Broadway Theater. No refund option was offered, and the ticket exchange did not honor the value of the dinner portion of the theater's tickets.

According to James, only 930 Westchester Broadway Theater ticket holders participated in the exchange.

The attorney general's office got the theater to agree to refund a total of more than $1.1 million to thousands of customers, even the ones who participated in the ticket exchange.

James said gift certificate holders who show a receipt may also be eligible for a refund or may use the gift card at the theater's news Chappaqua location.

To date, the attorney general's office has recovered millions of dollars for New Yorkers in refunds for pandemic-related shutdowns.