The 5th’s 2009-2010 Season: A Full-Color Palette of Comedy, Drama, and Gorgeous Music!

The 5th’s 2009-2010 Season: A Full-Color Palette of Comedy, Drama, and Gorgeous Music!

Seattle’s premiere home of musical theater celebrates its 29th Season with an exciting mix of the contemporary and the classic

SEATTLE – The 5th Avenue has announced the seven productions that make up their 2009–2010 Season, which include the company’s trademark mix of world premieres, the hottest shows direct from Broadway, and classics from the Golden Age of musicals featuring Seattle’s favorite performers and artists.

The season opens with the exciting World Premiere musical Catch Me If You Can, based on the acclaimed Steven Spielberg film and the incredible true story that inspired it, and featuring a blockbuster creative team that includes many of the amazing talents who gave us Hairspray. With music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Terrence McNally, this brand new musical follows the unlikely adventures of a young man who creates an astonishing array of identities—airline pilot, doctor, lawyer—none of which he has any qualifications for! Directed by Jack O’Brien with choreography by Jerry Mitchell, this new musical is certain to be the theatrical event of the year. And once again Seattle will see it first!

Next up is the first ever 5th Avenue Theatre production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s contemporary classic Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. With music that runs the gamut from Pop to Country to Calypso to Rock & Roll, the musical re-tells the Biblical tale of Joseph, his many brothers, and that spectacular coat, in a vibrant and sometimes hilarious new way that gives new life to a perennial family favorite.

Then just in time for the holidays returns one of our most popular and beloved productions ever, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. The story of two ex-soldiers who pursue a pair of lovely ladies right to the lodge that their ex-commanding officer is running is a song-and-dance extravaganza featuring dazzling sets, gorgeous costumes and a timeless hit parade of toe-tapping Irving Berlin tunes including “Blue Skies,” “Sisters, “Count Your Blessings” and, of course, the immortal title song. This show played to large and enthusiastic audiences here in its premiere in Seattle back in 2006, and had a similar reception on Broadway this past winter. Now it returns in a brand-new production with all of your old favorites still intact.

If you’ve still got any winter blues left over, than prepare to banish them with the national tour of one of the most acclaimed revivals in Broadway history, the Lincoln Center Theater production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific, directed by Intiman Theatre’s Artistic Director Bartlett Sher. This production was awarded seven 2008 Tonys (including Best Revival and Best Director) and has been playing to sold-out audiences in New York since March of last year, and now Seattle audiences get their first glance at a show of which New York Times critic Ben Brantley said “I know we’re not supposed to expect perfection in this imperfect world, but I’m darned if I can find one serious flaw in this production.” With an extraordinary score including “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Bali Ha'i,” “There Is Nothin' Like A Dame,” and “A Wonderful Guy,” South Pacific is also a deeply felt drama. Its portrayal of American soldiers living in a beautiful but alien paradise is as relevant today as when it first thrilled audiences in 1949.

Next up we “think pink” with the Seattle premiere of Legally Blonde The Musical, a high-energy rush of sheer adrenaline and excitement. Inspired by the hilarious movie, this recent Broadway hit follows the trail from sorority house to hallowed halls of justice blazed by Elle Woods, one of the brightest and blondest heroines ever to grace a musical comedy. With its dazzling production, kinetic dancing and pop infused score, this is a great show for the entire family.

This year the 5th celebrates an American master with not one but two great works by Leonard Bernstein. First up, and the centerpiece of a city-wide Bernstein Festival (which includes events by the Seattle Symphony and many other leading performing arts groups and organizations), is his first remarkable musical On the Town. With book and lyrics by the great Broadway and Hollywood writing team of Betty Comden and Adolph Green (Singin’ In The Rain), this show follows the adventures of three sailors on leave in New York City as they cram a lifetime of romance and excitement into just one day. With such classic songs as “New York, New York!,” “I Can Cook, Too” and “Some Other Time,” this production will be directed by the 5th’s Associate Artistic Director Bill Berry with choreography by Patti Colombo (7 Brides For 7 Brothers), featuring Seattle’s Spectrum Dance Theatre.

Part sophisticated operetta, part Monty Python comedy, Bernstein’s Candide follows the comic adventures of a hopelessly optimistic young man as he seeks his true love on a wild journey around this “best of all possible worlds.” Adapted from Voltaire’s wickedly satirical novel, this landmark musical features a sharp and clever book by Hugh Wheeler (Sweeney Todd) and John Caird (Les Miserables), as well as droll lyrics by an amazing sextet of literary talent -- Stephen Sondheim, Richard Wilber, John Latouche, Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker and Bernstein himself! The show’s celebrated score includes the famous “Overture,” “Glitter And Be Gay” and the stunning “Make Our Garden Grow.” The 5th’s Artistic Director David Armstrong helms this great though little-seen classic.

Catch Me If You Can
July 23 – August 14, 2009 (World Premiere)
Cast and Creative Team
Book by Terrence McNally
Music by Marc Shaiman
Lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman
Based on the Paramount Pictures film and the autobiography by Frank Abagnale Jr. and Stan Redding

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
October 13 – November 1, 2009 (5th Avenue Theatre Production)

Cast and Creative Team
Music By Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics By Tim Rice
Directed and Choreographed by James Rocco

White Christmas
December 1 – December 20, 2009 (5th Avenue Theatre Production)

Cast and Creative Team
Music and Lyrics By Irving Berlin
Book By Paul Blake & David Ives

South Pacific
January 29 – February 18, 2010 (Tour)

Cast and Creative Team
Music By Richard Rodgers
Lyrics By Oscar Hammerstein II
Book By Joshua Logan & Oscar Hammerstein II
Directed by Bartlett Sher

Legally Blonde
February 23 – March 14, 2010 (Tour)

Cast and Creative Team
Music and Lyrics By Laurence O’Keefe & Nell Benjamin
Book By Heather Hach

On The Town
April 13 – May 2, 2010 (5th Avenue Theatre Production)

Cast and Creative Team
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Book and Lyrics By Betty Comden & Adolph Green
Based on an Idea By Jerome Robbins
Directed by Bill Berry

Candide
May 25 – June 13, 2010 (5th Avenue Theatre Production)

Cast and Creative Team
Music By Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics By Richard Wilbur
Additional Lyrics By Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker, John Latouche, Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein
Directed by David Armstrong