Bothell theater prepares to take a bow

A lot of bigger cities don't have anything as nice as what's opening this month on a hilltop above downtown Bothell.

It's the new $5 million Northshore Performing Arts Center, finished three months ahead of schedule and getting ready for its first event Nov. 19.

That will be a jazz festival, attracting about 1,000 students from more than 30 high schools, and it will be a test of the facility.

"We're excited," said Doug Wilson, the fiscal director for the Northshore School District, which will operate the center on the grounds of Bothell High School, 18125 92nd Ave. N.E.

"We're proud of it. We can't wait to get our community in here," said Sara Land, the district's facilities-use specialist, as she and Wilson showed off the center last Wednesday.

What they described as they walked through the building is something that marks the culmination of years of work and hopes, and now is ready — almost.

"This place looks done, doesn't it?" Wilson asked. "Well, it isn't. Everybody's anxious. That's part of our frustration. All the technical systems aren't done.

"Can we heat it? Can we cool it? Can we control the lighting?" he asked, all questions to be answered in the next couple of weeks.

The center, with 600 seats, is one of the biggest venues of its kind in the Seattle area. By comparison, the Kirkland Performance Center has 402 seats, and Meydenbauer Center's performing-arts theater in Bellevue has 410.

Numbers, however, don't describe what went into creating the Bothell center, particularly the work of the Northshore Performing Arts Center Foundation, which set out more than 10 years ago to make it a reality. It got together with the Northshore School District, and the two agreed in 2003 to jointly build and share the theater.

The results show in countless details, from a modern sound system to what's visible just by walking into the lobby: wood.

Wood is everywhere, in wall paneling, handrails, trim boards installed along the staircases — nothing like the institutional metal fixtures commonly found in public buildings.

Then the doors open, and the full sweep of the theater comes into view, with the seats rising from an orchestra pit at the stage to a control room and recording studio in the back.

Among the most excited tenants are two theater groups, the Woodinville Repertory Theatre and the Bothell-based Attic Theatre Company.

"The idea is to have a really good balance and have this so that it's used constantly," said Land, the district's facilities-use specialist, describing plans for a mix of school and community functions. "We like the idea of the Attic Theatre and Woodinville Rep because they're both from this community."

The Attic, founded in 2003 by Jane Reinhardt and her husband, Mark, is the larger theater company of the two. The name came from her childhood home, said Jane Reinhardt, recalling how she loved the attic in that home.

"It was a place of safety, dreams, inspiration," she said.

About the same time she was forming her theater group, Reinhardt learned about the arts-center plans.

"That has been our dream," said Reinhardt, "to move into the Northshore Performing Arts Center."

"I'm ecstatic," she added. "It is a privilege and an honor to be considered for a resident theater company there. I get goose bumps thinking about it."

Until the Attic troupe moves in, probably early next year, theatergoers can see its performances in several locations.

The center's calendar is expected to gradually fill with school and other events. The Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra and Olympic Ballet have booked spring dates.

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com