Historic Everett Theatre reopens with a new look and a new owner

EVERETT — The Historic Everett Theatre is set to come back to life Friday night with a new owner aiming to reestablish the historic venue as a cultural hub for Everett.

Johnny Phan, a Bellevue real estate broker and investor, became the new owner on June 1 after paying $1.5 million, according to Snohomish County Assessor records. The theater has been closed since June 28. Three months later, and after extensive renovations to the 800-seat facility, the theater’s rebirth appears nearly complete.

Earlier this year, members of the Historic Everett Theatre Preservation Society feared the worst for the building they loved.

The Historic Everett Theatre has been for sale since before the COVID-19 pandemic as Craig Shriner, the primary owner, had been looking to retire. Phan told Curt Shriner, Craig’s brother and manager at the time, to cancel all of the theater’s contracts.

Phan first saw the theater during a visit to Everett in April.

“I fell in love the first time I saw the building and the rich history of it,” Phan said.

Workers have painted white clouds over a blue sky on the 70-foot ceiling, repainted the theater’s interior and installed new carpet, heating and air conditioning.

Phan won’t provide exact numbers but said renovations cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Just paying workers to go on a scaffolding and repaint the ceiling cost $50,000, he said.

“I think (the theater) it has a fresh new look for the people and the community,” Phan said.

Friday night’s opening show will feature a James Taylor tribute band named Taylor Made. On Saturday night, singer Haley Reinhart will perform.

Reinhart won third place on “American Idol” in 2011, which launched her international performing career.

The reopening is the beginning of a new era for the theater, though some of the details are still being worked out.

Curt Shriner, who was the volunteer president of the Historic Everett Theatre Preservation Society, is working with Phan. The society produced shows at the theater from 2014 until several months ago.

Under a new agreement, Curt Shriner will be the producer and promoter of the previously booked events at the theater.

As a promoter, Curt Shriner says he will be taking a financial risk.

For the Haley Reinhart concert, for example, he said he has put up $20,000 to pay the performer and rent the theater from Phan but had only sold 317 of the 800 seats.

Still, Shriner figures he will make a profit once the revenue from the bar and concession stand is calculated. Phan, meanwhile, is guaranteed income from renting the theater.

Curt Shriner said the nonprofit Historic Everett Theatre Preservation Society is now dissolved.

Phan said he has formed a new nonprofit that will also produce shows at the theater as well as host corporate events and weddings.

“We’re exploring all options,” he said.

Revenue for the theater’s first concert will be split between Shriner, Phan and the performers, Shriner said. He said only 100 tickets were sold in advance for that concert, but it could still make a profit.

Prior to Phan’s ownership, the Historic Everett Theatre Preservation Society had three staff members and 30 volunteers.

Curt Shriner said repairs, such as frequently broken plumbing lines, were fixed on a patchwork basis because there wasn’t enough money to proactively upgrade the theater.

“There was always something unexpected to fix,” he said.

Craig Shriner, who is 77 and lives in Park City, Utah, said he did not want to deal with the aging theater anymore.

“It was time to move on and for an ownership change,” he said.

Curt Shriner said he now realizes the sale was positive because Phan had the money to do the needed renovations.

“Johnny is the best thing that has happened to this theater in a long time,” he said.

The Historic Everett Theatre has seen its share of ups and downs in its 124-year history.

First opened as an opera house, the theater saw vaudeville performers, traveling musicals and movie showings in the infancy of motion pictures.

Performers like Al Jolson, Nat King Cole and Helen Hayes have graced its stage.

By the 1980s, it had become a three-screen movie multiplex that couldn’t compete with a larger complex at The Everett Mall. It closed in 1989 after the heating system broke down.

The theater reopened in 1993, hosting live performers again. It was in foreclosure when the Shriner brothers entered the picture in 2014.

Phan said he is learning as he goes.

Ultimately, Phan said he needs to make a profit to “pay the bills” but views his ownership of the theater as a long-term bet.

“I am on a mission to carry on the historical tradition at the theater,” he said.

Randy Diamond: 425-339-3097; randy.diamond@heraldnet.com.