But leaders of arts groups are worried that even if the money is released, they will suffer drastic cuts in next year’s budget. After all, the freeze comes after 18 months of extreme financial difficulty for regional and nonprofit theaters, not just in New Jersey but across the New York region and around the country. Along with significant drops in financing from foundations, local and state governments and corporations, some of these theaters have seen ticket sales suffer as families tighten their entertainment budgets.  Theater directors have creatively tackled the hardship by offering promotions and discounts, producing plays with fewer actors and, when possible, relying on well-known, crowd-pleasing productions like “42nd Street” and “Camelot” (both recently staged at Goodspeed Musicals in East Haddam, Conn.). A chief goal was to keep the adjustments invisible to the audience.  At Hartford Stage, an award-winning nonprofit theater in Connecticut’s capital, six jobs were cut, along with several performances. On Long Island, the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor has survived the year only because of the response to an urgent appeal for donations. And in Westchester County, the nonprofit White Plains Performing Arts Center postponed its production of “Hello, Dolly!” this year because of financial constraints.  In New Jersey, Maria Comella, a spokeswoman for Mr. Christie, said the governor-elect sent a letter to Governor Corzine asking him “to take a series of steps” until the new administration could assess the fiscal situation and make recommendations. Among them was the freeze on discretionary spending. Ms. Comella said that Mr. Christie, a Republican, did not get a response from Mr. Corzine, a Democrat; in addition to the arts financing, aid to municipalities has been frozen.  “There are a lot of tough decisions and there will be cuts ahead,” Ms. Comella said. “Governor-elect Christie has formed a task force, and there are ongoing meetings with Treasury to get an accurate picture. At the end, the task force will put forward recommendations.”  Financing for New Jersey theaters and other arts organizations had been relatively secure since 2003, when a law directed that a portion of the state’s 7 percent hotel and motel tax go to the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, in part to avoid yearly legislative wrangling. The hotel tax raised $86.3 million in 2008, up from $84.2 million the year before, and the arts groups have generally received about a quarter of it; this year, officials say the revenue is likely to be about $74 million.  “There is a blanket assumption that if we stop funding the arts my property taxes will go down, and that is not the case,” said David Lee White, the associate artistic director for Passage Theater in Trenton.  The Shakespeare Theater saw its $4.4 million budget drop by $300,000 this year. Ms. Monte said she was relying on $164,000 from the state this month to pay for printing, royalty rights, payroll and pension costs, among other things. “While that doesn’t seem like a lot, it is when you are operating on a down-to-the-bone budget already,” Ms. Monte said. She said the theater had delayed announcing next season’s program because Shakespeare productions require many actors and she was not yet sure what it could afford.  Playwrights Theater, also in Madison, saw its budget drop to $850,000 from $1.1 million two years ago. John Pietrowski, the artistic director, said he had let some leases on a copy machine and a bulk mailing program expire, cut marketing spending by 45 percent, put on plays with small casts, reduced ticket prices and shared the production of the theater’s first two shows this season with another theater. In addition to decreases in its foundation and government support, the theater’s earned income, from ticket sales and class tuition, fell 33 percent.  “We knew what we were up against,” he said. “It’s not like we’re a bunch of dolts around here. The majority of people I work with in the arts and theater are very savvy business people.”  Mr. Pietrowski said he could live without the $115,000 state grant he expected this month — until March. “If it’s not coming back, that’s a whole different kettle of fish, and I can’t tell you what would happen,” he said.  At the George Street Playhouse, a theater in New Brunswick that features original works, losing even $200,000 from last year’s $4.2 million budget meant sharp repercussions, said its managing director, Todd Schmidt. Employees took salary cuts of 5 percent to 10 percent, and two positions were eliminated. The playhouse is waiting for its $125,000 state grant to make ends meet, Mr. Schmidt said.  Even the McCarter Theater Center in Princeton, a regional powerhouse, is concerned about the situation.  “This is the cherry on top of the nonprofit sundae,” Timothy J. Shields, the theater’s managing director, said of the state freeze. “This came as a complete surprise to us.”  McCarter reduced its budget this year to $11.3 million, from $11.8 million in 2008. It laid off five employees, reduced travel and froze salaries. This month, the theater was expecting 85 percent of its $617,000 in grant money. Mr. Shields said that he was reluctant to back out of contracts with actors for the upcoming season, but that he was not sure where else he could cut. The center’s education program, which includes after-school classes and summer residency workshops for budding playwrights, are vulnerable.  “We are sort of at our wits’ end to figure out how we can get through this to produce the kind of theater that our audiences are used to,” Mr. Shields said. “It’s extremely tough to balance the choices here that have to be made. If the state money doesn’t appear, we are looking at a scenario that is very damaging.”  A version of this article appears in print on December 20, 2009, on Page MB1 of the New York edition with the headline: Grants Frozen, Theaters Improvise. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
A request by Governor-elect Christopher J. Christie that all discretionary spending be paused has left theaters unsure of their futures.