Sometimes some of the best shows out there are the cult followed ones, the ones that are really only known by niche groups or musical theater nerds. While mainstream audiences may go to shows about green girls or founding fathers, there are other audiences who travel off the beaten path to see shows Off-Broadway (or even Off-Off=Broadway) but those shows don't always get a life after their Off-Broadway Runs. Such a show could be the successful but short lived show "Murder Ballad". Luckily there are companies such as Sidecountry Theatre who take on these gems regionally the same way they tackled the brilliant "Passing Strange" a little while ago. And they tackle them with not only talent but also the obvious love and respect for a piece that deserves a wider audience.
Sidecountry Theatre (SCT) is excited to present the West Coast premiere of Murder Ballad. Murder Ballad is Sidecountry Theatre's (SCT) second production, following 2014's acclaimed and popular Passing Strange which was presented as part of ACT's Central Heating Lab program (now ACTLab).
25 years after the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical production of Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic children's story The Secret Garden, the Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) and the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle will co-present the timeless tale from November 15-December 31 at Sidney Harman Hall (610 F Street NW). The musical is directed by David Armstrong, Artistic Director at The 5th Avenue Theatre, with whom STC is co-producing the production.
Sidecountry Theatre (SCT) is excited to present the West Coast premiere of Murder Ballad. Murder Ballad is Sidecountry Theatre's (SCT) second production, following 2014's acclaimed and popular Passing Strange which was presented as part of ACT's Central Heating Lab program (now ACTLab).
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.
The 2016-2017 SHOWTUNES Theatre Company season defies expectations and dazzles audiences with three rarely produced concert musicals and two very special musical theatre events. With the introduction of a cabaret in February, Defying Expectations, and a musical theatre-themed Writer's Initiative in May, SHOWTUNES continues to diversify their offerings while demonstrating their unparalleled devotion to this all-American art form. The season begins with three performances October 22-23 at ACT's Allen Theatre. Shenandoah is directed by Matt Wolfe with music direction by RJ Tancioco. The expanded season also includes two concert musicals inside Benaroya Hall's Ilsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall: Leap of Faith on December 3-4 and The Unsinkable Molly Brown on March 11-12, 2017.
Broadway-bound new musical, Come From Away, presented by Seattle Repertory Theatre, wins four Gypsys, tying with another new musical, Lizard Boy, also produced by Seattle Repertory Theatreand also with four Gypsys, a company that has been known for years as a powerhouse dramatic straight-play playhouse!
Seattle Theater Writers critics' circle is pleased to present the nomination slate of the fifth annual Gypsy Rose Lee Awards, theater awards devoted to recognizing excellence across the economic spectrum of professional Seattle theaters in the prior calendar year.
Dear Readers, I hope you've all fared well over the holidays and had a good time with your families. It's been a tumultuous year with lots of great theater for us to take in. And so I'm pleased to share with you some of the best things I saw this past year and the ones that I felt worthy of getting my Critic's Choice Awards for 2015. So settle in and allow me to expound on all the amazing I saw over the year. The envelope please.
Happy Holidays! It's the last week to vote for the 2015 BroadwayWorld Seattle Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 18. Nominations were reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors. Voting runs through December 31!
Time is running out to vote for the 2015 BroadwayWorld Seattle Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 18. Nominations were reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors. Voting runs through December 31!
In 6 Questions and a Plug, Wildrick displays an infectious enthusiasm equal to Maria's and reveals how much of herself is in this production's iconic role.
Voting is fully underway for the 2015 BroadwayWorld Seattle Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 11. Nominations were reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors. Voting runs through December 31.
Voting has opened for the 2015 BroadwayWorld Seattle Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of November 27th. Nominations were reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors. Voting runs through December 31.
Voting has opened for the 2015 BroadwayWorld Seattle Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of November 27th. Nominations were reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors. Voting runs through December 31.
This holiday season, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts is excited to present Rodgers & Hammerstein's The Sound of Music, Dec. 10-Jan. 2. Tickets for the Ordway produced family classic start at $37 and can be purchased online at www.ordway.org, by phone at 651-224-4222 or in-person at the Ordway ticket office.
From the moment you set foot into Cafe Nordo for their current production of "Sauced" you're struck with the wonderful sense of being transported back to the 1930's. But then, with all their ambience and commitment to tone you're no longer in Cafe Nordo but in the Diamond Club. And once there you should prepare yourself for mystery, intrigue, love, lust and betrayal all set to some gorgeous 30's tunes and served up with a five course meal and drinks for which every new bite causes an "oh my God!" moment.
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts today announced casting for the roles of Maria, Captain von Trapp and the von Trapp children for its upcoming holiday production of The Sound of Music, running Dec. 10, 2015-Jan. 2, 2016. Tickets for the Ordway produced family classic start at $37 and can be purchased online at www.ordway.org, by phone at 651-224-4222 or in-person at the Ordway ticket office.
In 2010, in the back warehouse of Theo Chocolate, Cafe Nordo went from a quirky experiment to a Seattle artistic institution with their smash hit Sauced. Set in a bar in Pioneer Square just after the end of prohibition, this seductive noir thriller drew sold-out houses for the extended run. Five years later Cafe Nordo had arrived at a new historic venue in Pioneer Square, and the reimagined hit show Sauced will kick off their new season in the perfect vintage venue - Nordo's Culinarium.
Let me start out by saying I do not like "Jesus Christ Superstar". I think it is a completely overrated show. Repeating the same lyric 50 times does not make a song! So it's more than an annoyance that every few years someone feels the need to resurrect it (pun intended). I mean in the past eight years I've seen it four times. In fact the current production at Seattle Musical Theatre is the third production in four years where they've chosen to set it in a post-apocalyptic world. I can only attribute its constant remounting to religious fervor and a mass familiarity with the source story. So I'm going to try and keep my disdain for the piece in check and focus on the performances. Unfortunately, as good as the performers were vocally, there was a severe lack of depth in these iconic characters plus a bad sound system which didn't aid the performers in getting me through the afternoon.
