Matt Owen News

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.

Rehearsals started this week at The 5th Avenue Theatre for the exultant classic musical, Rodgers & Hammerstein's The Sound of Music, the iconic show sweeping Seattle for the holidays. Boasting such beloved songs as 'Do Re Mi,' 'My Favorite Things,' 'Sixteen Going on Seventeen,' and 'Climb Ev'ry Mountain,' this production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's The Sound of Music will be presented as only The 5th can do, complete with a sensational live orchestra, stunning costumes, and incredible sets. Under the direction of David Bennett and with choreography by Trina Mills and music direction by Kat Sherrell, this musical will feature an exuberant all-local cast of fresh faces and favorite performers that includes Anne Allgood as the Mother Abbess, joining the previously announced David Pichette as Max Detweiler and Jessica Skerritt as the Baroness Elsa Schraeder, with Hans Altwies as Captain Georg von Trapp and Kirsten deLohr Helland as Maria.

Even Musical Theater nerds such as myself might not be familiar with “Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well & Living in Paris”, currently performing at ACT in a joint production with ACT and the 5th Avenue Theatre. I, myself, admit only a passing familiarity with the work and mostly from the covers that others have done of some of his songs. But now that I've seen it done I can understand the cultish following the show engenders and thankfully it was this production that filled the gap in my Musical Theater knowledge as this incredible ensemble took every angst ridden note and made them soar.

Beginning this month, A Contemporary Theatre (ACT) continues to partner with the 5th Avenue Theatre, co-producing a musical that appears on each organization's season and performed at ACT. Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris opens tonight, March 12, and runs for 10 weeks in the Falls Theatre, directed by David Armstrong.

The main characters in the new musical version of "A Room with a View" spend their time trying to figure out who they want to become. Unfortunately the show itself also has an identity crisis, as it could never figure out what kind of show it wanted to be. And that, combined with songs that rarely got off the ground and never moved the story along, left the show a muddled mess being sung by some powerhouse talents who deserve better.

Love is blossoming in Seattle this spring when The 5th Avenue Theatre debuts the lush new musical, A Room with a View. Based on the E.M. Forster novel that inspired the Merchant Ivory film, this enchanting adaptation features a wonderfully rich score by Jeffrey Stock and a witty and moving book and additional lyrics by Marc Acito. This beguiling and intimate romantic comedy features a cast of Seattle's best-loved musical theater stars including Laura Griffith and Louis Hobson as Lucy and George. Directed by The 5th Avenue's David Armstrong, A Room with a View also features Patti Cohenour, Jadd Davis, Allen Fitzpatrick, Richard Gray, Suzy Hunt, Matt Owen, Will Reynolds, and Jenny Shotwell.

Love is blossoming in Seattle this spring when The 5th Avenue Theatre debuts the lush new musical, A Room with a View. Based on the E.M. Forster novel that inspired the Merchant Ivory film, this enchanting adaptation features a wonderfully rich score by Jeffrey Stock and a witty and moving book and additional lyrics by Marc Acito. This beguiling and intimate romantic comedy features a cast of Seattle's best-loved musical theater stars including Laura Griffith and Louis Hobson as Lucy and George. Directed by The 5th Avenue's David Armstrong, A Room with a View also features Patti Cohenour, Jadd Davis, Allen Fitzpatrick, Richard Gray, Suzy Hunt, Matt Owen, Will Reynolds, and Jenny Shotwell.

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!

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.

Voting is now underway for Seattle! We have a record number of votes in already, but if you haven't voted yet, click here to vote! If you have voted already, tell your friends.

Voting is now underway for Seattle! We have a record number of votes in already, but if you haven't voted yet, click here to vote! If you have voted already, tell your friends.

Voting is now underway for Seattle! We have a record number of votes in already, but if you haven't voted yet, click here to vote! If you have voted already, tell your friends.

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) today announces the cast for the new holiday classic, Elf The Musical, running tomorrow, Dec. 6 - 22 at Hobby Center's Sarofim Hall. Making his TUTS debut as the loveable 'elf' Buddy is Tommy J. Dose. He played Alfred Doolittle in the national tour of My Fair Lady and has circulated the regional theatre scene with companies including the Fulton Theatre, the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, and the Cumberland County Playhouse. Scroll down for a look at the Seattle production and stay tuned for original production photos from TUTS!

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.

GREY GARDENS, a co-production with The 5th Avenue Theatre and ACT is now playing on the mainstage through May 26. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the production shots below.

You know when you go on vacation and come across that amazing restaurant that serves one of the most surprising dishes you've ever had that you pine over for years and then you find a restaurant back home that makes the same recipe? And maybe they don't have all the best ingredients or maybe the chef isn't quite as good but it just doesn't live up to the original? Well, unfortunately that's the equivalent of what I witnessed last night at "Grey Gardens" currently at ACT. It's still the same amazing show by Doug Wright, Scott Frankel, and Michael Korie and definitely had some outstanding moments but the whole just didn't quite compare to when I saw it on Broadway with the incredible Christine Ebersole.