The 5th Avenue Theatre and Village Theatre announced today the three writing teams that have been co-commissioned to create new musicals as part of Northwest by Northwest, a new musical development program, and the first collaboration between the two organizations.
Dear Readers, it’s so good to be able to call you all that again. I’m so pleased to announce that live theatre has returned to the Seattle area. That doesn’t mean we’re completely back to normal, but it is a start, as The Williams Project has put together “The Campfire Festival”. And with its rotating slate of shows, they remind us of what we’ve been missing, and longing for.
The 5th Avenue Theatre will host its most heartfelt digital event of the year, the I ❤ The 5th Gala on Friday, June 4.
Seattle Opera announces the inaugural cohort of the Jane Lang Davis Creation Lab, which aims to support a new generation of storytellers in opera. The initiative is open to Washington artists ages 18–30 of all backgrounds—including those without opera experience. The 15 people selected will create short works, which will be performed in Tagney Jones Hall at the Opera Center in 2021.
Henry James' novella a?oeThe Turn of the Screwa?? is considered by some to be a classic of horror literature. A suspenseful story of ghosts and insanity that leaves each reader with a different viewpoint on what just happened. To be perfectly candid, I'd never read it and so my first exposure to it was last night's Book-It adaptation and production. And honestly, the way it was presented, I found it as suspenseful as a fly in a glass of milk, eliciting vaguely interesting questions of a?oewill she drowna?? or a?oewill she fly awaya??, but most of all a?oedo I really care?a?? All I know for certain is that I don't want to drink it anymore.
Seattle Theater Writers Seattle's theater reviewers circle announces the Winners of Excellence in Seattle theatrical productions. Spanning dozens of theater companies and productions, from large and prominent to small and humble, the Gypsy Rose Lee Awards honor the excellence found across the area.
Book-It Repertory Theatre's landmark 30th season continues with The Turn of the Screw, adapted from the 1898 horror novella by Henry James. Adapted by Rachel Atkins and directed by Carol Roscoe, this production will dive into the darkest corners of James's most famous and haunting story, asking audiences to question who they trust and whose version of events they believe. This will be Book-It's first production under the leadership team of current Artistic Director Jane Jones and Incoming Artistic Director Gus Menary. The Turn of the Screw plays February 12 a?" March 8, 2020 (Opening/Press Night on Saturday, February 15) at The Center Theatre.
Seattle's critics' circle announces nominees for the 2020 Gypsy Rose Lee awards celebrating excellence in Seattle theatrical productions.
Believe it or not, Dear Readers, I was a dancer in my youth. I took tap lessons for 12 years starting in 3rd Grade. And while I didn't do much in the way of competitions, I did see my fair share of stage moms and dancer heartache. So, a play such as Clare Barron's a?oeDance Nationa??, currently being offered from Washington Ensemble Theatre, should be right up my alley. Or it would be if it had a real story. Instead what we got was a too-long one act play that chose to shock more than anything else. With a series of vignettes and dance numbers that ultimately amounted to nothing, the show repeatedly attempts to be over the top rather than clever and has no arc or through line to hold it all together.
Back in 2018, a little show came along to Broadway called a?oeHead Over Heelsa??. All I knew was that it was the story of Sir Philip Sydney's a?oeArcadiaa?? with the songs of the 80's pop group, The Go-Go's. OK, another jukebox musical, we'll see. Then I went to NY and it didn't quite make the list of shows I was seeing. But after I found out more about it, like it was touting having the first trans woman originating a principal role on Broadway. Cool. Maybe I'll see it next time. And then it closed. Well, now ArtsWest has picked it up for its Seattle Premiere and I find that the show itself also speaks to homosexuality and gender identities beyond the binary, but not in a documentary or preachy way. Plus, it's a ton of fun. All of which makes me kick myself for not seeing it when I had the chance. But it's here now and ArtsWest nails it!
Washington Ensemble Theatre has announced the cast for the Seattle premiere of Dance Nation, the Pulitzer-nominated play by Clare Barron about a group of young people discovering the power inside of them and deciding what they're going to do with their potential. Will they squash it, embrace it, sexualize it, share it, or hoard it?
THEY GOT THE BEAT! Join us this holiday for a fairy-tale celebration of love and acceptance in this raucous royal family a?oevacation,a?? HEAD OVER HEELS. Venture to the forest with the royals of Arcadia on a quest to save their beloved kingdom after they learn of an Oracle's prophecy of doom, all while moovin' and groovin' to the music of The Go-Go's in this exuberant Elizabethan-inspired musical!
In 2020, Annex Theatre will present its 33rd season of bold new work. The company of Annex are proud to announce the premiere of five new mainstage plays about the power of love, transformation, and forging your own path.
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.
With one week left until The 18th Annual Festival of New Musicals, Village Theatre is excited to announce this summer's casting and creative teams! Tony Award-winner Victoria Clark (The Light in the Piazza) will direct Hansel & Gretl & Heidi & Gu?nter, a hilarious family adventure of what happens after Hansel and Gretl escape. Village Theatre's new artistic director Jerry Dixon (If/Then, Once on this Island) will direct the kick-off show Elysium: An American Fable, the moving story of a family dying under the weight of their own secrets; and associate artistic director Brandon Ivie (Jasper in Deadland) will direct The Passage, a coming-of-age mystery about a boy battling a monster holding his father captive. Joining them will be music directors Jason Hart (American Psycho), Rona Siddiqui (Bella: An American Tall Tale), R.J. Tancioco (Here Lies Love), and resident music director Tim Symons (Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion), among others.
Village Theatre is excited to announce the lineup for The 18th Annual Festival of New Musicals, a series of five staged readings of musicals currently in development. The Festival will take place in Issaquah on August 10-12, 2018.
Village Theatre is excited to present ZM, a new Broadway-style musical comedy with music & lyrics by Mark Hollmann and book & lyrics by Greg Kotis - the creators of the Tony Award-winning show, Urinetown. ZM will run at Village Theatre's First Stage Theatre in Issaquah from June 1-10, 2018.
5th Avenue Theatre presents MAMMA MIA, which opened February 9th and runs through the 25th. The ABBA jukebox musical follows Sophie, a young woman determined to have her father walk her down the aisle, despite not knowing who he is. After reading her mother's diary, she narrows down her father's identity to three possible men, and, much to her mother's dismay, invites them all to the wedding.
Rehearsals begin today for The 5th Avenue Theatre's new production of Mamma Mia!, the celebrated musical that features the music of global pop sensation ABBA. The 5th Avenue Theatre is the first producing theater company in the Pacific Northwest to be granted the rights to create its own refreshed version of the show, which toured the world for nearly 20 years.
Dear Readers, it's my unfortunate job, at this moment, to tell you of a show that you'll probably never get to see. Public Works Seattle's "The Odyssey" at the Seattle Rep kicked off last night and unfortunately for those who don't already have tickets, is only running through Sunday and, I believe, is already sold out.
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