Photos from PRIDE!

Many thanks to Seattle star, Billie Wildrick, for snapping some fun shots of the Seattle Montage Men singing at PRIDE this year! Here are a few photos of their montage that highlighted our season shows, including Catch Me If You Can, South Pacific, On The Town and...Legally Blonde!

Cohesive Ensemble by Mo Brady

Last week's rehearsals were about getting comfortable - but this week we began to delve deeper!

Since the ensemble learned most of our material last week, we spent the first half of this week "cleaning" - specifying movements and music, so we all are sure where our arms are exactly placed on a jump, or that the vocal cut-off is on the second beat of a measure.

It is a taxing process to run and re-run a number, but the repetition builds your stamina to be performance-ready, and helps us to move together and become a coheisive ensemble.

On Saturday morning, the full company began stringing the show together in order. Beforehand, we had worked songs and scenework in seperate rooms simultaneously. Now, starting from the top of the show, Jack put the scenes on their feet, giving us entrances and exits, and seeing how the show would move.

Once we had initial blocking for a few scenes, we would go back and run it again.
And again.
And again.
The opportunity to run the scenes in sequence allows us to find the flow of the show, and begin creating the arc we will take audiences on, only a month from now.

Running a number multiple times also allows an actor to clarify the song's emotional journey. Each time we review a number, I've focused on specifying the intentions played in each scene.

While all of our songs certainly have a presentational element, each one has a different underlying tone that fuels the plot further forward. As we incorporate Jack's guidance with the staging, we find where the direction motivates specific movement, and visa versa. The ultimate goal being a throughline where the movements and motivation work seemlessly together.

Buzz in the air - by Mo Brady

I had been looking forward to June 9, 2009 for a long time. Well, about five months actually. I got the call to join the cast of the world premiere of Catch Me If You Can in early January, and the subsequent months have been filled with anticipation, pride, and preparation for our first rehearsal. So, to say the least, it has been thrilling to finally be in the rehearsal room and start working on this show.

I would say the biggest surprise about the rehearsals so far has been how comfortable they have been. In many ways, we're just putting up another show. This production feels similar to the other four 5th Avenue shows I've been a part of this year. Last season, DAT5 has become a second home, so I feel very comfortable and capable within its walls. I walk the halls of the theatre with a familiarity and an ease that allows me not to be flustered by the amount of star power we have in our rehearsals.

It's not just the space that feels comfortable, but also the people. I look around rehearsals and see many familiar faces: two of my Pontipee brothers, Karl Warden, Kyle Vaughn, along with Shanna Palmer from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, one of my oldest friends, Jason Kappus, who I first shared The5th Avenue stage with in West Side Story, stage managers Amy Gornet and Bret Torbeck, who I had the pleasure to work with on both Sunday in the Park with George and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers last season. Even our rehearsal accompanist, Dwight Beckmeyer, is a familiar face from many previous productions (it seems that the theatre can't get rid of either of us!)

We spent the first week of rehearsal doing what we do at the beginning of every rehearsal process: learning the material. The week was filled with constant music rehearsals and choreography sessions. The learning curve is steep but nothing out of the ordinary, although Marc Shaiman's ensemble voicings are surprisingly difficult to pick up (I'm not used to being so challenged by note memorization, but his jazz-infused score is full of surprises.)

The choreography sessions consist of learning patterns: small snippets of moves that Jerry Mitchell then tries on different people in different positions in different spaces on the stage. The challenge of those rehearsals has not only been remembering the steps, but which version of the steps we last tried.

And while a lot of what we've done feels normal, there is a buzz in the air. It's an excitement that permeates each day of rehearsal, one that I've never felt in a rehearsal process before. We are putting this show on its feet for the very first time. And while I will be careful not to jinx our show, there is so much talent in rehearsals that I can't imagine how we could go wrong.

Everybody, from writers Marc Shaiman (music & lyrics), Scott Wittman (lyrics), and Terrence McNally (book), to director Jack O'Brien, choreographer Jerry Mitchell and musical director John McDaniel, down to our ensemble, is highly capable, highly inventive, and highly passionate about this story. And yet, at this point, there are more questions than answers about the show. This week, a lot time was spent this first week discussing the tone of the show: while the creative team seems pretty clear about the story they want to tell, they are still creating the way in which that story will be told.

It is the exploration of how to tell this story that has been the most exciting part of our rehearsals thus far. During our final rehearsal of the week, the entire company sat around in chairs, reading through the script and singing the songs. When actors had lines or songs, they would go into the middle of the circle and act their material from there. And at the end of each scene, Jack would give a few pieces of direction, or comment on the tone of a song or a line. It honestly felt like we were creating the show right then and there. For my part, his thoughts about the ensemble and our motivation to tell Frank Jr.'s story were elegant and powerful. Suddenly, I was seeing the material we had spent all week on in a new light, which made each song more poignant and vital.

It was a fantastic end to a thrilling week. And I'm looking forward to June 16, June 17, June 18.... and beyond.

Vote in our Audience Choice Awards!

Vote on 5th Avenue productions in our first-ever Audience Choice Awards. Vote now for your favorite performers, music and productions of our 2008-2009 season: http://bit.ly/1336yN

Challenges of the actor life - with Susannah Mars

Monday May 4th 2009
Where has the time gone? I’m home, in Portland today, making dinners, carting kids to soccer, track and piano. Back to Seattle tomorrow for our final week of Sunday in the Park with George. I can’t believe that we’re in our final week. It has been such a joyous experience, from being cast, through our rehearsal process, and including our incredible run. Everyone involved with the show has been just fantastic. I’ve made new friends, and spent time with old friends too.

Tuesday May 5th 2009
I’m on the train heading back to Seattle. This train ride is GORGEOUS! I have a unique situation, I’m an “out-of-towner” but not too far out of town! I live in Portland, a 3 hour trip, which goes by quickly if you have LOTS of music to learn, or a good book on tape! Lucky for me I love Burgerville, so there’s always something to look forward to when I’m on I-5 :)I have two children, 15 and 9, so being out of town presents all sorts of wonderful opportunities for our family, as well as a few challenges.On the opportunity side, my kids have watched a gorgeous creative process; seen my interest in researching the time periods that we’re experiencing in the show, and they’ve had the chance to see, and hear, this beautiful piece. (My nine year old loves to sing all the parts of “It’s Hot Up Here") Both of my daughters have brought friends up for a visit. We’ve played in the fountain in the Seattle Center, and hit every clothing boutique within a 6 mile radius. (remember, I have a 15 year old!) We’ve hunted through Pike Place Market, and ridden the Elliot Bay Water Taxi. We walked to Ballard! My husband has had the opportunity to miss me, and I him, and that’s a good thing in the midst of a 21 year marriage! It shakes things up a bit, and makes the 36 hour visits home pretty exciting.

My husband is always coming up with fun trips for the girls, last week they hiked to Angel’s Rest in the Gorge. They sent pictures to my cell phone and great texts. They’re having some very special alone time with their dad. On the challenging side, we’ve had some extra work in scheduling. Getting the girls to their sports activities, piano, etc. etc. Making family time, while also giving the girls the time to spend with friends and all that good stuff, especially when my time home is very limited. My husband has taken on SO much at home, he’s a beloved Chiropractor, working long hours, and then, comes home, stays cheerful, does homework with the girls, puts them to bed, and then falls into bed himself. Meting out energy can be a challenge for both of us, I think especially him, right now.

All in all, this job is such a gift. I don’t even think of it as a job. Job connotes hard labor to me... there is hard creative labor, but it is most certainly a labor of love. It feels so good to be able to show our kids that we can all support each other, in our chosen professions, and interests, in all sorts of ways. That you can love your job.The girls contribute too. My older daughter helps my younger get ready for school when my husband leaves for work, and walks her out the door to her bus. They can make dinner, do their chores without a big whine-a-thon, be proactive about what needs to be done around the house. (okay, now I’m just dreaming, but we can head in that direction, right??)

It’s easier knowing that it’s a six week commitment, and that next week I’ll be back at home. Things will get back to a semblance of normalcy. I mean our family normalcy. Having a performing artist in our family, our sense of normalcy is different from most families. I’m a freelancer, so my work ebbs and flows. When I’m working, we refigure our home life again. It’s a great way to attempt to keep somewhat flexible!

SO, thank you 5th Avenue for availing us of this glorious opportunity, as a family, and for me, as an artist. It has been a dream date!

With love and thanks,
Susannah Mars

9 year old actress, Lauren Carlos

written by Lauren Carlos (Louise)

My name is Lauren Carlos and I'm 9 years old, and I am so excited to be part of this amazing show here at the 5th Avenue. My friend Keaton Whittaker and I both take turns playing Louise, the bratty daughter of Yvonne and Jules.

We worked a lot of long hours in the weeks leading up to opening night, and I can definitely say I've never learned so much from a production as much as this one! It has been so incredible seeing how bits and pieces of the show came together....I will always remember the first time I got to see how the scene "Putting it Together" looked on stage; with all the digital magic you almost don't know where to look first! My other favorite part was seeing the actors in their costumes and makeup for the first time; everyone looked like they'd stepped right out of the painting. (I think I'm glad I don't have to wear a bustle!)

I have to pinch myself whenever I realize I'm working side by side with the some of the best actors in Seattle as well as from Broadway. Keaton and I are even wearing the Louise costumes from Broadway! Everyone is so nice and really funny too - we have a lot of fun backstage. Keaton and I even have a quote list hung in our dressing room so we can write down and remember all the funny things people say.

Hugh Panaro gave us candy apple "Cromalumes" on opening night!

Keaton Whittaker, Hugh Panaro & Lauren Carlos

I hope everyone has the opportunity to go see Sunday in the Park With George, a show that I am really proud to be a part of. All the hard work that has gone into it, makes it really come alive and sparkle on stage!

Finishing The Hat - Nick DeSantis on his first role at The 5th

blog entry by Nick DeSantis (Franz/Lee Randolph)

On my very first show at The 5th Avenue:

I don't know how many auditions I have gone to where I have danced onstage at The 5th Avenue Theatre and looked out into that MASSIVE house and wondered what it would feel like to perform for an audience of over 2000 people on this stage - I finally got my chance to see what it's like! Now that I have, I'm not leaving. I'm never leaving. I'll just tuck myself up in a corner of the stage for Grease and stay there - they won't notice me I'm sure....I'll give myself big hair.

In all seriousness though - Sunday in the Park with George has been my favorite Broadway musical since I first saw it in my teens. I am profoundly moved EVERY time I see it (which is basically bi-monthly now that the DVD of the original broadway cast is available). I saw it on Broadway with Bernadette and Mandy, I saw it in Washington DC at The Kennedy Center with Raul Esparza and Melissa Errico and the DVD just stays on the shelf next to my TV so I can get a "Finishing the Hat" fix when I need it. I think it's a work that artists particularly, of any kind, can relate to in sort of a personal way. We've all had to sacrifice something to do what we do....time, money, a social life, whatever - so we've each, at some point, had to ask ourselves "why is it again that I love to do this?" Now that answer is, I'm sure, completely different for every artist, but we can all relate to the question as it is posed in the show. George can ONLY create art, to the exclusion of almost everything else in his life. When he sings "Finishing the Hat", he's trying to explain this very issue at the core of his soul - but the only concreate idea and words that he can come up with are simply that he has to Finish the Hat...and we kind of feel exactly what he means. It is such an honor for me to stand in the wings and hear Hugh Panaro sing this moving song so beautifully night after night. It's hard to keep my composure sometimes. Which can be a problem since the entire cast enters stage immediately after this song - and for any of us to be a blubbering mess might be a bit noticable.

One of the wonderful things about this experience is that this show holds such a dear place of almost everyone on the production team. Everyone is SO devoted and committed to creating a production that will do the work justice, it's a little overwhelming sometimes.

Actually, on that note - the first time we sang the Act I finale "Sunday," with a full orchestra, the sound and the emotion was so strong for each of us that many of the cast did begin weeping, myself included. I don't mean snivelly little soap-opera tears, but big, wracking, 7th-grader-who-didn't-make-cheerleader-after-practicing-her-pompom-routine-for-weeks-and-then-comes-home-to-find-her-puppy-ran-away sobs. I'm not sure but I think we might have frightened Ian Eisendrath (our impossibly talented music director and maestro) a little bit. Even though the tears have thankfully stopped, that moment at the end of the show as we all walk through "our" park one more time and inspire George to move ahead in his own life is one of the most personally gratifying and powerful things I have ever been given the privilege of doing onstage.

I hesitate to say this in an arena where it may come back to bite me, but if I never have the immense pleasure of doing another show at The 5th -or in my life really - this just might be enough.

Nah, that's stupid. I wanna do another!