PORT GAMBLE — Kitsap’s newest theater is also among its oldest.

The newly formed Port Gamble Theater Company and Olympic Property Group are putting the finishing touches on a renovation project that will allow the 1906 theater to reopen permanently.

The theater — located above the post office and across from the general store — closed in the 1950s. The stage that once entertained packed houses in the milltown’s boom days remained silent for the next six decades.

Then in December, North Kitsap theater troupe Roving Players staged a production of “A Christmas Carol.”

Buoyed by positive reviews from audiences, the troupe negotiated a longterm lease with Port Gamble management company Olympic Property Group and formed the Theater Company to book entertainment. The Roving Players will stage three productions in the theater each year, beginning with Agatha Christie’s “Mousetrap” in July. The Theater Company will rent the space to other troupes and acts throughout the year, hoping to flesh out a busy schedule for the 250-seat space.

Buzz is already building for the opening, Port Gamble manager Shana Smith said.

“We’ve got a lot of excitement,” Smith said. “Overall, we’ve been really pleased.”

Much must still be done before the curtain can raise.

“A Christmas Carol” was staged with temporary permission from the county. Olympic Property Group needs to secure an occupancy permit to permanently reopen the theater. That means bringing a century-old building to modern safety standards.

Olympic is orverseeing the code compliance work, replacing wiring and plumbing, installing smoke alarms and even retrofitting a fire escape. Smith said she hopes to have the permit in hand by mid-July.

Meanwhile, the newly-formed Theater Company is preparing the space for modern productions. That includes beefing up the wiring system to run theater lights, adding a control booth, renovating the box office and preparing the backstage areas for props, costumes and actors.

The group is also raising money to add a wheelchair lift to a stairwell (see box). It needs about $6,000 more to pay for the installation.

All the work is being done to match the style of the theater as much as possible, Scott Snively of the Roving Players said.

“This will become a part of that history,” he said.

The theater will be the first permanent home for the Roving Players in its more than 20 years as a troupe. Like many other Kitsap theater groups, the Players staged their productions in school auditoriums.

“North Kitsap has needed a space like this for a long, long time,” Roving Players member Paul Bryan said.

A theater reborn

The newly formed Port Gamble Theater company is raising money to install a wheelchair lift in the historic theater. Community members can donate to the effort or sponsor a theater seat for $100. Sponsors will be listed on a plaque in the building.

The Roving Players will open Agatha Christie’s “Mousetrap” at the theater, beginning July 29.

For more information, visit www.portgambletheater.com.