The Holy Grail of Entertainment at The 5th Avenue Theatre: Monty Python's Spamalot. Featuring an all-star Seattle cast. Lovingly ripped off from the motion picture Monty Python and the Holy Grail, with Book and Lyrics by Eric Idle; Music by Eric Idle, John Du Prez, and Neil Innes. Directed by Josh Rhodes with choreography by Lee Wilkins, the show will run January 30-March 2, 2014. BroadwayWorld has a first look below!
If you know what I mean when I say things such as "Are you telling me cocoanuts migrate?!?" "She's got huge tracks of land!" and "Ni!" then you're my kind of nerd who understands the joy that is "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". And while musical theater nerds are aware, I was surprised to find out how many others didn't know that the genius of Holy Grail was giddily translated into the musical "Monty Python's Spamalot" which ran off with the Tony for best musical in 2005. And now the 5th Avenue Theatre presents an all local production of the smash hit and with the talent and design at their disposal, it's about as close to the Broadway show as you're going to get (without Jews, of course).
The Holy Grail of Entertainment at The 5th Avenue Theatre: Monty Python's Spamalot. Featuring an all-star Seattle cast. Lovingly ripped off from the motion picture Monty Python and the Holy Grail, with Book and Lyrics by Eric Idle; Music by Eric Idle, John Du Prez, and Neil Innes. Directed by Josh Rhodes with choreography by Lee Wilkins, the show will run today, January 30-March 2, 2014.
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are storming The 5th Avenue Theatre in Monty Python's Spamalot, the perfect musical to fight the winter blues. Based on the blockbuster 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, this hilarious musical comedy lays siege to Seattle featuring a stellar lineup of local talent including Joshua Carter, Allen Fitzpatrick, Richard Gray, Laura Griffith, Louis Hobson, Greg McCormick Allen, Matt Owen, and Dane Stokinger. Called "Fantastic! Gorgeously silly!" by The New York Post, Spamalot blends cerebral audacity with slapstick absurdity in this wacky version of King Arthur's mythical search for the Holy Grail. Bringing to the stage such classic Monty Python shticks as the Knights Who Say Ni, the killer rabbit, flying cows, and "Always Look on the Bright Side of Your Life," Spamalot is side-splitting fun.
The Holy Grail of Entertainment at The 5th Avenue Theatre: Monty Python's Spamalot. Featuring an all-star Seattle cast. Lovingly ripped off from the motion picture Monty Python and the Holy Grail, with Book and Lyrics by Eric Idle; Music by Eric Idle, John Du Prez, and Neil Innes. Directed by Josh Rhodes with choreography by Lee Wilkins, the show will run January 30-March 2, 2014.
Balagan Theatre and Artistic Director Louis Hobson's high-profile production of CARRIE the musical closed Saturday, but will live on in an original Squigs caricature featuring Tony Award winner Alice Ripley, Keaton Whittaker (A Little Night Music), Kendra Kassebaum (Wicked), Larissa Schmitz, Kody Bringman, Tessa Archer and Andrew Brewer (Cougar, the Musical). Scroll down for a look at the artwork!
Tony Award-winning Broadway actress Alice Ripley (Next to Normal) leads the cast of CARRIE the musical, now playing through October 26, 2013, at the historic Moore Theatre, also featuring fellow Broadway alumni Kendra Kassebaum (Wicked) and Keaton Whittaker (A Little Night Music), and directed by Broadway alum Louis Hobson (Next to Normal). Check out a first look at the production shots below!
Any true Broadway Geek knows of the infamous flop that is "Carrie: The Musical". Having only run for 16 previews and 5 actual performances back in 1988, some believed it to be one of the worst shows around while others still proclaimed its merits and longed for its return. So when the show was retooled by authors Michael Gore, Dean Pitchford and Lawrence D. Cohen and an Off-Broadway run was announced for 2012, the news was met with excitement and skepticism. The modest run was enough to remove some of the stigma of the show and made the show ripe for regional productions to put their stamp on it. And this leads us to 2013 as powerhouse company Balagan Theatre mounts their production with none other than Tony Award Winner Alice Ripley in the role of Carrie's Mother, Margaret White. And while the show itself is now about half good, the Balagan Production manages enough stellar moments to make the show into something special but they still have a ways to go to achieve greatness.
Tony Award-winning Broadway actress Alice Ripley (Next to Normal) leads the cast of CARRIE the musical, opening tonight, October 11 and running through October 26, 2013, at the historic Moore Theatre, also featuring fellow Broadway alumni Kendra Kassebaum (Wicked) andKeaton Whittaker (A Little Night Music), and directed by Broadway alum Louis Hobson (Next to Normal).
Tony Award-winning Broadway actress Alice Ripley (Next to Normal) leads the cast of CARRIE the musical, October 11-26, 2013, at the historic Moore Theatre, also featuring fellow Broadway alumni Kendra Kassebaum (Wicked) andKeaton Whittaker (A Little Night Music), and directed by Broadway alum Louis Hobson (Next to Normal).
In the video below, Alice Ripley sings 'When There's No One' from the production!
Tony Award-winning Broadway actress Alice Ripley (Next to Normal) leads the cast of CARRIE the musical, October 11-26, 2013, at the historic Moore Theatre, also featuring fellow Broadway alumni Kendra Kassebaum (Wicked) and Keaton Whittaker (A Little Night Music), and directed by Broadway alum Louis Hobson (Next to Normal).
Be at the barricade with Balagan Theatre this September for an intensely intimate and immersive staging of the worldwide musical phenomenon, Les Miserables, featuring Broadway actor Louis Hobson in his debut performance with Balagan as Artistic Director. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the production below!
I must be honest here; Balagan Theatre putting on a production of Les Mis already has two hurdles to overcome before I even set foot in the door. First that it's Les Mis. It's a monumental undertaking and one of my favorite shows and I'm incredibly picky about it. And two, it's Balagan and with their recent track record I expect great things. So before I even enter the theater I already have some impossibly high standards for the production. And while there were definitely some superb moments on that stage (many in fact) there were also some glaring drawbacks that kept the show from meeting or even exceeding those standards.
Balagan Theatre continues their effort to get new musicals a place to be heard with their New Works Summer Series and their offering of the new musical “Island Song”, a show exploring the lives of the young and ambitious in a city that can at the same time foster and crush such ambition.
Balagan Theatre and New York City producer Katie Tomlinson Diamond presented a season preview party in June of Nirvanov, featuring television and stage star C.S. Lee (Dexter) and Van Hughes (American Idiot: The Musical, national tour) as rock legend Kurt Cobain/Nirvanov. Kirsten Delohr Helland and Williams A. Williams perform 'Faded and Jaded' from the show. Check out the video below!
Veteran film and theatre producer Sandy Stern, with Louis Hobson, Jake Groshong and Katie Tomlinson Diamond of Seattle's Balagan Theatre, will present a closed workshop performance today, July 12, of Jeff Thomson and Jeremy Desmon's new rock musical Pump up the Volume, directed by Tony Award and Drama Desk Award winner Christopher Gattelli (Newsies,South Pacific) and Dave Solomon, with choreography by Christopher Gattelli and music direction by James Sampliner (Legally Blonde, The Wedding Singer).
The 5th Avenue Theatre presents Hairspray in Concert, featuring some of Seattle's favorite musical theatre stars and the powerful voices of the 250-member Seattle Men's Chorus. Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Hairspray's 2002 Broadway debut, this unique concert event will play for six very special performances of glorious and irreverent John Waters-inspired wackiness (Friday-Sunday, June 20-23). BroadwayWorld has a first look at the production photos below!
The Portland Area Musical Theatre Awards have announced this year's nominations! See the full list below. This year's PAMTA ceremony will take place at the Dolores Winningstad Theatre tonight, June 24, 2013, at 7 pm.
Let me start out, Dear Readers, by saying there is no way for me to not be biased about this show. I have loved it since I saw the original preview at the 5th way back when (twice) and all productions since then have never failed to make me happy. Hell, I've even done the show before (hence the bias). So please take that into account as I talk about the current concert version of "Hairspray" being presented at the 5th Avenue in conjunction with the Seattle Men's Chorus. While the talent and fun energy was definitely up there on the 5th Avenue stage, some keys roles seemed to be missing that spark of camp that is so crucial for the show.
The 5th Avenue Theatre presents Hairspray in Concert, featuring some of Seattle's favorite musical theatre stars and the powerful voices of the 250-member Seattle Men's Chorus.
