David Armstrong News

Director Alan Paul takes risks with Shakespeare's classic tale of romance and tragedy.

This holiday season, audiences will journey "Under the Sea" for a spectacular new production and Northwest Premiere of the Broadway musical, Disney's The Little Mermaid. Headstrong Ariel is no longer content to live on the ocean floor under the rule of her father, King Triton.

Broadway's Rufus Bonds, Jr. will be tilting at windmills on The 5th Avenue Theatre stage when he takes over the role of Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha. Bonds was recently seen as Porgy in The Gershwins' Porgy & Bess in London's West End, and was a member of the original Broadway casts of RENT and Parade.

Theatrical marketing executive Michael Gepner joins the administrative leadership at The 5th Avenue Theatre as the Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Guest Services, drawing to a close a national search.

Girl group revue is back by popular demand. Two years ago, the Long Wharf Theatre offered a blast from the past with The Bikinis, James Hindman and Ray Roderick's breezy jukebox revue of '60s and '70s music. The show was loosely based on a true story about senior residents in Florida, who were being pressured to sell their mobile homes to a developer. Instead of a knight in shining armor, a girl group of four women who call themselves The Bikinis come to star in a fundraiser to help the residents pay for their legal fees. This revue, now back at the Long Wharf by popular demand, has a clear narrative that so many people can relate to today, even if they are not retirees who live in a resort.

I had never even heard of the 1951 Lerner and Loewe musical PAINT YOUR WAGON when the Ordway announced it as part of their season. I guess that's not too surprising; it ran for less than a year on Broadway and has never been revived. The story was significantly rewritten for the 1969 movie adaptation starring Clint Eastwood, which also included a few new songs. Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre scrapped both the original and revised book (they're a little bit racist, and sexist) to write a new story set in the Gold Rush era of California, making it more reflective of the many diverse cultures that came together to build the great American West. This production has moved to the Ordway for two weeks, with a few local additions to the cast. This thrilling story of the beginnings of the American West with a beautifully diverse cast has rescued this gorgeous Western and Mexican influenced score from the place where problematic old musicals go to die.

Just announced, Norm Lewis will star in the iconic dual roles of Cervantes/Don Quixote in the legendary Broadway musical, Man of La Mancha at The 5th Avenue Theatre.

Tony nominee Robert Cuccioli has a long career on stage and an unusual path to get there. He comes to the Ordway stage in an all-new production of Lerner & Loewe's PAINT YOUR WAGON that the Ordway is collaborating with Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre on, which includes a new book and orchestrations.

The 5th Avenue Theatre embarks on an exciting renovation called The Next Stage Campaign: a multi-phase plan to update, refresh and re-energize Seattle's home for musical theater. Beginning this summer, the historic 5th Avenue Theatre will undergo its first significant renovation since 1980. The highly-anticipated updates include a new sound system, a refreshed lobby, a new Producer's Club donor lounge and expanded restroom facilities.

The 5th Avenue Theatre is proud to present the second annual NextFest: A Festival of New Musicals. The company's rehearsal halls will be brimming with activity this fall as new musicals take shape in readings and intensives, brought to life by local and Broadway talents.

The Tony Award winner for Best Musical, A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER, will play The 5th Avenue Theatre as a part of its First National Tour, which launched in September, 2015.

Girl group revue is back by popular demand. Two years ago, the Long Wharf Theatre offered a blast from the past with The Bikinis, James Hindman and Ray Roderick's breezy jukebox revue of '60s and '70s music. The show was loosely based on a true story about senior residents in Florida, who were being pressured to sell their mobile homes to a developer. Instead of a knight in shining armor, a girl group of four women who call themselves The Bikinis come to star in a fundraiser to help the residents pay for their legal fees. This revue, now back at the Long Wharf by popular demand, has a clear narrative that so many people can relate to today, even if they are not retirees who live in a resort.

Paradise has a name!

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts opens its 2016-17 season with an exciting new 'revisal' of Lerner & Loewe's Paint Your Wagon, Aug. 9-21. Featuring an all new book by Pulitzer Prize nominated playwright Jon Marans, the show opened at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre in June 2016. Twin Cities audiences will be among the first in the world to experience this updated sweeping saga of the mythic West and the pursuit of the American Dream. Tickets for Lerner & Loewe's Paint Your Wagon 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.

The 5th Avenue Theatre welcomes audiences to Spotlight Night, an exciting and exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpse at the final production in the 2015/16 season, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder.

The 5th Avenue Theatre presents an exciting new 'revisal' of the sweeping saga Lerner & Loewe's PAINT YOUR WAGON. Featuring an all-new book by Pulitzer Prize nominee John Marans, this show has taken an incredible journey over the last five years from developmental workshops to The 5th Avenue stage this season. And BroadwayWorld is happy to report that the company has just announced the full cast and creative team.

Excited high school students, educators and supportive friends and family members packed McCaw Hall to celebrate The 14th Annual 5th Avenue Awards Honoring High School Musical Theater. The highly anticipated event, directed by Kat Ramsburg, handed out awards in 21 categories ranging from Outstanding Overall Musical Production to Outstanding Lobby Display. The crowd eagerly cheered for Washington's finest teenage performers as awards were accepted, local celebrity presenters spoke and nominated students performed musical excerpts from their acclaimed shows. This Tony Awards style program hosted by The 5th Avenue Theatre is proudly sponsored by Wells Fargo with additional support from Alaska Airlines and The Boeing Company.

Seattle's The 5th Avenue Theatre is seeking the most creative and ambitious teens with a love for the stage to participate in an exciting new program called the “10-Minute Musical Project,” which involves local students in the process of creating new works in the musical theater genre. Washington State students ages 14-19 are eligible to apply for a variety of roles: composer, lyricist, playwright, stage manager, director, music director and marketer. Students will participate in workshops throughout the summer, culminating in a two-week long intensive rehearsal process and a staged reading presented as part of The 5th Avenue's NextFest: A Festival of New Musicals in October 2016. 

A sweeping saga of the mythic American West rolls into The 5th Avenue Theatre beginning today, June 2, and continuing through 25, 2016, in a brand new 'revisal': Lerner and Loewe's PAINT YOUR WAGON.