5th Avenue Theatre Company Will Present AFTER MIDNIGHT

The 5th Avenue Theatre Company will unite Seattle’s hottest jazz musicians with top-tier theatrical talent to present After Midnight - a celebration of the music, poetry, and vibrant spirit of Harlem’s legendary Cotton Club. Performances for this sizzling summer music extravaganza begin August 5 and run through August 24.
 
Directed by The 5th Avenue Theatre’s Senior Director of Artistic Programming Jay Santos (Spring Awakening, Sweeney Todd, Beauty and the Beast), After Midnight transports audiences to the heart of the Harlem Renaissance with a dazzling fusion of song, dance, and storytelling. Featuring the timeless music of Duke Ellington, Jimmy McHugh, and Dorothy Fields, among others, and poetry by Langston Hughes, the show reimagines a 1930s nightclub revue with thrilling contemporary flair. 
 
“Jazz, especially as Duke Ellington lived it, wasn’t just music; it was survival, resistance, and poetry,” said Santos. This show isn’t just a revue - it’s a living mural. And in this moment, when we’re again reckoning with whose stories are heard and who gets to define American culture, After Midnight reminds us that Black Culture is American Culture.”
 
Leading the cast is Yusef Seevers and Porscha Shaw. A dynamic duo, The 5th audiences will remember them from co-starring in a number of recent productions together including: Sweeney Todd, Something’s Afoot, and Waitress. Joining Seevers and Shaw in the cast are Nalica Hennings (Waitress), Nehemiah Hooks (Mary Poppins), Nicholas Japaul Bernard (Beauty and the Beast), Trina Mills (Waitress), Madison Willis (Mary Poppins), Brian Davis (the international tour of After Midnight), Iris Beaumier (The Little Prince on Broadway), and Jason Holley (Shuffle Along on Broadway). External understudies include: Savannah Cooper (White Noise on Netflix), Alysha Morgan (A Wonderful World on Broadway), Stanley Martin (Original Broadway Cast of Aladdin), and Lamont Brown (First National Tours of Mean Girls and Funny Girl). Select performances will feature special guests from Northwest Tap Connection. 
 
The production showcases a full band of Seattle’s top Jazz artists who bring iconic hits like “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” “Stormy Weather,” and “I’ve Got the World on a String” to vibrant life. The band includes: music director and conductor William Knowles (half of jazz duo Saltman Knowles) who will also play the keys, associate music director and substitute conductor Rebecca Smith, Chris Patin (co-founder and musical director of Pacific Northwest Drumline) on drums, Lamar Lofton on bass, Brian Bermudez on reed, Derek Smith on reed, Alex Dugdale (2019 Earshot Jazz “Emerging Artist of the Year”) on reed, Owuor Arunga (collaborator on the multi-Grammy award-winning Macklemore & Ryan Lewis album The Heist) on trumpet, Nathan Breedlove (twice Grammy-nominated and member of the Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame) on trumpet, and Beserat Tafesse (horns for the band Kings Kaleidoscope and featured on the Grammy-nominated album Art of the Arrangement by Doug Beavers) on trombone. 
 
Joining Santos, Knowles, and Smith on the artistic team is associate director Allyson Lee Brown, choreographer Pamela Yasutake, associate choreographer Jason Holley, scenic designer Carey Wong, associate scenic designer Charlotte Emrys, lighting designer Xavier Pierce, associate lighting designer Thorn Michaels, sound designer Justin Stasiw, associate sound designer Liam Steckler, Costume Designer Ricky German, costume design assistant Ty Pyne, and hair & make-up designer Jason Goldsberry. The stage management team is led by production stage manager JR Welden, assistant stage manager Shaina Pierce, assistant swing stage manager Jamie J. Kranz, and production assistants Annika Evens and Max Zamorano. Community consultation is provided by Steve Sneed. 
 
The set will also feature six cabaret tables that seamlessly blend the stage and audience, evoking the immersive atmosphere of an authentic nightclub. In 2025, six 2D visual artists identifying as Black or of the African Diaspora were commissioned to design these tables around the theme “Black Jubilee through Black Community.” The selected artists, which include Aramis O. Hamer, Al Doggett, Charde Brown, Sabella Flagg, Susan Mask, and Stefanie Morales, created work that captures vivid “slices of life” from the culture and community of Harlem, New York, the vibrant setting of After Midnight. 
 
With soul-stirring music, hypnotic choreography, and lush visuals, After Midnight is a celebration of Black excellence both past and present. This production invites longtime jazz aficionados as well as newcomers to discover the unforgettable artistry that defined an era and a genre.