the forecast calls for Poppins
Words by Michael C. Moore
Illustration: Alex Sanso
The wind is, at long last, from the east. Which means that Mary Poppins finally can touch down in Bremerton, after a three-year delay.
Bremerton Community Theatre was forced to suspend production of the “practically perfect” musical three weeks before its scheduled opening in spring 2020, when COVID-19 hunkered in for what turned out to be a brutally long stay, bringing any sort of public performance to a grinding halt.
“Nobody knew how long (the COVID shutdown) would last, so we were going a few months at a time at that point,” said director Trina Williamson. “But we were always intent. We were going to do Mary Poppins. We just didn’t know when.”
COVID put all the county’s playhouses into ghost light mode. Indeed, for nearly two years all the theater world was an empty stage. It wasn’t until restrictions on indoor activities and social distancing finally eased in 2022 that casts and crews could venture back onto the boards.
For Mary Poppins, though, the wait was longer. Williamson already was committed to a pair of 2022 productions, directing both BCT’s Death of a Salesman and the Kitsap Forest Theater’s musical Bend in the Road.
Though the show was nearly stage-ready in 2020, Willliamson said rebooting for its opening isn’t just a pick-up-where-you-left-off proposition.
“I had a chance to go back to the drawing board with the set, which isn’t something I’d normally get to do,” she said. Luckily, both Williamson’s leads—Skye Campbell as Mary, Adam Somers as Bert—are on board, along with much of the 2020 cast and crew. “It’s a wonderful show, and I can’t wait for people to see it,” she said. “My heart is full of happy vibes going into this.”
BCT also has a production of Chekhov’s Three Sisters set for a February 3 - 26 visit prior to Mary Poppins, which opens March 31 and doesn’t blow out until the wind changes—or April 30, whichever comes first.
Here’s a look at what’s coming in the wind for Kitsap’s theater companies and music venues in the next few months.
ADMIRAL THEATRE
Booker T. Jones,
January 20, 7:30 p.m.
Friends: The Musical Parody,
February 24, 7:30 p.m.
The Music of Johnny Cash
& The Carter Family,
March 4, 7:30 p.m.
THE ROXY THEATRE
Christmas Rocks with the
Renaissance Rock Orchestra,
December 17, 6:30 p.m.
Nite at the Roxy New Years Eve,
December 31, 7 p.m.
BREMERTON WESTSOUND
SYMPHONY
Songs of the Season
Holiday Concert,
Bremerton Perfoming Arts Center,
December 18, 3 p.m.
Welcome to Jane Austen’s World,
William D. Harvey Theatre,
February 4 & 5
80th Anniversary at the
Admiral Theatre,
March 5, 3 p.m.
BAINBRIDGE PERFORMING ARTS
The Curious Incident of the
Dog in the Night-Time,
March 16 - 26
IND THEATRE
There Is a Happiness
That Morning Is,
December 8 - 18
Venus in Fur,
March 17 - April 2
OVATION! PERFORMING
ARTS NORTHWEST
The Sound of Music,
December 2 - 11
JEWEL BOX THEATRE
Royal Gambit,
January 28 - February 5
Skin Deep,
March 17 - April 2
WESTERN WASHINGTON
CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Picasso at the Lapin Agile,
January 20 - February 5
The Glass Menagerie,
March 3 - 19
Bainbridge Performing Arts gets new digs
If you ever looked down at your seat in the old Bainbridge Performing Arts theater and wondered, “How am I going to get all of me into that?”, there’s good news on the horizon. There’s going to be more space for your ample self come fall 2023, when BPA reopens its renovated Madison Avenue facility as the Buxton Center for Bainbridge Performing Arts.Work began on the extensive, $18 million renovation in October 2021, and it should be ready for staff to re-occupy next summer. First performances on the upgraded stage are slated for October, the kickoff of the 2023-24 theatrical season.
Among the improvements is more space—in the gallery, the lobby and in a new “studio theater” for classes, rehearsals and rental events. The overall square footage of the building will jump from 12,000 to 17,000. Combine that with roomier seats in the former Hodges Hall—and the comfort level of the formerly elbows-in gallery, as well as accessibility, will be greatly enhanced.