After years of determination, setbacks, and unwavering community support, the Triumvirate Theatre has officially opened its brand-new playhouse in Kenai. The state-of-the-art facility, located off Daubenspeck Road, replaces the beloved but fire-destroyed Nikiski venue and ushers in a new chapter for local performing arts on the Kenai Peninsula.
“When we moved to the [Nikiski] place, it was more like something people in their 40s or 50s would build. And now… this theater feels like something you’d build when you’re 80 — which is honestly how I’m feeling right now,” said Executive Director Joe Rizzo with a laugh, standing in the new lobby just beneath a piece of salvaged mural from the old building. “Even though I’ve been working in this building now for about a month with the kids, it really hasn’t sunk in for me yet. The closest I came to that was the first time I saw the kids practicing on this stage. It hit me—oh my gosh, it actually happened.”
The new playhouse includes nearly 200 seats, a spacious lobby, dedicated backstage areas, and the kind of professional infrastructure that Rizzo said once felt like a dream. It’s a significant step up from their early days in the Peninsula Center Mall, where movie theater seats were salvaged for audience seating and performances were staged around makeshift backstage areas.
“This new space—it’s a dream you make later in life,” Rizzo said.
That dream nearly ended in 2021, when a fire destroyed the Nikiski building. But the community response was immediate and passionate, fueling a fundraising effort that brought in more than $500,000 in local donations and attracted major support from foundations and congressional grants.
“The grassroots efforts by this community are what inspired those larger organizations to step in and match that support,” Rizzo said. “Over 600 local donations helped us get here. It didn’t happen by accident.”
The new facility hosted its first unofficial performance this past weekend, with Rizzo directing a youth production—a first for both the kids and the space. “We got them all little jackets that say ‘First Cast.’ They were delighted.”
Triumvirate now looks ahead to summer drama camps, a fall youth production, and a full-scale community performance of White Christmas this December. But the mission to sustain the theater remains ongoing.
“We need people to come out and buy tickets. No free shows—we’ve got to support the arts,” Rizzo said. “Well… except today. Today there’s hot dogs. But after that—it’s $85 a ticket!” he joked.
In a community known for punching above its weight in the arts, the new Triumvirate Theatre isn’t just a comeback—it’s a celebration of what’s possible when a town rallies behind its storytellers.