Lauren DuPree

The selection committee for the inaugural session of The 5th Avenue Theatre's new musical initiative, First Draft: Raise Your Voice, has been announced. This cycle is currently soliciting submissions nation-wide from womxn, gender non-conforming and non-binary folx with a submission deadline of June 15. Comprised of a team of outstanding womxn, the selection committee includes performers, producers, directors, playwrights and thought leaders in the Seattle theater landscape: Desdamona Chiang, Lauren DuPree, Keiko Green, Allison Narver, and Sarah Porkalob, lead by The 5th's Kelsey Thorgalsen and Bill Berry.

Well it may have been hotter than blazes this past weekend but I managed to spend the weekend inside at one of my favorite events of the year, The Village Theatre Village Originals Festival of New Musicals. They presented concert stagings of five musicals still in the works. It's a great opportunity for the authors to get to see their shows in front of an audience and for us to get a sneak peak at amazing musical theater to come. Now as they are still being workshopped I can't really review any of them but I can tell you what I saw.

Olney Theatre Center has finally taken the plunge in their intimate black-box space with their inaugural August Wilson production, 'The Piano Lesson.' Blessed with a talented cast, they should enjoy a prosperous run; and the choice of play is appropriate, given the role that Baltimore's own Charles S. Dutton had in its first production. And the piano of the title, with its unique and bloody history, endures as one of the most powerful stage metaphors of our time.

Imagination Stage kicks off an enormously fun season with the world premiere of Lulu and the Brontosaurus, a musical based on the book by popular local author and poet Judith Viorst. It is a story about an unforgettable little girl who learns a lot about sharing and listening to others. Lulu and the Brontosaurus runs in Imagination Stage's Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Theatre now through October 27. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Forum Theatre will present Forum Reverb's Female Voices Festival from December 14 - January 28.

Join Forum Theatre as they investigate the gender imbalance in theatre through a celebration and exploration of the female voice. The Festival will kick off with the return of the Fringe hit for colored girls followed by: (Re)Acts, potluck readings, and a culminating symposium.

Forum Theatre will present Forum Reverb's Female Voices Festival from December 14 - January 28.

Join Forum Theatre as they investigate the gender imbalance in theatre through a celebration and exploration of the female voice. The Festival will kick off with the return of the Fringe hit for colored girls followed by: (Re)Acts, potluck readings, and a culminating symposium.

Forum Theatre will present Forum Reverb's Female Voices Festival from December 14 - January 28.