Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Sneak a Peek of A Christmas Story: The Musical!

If you happened to attend Spotlight Night September 16, you were privy to a surprise world premiere from A Christmas Story: The Musical! performed by composer and lyricist team Benj Pasek & Justin Paul. If you hadn't heard of Broadway's hottest young songwriters before, chances are you were scouring the search engines for more shortly thereafter (or maybe that was just our staff...). The charming pair so entertained our audience that we received several requests for videos of their performance -- and, despite it being a little early for Christmas, we happily obliged! Here is the FIRST clip of their performances. Stay tuned for more performances and backstage interviews to come!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Spotlight on In the Heights: Videos are UP!

For those of you who didn't catch our first Spotlight Night of the season, here's a preview of what you missed!

Broadway producer Kevin McCollum (Rent, Avenue Q, In the Heights) shared his trade secrets on what makes a Tony Award-winning best musical and gave a preview of the upcoming Broadway tour of In the Heights. Check out interview clips below -



And stay tuned for more Spotlight Night clips, including performances from A Christmas Story: the Musical! composer and lyricist team Benj Pasek and Justin Paul!

Monday, September 20, 2010

In the Heights Events

Looking for a pre-show dinner or fun event to heighten your theater experience? Whether you're more intellectually or gastronomically inclined, we've got something for you!

Free Events! - The 5th Avenue Show Talk: Sponsored by Macy's

Meet theater artists and special community guests throughout the run of In the Heights as we examine many of the topics and themes from the show, including:

New York as a Musical Theater Character
Hip-Hop Storytelling Slam Poetry
Displacement Issues within Minority Groups
Immigration Debate in the United States
Dominican Culture and Community
Communities in Change

Show Talk events are free and open to the public - find dates and details here.

Pre-Show Spotlight Dinner

For the perfect pre-show dinner and drink spot, check out our neighborhood restaurant partner Sullivan's Steakhouse located just two blocks from the Theatre. See a sneak peek at their special 3-course Spotlight Menu below:

Make reservations and find information, here.

In the Heights opens next week! Don't miss out on the Tony Award-winning best musical, get your tickets today!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Top 10 Reasons to Come to Spotlight Night!


Tomorrow night (Thursday, September 16) is the first Spotlight Night of the season! For those of you still debating whether to sign up for your FREE tickets (yes, they're free, so what's the debate about?) here are 10 reasons to log on and sign up now:

10. It's FREE! Spotlight Nights are a mini-production from The 5th. That means you get the same top-notch talent, entertainment and experience you've come to expect from The 5th, but best of all, it's absolutely FREE!

9. You'll get the inside gossip. Host Executive Producer & Artistic Director David Armstrong has been known to get pretty excited during Spotlight Nights, and when David gets excited about a production, he sometimes spills the beans on top-secret info. (And by "sometimes," we really mean often...) That means you'll get behind-the-scenes gossip and news before anyone else!

8. Special offers.

7. Premiere performances! Last season Legally Blonde composer and lyricist Laurence O'Keefe performed a sneak peek of his new work Heathers -- and our Spotlight Night audience was the first in the world to hear it! Expect more of the same this season, starting tomorrow night...

6. Did we mention it's free?

5. Eric Ankrim. The Gregory Award nominee and upcoming star of Oklahoma! will perform with upcoming 5th Avenue performers Cayman Ilika, Jennifer Sue Johnson and

4. Billie Wildrick. Star of countless 5th Avenue productions such as On The Town, Into the Woods and Sunday in the Park with George, the songstress will preview songs from the upcoming season, including Vanities: A New Musical.

3. The Theatre. While many of our admin staff enjoyed sunshine-filled activities outdoors this summer, many of the crew were hard at work inside the Theatre during the three-month break. Be the first to see the fruits of their labor as we unveil a surprise!

2. Kevin McCollum will be there. If you haven't yet heard of the Broadway hall-of-famer, tomorrow is your chance to hear first hand what it's like to produce some of Broadway's hottest hits. Kevin's repertoire includes the Tony Award-winning productions of Rent, The Drowsy Chaperone, Avenue Q and In the Heights.

1. Surprise guests! Due to the nature of show biz, airlines make a killing off some of our illustrious guests and their ever-changing schedules...which means some of our guests won't be announced until they arrive at the event. Trust us, it's worth the wait!

Availability is limited -- sign up for your FREE tickets now at 5thavenue.org!