Everett Theatre turns to youth, tries for new life

Published 11:11 pm Tuesday, October 14, 2008

A venue best known for community theater will break into hip hop this weekend, hosting two of Seattle’s most buzzed-about acts.

The Blue Scholars and Common Market will headline the Everett Theatre on Saturday night, as the struggling venue tries to attract a younger crowd — or really, any sort of crowd at all.

Ed Beeson, a board member at the theater, worked with a college-aged group of volunteers to put the show together. He supported it for two reasons: The 20-somethings’ enthusiasm was infectious and the theater’s financial situation was precarious, leading to new priorities.

“The biggest part of the market we weren’t serving was the market most interested in what we could do here,” Beeson said. “And that’s young people.”

The 107-year old theater, home of the Northwest Savoyards musical theater group, has been on thin ice for some time. It launched a campaign earlier this year, saying if it didn’t raise $75,000, it may close. Since then, staff has been reduced to one paid individual — a box office attendant.

That’s where unpaid volunteers enter the picture.

“We were like, ‘We could save the theater by having a variety show,’ ” Eugene Capon II said.

The 23-year-old visual arts student and some friends pitched the idea to the board with a poster. It showed a giant radioactive spider attacking Everett. The spider represented economic peril.

Beeson, a Seattle music industry veteran who booked acts for Bumbershoot from 1995 to 1999, liked their energy but not their idea. He steered the greenhorns away from a variety show and toward a concert.

After a series of meetings with about six volunteers, Beeson used his connections to book the Blue Scholars, a hip-hop duo that often sells out Seattle clubs, and the up-and-coming act Common Market.

Capon lauded the choice.

“They’re incredibly influential,” he said of the Blue Scholars. “I love the fact they’re all about rights for all people, youth empowerment. They kind of reach the target market we’re looking for.”

Members of both acts sounded excited about the show. The Blue Scholars, which released its first album in 2004, has never played Everett.

“I didn’t even know Everett was an option,” said Alexei Saba Mohajerjasbi, aka DJ Sabzi of the Blue Scholars. “I’ve always thought of Western Washington as a small place … but it seems like the concert-going public is big enough and spread out enough that we can do Seattle and Everett.”

The groups, which are playing for a reduced fee to take into account the theater’s predicament, also were glad the concert would be open to all ages.

“If it was up to me, personally, we would never do a 21 and over show,” said rapper RA Scion, or Ryan Abeo of Common Market. “The majority of our fans are youth.”

If the show is a success, that could mean more bands playing Everett. Beeson and Capon mentioned the possibility of booking the multiplatinum Seattle rock band the Presidents of the United States of America in the winter. But like the future of the theater, nothing’s set in stone.

“You have to take the talent when it’s available,” Beeson said.

You also have to have ticket sales. The 834-seat theater needs to bring in 300 people to cover the cost of the Blue Scholars show, Beeson said.

“We can’t do anything but break even, because there’s nothing to fall back on,” he said.

With 140 tickets sold as of Monday, success is not yet in hand. If the show falters, however, it won’t be for a lack of trying. Capon and his friends plan to hand out as many as 5,000 fliers. They set up a table at the Everett Mall on Sunday, and on Monday, hit Everett Community College.

While many students were unaware of the show, some said they were ready to buy a ticket after taking a flier.

“Blue Scholars — great, great group,” Dylan Yunker, 19, said at the college. “These guys need to be more known.”

Reporter Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455 or arathbun@heraldnet.com

Blue Scholars with Common Market

8 p.m. Saturday, Everett Theatre, 2911 Colby Ave., Everett; 425-258-6766, www.everetttheatre.org; tickets are $16.50