PORT TOWNSEND — The cast and crew at Key City Public Theatre, the North Olympic Peninsula’s professional theater company, are uttering words they haven’t said in some 25 months.
Tickets are on sale. Come to the show.
The playhouse at 419 Washington St., downtown looks very different from its former self, but “Around the World in Less than 80 Days” — the production opening in two weeks — stars actors local theatergoers will recognize.
Grants and local donations have helped KCPT renovate and reconfigure its building, while a seven-member ensemble is poised to bring a story alive, promised Denise Winter, artistic director and leader of the Project Scene Change effort.
But first, a pause for a look around. KCPT’s performance space has brand-new seats. The box office has been moved out front, so the lobby and concessions space are bigger than before. So are the restrooms with their new, touchless fixtures. With a new ventilation system, the air in the space is replaced continually.
“We have probably some of the best air handling in the county,” quipped Winter.
As for the stage, it’s about to awaken with a world premiere. David Natale, the writer and actor who has appeared in KCPT’s “Spirit of the Yule,” “Dracula” and several Shakespeares in the Park, has completed an update of Jules Verne’s 1872 novel “Around the World in 80 Days,” mixing adventure, competition, two female reporters — and a bit of song and dance, all based on true events.
An early read-through of “Around the World” happened almost exactly two years ago during KCPT’s annual PlayFest. Natale, Winter and a small cast presented it to an audience in what was one of the last live performances in Port Townsend before March 2020’s shutdown.
Many months hence, playwright and actors met again. Virtually of course.
“Developing a script over Zoom is quite a challenge. But I can’t imagine a better group of people,” Natale said of his fellow artists.
“Around the World” evolved, then evolved some more, even as construction continued at the playhouse. Then, in March 2022, the turnaround came.
“When everyone stepped on stage, and could actually physicalize it,” said Winter, “they were a little emotional. We’re on our feet, in a room together. And we’re doing this,” rehearsing for opening night. An added challenge comes as each actor portrays multiple characters.
These are actors who’ve shared a stage many times: Maggie Jo Bulkley as Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland; and Natale, Brendan Chambers, Tomoki Sage and Christa Holbrook each play a variety of roles, from Phileas Fogg and Joseph Pultizer to Passepartout and Jules Verne. Consuelo Aduviso of “Spirit of the Yule” among other shows and Maude Eisele of “Sea Marks” and “The Merry Wives of Windsor” are the understudies, while Karen Anderson designs the lighting, Bry Kifolo is stage manager and Margie McDonald the set designer. McDonald has also, after five months, finished a new set of theater doors made of fired wood and brass.
Together inside, the actors and crew tell a different story from the one Verne told 150 years ago, Natale said. This is still a race around the globe, but his version interweaves aspects of the original with some modern detours.
“We thought: What are people going to come back to the theater for?,” added Winter.
“How about we travel?”
She and her crew also wanted a show with joy in it — and when the heavy topics do surface, they do so with wit.
“Around the World,” after pay-what-you-wish previews April 13-14 and opening night April 15, will run four weeks, to close May 8. Tickets and details are found at keycitypublictheatre.org or by phoning the playhouse at 360-385-5278.
“We’ll announce the 2022-23 season shortly after this,” Winter said, adding this next season will open in October with “Always … Patsy Cline,” the show that was supposed to start the 2020 season. Abakis, the local singer and actor, will star.
This spring and summer, KCPT will also offer a series of youth theater programs, including sessions at Chetzemoka Park.
In the midst of all the excitement, Winter has another message. This is a soft opening, she said; some grander stuff is coming down the road, when the full season unfolds.
And to those who aren’t yet comfortable in an indoor setting watching a two-hour play, she said: No pressure and no rush.
“It’s OK,” Winter said, “if you’re not ready. When you’re ready, we’re here.”
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Jefferson County Senior Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz @peninsuladailynews.com.
