North Shore Music Theatre finished

North Shore Music Theatre hasn't been able to raise the $2 million it needed to launch a 2009 season. According to the organization's press release, the NSMT had raised more than $500,000 in pledges but that's not enough to open the doors.

The closing will leave a huge hole on the North Shore for locals interested in theater but find Boston venues too inconvenient or expensive. At its peak - about four years ago - NSMT had roughly 10,000 subscribers, said David Fellows, chairman of the theater's board of trustees.

That number had fallen to 4,400 when the theater stopped taking subscription orders late last year.

“It’s been a landmark here for a long time,” said Carolyn Pilanen, who directs musicals at Beverly High School.

Danvers resident Janet Guerette, a longtime subscriber, said she was saddened by the news. She also said she didn’t expect to receive back the $279 she had sent to NSMT for the now-cancelled season.

“How upset can I be?” said Guerette. “I’m upset I lost my $300. But everybody else lost theirs too.”

Back in April, the theater announced a plan to open this summer.