On any given day, Janis Powell never knows what to expect at the Whidbey Playhouse.

In 17 years as business manager, she’s watched audiences enter the venerable building and laugh and cry. She’s seen casts from plays form enduring bonds and has watched formerly shy people break out of their shells and blossom onstage.

Even the old building itself speaks to her through its creaks and groans and a few other surprises. Last month when she opened the front door, stormwater from heavy rains poured down the steps and into her basement office, prompting yet another bucket brigade for a recurring problem.

“We’ve had too many of those hundred-year floods,” she said dryly.

Aside from those occasional episodes, Powell still couldn’t imagine a better atmosphere or place to work.

The Whidbey Playhouse is she and her husband’s second family, as it is for many of the dedicated actors, directors, set builders, stage hands and others who consider their commitment to the theater group a labor of love.

Whidbey Playhouse is celebrating 50 years of existence. It will do so formally during a 50th Anniversary Gala Event beginning at 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30, at the Chief Petty Officers Club on Ault Field Road in Oak Harbor.

The event will include dinner, dancing, live and silent auctions, and, of course, live entertainment.

Tickets for the event are $55 per person and may be picked up at the Playhouse ticket office at 730 S.E. Midway Boulevard or at the Wind & Tide Bookstore on Pioneer Way.

The event will offer an opportunity to celebrate community theater in Oak Harbor, reflect back on its past and brainstorm about its future.

The playhouse’s roots date back to the formation of the theater group in February of 1966 but it wasn’t until 1979 that the group settled into its present home, the former Christian Reformed Church.

Before that, Whidbey Playhouse was somewhat of a traveling show.

Nearly 300 plays have been performed at a variety of different venues, starting with the Kathryn Johnson School of Dance in 1966 before moving to a Christian school building for a six-year stretch starting in 1967.

But when that building was destroyed by fire, the Playhouse hit the road again and performed at different schools in the city.

“We were totally mobile,” said Nancy Fey, former president of the playhouse’s board of trustees.

“We put on plays where ever we could find space and people would allow us to put on rehearsals and productions.”

Ultimately, a permanent home was sought. The Christian Reformed Church building was available and a fundraising campaign led by then-Whidbey News-Times publisher and editor Wallie Funk, developer Bill Massey and Fey helped pay off the debt in four years.

The venue kicked off with “Man of LaMancha” Nov. 29, 1979, beginning a new era on solid foundation.

Nearly four decades later, the intimate venue is nearly a century old and limits what directors can do with sets, but still maintains its charm.

“It’s beloved,” said Sue Riney, who’s directed, produced and acted in several productions and served as the playhouse’s executive director for 25 years.

“We’re lucky to have a home,” said Jim Riney, Sue’s husband who also serves as the Playhouse’s technical director and has directed several plays.

Challenges still exist as the playhouse continues to try to build membership and sell tickets to shows. It looks to try to offer a variety of productions that also appeal to younger audiences without upsetting its older season-ticket base.

The playhouse has 501 season-ticket holders but can still struggle to fill the theater.

When Powell first started in 1999, she said most musicals sold out and non-musicals filled between 80-90 percent of the seats.

Now, musicals fill about 80 percent of the seats and non-musicals between 60-70 percent, she said.

“I’m thinking around 2005-2006 was the time frame when things started to slow down a little,” Powell said.

Few will question the value that live community theater has provided for Oak Harbor, a city with limited entertainment options.

Not only do families attend shows together, some act together such as John and Penny Fowkes and their son Wollie. All three performed in the 2015-16 season opener, “Godspell,” with Wollie, then 14, playing the lead role.

“We try to find things we can all be in,” John Fowkes said.

Wollie Fowkes is a product of the Playhouse’s youth acting program on which the theater group places heavy emphasis.

There’s a family atmosphere to the entire Playhouse.

On Monday, Bob Hendrix and Jack Locke spent part of the day building the set for “Moon Over Buffalo,” a show Hendrix is directing that opens Feb. 5.

Hendrix, whose wife Rusty Hendrix is the Playhouse president, has been at it since late November with the help of Locke, whose wife Julia is a regular actor, and others.

“I enjoy helping Bob build the sets,” Jack Locke said.

And there were signs of progress.

“We’re down to three items on my punch list,” Hendrix said with a smile.