Curtain rising again at Lake City Playhouse

COEUR d’ALENE — It wasn’t that long ago Brooke Wood was ready to give up on renovating and reopening the Lake City Playhouse. 

The board president recalled a moment when she was crying after yet another setback in efforts to keep the 100-year-old community theater alive. It had been closed since January 2020 due to COVID, and then severely damaged when a main water pipe froze and broke in May 2021.

It was pretty much a disaster, and coming back from it was proving crazy difficult. 

“I was done,” Wood said. 

It was then her husband, Damon Wood, decided he was going to sign on. 

“I saw my wife struggling for two years trying to get the insurance to pay. She felt like it was all on her shoulders,” he said. 

Damon said to succeed meant giving it everything they had. Going all in. 

They did. 

“No more doom and gloom,” he said. 

The conversation couldn’t be about what did or didn’t happen, Damon said, but about what it was going to take to open the theater’s doors again. 

He said the key would be to get the story in the public’s eye. Tell everyone and anyone what had happened — the loss of costumes, plumbing nightmares and ruined floors — and what they were doing to fix it.

They talked to businesses and civic groups, made presentations at art festivals and concerts, organized a fundraiser, landed corporate sponsorships. 

“Everywhere I’d go, I’d talk about it,” said Damon, who received the title of theater fundraising manager.

Last year, the playhouse put on its first production in more than three years, performing "Matilda" at the Kroc Center. 

“We were showing people we were coming back,” Damon said. “We just let people know we didn't want the theater to go away, and people stepped up.” 

Did they ever.

The playhouse raised nearly $100,000 for renovations. It was out with the old flooring, walls, pipes and cabinets, and in with the new. 

Bids from contractors would come in at one price and suddenly go lower when the theater’s situation was explained.  

“People were helping out all over the place,” Damon said. 

A big boost was a $25,000 donation from Coldwell Banker Schneidmiller Realty. 

The Woods are part of the Coldwell Banker Schneidmiller Realty team. 

“That was a huge momentum builder,” Damon Wood said. 

On Wednesday, the results were on display. 

The smell of fresh paint filled the air. Dressing rooms were clean and bright. A kitchen was ready. There were more and larger restrooms. The ticket office and concession stand were remodeled. And best, the cast was laughing and smiling.

As the Woods stood in the foyer, the sound of voices rose from inside the stage area and 200 seats, where the cast of about 35 was rehearsing for “Oliver” which opens July 5. 

Brooke Wood, as if she doesn't have enough to do, is the director. 

“We tried really hard to take it back to feeling like a theater,” Brooke said. 

It’s been four and a half years since the playhouse has hosted a production, and the Woods are both excited and tired. It was a long, winding road to get here.  

But giving up, closing the theater for good and demolishing it, was not an option. 

She said the community was ready to see one of the oldest structures in town restored rather than torn down. 

“That was our goal, always to keep the building,” Brooke said.  

She said the Lake City Playhouse has a strong connection with many. Adults today were in plays as children, and their kids followed suit, and grandkids did the same. 

"We heard so many stories from people about how it touched their lives,” Brooke said. 

That included Brooke, who was involved with the theater as a child and performed in "Grease" in 1997.

It was a second home at times for the Woods and their sons. 

“This place saved me as a kid. It’s just really special,” Brooke said. 

The playhouse 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." 

“Our biggest goal is to make sure this place is here for our grandchildren,” Brooke said. 

She credits the board for its support through everything. In recent weeks they helped clean, landscape and build a new ticketing system.

“They signed on to run a theater, not save a theater,” she said. “They could have gone another way.” 

Now, they are looking ahead to opening night. 

Rehearsals began six weeks ago, and Brooke is confident it will be a hit. Jessica Peterson shines as Nancy, while Brady Campell “is killing it” as Fagin in his first time on stage. 

The cast, the choreography, the music, are outstanding, Brooke said. 

She said this is a “different take” on "Oliver." 

“We changed it up a bit,” Brooke said. “I kind of modernized it." 

Both Damon and Brooke expect opening night to be emotional. 

“We'll be crying all day,” Brooke said. 

There is one problem to be resolved. The restoration of the playhouse has dominated their dinner discussions at home for years. 

“I don’t know if we’re going to know what we’re going to talk about,” Brooke said, laughing. “I’m joking, but not really."

"Oliver" runs July 5 to July 14. Tickets are $30 for adults, $25 for seniors, military and students. 

Info: lakecityplayhouse.org 

    The cast of "Oliver" goes through songs for "Oliver," which opens July 5 at the Lake City Playhouse.