Allen Fitzpatrick News

It's December! Voting is now underway for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Sarasota Awards, brought to you by TodayTix! Now you can vote to make sure your favorite local theatres and performers are recognized. Check out the first set of stats below.

Voting is NOW OPEN and the first votes are in for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Sarasota Awards, brought to you by TodayTix! The nominees are set, and now you can vote to make sure your favorite local theatres and performers are recognized!

This winter, Village Theatre will warm the cold and dreary Seattle days with the brassy and colorful iconic crowd pleaser, Guys & Dolls. The second show in their celebratory 40th Anniversary Season, Guys & Dolls will run at the Francis J. Gaudette Theatre in Issaquah November 7 a?' December 29, 2019 before moving to the Everett Performing Arts Center January 3 a?' February 2, 2020.

Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel's soaring romantic and tragic musical a?oeLight in the Piazzaa?? is not often tackled a?? thank the theater Gods. I'm not saying it's bad by any stretch of the imagination, it's just that I'd hate to see every small company, without the resources to handle it well, take it on. Fortunately, they've built in a few traps that may dissuade. First off, it's not your typical, rollicking musical with songs you'll be singing after. Second, there's all that Italian that your cast needs to learn and deliver authentically. And finally, it's some tough music. It needs to be done by insanely talented professionals who can handle these beautiful melodies that fly up into the rafters (often in Italian) as well as the heartfelt story. Enter Showtunes Theatre as they begin their 20th season, who routinely gather together the cream of the crop of Seattle artists for just a few weekends, books in hand, and you'll find yourself gifted with the mind-blowingly gorgeous evening that is their current production of a?oeLight in the Piazzaa??.

For the opener of its 20th Anniversary Season, Showtunes is bringing this legendary work home to the theatre where it began. Join them as The Light in the Piazza returns to Seattle in one of the biggest concerts ever, featuring the full, Broadway orchestration.

In this one-man tour de force, Crawford plays a variety of roles brilliantly, including that of Barbra Streisand.

You won't find a better production of this masterpiece, now celebrating its 40th anniversary.

The musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 1979 thriller featuring music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. The musical is based on a 1973 play of the same name by Christopher Bond. Sweeney Todd opened on Broadway in 1979 and won the Tony Award for Best MusicalThe Broadway production starred Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury, both of whom won Tony Awards for originating the roles of Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett.

Asolo Repertory Theatre proudly continues its 60th season with SWEENEY TODD: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. It is directed and choreographed by Peter Rothstein, who helmed the theatre's critically acclaimed 2018 production of Ragtime. Featuring music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a book by Hugh Wheeler and from an adaptation by Christopher Bond, this musical masterwork and global phenomenon previews May 1 - 3, opens May 4 and runs through June 1.

BroadwayWorld has a first look at Asolo Repertory Theatre's SWEENEY TODD. The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. It is directed and choreographed by Peter Rothstein, who helmed the theatre's critically acclaimed 2018 production of Ragtime. Featuring music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a book by Hugh Wheeler and from an adaptation by Christopher Bond, this musical masterwork and global phenomenon previews May 1 - 3, opens May 4 and runs through June 1.

Asolo Repertory Theatre proudly continues its 60th season with SWEENEY TODD: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. It will be directed and choreographed by Peter Rothstein, who helmed the theatre's critically acclaimed 2018 production of Ragtime. Featuring music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a book by Hugh Wheeler and from an adaptation by Christopher Bond, this musical masterwork and global phenomenon previews May 1 - 3, opens May 4 and runs through June 1 in the Mertz Theatre, located in the FSU Center for the Performing Arts.

Christian Duhamel, recipient of the 2018 Kleban Award for most promising musical librettist, debuts a new musical at The Pocket Theater December 7-10.

Seattle Shakespeare's ARMS & THE MAN visits the past and finds the present. With wit, humor, and richness of production, the show presents a classic tale of a chance encounter that changes everything. From the pithy dialogue to the talented cast, Seattle Shakespeare has chosen well for its second show of the season.

George Bernard Shaw's recipe for fun mixes smarts with silliness and adds just a dash of morality. Arms and the Man takes center stage at Seattle Shakespeare Company helmed by David Armstrong, former artistic director of the 5th Avenue Theatre. Arms and the Man previews October 23-25, opens October 26 and runs through November 18 at the Center Theatre at the Seattle Center.

Let me start, Dear Readers, by saying this is NOT the frothy Disney cartoon you may recall from your youth. Yes, it does contain many of the Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz songs from the 1996 Disney animated film but this show is more akin to the Victor Hugo novel than the cartoon. Gone are the silly, wise-cracking gargoyles whom you might find recreated in a Happy Meal, and amped up is the story of religious persecution, intolerance, sex, and betrayal. Leading me to wonder, what audience are they aiming for? Disney songs, filled out with heady albeit soaringly beautiful choral pieces, and a dark and gritty story that (spoiler alert) does not end well for everyone. And this is my biggest problem with the show, it can't make up its mind as to what it wants to be.

This summer The 5th Avenue Theatre is staging an exciting new production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame starring Joshua Castille as Quasimodo. A Deaf actor, Castille is celebrated for his performances in Tribes at ACT Theatre in Seattle and in Spring Awakening with Deaf West on Broadway.

The full cast for The 5th Avenue Theatre's spectacular new production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which stars Deaf actorJoshua Castille as Quasimodo, has been announced. Castille will use American Sign Language (ASL) throughout his performance, bringing new life and perspective to Quasimodo, who is deaf in the novel by Victor Hugo.

See brand new footage from 5th Avenue Theatre's new production of Kiss Me, Kate. Kiss Me, Kate, a significant work in the canon of great musical theater, features a dynamic cast including the previously announced Cayman Ilika as Lilli Vanessi/Kate,Ben Davis as Fred Graham/Petruchio, Clyde Alves as Bill Calhoun/Lucentio and Robyn Hurder as Lois Lane/Bianca. Joining them is an acclaimed local lineup of 5th Avenue Theatre favorites including Allen Fitzpatrick as General Howell, Allen Galli as Second Man, Sarah Russell as Hattie, Jeff Steitzer as Harry/Batista, Ty Willis as Paul and Richard Ziman as First Man.

See brand new footage of the number 'Too Darn Hot' from 5th Avenue Theatre's new production of Kiss Me, Kate. Kiss Me, Kate, a significant work in the canon of great musical theater, features a dynamic cast including the previously announced Cayman Ilika as Lilli Vanessi/Kate,Ben Davis as Fred Graham/Petruchio, Clyde Alves as Bill Calhoun/Lucentio and Robyn Hurder as Lois Lane/Bianca. Joining them is an acclaimed local lineup of 5th Avenue Theatre favorites including Allen Fitzpatrick as General Howell, Allen Galli as Second Man, Sarah Russell as Hattie, Jeff Steitzer as Harry/Batista, Ty Willis as Paul and Richard Ziman as First Man.

Check out photos from the 5th Avenue Theatre's new production of Kiss Me, Kate. Kiss Me, Kate, a significant work in the canon of great musical theater, features a dynamic cast including the previously announced Cayman Ilika as Lilli Vanessi/Kate,Ben Davis as Fred Graham/Petruchio, Clyde Alves as Bill Calhoun/Lucentio and Robyn Hurder as Lois Lane/Bianca.