Curtain call for Lake City Playhouse

COEUR d’ALENE — The lineup of the 59th season of the Lake City Playhouse is still posted in the lobby.

Plaques from past awards, like the 2012 and 2013 Best of The City, hang crookedly on the wall.

A bucket for donations and a basket of Lake City Playhouse T-shirts sit on the counter in front of the Box Office and Will Call windows.

All are signs from previous productions at the city’s oldest theater.

Whether there is a 60th season remains in question.

The 200-seat theater on Garden Avenue closed in January 2020 due COVID-19. In May 2021, it was flooded when a main water pipe broke underneath the main floor, which led to more broken pipes.

“Water was everywhere,” said Brooke Wood, playhouse board president.

More than a foot of water soaked the basement of the 100-year-old building. The bathrooms were severely damaged.

Costumes and stage props were ruined. More troubling, structural defects were discovered when the flooring was ripped up to access the water pipes. Unexpected problems were discovered inside the walls.

“It was structurally sound for the day. It wasn’t now,” Wood said. “It was one thing after another, one thing led to another.”

"Did we have any idea it was like this? No way," said Jessica Peterson, board member.

Cats later got into the building as it sat vacant and made even more of a mess.

“We had 'Cats the Musical' with real cats on our stage,” Wood said, laughing.

Renovations are underway.

Wood said they plan to replace the men's and women's bathrooms with three individual stalls to make them more ADA-accessible.

The kitchen will be removed to make room for restrooms for actors.

New flooring and walls are on the list, too.

The theater had insurance and a contractor completed some repairs, such as replacing pipes. But when material costs escalated beyond projections, he requested more money. Insurance balked and work stopped.

"We didn't want to go into debt," Wood said.

Insurance representatives are returning to review the playhouse's condition and consider providing more coverage.

Repairs to reopen are estimated at $125,000.

“It’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of fundraising,” Wood said.

She said they are stuck in a Catch-22: They need money to reopen, but can't hold productions to raise money as long as the theater is closed.

"You have to have money to make money,” Wood said.

So the volunteer board faces a tough task.

“We're trying to save an entire building, raise money while working our jobs," Wood said.

Before their water woes, Wood said the playhouse was on solid financial footing and looking forward to reopening.

“Then this happened,” she said.

It is using reserves to pay the mortgage and utility bills, but that will eventually run out unless doors reopen or it finds a temporary stage.

They haven’t publicized their situation because they were reluctant to ask for help.

"We didn’t want to do that from the beginning,” Wood said. “We didn’t want to go to the public and say we needed money.”

But it's time.

Coeur d'Alene City Council member Kiki Miller said there is broad community support for the Lake City Playhouse, which is part of the town's historical charm.

“This theater is one of those multigenerational assets,” she said. “It is unlike any other theater experience. It’s a home of memories for this community."

Miller guessed that anyone in the theater world over age 10 has probably acted or visited there.

"It’s part of the fabric of what makes Coeur d’Alene special,” she said. “It has tremendous potential, and it’s worth saving.”

Coeur d’Alene Arts Commission Chair Mary Lee Ryba said Lake City Playhouse is important, especially when it comes to introducing youth to creative arts.

The playhouse doesn't charge boys and girls to be in shows and has after-school programs.

“It's great for kids to be exposed to any type of music, art or theater,” she said.

Ryba, who has a background in fundraising, believes a few fundraisers would be a good start toward reopening the theater.

She said many in the community are unaware of the playhouse's predicament. Once they learn of it, she is confident they will rally to save it.

“I think people are very generous in Coeur d’Alene and North Idaho," she said.

Coeur d’Alene City Council member Dan Gookin, a past artistic director at the Lake City Playhouse, said he has seen amazing talent come through its doors.

Lake City Playhouse's small stage and limited seating create an intimate atmosphere that can't be found elsewhere.

“It makes you feel like you are right there,” Gookin said.

Wood, who was involved with the theater as a child and preformed in "Grease" in 1997, agreed.

“It is a beautiful little theater that has touched people’s lives for 60 years,” she said. “There’s not a lot of places like this left in Coeur d’Alene."

It produces about six shows a year, which generally sell out. It's estimated more than 150,000 people have watched plays there since the theater opened.

Past hits have included "Rent," "Bonnie and Clyde," "Annie" and "A Christmas Story."

Cast and crew were rehearsing for "Matilda" when the theater closed due to COVID-19.

But hopes are high for reopening this summer for youth camps, and a show could take the stage in the fall.

The stage is solid and so are the dressing rooms. Costumes ruined in the flood were covered by insurance.

A cleanup day is scheduled next Sunday starting at 11 a.m. and help is welcome.

Asked if they might consider selling the property, Wood said it's been discussed, but would be a last resort.

"How sad would that be, to watch another thing that has been so pivotal in the community just go away?" she said.

The trend is out with the old, in with the new.

But for Wood and the Lake City Playhouse board, the old is just fine.

“We want to keep what is and just make it better,” Wood said.