Sound Cinema: Blue Mouse Theatre

When you think of one of the oldest, continuously running theaters in Washington, you expect it to be in a downtown, or a bustling area. You wouldn't expect it tucked into the Proctor District of Tacoma. 

The Blue Mouse Theatre has been a neighborhood staple for over 100 years. First built by theater entrepreneur John Hamrick in 1923, the Blue Mouse was one of many such establishments to share the name and mission of showing films. The story varies, but Hamrick either took the name from a French movie house or from a play he and his wife saw in London. This particular Blue Mouse is the last one standing, as Hamrick's other theaters in this chain have been torn down or repurposed.

The current iteration of the Blue Mouse Theatre came about in 1993 when "Blue Mouse Associates," a group of activists, preservationists, and community members, came together to purchase and renovate the space. The theater has succeeded since then by investing in its community and being a space for people and families to enjoy films together. It is a first-run movie house, but typically the films it begins showing are a few weeks past when they arrive in most multiplexes.

Little scampering glass blue mice (Chihuly) at Blue Mouse Theatre

The Evergreen Echo

A few things greet you when you take in a show at the Blue Mouse. There are clocks on each end of the building's marquee, and scampering across the edges are neon, blue mice created by Tacoma-born glass artist Dale Chihuly. The lobby has the old-school movie house charm with a concession stand right inside the doors. When you go through the curtains to the theater proper, you see the old influences on the space—the large stage for performance or presentation mixed with the modern features. Recently the theater got a much needed seating update. These seats are very comfortable, rock gently, and have plenty of legroom for the tall amongst us.

I was at the Blue Mouse recently for a screening of Pixar's latest, Elio. It is a film about an orphan, Elio, living with his aunt and thinking he is unwanted on Earth. Feeling that Earth holds nothing else for him, Elio does everything he can to be abducted by aliens. The film is not one of Pixar's best. In a ranking it would have to be fairly low. It’s not a bad film, but it just does not have the storytelling chops we are used to from the once mighty house of dreams that was Pixar. When you are in a theater full of parents and kids and even the kids do not laugh at the cheesy jokes, you know something is a bit off.

The Blue Mouse has evolved its exhibition strategy after the early shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. They play their first-run features Friday through Monday with matinees Friday through Sunday. Like some of the other theaters that have appeared here for Sound Cinema, the Blue Mouse also hosts repertory screenings. Every third Friday of the month is Friday Night Frights, a late night classic horror film to titillate and frighten. The next showing will be David Cronenberg's The Fly on July 18.

The most enduring repertory screening at the Blue Mouse, though, is its long running late night screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. This particular program, which runs every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month is not only a screening, but an audience participation encouraged, raucous good time. The show is hosted by a dedicated troupe, the Blue Mouseketeers, who perform and prompt the participatory mayhem. While the Blue Mouse has been doing this program for over 20 years, The Rocky Horror Picture Show itself is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. There will be a screening of the film at the Paramount in Seattle on October 28 with cast members in attendance and the Blue Mouseketeers to amp up the fun.

Blue Mouse Time clock

The Evergreen Echo

Neighborhood theaters like the Blue Mouse are far too rare. To have a single screen a family can walk to that has reasonable prices and a great atmosphere is something that makes people want to venture out to the movies. The reason for the Blue Mouse's endurance is not that they do something so wholly different from the other theaters around them, but it is that they care and appreciate the community they are in. It is a generational space with children who loved it thirty years ago now bringing their children to shows. 

The Blue Mouse is a special place and one that will endure because its mission is the enjoyment of the people it serves.