Kirsten Delohr Helland News

LIZARD BOY is a comic book inspired musical that is taking San Diego by storm. So in honor of this musical, here are a few fun questions with Justin about theatre, comic books, and what inspired this show.

Three best friends from Washington got together and decided to make a musical. The rest is history - or at least it will be when the cast of LIZARD BOY makes their San Diego debut at Diversionary Theatre this September. Kirsten deLohr Helland, Justin Huertasand William A. Williams make up the entire cast and band of LIZARD BOY, a fantastical comic-book rock concert-slash-theatrical explosion. Director Brandon Ivie originally staged the show at Seattle Repertory, and will return to stage it fresh for Diversionary.

Three best friends from Washington got together and decided to make a musical. The rest is history - or at least it will be when the cast of LIZARD BOY makes their San Diego debut at Diversionary Theatre this September.

Join ArtsWest as your favorite Seattle performers sing the songbooks of the artists who inspired them, from Carole King and Alanis Morrissette to Freddie Mercury and Stevie Wonder. Hosted by Artistic Director Mathew Wright, these one-night only events feature four of Seattle's brightest stars: Kirsten DeLohr Helland, Frederick Hagreen, Jimmie Herrod, and Andi Alhadeff. These performers are at the forefront of musical theatre in Seattle-artistic talent behind smash-hits like Lizard Boy (Seattle Rep), Green Day's American Idiot (ArtsWest), and The Sound of Music (5th Avenue Theatre), just to name a few.

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.

Three best friends from Washington got together and decided to make a musical. The rest is history - or at least it will be when the cast of LIZARD BOY makes their San Diego debut at Diversionary Theatre this September.

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.

I'll admit unfamiliarity with Lerner and Loewe's "Paint Your Wagon" before recently. Never saw the original, never saw the movie, and had only a passing familiarity with the bigger songs in it. So to educate myself before seeing this production I watched the movie, which was also rewritten from the original musical version but what I had available to me. Wow, what a train wreck that is! Horrific story, songs that move nothing along and a movie that seems to be there solely for Lee Marvin to mug to the camera. So I was trepidatious to say the least about this rewritten version at the 5th Avenue Theatre and after seeing it I'm of two minds.

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.

The Lerner and Loewe classic score will be performed with a new book by Pulitzer finalist Jon Marans.

The 5th Avenue Theatre has announced the nominees for the 14th annual 5th Avenue Awards Honoring High School Musical Theater.

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.

The new folk-rock musical LIZARD BOY, which took Seattle by storm in its world premiere at Seattle Repertory Theatre in 2015, will receive two private industry readings directed by Brandon Ivie (Jasper in Deadland) at Playwrights Horizons today, March 10.

The new folk-rock musical Lizard Boy, which took Seattle by storm in it's world premiere at Seattle Repertory Theatre in 2015, will receive two private industry readings directed by Brandon Ivie (Jasper in Deadland) at Playwrights Horizons on March 10.

Monday, March 7th 7:30 p.m.   The first leading gent of our Monday March Cabaret series is none other than the hilarious and multifaceted Matt Owen. 

ArtsWest is pleased to announce the return of After Hours with Mathew Wright, now in its third iteration after this past December's Holiday Edition. Hosted by Artistic Director Mathew Wright, these one-night only events feature five of Seattle's (and Broadway's) brightest stars: Matt Owen (3/7), Frederick Hagreen (3/14), Eric Ankrim (3/21), and Justin Huertas and Kirsten DeLohr Helland (3/28). These performers were at the vanguard of musical theatre in Seattle in 2015, key creative and artistic talent behind smash-hits like Lizard Boy and Come From Away (Seattle Rep), Green Day's American Idiot(ArtsWest), and The Sound of Music (5th Avenue Theatre), just to name a few. Backed by Mathew Wright on piano, these are the performers that are making theatre history, and they are up-close-and-personal in these exclusive and intimate encounters.

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.