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!

The joys and challenges of music rehearsal

written by Billie Wildrick (Paquette in CANDIDE)

When someone is trying to calm you down and they say “go to your happy place," most people go to a tropical beach or a mountain vista or a cabin by the fire. I go to music rehearsal. I love music rehearsal more than maybe any other part of my job. And I love it most especially with The 5th’s own spectacular Ian Eisendrath (On the Town) and the wonderful Joel Fram (Candide). And it’s not because they’re mellow, gooey and kind. (Joel introduces himself at a meet and greet as Music Dictator.) But rather, it’s because they both work incredibly hard and in great detail on the score, and they expect the same investment from their singers. It is transcendent, the musicality specificity of emotional intention can bring to a score. The audience probably doesn’t know how much they have a musical director to thank when they can hear and understand every lyric in a show – how much a crisp, snotty “k” at the end of a word can provide in story telling.

Here is a copy of my music for the very last 12 bars of Candide – 12 bars out of a 300 page score.



Every circle and highlight and dynamic marking must be memorized along with the lyrics, notes and rhythms. And I’m sure there will be a few more marks before opening night. But that depth of technical precision and emotional investment is what makes it thrilling to the ear and the heart. Ian Eisendrath’s stirring work on “Sunday” in Sunday in the Park with George is another great example of this.

It’s such hard, detailed work requiring skill, practice and lots of focus. But for a singer who has strived and studied to speak the language of song, it’s like a student who fiercely loves and studies French getting to go live in Paris. Someone recently asked me what my favorite part of theatre is. Music rehearsal, and scene work for that matter, is better than applause and lights and costumes and a well-landed laugh. And I think that falling in love with the work and not the feedback or perceived “glamour” is what makes my life in the theatre so wonderful and satisfying. I’m a lucky girl!

**
Special blog offer for Candide still available. Details here.

Spotlight Night on On The Town & Candide!

Reserve your FREE tickets now to Spotlight Night, online, over the phone at 206-625-1900 or in person at the box office.

Monday, March 22 at 7pm

Spotlight Night on On The Town & Candide

The final Spotlight Night of our 2009-2010 season will take you behind the scenes of two of “the greatest musicals you’ve never seen” -- On The Town and Candide, as well as preview this spring’s exciting Seattle Celebrates Bernstein Festival

Act 1

Seattle Celebrates Bernstein!

Over the next four months an unprecedented consortium of 19 of the region’s leading arts organization with join forces to celebrate the life and music of legendary American composer Leonard Bernstein. David Armstrong will provide a sneak peek of the incredible potpourri of concerts, theatrical performances, lectures, film screenings and special events that will make up this unique, first-of-its-kind citywide arts festival.

Act 2

The Best Of All Possible Worlds: Bernstein On Broadway

In this music-filled segment a host of our Seattle’s finest singers will help us review the life and glorious songs of Leonard Bernstein – featuring selections from his legendary Broadway musicals and other theatrical works including West Side Story, Wonderful Town, Trouble In Tahiti, Mass, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, On The Town and Candide. With musical performances by Greg Allen, Anne Allgood, Candice Donehoo, Mary Jo DuGaw, Brandon O’Neill, Matt Owen, Sarah Rudinoff, Billie Wildrick and guest artists Laura Griffith, Joe Aaron Reid and the Seattle Woman’s Chorus.

Act 3

I Can Cook Too: Serving Classic Musicals To A Modern Audience

Candide’s director, David Armstrong, and On The Town’s director and musical director, Bill Berry and Ian Eisendrath, will give you an inside look at how they approach the challenges and rewards of whipping up classic “Golden Age Of Broadway” musicals to meet the taste of a contemporary audience.

George excitement!

We thought we'd post some interesting preview pieces & audience feedback that relate to Sunday in the Park with George, which opened last night and runs through May 10th.

George & all things orchestral
Ian Eisendrath (musical director) and Hugh Panaro (George) chatted with Misha Berson

KUOW PRESENTS
Misha Berson (Seattle Times) Theater Review: Mad Scientists, Quirky Painters and Accordions

Billie Wildrick (Dot)
Seattle Examiner interviews Billie Wildrick (Dot)
Slideshow of Billie Wildrick in a selection of 5th Avenue Theatre roles

Steve Wiecking interviews Sam Buntrock (director)
A walk in the park

Seattle Weekly Preview Piece

The Stranger Preview Piece

Audience comments are rolling in:

"Loved it....so beautiful...and the voices were fantastic!"

"My mom and I had the most amazing time at Sunday in the Park with George last night. What an incredible show! We LOVED it- no understatement. Lets just say there were tears."

"An awesome production, full of surprises and subtlety and very well performed."

"I saw this show last night and was BLOWN AWAY...relevant and interesting. This show is unparalleled."

***
Leonard Bernstein called his friend Sondheim's show "brilliant, deeply conceived, canny, magisterial, and by far the most personal statement I've heard from you thus far. Bravo."

Dot's Thoughts

written by Billie Wildrick, Dot
Now that everything is staged, we have our first full work-through today. Our run-throughs start this weekend!

Yesterday we said a very fond "bye-bye-safe-journey-thanks-for-the-incredible-musical-staging-hope-to-see-you-soon!" To Christopher Gattelli. I think Christopher is special not only because of his truly inspired musical staging but also because of his kind, hopeful, supportive, supremely non-judgemental countenance. I loved doing work with Christopher behind the table because he made it so evident and tangible that he wanted me to succeed and he wanted to do whatever he could to help bring my character to a fully realized, specific life. I am so happy and grateful that he is "in the Park" with us. (And happy that his assistant Lou Castro has joined us now too!)

I could go on with the love-fest of course, but suffice it to say I want to save all the "miis" involved to perpetually play "wii theatre" (oo - somebody should program that game!). Now where is the slow button on my life remote?

Goodbye Dolly and Hello, George!

Goodbye Dolly and Hello, George!

The final curtain has closed on our production of Hello, Dolly! and we thank all the wonderfully talented folks who came together to bring this heartwarming comedy to life. A special thank you to the audiences who came out to enjoy this classic as well.

Rehearsals have begun for our upcoming production of Sunday in the Park with George! The Seattle All-Star cast is led by Broadway star, Hugh Panero. Seattle favorite Billie Wildrick plays Dot, a character she refers to as "the role of a lifetime." Past Backstage at The 5th blogger, Allen Fitzpatrick also joins the cast.

Today is the first sing-through, where actors and director come together to read and sing-through the play around a table.

Billie's facebook status this morning included a fun rewrite one of the musical verses from the production:

"There are worse things than going to rehearsal on a Monday! There are worse things than going to rehearsal when you're gonna have a read-through and the process is amazing, and you love your Brit director and MD's really awesome and the cast is fabuloso and the role is of a lifetime, and I need to get a coffee on a Monday! On a Monday! In the park with Geoooooooorge!"