Bellingham is an incredible city that welcomes thousands and thousands of tourists each year. They come here seeking new experiences and perspectives. Our historic museums, breathtaking parks, locally made art and music, and relaxed breweries are just a few of the amazing things that draw visitors to Bellingham. So when you have a day or two off, why would you go anywhere else? That’s the philosophy behind Mount Baker Theatre’s (MBT) Journeys. The collection of events encourages residents to stay home and #OptInspiration by “escaping” locally with world-class, culturally-diverse live theater, dance, celebrity, and music performances — that come to you — from across the globe, year-round. And after each mesmerizing show, you can drift off to sleep, comfortably — in post-show euphoria — at home, on your own pillow.
Your Passport to Live Entertainment
This year, and every year, MBT’s employees work hard to bring the very best in local, national, and international live entertainment to this historic Bellingham Theater. “Our mission here is pretty simple. We provide access to diverse performing arts, entertainment, and social interaction that enriches and educates the lives of the people that make up this great community,” explains MBT Executive Director, Brad Burdick. “Our Journeys program is the passport that brings the world to your doorstep.”
Mount Baker Theatre wants to encourage everyone in the region to schedule time in their staycation to do things they often walk right past. In line with MBT’s mantra, “There’s a Whole Wide World in Here!” the historic building itself in our downtown arts district is an escape to another world. Built in 1927 in an exotic Spanish Moorish design, this architectural gem was meant to transport its small town patrons to another time and place. The building was placed on the National Historical Record in 1978 and since 1984, more than $14 million has been invested in capital improvements. The best way to appreciate this incredible historic venue is to schedule your very own free tour backstage at MBT today.
The theatre’s three venues currently support more than 400 events and 110,000 visitors annually. More than 25 of these extraordinary events tour all over the world before stopping here to share their heart and soul with us. Whether they are extravagantly-staged theatre, dance, and spectacle performances, a visit by a living legend in their field, or concert from artful, memorable musicians, each performance offers virtual access to other cultures, locations, and points of view, and an electric connection that can only be experienced firsthand between audience and performer.
Bright Lights
If you’ve ever been to a nationally or internationally touring live theater or dance performance, you know that it is an experience that will stay with you for the rest of your life. For a short time, you are transported to another place and time. You become a part of the story. Your own life falls away and you become a part of another world. That’s the experience MBT’s Bright Lights performances strive to bring to everyone.
As the October chill sets in this year, you’ll be able to head south to the American desert with the stark beauty and vibrant colors of professional dance company Momix, as they perform “Opus Cactus” on October 18. Their mesmerizing movement brings the whole family along for a dangerous and funny escape into the enchanting world of the Sonoran desert.
Mount Baker Theatre will also transport its audience to Dublin (via Broadway) on November 4 when it hosts the Tony Award-winning production of the romantic musical “Once.” Bringing the Broadway experience right here to Bellingham, this story follows a Dublin street musician’s struggle to reach his dreams and how he finds his art in the chemistry he develops with a captivating young woman.
These are just a couple of the incredible shows that make up the Bright Lights of MBT’s captivating 2016 – 2017 season.
Celebrity Sights
Celebrities are really just people like us. But they are people who do extraordinary things, garnering them with an elite — almost supernatural — status. Mount Baker Theatre routinely brings these individuals to our lovely city so they can share that magic with us, in person, just a few feet away.
No matter who you ask, we can all agree that it has been a particularly unusual year in American politics. On September 16, you can take an insider tour of Washington D.C. with the famous resident comedy troupe The Capitol Steps. With real life experience as Senate staffers, no subject is off limits for this company of talented comedians that blend the spectacle of musical and political theater as they perform “What to Expect When You’re Electing.”
On October 14, you can experience New York’s Lincoln Center — live right here in Bellingham — with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra performing alongside the world-renowned musician, composer, bandleader, and educator, Wynton Marsalis. Most agree that Marsalis is among the finest, most talented musicians and composers of his generation. Hearing him play with 15 of the most inspiring jazz musicians of our time in person, free of filter or manipulation, will be a truly singular experience.
A diverse array of exceptional performances is just a click away throughout the year at MBT.
Renowned Sounds
Professional musicians dedicate their lives to perfecting their art. They create and cultivate another language that speaks to another part of our souls. The energy that echoes back to them from their enthralled audiences is what drives them to invent, to master, and to perform. Mount Baker Theatre does its best to bring to our city once-in-a-lifetime performances that we’ll never forget.
On October 9, you can travel back in time — into your imagination — to Neverland with the 1924 silent film version of “Peter Pan.” The screening will be accompanied — as if you were watching it on its first showing — by Dennis James on MBT’s mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ. Interestingly, this was the first film to bring the Broadway play to the rest of the world and the first time Tinkerbell was portrayed by a person. You can experience firsthand why silent film changed the way we viewed the world.
Then on October 28th you can drive to the “big city,” right in downtown Bellingham, to see Ben Folds pound piano keys in his intimate new solo tour “Ben Folds and a Piano.” A recent U.K. reviewer wrote that Folds, “… looked like the captain of a very happy ship, producing tunes which sounded laid-back in their performance but must have required swan-like levels of speed and skill to get so right.”
A number of other phenomenal musicians are scheduled to perform throughout this memorable season at MBT.
Travel the World at Mount Baker Theatre
You don’t need to leave town to see the world and leave your work behind. Tickets are on sale now to help you plan your next #OptInspiration staycation full of escapes into other worlds and times through the varied cultural performances that MBT brings this season to our own front door.
Mount Baker Theatre
104 North Commercial Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
Phone: 360-733-5793
Tickets: 360-734-6080
www.mountbakertheatre.com
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