Brandon Ivie News

Village Theatre is excited to announce the World Premiere of String, a brand-new story with a mythological twist by award-winners Sarah Hammond (book), and Adam Gwon (music & lyrics), and direction by Brandon Ivie.  A fun and fresh fable about fate, love, and the imperfections that make us human, String is an original story about three sisters - goddesses known as the Fates - who are responsible for spinning, measuring, and snipping the String of Life. After falling out of favor with Zeus, they find themselves banished to a modern skyscraper in the mortal world. But when the eldest sister falls in love, the very fabric of the universe begins to unravel. "We are thrilled to have such a sophisticated show premiering on our stage," said Ivie. "This show is very intimate, but also deals with understanding our place in the universe and what it means to be human. It's a show about Gods, but they deal with the same things we do - sisterhood, love, loss. We know our audiences are going to connect with these characters on a deep emotional level."

Newly announced 2018 Jonathan Larson Grant Recipients ZOE SARNAK (music & lyrics) and EMILY KACZMAREK (book) are bringing their new, original musical AFTERWORDS to the stage, as part of the Beta Series at Village Theatre, a leading producer of musical theatre in the Pacific Northwest. 

Whether or not you actually drink the absinthe (and there is plenty of it flowing) the green fairies are out in full force at the latest venture from Opal Peachey and Mark Siano, Bohemia , currently playing at The Triple Door. Should you catch this eye-popping extravaganza (and you should) be prepared for an evening of decadence for your eyes, ears, and taste buds. I'm sure Siano and Peachey would have liked to have included the other two senses as well but that might have landed us back in the territory of their previous hit show, Seattle Vice although some of the numbers came pretty close to that territory.

How do you get people to give a damn about classical music? Make it fun, lively, and add plenty of drinks and a whole lot of sex appeal.

Village Theatre is excited to announce the second season of the Beta Series. Built on Village Theatre's long-standing commitment to new musicals, Beta Series productions help to launch promising new works into the next phase of development by providing writers with actors, basic sets and costumes, and an audience of smart, sophisticated, and savvy theatre-goers. Beta Series audiences are given the opportunity to provide feedback as changes are made following every performance based on audience responses. No two shows are alike, and audiences are encouraged to attend multiple times to see the evolution of the script and score.

With one week left until The 17th Annual Festival of New Musicals, Village Theatre is excited to announce the casting for Nikola Tesla Drops the Beat, an electronic pop musical about one of the world's greatest inventors; Hart Island, a look at social justice and the people society has forgotten; Afterwords, a tale of art and love; Howl's Moving Castle, based on the novel by Diana Wynne Jones; and ZM, a hilarious romp through a zombie-filled future by the Tony Award-winning authors of Urinetown. Taking place in Issaquah on August 11-13, 2017, The Festival of New Musicals provides an essential platform for writers to incorporate a key component of live theatre - the audience. Each new musical will be rehearsed during the week, then present to the audience in staged reading format, performed in full using scripts.

Village Theatre is excited to announce the lineup for The 17th Annual Festival of New Musicals, which will take place in Issaquah on August 11-13, 2017 and continues the theatre's dedication to the development of new work. This year, the Festival's five readings will include Nikola Tesla Drops the Beat, an electronic pop musical about one of the world's greatest inventors; Hart Island, a look at social justice and the people society has forgotten; Afterwords, a tale of art and love; Howl's Moving Castle, based on the novel by Diana Wynne Jones and animated feature by Hayao Miyazaki; and ZM, a hilarious romp through a zombie-filled future by the Tony Award-winning authors of Urinetown.

String takes the stage as the final production in the 2016-2017 season of Village Theatre's brand new program, The Beta Series, which is a one-of-a-kind expansion to the theatre's renowned Village Originals program that supports the development of new works.

Don't Tell Mama is very pleased to announce that an additional performance of the new cabaret show Love Letter: Joe Iconis & Lauren Marcus do Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash has been added due to overwhelming demand. In addition to tonight's fully booked 7:30pm performance, the couple will perform the show on Saturday March 25th at 3pm.

The University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences presents the third annual production of the UW Musical Theater Program, Pippin. The production runs March 10th through March 19th at the Floyd and Delores Jones Playhouse at NE 41st Street and University Way NE. 

Charles Busch and Penny Fuller, who appeared together as bosom buddies Mame and Vera in Auntie Mame at the Bay Street Theatre, will lend their voices to Monahan & Oyen's DIVA: Live From Hell. Busch (The Divine Sister, The Tale of the Allergist's Wife) will voice the manager of the dingy cabaret venue in Hell, where Desmond Channing (played by Monahan) is doomed to perform his torturous act for eternity. Fuller (Sunday in the Park with George, The Elephant Man), who was nominated for a Tony Award for her portrayal of Eve Harrington in the musical Applause, will voice the grandmother of Desmond Channing (loosely inspired by the character of Eve Harrington's nemesis, Margo Channing).

Following critically acclaimed, sold-out runs at Don't Tell Mama and the 2016 New York Musical Festival (NYMF), Midnight at The Never Get, conceived by and starring Sam Bolen and Mark Sonnenblick, with book, music and lyrics by Mr. Sonnenblick, directed by Max Friedman (Ruby Manger Live!, Charlie Rosen's Broadway Big Band), and produced by Michael Chase Gosselin (POPE! An Epic Musical, The Most Miserable Christmas Tree), will return home to Don't Tell Mama (342 West 46th Street) on Tuesday, March 14 at 8pm for a special one-night-only concert to celebrate receiving a 2017 Bistro Award for 'Book Musical,' and a 2017 MAC Award nomination for 'Show Of The Year.'

The University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences presents the third annual production of the UW Musical Theater Program, Pippin. The production runs March 10th through March 19th at the Floyd and Delores Jones Playhouse at NE 41st Street and University Way NE. 

Unstoppable Theater will give audiences a rare glimpse into the Seventh Circle--Hell's dingiest cabaret venue--as it presents Sean Patrick Monahan in Monahan & Oyen's DIVA: LIVE FROM HELL, a devilish new musical directed by Daniel Goldstein (Godspell) that charts a high school musical nerd's descent into madness, March 23rd - April 9th at Theater for the New City's Community Space Theater.

Writing Kevin Taylor takes the stage as the second production in Village Theatre's brand new program, The Beta Series, which began this year as an unprecedented expansion to the theatre's renowned Village Originals program which supports the development of new works.

Writing Kevin Taylor takes the stage as the second production in Village Theatre's brand new program, The Beta Series, which began this year as an unprecedented expansion to the theatre's renowned Village Originals program which supports the development of new works.

Musical Theatre Factory, under the direction of Artistic Director, Shakina Nayfack, has announced that it will present Discount Ghost Stories' WELL WORN WORDS, a new rock musical with book, music and additional lyrics by Alexander Sage Oyen and book, archival research, and adapted text by Jessica Kahkoska, direction by Austin Regan and musical direction by Luke McGinnis, January 23 at 7pm at the Joe's Pub, 425 Lafayette Street.

It's been a crazy year, Dear Readers. Lots of ups, lots of downs, and LOTS of emotions. And I'm not just talking about on stage. But let's not dwell on the bad things that may have happened in the world and focus on some of the amazing things Seattle theater companies gave us this past year, and let me tell you there were quite a few. So many in fact that in some categories I simply had to call out more than the usual Honorable Mentions as some performances just needed to be noted. You'll see what I mean especially when you get to the female categories as the ladies were certainly bringing it this year. But let's get started shall we? Out of the myriad shows I saw this year in Seattle, here are the shows and performances that truly stood out to me.

A shout out to a few theatrical favorites in San Diego from 2016!

Village Theatre's Village Originals program, under the leadership of Associate Artistic Director Brandon Ivie, has announced the new Village Originals Writers Residency aimed at developing new musicals from their earliest stages. New York writing team Danny Larsen and Michelle Elliott, Seattle-based composer Orlando Morales, and local collaborators Kirsten deLohr Helland, Justin Huertas, and Sara Porkalob will make up the inaugural group of resident writers.