Kirsten Delohr Helland News

Rodgers & Hammerstein's THE SOUND OF MUSIC has joined the ranks of blockbuster musicals at The 5th Avenue Theatre, becoming the most-attended holiday show in box office history.

Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'The Sound of Music' is one of those mainstays of the American Musical Theater canon that has endured over the years. Pretty much anyone with a passing interest in musical theater has seen it in some form whether the Julie Andrews film, countless stage productions or even the recent live broadcast on TV (which I like to pretend never happened). And why has the show endured for over 55 years? Because it's simply a well written show. But the problem I find with most productions (especially that one that didn't exist) is the performers sing the well-written songs well but the character and thus the story is lost. Well that is not the case with the current production at the 5th Avenue Theatre which had so much character and story in addition to the beautiful voices that I almost felt like I was seeing the show for the first time.

Rehearsals started this week at The 5th Avenue Theatre for the exultant classic musical, Rodgers & Hammerstein's The Sound of Music, the iconic show sweeping Seattle for the holidays. Boasting such beloved songs as 'Do Re Mi,' 'My Favorite Things,' 'Sixteen Going on Seventeen,' and 'Climb Ev'ry Mountain,' this production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's The Sound of Music will be presented as only The 5th can do, complete with a sensational live orchestra, stunning costumes, and incredible sets. Under the direction of David Bennett and with choreography by Trina Mills and music direction by Kat Sherrell, this musical will feature an exuberant all-local cast of fresh faces and favorite performers that includes Anne Allgood as the Mother Abbess, joining the previously announced David Pichette as Max Detweiler and Jessica Skerritt as the Baroness Elsa Schraeder, with Hans Altwies as Captain Georg von Trapp and Kirsten deLohr Helland as Maria.

ArtsWest has taken on a huge risk by putting up the Green Day musical 'American Idiot' on their intimate stage. Not only by trying to fit this large spectacle in their space but also literally reconfiguring their floor plan and utilizing multiple areas within their theater to create an immersive experience in addition to the regular observational one. With so much going on, a cast of 31 and a full band this could have been a full on train wreck. But director Eric Ankrim and his crew have taken this super risky venture and spun it into pure gold.

The American musical sensation, Grease, will send audiences cruisin' through the days of pajama parties, sock hops, and drive-ins with an exuberant cast of Seattle's freshest faces and favorite performers at The 5th Avenue Theatre this summer.

Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey's musical "Grease" is so much more than just a collection of doo wop numbers. It's a group of teens finding their own identities at a time when teens were finding identities much different from those of their parents. Or at least it should be. Unfortunately the current production at the 5th Avenue Theatre has been scrubbed clean and is so devoid of any individual or realistic characters that any emotion or meaning that might have been elicited from the story is now gone. But they sing pretty.

The American musical sensation, Grease, will send audiences cruisin' through the days of pajama parties, sock hops, and drive-ins with an exuberant cast of Seattle's freshest faces and favorite performers at The 5th Avenue Theatre this summer.

The 5th Avenue Theatre is pleased to announce the nominees for its 13th annual 5th Avenue Awards: Honoring High School Musical Theater.

The American musical sensation, Grease, will send audiences cruisin' through the days of pajama parties, sock hops, and drive-ins with an exuberant cast of Seattle's freshest faces and favorite performers at The 5th Avenue Theatre this summer.

It's always exciting when the new bit of awesomeness to hit the theater scene comes to Seattle first. Such is the case with the brand new musical "Lizard Boy" written, composed and starring the uber-talented Justin Huertas currently playing at the Seattle Rep. This 90 minute journey of love, acceptance and scales embodies so much promise, potential and genuine love of storytelling that I can easily see this going far beyond Seattle. So you'll want to catch it now for some theater nerd bragging rights.

Concluding Seattle Repertory Theatre's 2014-15 Leo K. season is the premiere of Seattle artist Justin Huertas' Lizard Boy, a modern love story set on the streets of Seattle. The show runs tonight, March 27, through May 2, 2015.

ArtsWest has announced the Cast of the Northwest Premiere of Benj Pasek & Justin Paul's Dogfight, opening tonight, October 23.

ArtsWest has announced the Cast of the Northwest Premiere of Benj Pasek & Justin Paul's Dogfight, opening Thursday, October 23.

High school students from across Washington State packed Benaroya Hall tonight for The 12th Annual 5th Avenue Awards Honoring High School Musical Theater, a high school version of the Tony Awards, proudly sponsored for the tenth year by Wells Fargo with additional support from Alaska Airlines. The house was packed with 2,000 teenagers, dressed in costume representing their schools' musical theater productions, who cheered for their peers as they performed musical excerpts and accepted awards honoring top student achievements in musical theater. The acclaimed event, directed this year by Mathew Wright, handed out awards in 21 categories ranging from Outstanding Overall Musical Production to Outstanding Lobby Display.

The 5th Avenue Theatre is pleased to announce the nominees for the 12th annual 5th Avenue Awards Honoring High School Musical Theater. This Tony Awards-style ceremony allows for high school students from across Washington State to gather to celebrate and honor their exceptional musical theater productions presented during the 2013/14 school year. These awards are designed to shine the spotlight on the often overlooked high school musical theater programs, offering performing arts students the kind of recognition that accomplished athletes have received for decades. The 5th Avenue Awards will be held at 7:00 PM, Monday, June 9, at Benaroya Hall.

You're a cute little new musical that has workshopped itself at Village in their Village Originals program twice before. You have an interesting storyline and a fun little gimmick. You start off a little weak but there are sparks of potential. So why would you completely abandon that cute storyline and gimmick by Act Two and then proceed to beat your audience over the head with a tired message of letting time work things out? (A message that made no sense for what preceded by the way.) Unfortunately this is the question I found myself asking at Village Theatre's "The Tutor". Sure the performers shine but they shine in a show that has no idea what it wants to be or where it wants to go.

The year was 1996, it was the second time "Les Miserables" was coming through town and I was finally going to see it live. I sat there in the dark and let that incredible score and story flow through me and was such a weepy mess that my friends questioned if I was going to be alright. That experience cemented "Les Mis" as one of my favorites and although I've seen it several times since, no production has come close to that one. How could it, right? That is until now as the current production playing at Village Theatre stunned me by turning me into that weepy mess from 17 years ago all over again and reminded me just how good this show can be.

Village Theatre's Artistic Director Steve Tomkins 'dreamed a dream' many years ago when he first saw actor Greg Stone perform in Les Miserables. After directing Stone in Jesus Christ Superstar in 1993 Tomkins wondered, "Could I put together my 'dream cast,' that included Stone, and present this monstrous legendary mega-hit musical Les Miserables at Village Theatre?" Scheduling conflicts, rights issues and budget constraints stood in his way, but much like the character Jean Valjean, Tomkins persisted. Over a decade later the stage production rights became available for a short window of time (that window closes when the Broadway revival of Les Miserables opens in March of 2014) and Tomkins got to work putting the many pieces together for a Village Theatre production.

ISSAQUAH, WA –Village Theatre's Artistic Director Steve Tomkins 'dreamed a dream' many years ago when he first saw actor Greg Stone perform in Les Misérables. After directing Stone in Jesus Christ Superstar in 1993 Tomkins wondered, “Could I put together my 'dream cast,' that included Stone, and present this monstrous legendary mega-hit musical Les Misérables at Village Theatre?” Scheduling conflicts, rights issues and budget constraints stood in his way, but much like the character Jean Valjean, Tomkins persisted. Over a decade later the stage production rights became available for a short window of time (that window closes when the Broadway revival of Les Misérables opens in March of 2014) and Tomkins got to work putting the many pieces together for a Village Theatre production.

Balagan Theatre continues their effort to get new musicals a place to be heard with their New Works Summer Series and their offering of the new musical “Island Song”, a show exploring the lives of the young and ambitious in a city that can at the same time foster and crush such ambition.