Ellen McLain News

The 5th Avenue Theatre presents Sister Act, March 14 - April 5, 2020.

Complete casting has been announced for The 5th Avenue Theatre's new production of Sister Act, which begins rehearsals today.

Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel's soaring romantic and tragic musical a?oeLight in the Piazzaa?? is not often tackled a?? thank the theater Gods. I'm not saying it's bad by any stretch of the imagination, it's just that I'd hate to see every small company, without the resources to handle it well, take it on. Fortunately, they've built in a few traps that may dissuade. First off, it's not your typical, rollicking musical with songs you'll be singing after. Second, there's all that Italian that your cast needs to learn and deliver authentically. And finally, it's some tough music. It needs to be done by insanely talented professionals who can handle these beautiful melodies that fly up into the rafters (often in Italian) as well as the heartfelt story. Enter Showtunes Theatre as they begin their 20th season, who routinely gather together the cream of the crop of Seattle artists for just a few weekends, books in hand, and you'll find yourself gifted with the mind-blowingly gorgeous evening that is their current production of a?oeLight in the Piazzaa??.

For the opener of its 20th Anniversary Season, Showtunes is bringing this legendary work home to the theatre where it began. Join them as The Light in the Piazza returns to Seattle in one of the biggest concerts ever, featuring the full, Broadway orchestration.

It's that time of year again. One of my favorite times of year. That time when I get to spend the weekend at Village Theatre checking out the shows brought together by the folks at Village, spotlighting new works around the country. Some amazing, some needing work, but all showing promise. Now, of course, I can't review any of these. They're all still works in progress and not fully staged. But I can share what went on over the weekend as a potential coming attraction of musicals to come to a theater near you.

Showtunes Theatre Company has announced their highly anticipaeted holiday concert musical LEAP OF FAITH. The talented cast of local musical theatre professionals will 'rise up' gospel-style for two performances at Benaroya Hall on December 3 at 8pm and December 4 at 2pm. Louis Hobson, who performed in the original Broadway cast, will star as Jonas. Matt Giles directs with Nathan Young working as the music director.

Showtunes Theatre Company has announced their highly anticipaeted holiday concert musical LEAP OF FAITH. The talented cast of local musical theatre professionals will 'rise up' gospel-style for two performances at Benaroya Hall on December 3 at 8pm and December 4 at 2pm. Louis Hobson, who performed in the original Broadway cast, will star as Jonas. Matt Giles directs with Nathan Young working as the music director.

Some of Seattle's most talented actors will be hard at work in collaboration with writers from around the country in the rehearsal halls of The 5th Avenue Theatre this month as the company's NextFest: A Festival of New Musicals launches its three week intensive development cycle this weekend.

To think that a murder mystery that's been around for 60 years such as “The Mousetrap', currently playing at Village Theatre, could still be fresh. I mean, everyone knows who the killer is by now, right? Nope. I for one couldn't remember and from the gasps in the audience many others couldn't either. But then that's part of the enduring quality of this Agatha Christie classic, it still keeps you guessing. And the Village production is so full of fun, rich characters and, of course, red herrings that it amounts to a thoroughly enjoyable night out.

Hosted by star of NBC's 'Chuck' and avid gamerZachary Levi, executive produced by Emmy Award winner Mark Burnett and featuring cutting edge in-show augmented reality and world premiere footage from hotly anticipated releases, Spike TV's ninth annual 'Video Game Awards' (#VGA) proved to be a night to remember. Industry giants gathered as the network celebrated the outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the world of gaming over the past year during the two-hour global event which premiered LIVE on Spike TV, MTV 2 and Spike.com Saturday, December 10 at 8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT from Sony Studios in Los Angeles. Internationally, the 'VGAs' were seen in over 100 countries and territories around the world.

The second new musical in Village Theatre's 5-show season is the outrageous commie-dy, Iron Curtain, directed by Steve Tomkins, named one of Seattle Magazine's 'Most Influential of 2010.' From the writing team who brought the 2007 production of Once Upon a Time in New Jersey to the Mainstage, the new musical Iron Curtain is chock-full of talent, and some of Seattle's funniest, funny people are set to appear.

Village Theatre is currently asking the very unlikely question, "What happens when two American songwriters get kidnapped by cold war era KGB agents to write the quintessential Russian musical?" The answer is, "You get "Iron Curtain", the latest show to get a main stage production out of the Village Originals Festival, which amounts to two and a half hours of absolute bliss!"

The second new musical in Village Theatre's 5-show season is the outrageous commie-dy, Iron Curtain, directed by Steve Tomkins, named one of Seattle Magazine's 'Most Influential of 2010.' From the writing team who brought the 2007 production of Once Upon a Time in New Jersey to the Mainstage, the new musical Iron Curtain is chock-full of talent, and some of Seattle's funniest, funny people are set to appear.

The second new musical in Village Theatre's 5-show season is the outrageous commie-dy, Iron Curtain, directed by Steve Tomkins, named one of Seattle Magazine's 'Most Influential of 2010.' From the writing team who brought the 2007 production of Once Upon a Time in New Jersey to the Mainstage, the new musical Iron Curtain is chock-full of talent, and some of Seattle's funniest, funny people are set to appear.

Today, Village Theatre announced the cast of the season opening production of THE FULL MONTY. The show opens in Issaquah on September 16 and runs through October 24, before moving to Everett and running October 29-November 21. Featuring an array of local talent, Village Theatre's production is directed and choreographed by New York-based Jerry Dixon (Show Boat, 2009).

Today, Village Theatre announced the cast of the season opening production of THE FULL MONTY. The show opens in Issaquah on September 16 and runs through October 24, before moving to Everett and running October 29-November 21. Featuring an array of local talent, Village Theatre's production is directed and choreographed by New York-based Jerry Dixon (Show Boat, 2009).

Showtunes Theatre Company, in partnership with Broadway Across America-Seattle and Seattle Theatre Group, is proud to announce its first concert production at their new home of The Moore Theatre - the legendary Sondheim/Goldman musical, Follies.

Showtunes Theatre Company, in partnership with Broadway Across America-Seattle and Seattle Theatre Group, is proud to announce its first concert production at their new home of The Moore Theatre - the legendary Sondheim/Goldman musical, Follies.

Showtunes Theatre Company, in partnership with Broadway Across America-Seattle and Seattle Theatre Group, is proud to announce its first concert production at their new home of The Moore Theatre - the legendary Sondheim/Goldman musical, Follies.

Book-It Repertory Theatre proudly presents A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Adapted and directed by Mary Machala