Port Orchard theater group hosts last performance before moving to new Bay Street location

PORT ORCHARD -- Longtime theater group Western Washington Center for the Arts is moving after 22 years, and going out in celebratory style before settling into a new location along Bay Street.

“When choosing the last show that was going to be done in this space I wanted to pick something that was going to be a party, you know?" Rebecca Ewen, the Artistic Director of the WWCA, of the troupe's stage version of the Adam Sandler movie "The Wedding Singer" that opened April 26 and runs through May 19. "This show is so funny, it has all these big dance numbers… It’s been the perfect fit for us."

The community in downtown Port Orchard has been a fit for years as well. Started in the 1990s, the WWCA was created by a volunteer group of people passionate about performing arts. They began performing at First Lutheran Church before finding the current home on Bay Street in 2023. After two decades of performances, summer theater camps for kids, concerts, workshops, improv classes and more, they learned the building would be unavailable for continued use due to needed environmental restoration work, according to Ewen.

After being acquired by the Port of Bremerton in 2021 along with a neighboring sheet-metal fabricator, property at 521 Bay Street, where fuel tanks were formerly stored underground, was tested and was determined to have toxins in the soil on the property. It is now considered a brownfield site that will be cleaned up by removing the old soil and putting down new soil, paid for through a federal grant, before a future use for the site is determined.

Related: An $800,000 EPA grant will clean up contaminated sites near Port Orchard waterfront

When they began looking for a new building, the WWCA made it a priority to stay within Port Orchard.

“We have built such a fanbase here... and Port Orchard deserves to have performing arts in the community,” Ewen said.

The WWCA found a new home, not far, just west and past City Hall, in a one-story building at 626 Bay Street. The building, which WWCA expects to sign a lease on in May, was previously used as a Crossfit gym, and will undergo renovations to be converted into a theater.

WWCA has currently raised approximately $75,000 of a anticipated goal of $200,000 to cover costs of moving, renovations and rent. Donations may be made on the WWCA website, at wwca.us, and anyone interested in helping is encouraged to sign up and volunteer.

"The Wedding Singer" began on April 26 to several sell-out crowds, and will be running until May 19, though Ewen said the closing date may get extended. Contact the WWCA for more information or ticket availability.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Port Orchard theater group headed to new home along Bay Street