Calendar year 2024 has been one of unquestionable success for the Warehouse Theatre Company in Yakima. They’ve met or exceeded every accepted measure of theater achievement. Their mission is to “engage, enrich, and encourage the Yakima Valley community through shared experiences in theater arts,” and the company can count the past year as perhaps the best in its 78-year history.
The WTC produced six shows between February and December. Ranging in tone from ridiculously comedic to epically adventuresome, to deeply tragic and thought-provoking, each play was a triumph in its own way. Thanks to a remarkably faithful patron base, the attendance average for the five core shows in the season of plays was a whopping 97%. The “sixth show” – a play with adult language and content – had lower turnout, but of all the shows in the last 12 months, it garnered the most unsolicited praise. It clearly engaged and enriched those in attendance.
The most recent production, “The Sound of Music,” is a clear example of the mission-driven success of the Warehouse this year. A by-the-numbers review reveals why. The show held eight performances over two weekends at the 358-seat East Valley High School Performing Arts Center. Only 37 of the 2,864 seats available in the run went unsold. That means 2,827 audience members came to the PAC to hear a story that most of them already knew. The play was so popular that the final four performances completely sold out. (For a more detailed review by a neutral party, see last week’s “Wandering Central Washington” column by Explore contributor Janell Shah.)
Going into the October casting experience for the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, director Gina Prescott and assistant director Megan Hawkins believed they would have a good turnout for auditions. They did not anticipate a remarkable 152 hopefuls, though. Thrilled by such an enthusiastic response, they set out to narrow the field to match their vision of the show. They would ultimately cast 47 of those who auditioned.
But, if you’re familiar with “The Sound of Music,” you realize, as did the directors, that the biggest challenge was to cast a specific role correctly – Maria Rainer. The story, after all, is hers. With that in mind, the field of 37 women who auditioned went down to the half dozen who listed “Maria” as their hoped-for role.
There’s no question that a wealth of gifted and talented singers auditioned for the role. The skills on display were impressive and the voices beautiful. But, in the end, it was clear to everyone that Kaylie Kahlich was the best choice to bring Maria to life. As Shah said in her column, “the notes that she was able to hit were absolutely incredible.”
Kahlich is one of those examples of serendipity that often strikes community theaters. She moved to Yakima with her fiancé in the fall of 2021 to be closer to his family and says she had been looking for an opportunity to get connected with the local artistic community and get back into singing and performing since she arrived.
“I saw the season announcement for the Warehouse Theatre over the summer and was very excited to learn that ‘The Sound of Music’ was in the works,” Kahlich said. “The show, and more specifically the role of Maria, has always been on my bucket list.”
The skills she displayed as Maria appeared effortless, but in truth they’re the result of years spent honing her craft. That work began in College Station, Texas. “I started voice lessons at a young age — probably 12 or 13 — and decided that I wanted to study music in college and pursue a career as an operatic performer,” says Kahlich.
Her education includes a bachelor of music in vocal performance from Baylor University, and a master of music in voice performance from the University of Houston. “After several years of performing in and around Houston,” she says, “I spent a season as the soprano resident artist with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City.”
To most people, the thought of singing the iconic songs of “The Sound of Music” would be daunting. However, her training made that prospect a welcome one for Kahlich. She found that in this play, “The music is integral to the plot and impacts all the characters, it is what unites them. In a way, music is the most important character in the show. I tried to keep this at the front of my mind throughout the creative process — how can I let music guide me?”
That’s not to say she didn’t face challenges.
“Personally, the most challenging part was memorizing my spoken dialogue — I was quite out of practice,” she said. “I spent many, many hours drilling those lines into my head.”
She adds, “As a cast, our greatest challenge was our final performance on closing night. Minutes before curtain we learned that our dear captain (Pat Boughton) had fallen ill, and the actor playing Max would step into his role. I have never experienced such incredible teamwork. We all worked together to give one of the most exciting shows I have ever been a part of.”
That is a consummate community theater experience. If a professional show has an illness, an understudy steps onto the stage. They’ve previously rehearsed the full show to some extent as the character they are called upon to portray. In this instance, Max (Brandon Lamb) became the captain, and the baron (Brian Van Dyke) became Max – with mere minutes of rehearsal. Everyone involved was engaged, enriched and encouraged to the fullest!
Asked what she would consider the best part of her experience with the production, Kahlich says, “By far it was getting to know my cast mates and the creative team for this production.” Then, in words that might just as easily be attributed to Maria von Trapp, she adds, “There is something so indescribably special about making music and art with others. We are a family now!”
Producer of “The Sound of Music,” and Warehouse board president Chelle Bos would agree.
“It was such a delight to work with Kaylie. She’s so friendly and approachable and at the same time she’s an absolute professional who takes her role seriously. Not only was she well prepared herself, but she also generously helped other cast members during rehearsals. And of course,” Bos points out, “she has the voice of an angel. I’m so glad she was part of the cast!”
From 1970s Terra Haute, Indiana, in “The Nerd,” to 1980s Los Angeles in “9 to 5 the Musical”; from 1930s New York in “Guys and Dolls” to the timeless world of Middle-Earth in “The Hobbit”; from modern day California in “The Quality of Life” to the 1938 mountains of Austria in “The Sound of Music,” the stories told on stage by the Warehouse Theatre Company in 2024 were far-ranging in time and place.
Those stories led to a year full of statistical success with over 9,000 patrons attending shows, 76 community members working as theater designers and technicians, and 120 more hitting the stage as WTC performers.
But a story that could get lost in the numbers – one that continues to be worth telling show after show, year after year – is the immeasurable story of community inspired by theater. Certainly, Kaylie Kahlich’s story of joining the Warehouse family this year is a great one, but it’s not the only one.
And that just may be the true measure of the Warehouse Theatre Company’s success.
• Vance Jennings is executive director of the Warehouse Theatre Company. The company contributes a column in Explore every four weeks.