Following its announcement earlier this month that financial difficulties may soon force its closure, Penobscot Theatre Company on Monday announced it will cancel three of its four planned productions for the 2003 summer season.

According to board President Calvin Luther, “The Fantasticks” will open on July 25 and be performed on a modified schedule, but “As You Like It,” “Macbeth” and “Alice in Wonderland” will not be produced.

“The theater must be prudent during these times of financial stress,” Luther said. “Theater productions do not generate an excess of revenue. Ticket sales bring in just 36 percent of our annual income. By canceling these productions, we keep the theater’s current deficit from growing and continue to ask the community for financial support. It is our hope that this cost-cutting effort combined with the results of our Extraordinary Friends Fundraising Campaign keep the theater alive.”

According to Mark Torres, PTC’s producing artistic director, the Maine Shakespeare Festival, though popular for the past nine summers, is an expensive undertaking for the theater, and one that generated the least amount of sponsorships and individual contributions.

“Artistically, this was a very difficult decision,” Torres said. “In times like these I believe everyone understands the concept of ‘downsizing.’ The board members and I are committed to making responsible fiscal decisions for the theater. Increasing this deficit by producing the bulk of the festival, we have decided, would be imprudent.”

Other measures being taken by the theater include seeking a buyer for the small theater at 183 Main St., leaving vacant a full-time position, raising ticket prices, canceling a 25-school spring touring production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and suspending ASL-interpreting services on all productions.

The Creative Arts Program scheduled to serve almost 200 children and teens this summer will not be affected by this change and will take place June 19-July 2, July 7-18 and July 28-Aug. 8.

Patrons with tickets for the summer season soon will receive a letter announcing the change in programming with options for donating the cost of their tickets to the theater, exchanging their tickets for future shows, or requesting a refund.

Sponsorship opportunities are available for “The Fantasticks,” the Creative Arts Program, and the remainder of the PTC season. Production sponsorships start at $2,500 and include program advertising, show passes and acknowledgement in advertising materials. Prospective sponsors and donors may call the theater’s director of development for information at 947-6618.