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If you’ve lived in Humboldt for a while, there’s a good chance that you’ve had a drink, or maybe even seen some live music at the famous Logger Bar in Blue Lake. But have you ever seen a play there?! Probably not. Why would you? It’s a bar, not a theater! 

But starting next week, for seven nights only, the beloved drinkery will serve as both a bar and a theater. For the first time the space will be used as the venue for The Logger Lear, a new play created by Logger Bar owner Michael Fields. 

“I thought it would be perfect,” Fields told the Outpost during a recent rehearsal inside the bar. “It’s a very different experience and we’ll see how people respond to it, because you’re really up close.” 

Like the Logger Bar itself, Fields is a pretty recognizable figure to anyone who’s been around Humboldt for a while. You might know him from the Logger Bar, which he purchased close to two years ago, and where he serves drinks once a week. But Fields is probably best known for his work with Dell’Arte International, where he served as producing artistic director for more than 40 years and helped create and act in countless memorable shows on the theater company’s stage. 

Fields left his role at Dell’Arte in 2021, and not long after announced plans to purchase the bar from longtime owner Kate Martin. With the Logger being located just down the block from Dell’Arte, the two establishments have a long relationship, with staff and students from the theater school frequenting the local watering hole. Fields recalls spending many nights in the bar, writing plays with other Dell’Arte folks, while the bartenders let them stay as late as they needed to work. With the bar serving as such a big part of Fields’ life, it only seemed fitting that he take over and help continue the bar’s legacy. 

Over the last few years, Fields also started his own production company, LONGSHADR, which has put on several productions, including Madsummer and Radioman, which both ran at the Dell’Arte theater. Now Fields and his production company are taking on a new challenge — putting on a musical inside of the bar. 

“I’ve never done a play in the bar,” Fields said. “I’ve done plays in living rooms. Back in the ‘80s it was a very fashionable thing to do intimate pieces in people’s homes or things like that.” 

The Logger Lear, which is very loosely based on Shakespeare’s King Lear, is set in the Logger Bar and follows the story of title character Terry Lear (played by Donald Forrest), an aging bar owner, who decides to throw his own wake inside the bar before he dies. Similarly to King Lear, the character has three daughters (played by Isabel Semler, Alex Blouin, and Shawn Wagner), who are competing for their father’s love, as Lear tries to decide who to leave his “kingdom,” which in this story is his bar. Unlike King Lear, however, no one dies in Logger Lear and the play is very much a comedy. Other characters include Happy the Fool (David Powell), Wilmer Raandom, the county’s health inspector (Ben Clifton), Mike the bastard lawyer (Evan Grande), and even a singing ghost (Jeff Landen). Fields, himself, will also be in the show, playing the bartender, and said that there will also be “special guest appearances” by Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un. 

The music will also all be performed live, backed by local musicians Marla Joy, Tim Randles, Jeff Kelley and Mike Labolle. Many of the songs are recognizable covers, but there are also a couple of originals written by Randles and Kelley. 

You might be thinking at this point that this sounds crazy. A full cast, a band and an audience all inside of the Logger Bar? I mean, how in the heck is this going to work? And it is a little crazy, which is something that Fields and the actors are fully aware of. But Fields designed the show with all of this in mind. Only 50 people will be able to attend each performance, and will sit in either the chairs that have been put out or right at the bar. (A couple or bar stools will be reserved for the actors to use during the performance.)

When the Outpost popped into the bar earlier this week, the cast was rehearsing a very entertaining bar fight scene and it is clear that the actors will be using every inch of available space for this show. It’s definitely going to be a more intimate experience than you would get at a conventional theater, with it sort of feeling like you’re a part of the story that is taking place in the bar. Audience members will even be able to order drinks during the show, though Fields did specify that shaken cocktails will not be on the menu, since they make a little too much noise. To help lessen disruptive noise, the pool table will also be closed during the performance. 

Technically, during the performances the bar will only be open to people who have bought tickets to the show. After all, there won’t be space for many more people anyway. But Fields believes strongly in treating his regulars well, so people who frequent the Logger will still be allowed in to hang out and watch. In fact, several of the characters in the play are based on beloved Logger Bar regulars, so if you are one, you probably won’t want to miss it. 

Fields said that the play is very much a love letter to the Logger Bar, which has been an important Blue Lake hub since it opened more than 100 years ago, and all of the people who help make it such a special place. 

“It’s like the community’s living room,” he said. “It’s a place where people come to be with each other. This [play] is what I would call true ‘theater of place.’ It reflects the community and what’s happening here.” 

The Logger Lear opens on Oct. 10 and will run through Oct. 17 at the Logger Bar (510 Railroad Ave, Blue Lake.) The show starts at 6 p.m. and the runtime is just over an hour. Because of limited seating, it is highly recommended that you purchase tickets in advance, which you can find at this link. 

Cheers!