Lauren Du Pree News

Back in the day when I was a mere fledgling musical theater geek I was introduced to the show 'Dreamgirls'. You might say this was my gateway cast album that put me on the path toward the musical addict I am today as I practically wore out the CD. So you'll understand if I'm a little picky about this show. I mean, how could someone live up to the magic of Jennifer Holliday, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Loretta Devine? Since then I've seen a few productions that have all been OK but never got me there until now. And true, you can't ever really compare with the originals but the current production from Village Theatre does a mighty fine job.

Village Theatre closes out their season with the dynamic R&B spectacular Dreamgirls. With an extraordinary cast of vocal talents, slick costumes, and set designs custom built in Issaquah, Dreamgirls continues the theatre's path of raising the bar on production quality with each passing year. Audiences will be transported back to the 1960s as this award-winning musical offers a moving behind-the-scenes look of the entertainment business. 'I am so excited to be doing such an epic show with some of the most amazing people I've ever worked with,' says director, Steve Tomkins. 'The whole audition process was just wonderful, as each person came into the room and blew the roof off. I can't wait for opening night, because this cast is just going to send it through the roof again. They are truly outstanding.'

This winter, The 5th Avenue Theatre will have Seattle adjusting its radiators with a steaming hot new production of the Richard Adler and Jerry Ross musical theater hit, The Pajama Game. With direction by 5th Avenue Theatre Producing Artistic Director Bill Berry, this sultry stunner features Bob Fosse-inspired choreography by Bob Richard and music direction by Joel Fram.

This winter, The 5th Avenue Theatre will have Seattle adjusting its radiators with a steaming hot new production of the Richard Adler and Jerry Ross musical theater hit, The Pajama Game. With direction by 5th Avenue Theatre Producing Artistic Director Bill Berry, this sultry stunner features Bob Fosse-inspired choreography by Bob Richard and music direction by Joel Fram.

This winter, The 5th Avenue Theatre will have Seattle adjusting its radiators with a steaming hot new production of the Richard Adler and Jerry Ross musical theater hit, The Pajama Game. With direction by 5th Avenue Theatre Producing Artistic Director Bill Berry, this sultry stunner features Bob Fosse-inspired choreography by Bob Richard and music direction by Joel Fram.

Broadway's Rufus Bonds, Jr. takes over the role of Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha at 5th Avenue Theatre. 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. This new production is the first of The 5th Avenue Theatre's 2016/17 season and also features Don Darryl Rivera as Sancho and Nova Payton as Aldonza with direction by Allison Narver and choreography by Maria Torres.

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.

One of my favorite events each year is the Village Originals Festival of New Musicals. Each year there's at least one new show that you long to get a full staging. Back in 2014 that show was "My Heart is the Drum" with it's touching story and engaging music. It showed so much potential and I was thrilled when I saw it on the season lineup this season. And while it still shows a lot of promise it still needs a lot of work to make it a tighter narrative and paced better.

The uproariously funny satire on corporate ladder-climbing, HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING, starts rehearsals this week at The 5th Avenue Theatre. This Pulitzer Prize and multi-Tony Award-winning musical takes place in TV's Mad Men era, following window washer J. Pierrepont Finch's journey from mail room to the top of the World Wide Wicket Company, all with the help of a cunning guide book. A sharp-witted send-up of the corporate rat race that will keep audiences rolling in the aisles, HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING is gracing The 5th Avenue stage for the first time. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the cast!

The Ford's Theatre 2015-2016 season continues with A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens and adapted by Michael Wilson, now through December 31, 2015. Celebrated Washington stage actor Edward Gero returns for the seventh year to play Ebenezer Scrooge. BroadwayWorld has a first look at Gero and company onstage below!

?The Ford's Theatre 2015-2016 season continues with A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and adapted by Michael Wilson, November 19 to December 31, 2015. Celebrated Washington stage actor Edward Gero returns for the seventh year to play Ebenezer Scrooge in the production The Washington Post hailed as "musically high-spirited" and "infectiously jolly."

Ford's Theatre 2014-2015 season continues with A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and adapted by Michael Wilson, tonight, November 20, 2014 to January 1, 2015. Acclaimed Washington stage actor Edward Gero returns for the sixth year to play Ebenezer Scrooge. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the show below!

Ford's Theatre 2014-2015 season continues with A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and adapted by Michael Wilson, November 20, 2014 to January 1, 2015. Acclaimed Washington stage actor Edward Gero returns for the sixth year to play Ebenezer Scrooge. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the show below!

Olney Theatre Center, a Maryland destination for professional theater performance and education, continues its critically-acclaimed 76th Anniversary season with August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama THE PIANO LESSON May 7 - June 1, 2014 in the Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab.

A John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts commissioned piece for its Theatre for Young Audiences division, 'Orphie and the Book of Heroes' is smart, funny, original, and bursting with potential.

The Kennedy Center presents the world premiere production of Orphie and the Book of Heroes in the Family Theater, today, February 8 - 23, 2014.

The Kennedy Center presents the world premiere production of Orphie and the Book of Heroes in the Family Theater, February 8 - 23, 2014.

Fresh this month at Imagination Stage comes Lulu and the Brontosaurus, an adaptation of the children's book by Judith Viorst. The story centers around a young girl, Lulu (Casie Platt) who is an unlikely heroine- a spunky little kid who is as lovable as she is a total pain.

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!

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.