If you look at the resume of shows The Attic Theatre has done, you begin to see a pattern: “The Diary of Anne Frank,” “The Miracle Worker,” “A Christmas Carol,” “Our Town,” “The Screwtape Letters” and “The Mousetrap.”
That pattern will continue with Attic’s production of “It’s a Wonderful Life — The Musical.” iThese are plays with meaning, plays that send a message. These plays are picked with purpose.
Attic Theatre sprung from a desire to bring “theater with a message” to the community. The group’s mission statement is to showcase plays of “hope, quality and meaning,” and to “build deep theatrical, spiritual and community relationships,” with an emphasis on the spiritual and the wholesome, said Attic’s artistic director, Jane Reinhardt.
“I wanted a theater company where you could bring a 10-year-old and an 80-year-old and there would be a message,” Reinhardt said. “I believe most people on some level are in a spiritual journey and are looking for meaning in their life. ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ or ‘The Miracle Worker’ and ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ all have inherent messages.”
Along with producing powerful plays and building what she calls her “Attic family,” Reinhardt has a “huge passion” for strong community theater. Coming from the Chicago area, Reinhardt was surprised to find so little community theater here, especially in communities like Kirkland, Bothell, Mill Creek and south Everett.
“Theater is a common cultural unifier. It crosses cultural lines and brings out themes that are universal,” Reinhardt said. “It really pulls people together.
“And the arts is a great educator for our youth,” she said. “It taught me discipline and it gave me a focus in my life. It’s given my life meaning. This is another way to give meaning to our lives.”
So Reinhardt, with her own seed money after liquidating her 401k, started the Attic Theatre company in 2003. The Bothell-based company has 12 board members and a core cast of between 10 and 15 people. The company has drawn actors from the Theatre of Puget Sound as well as locally.
Reinhardt came up with the name “Attic Theatre” because one of the first books she read was “The Diary of Anne Frank.” In that book, the attic was the safe place. “I wanted that sense of safety, where creativity could live.”
The Attic Theatre has performed in various locations since it began. The performance of “It’s a Wonderful Life” will be the first time the company has done a show in the new Northshore Performing Arts Center in Bothell. Though that venue is expensive to rent, Reinhardt said she’s excited about it and hopes that one day the center could be a permanent home for Attic productions.
This musical stage version of what some have called one of the most inspiring films of all time, “It’s a Wonderful Life – The Musical” is faithful to Frank Capra’s classic movie starring Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore. But this musical version, rarely heard by audiences, provides a fresh approach into the story of George Bailey of Bedford Falls, who overcomes his own disappointment and the greedy Mr. Potter. Bailey is encouraged to go on living by Clarence, an angel-in-training. In the end, George learns that his life is truly wonderful because of his friends and what he has done for others.
Reinhardt called the musical version “a true undiscovered jewel.”
“There are so many musicals where you know three or four great songs. But this one, I could sing you all the songs right now. You wouldn’t want me to, but I could,” Reinhardt said. “It’s a wonderful, beautiful, melodic score.”
There are more than 20 in the cast. The show stars Ryan Childers as George Bailey and Donna Austin as Mary Hatch Bailey. The production team is led by Julia Harrison. The play is directed by Reinhardt with musical direction by Sue Timpe.
“It’s a show that needs to be seen even though it’s 60 years old and needs to be heard,” Reinhardt said, adding that there’s a moratorium on this version of the script so it may not be heard again for some time.
Reinhardt said the show also needed to be performed for personal reasons.
Reinhardt’s best friend had given her tremendous support to start the Attic company. The last show that friend was in, before dying of cancer in September, was “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
“I knew I wanted to do this,” Reinhardt said. “She did for me what George did for Clarence. She helped me earn my wings.”
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