EFFINGHAM – One of central Illinois' major entertainment venues is closing its doors in early December.

The Rosebud Theatre in Effingham announced Monday that it will shut down after the curtains come down on its holiday show, "The Spirit of Christmas," on Dec. 5.

Theater president Janie Oldfield said the unstable economy and falling ticket sales led the theater's directors to close the venue, which drew a variety of national acts, ranging from comedian Rodney Carrington to '70s rock band Foreigner to country music legend Willie Nelson.

"When you are an emerging arts organization and the economy affects ticket sales, it poses some big challenges," Oldfield said. "I think people were conserving their money for basic necessities and were not spending funds on discretionary activities."

Oldfield said the theater has seven full-time employees and 79 part-time employees, assisted by 60 volunteers.

Oldfield said 36 investors provided money to open the theater in November 2007.

In addition, the city of Effingham issued a $1.2 million grant from its hotel-motel tax in 2006 to help pay for marketing the theater, according to Kim Jansen, Effingham's city tourism director.

While the city also created an amusement tax that assessed 5 percent of ticket sales, Jansen said, the amusement tax was not intended to get the $1.2 million marketing grant money back.

Jansen said the city received $89,567 from the amusement tax from May 2008 to February 2009, with 60 percent of the money going to the city's general fund and 40 percent going to the city's hotel-motel fund.

"We're upset about the Rosebud closing," Jansen said. "It was a great attraction for Effingham, and we had high hopes for it. The Rosebud brought a lot of folks to our community, and it was unfortunate that they had to close their doors."

Effingham Mayor John Lange was out of town on Monday and couldn't be reached for comment.

"On behalf of the investors, the staff and volunteers, we are all tremendously sad," Oldfield said. "The theater always had its challenges, and we worked hard to keep the cash and capital where it needed to be to keep the operation going."

Oldfield said the theater will honor all tickets for remaining shows.

When the Rosebud closes on Dec. 5, the theater will have hosted 129 shows.

"I've had so many favorites," Oldfield said. "(Country singer) Josh Turner had such high production values, and Rodney Carrington was a blast because the audience was having so much fun. I think the Beach Boys concert was probably the most unforgettable show because we had every generation from grandparents to great-grandchildren all having a good time together."

Kristie Campbell, owner of the nearby Firefly Grill restaurant, said she will miss the Rosebud Theatre.

"We're very sad. Obviously, this is a huge loss for the community," Campbell said. "Effingham has so much to offer, and the Rosebud was truly a special venue that added to the quality of our life here."

Campbell said she hopes something else will move into the space being vacated by the Rosebud Theatre.

"We're hoping somebody can find a business model that will work there," she said.

Campbell said her restaurant has no plans to close.

"Our business is a regional and national draw," she said.

Oldfield said she wanted to thank the people who traveled to Effingham to take in shows at the Rosebud Theatre.

"We worked hard to make the Rosebud a place where you could have once-in-a-lifetime performances and experiences," Oldfield said. "We have been fortunate to have folks come from many miles around to share in our shows, and we regret that we were not able to sustain this business."

Oldfield said she hopes the memories created at the Rosebud Theatre will remain with central Illinois residents for the rest of their lives.

"We've had wonderful shows, wonderful audiences and oodles of fun," she said.