Free Concerts This Summer!

Stop by our table at the following Downtown Seattle Out to Lunch concerts this summer to enter to win tickets to The 5th Avenue Theatre!

Enjoy free outdoor music in this great city. Out To Lunch Concerts are from 12 Noon - 1:30pm at various locations.

The 5th Avenue Theatre will have a giveaway table at the following concerts:

Wed June 30: Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue (Funk/Rock) at Occidental Park

Wed Aug 4: Jovino Santo Neto (Brazillian Jazz) at Two Union Square

Fri Aug 13: Lucy Woodward (Jazz/Blues/Funk) at Harbor Steps

Fri Aug 27: The Dusty 45s (Rockabilly/Swing featuring 5th Avenue's own Billy Joe Huels) at Harbor Steps

Wed Sept 1: Grupo Ashe (Contemporary Cuban) at Westlake Park

For more info on the Out To Lunch concert series, click here.

Alternate Show Titles

Our box office staff has delighted the rest of us with a list of "alternate" show titles that anonymous patrons have used when requesting tickets over the past season. We don't judge anyone who gets a title wrong, of course, but some of the confusion on show titles does bring a smile to our face, so we had to share some of our favorites:

Catch Me If You Can has been called "Can't Take It With You," "To Catch a Thief," and "Catch You if You Can." (Perhaps the last one is a solo show?)

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has been called "Joseph and his Music Colored Raincoat," "Joseph and the Technical Raincoat," "Joseph's Jacket," "Joseph and his whatever" and ""Joseph and the Amazing Democrat."

South Pacific was once referred to as "Blue Lagoon."

That "elle" of a show, Legally Blonde, might also be known to some as "Illegally Blonde," "The Gal in Pink" or "Legally Blind."

Candide was a tricky one, too. A rarely produced show, the pronunciation was a bit confusing - but we have to give people credit from trying. "Candida," "Candy-Man," and "Canada-eh," were some of the attempts that brought smiles to our face.

We wonder what fun titles will come out of next season's shows! Don't worry, though, we'll still be happy to find you great seats to In The Heights if you call it "Up in the Air" or Vanities if you ask for tickets to "Vain Mirror Musical!"

Memphis success continues

Since winning the Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Orchestrations, Best Original Score, & Best Book for a Musical of 2010, the cast recording went from #81 to #9 on the Billboard Charts!

On Friday, July 2nd, ABC will air the President making the finale address in "America Celebrates July 4th at Ford's Theatre. Tony-nominated Memphis star, Montego Glover, joins the star-spangled special by singing her knockout solo, "Colored Woman," and General Colin Powell will honor five distinguished veterans who have recieved the Medal of Honor.

For more updates, visit the Memphis website: http://www.memphisthemusical.com/

If you missed David Armstrong's personal report from the Tonys, check it out here.

Last Week of Candide - special offers, including $20 see it again tickets!

Only 5 shows left of Candide! Now - June 13.

Experience the theatrical event of the season, Candide, for the first time...or see it again for just $20!* And don't forget, Social Media fans can get 50% off tickets through Friday evening - details here.

Don't miss the show the Seattle Weekly calls "Irresistible" and The Seattle Times declares "a rare treat." Ticket start at just $25.50.

*See it again details: Turn in your paid ticket stub in person on the day you wish to attend at The 5th Avenue Theatre Box Office to redeem your $20 ticket. Limit one ticket per paid ticket stub. Cash only. Subject to availability. Offer not good on previously purchased tickets, or in combination with any other offer.

Also, tune in to KUOW today at 2:44pm to hear Seattle Times reviewer Misha Berson's take on Candide and why she loves this 5th Avenue production. After the live airing, you'll be able to hear it again on the KUOW website, here.

Jeannette d'Armand & Seattle Storm game

By now you have probably seen Jeannette d'Armand on our stage either in one of our Spotlight Nights, one of our productions, at our gala, or as one of The Daffodils, our popular girl trio, with fellow singers Candice Donehoo and Billie Wildrick accompanied by Albert Evans on piano.

Jeannette will be singing the National Anthem at Friday, June 11th's Seattle Storm basketball game! 5th Avenue fans can save big on tickets to Friday's game by clicking here and entering promotion code anthem. Get tickets for $15 - $25 (regularly $19 -$55) by selecting June 11's game, entering promo code, creating an account and then selecting your tickets. (Note: June 11 is currently the only upcoming game that we have scheduled a 5th Avenue Theatre performer to sing the anthem).

Jeannette recently released her debut CD "Stage Road." While she has been a Seattle resident for nearly 20 years, Jeannette still keeps her connections to the New York scene and recorded "Stage Road" in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. Her two producers were Laurel Massé, founding soprano of Manhattan Transfer, and Hubert "Tex" Arnold who did the arrangements and played for Margaret Whiting for 20 years and has also arranged for Rosemary Clooney and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Here's what Jeannette had to say about producing her first CD:

"One of the most challenging aspects of making my first CD was narrowing down the material. There is such a plethora of phenomenal music in the world and I love to sing so much of it. I went through just about every song I've ever known sung by singers such as Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan to Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Paul Simon and a zillion more, including a trip to the Library of Congress in D.C. to research Peggy Lee's lesser-known compositions. The challenge was how to release a cohesive album that one could listen to without feeling they just changed the station on the radio six times. This is where working with Laurel Massé and Tex Arnold came in. Using primarily one arranger allowed me to bring the songs together and produce them in such a way that my varied choice in music could live together on one album."

The title of the album has a bit of a story behind it. Jeannette is not only the daughter of two classical singers but the granddaughter of Jeanne Merrill, who starred on Broadway in the 1940s, sang with the New City Opera Company and sang for a weekly radio show during World War II. Aptly enough, the street Jeannette was raised on in her youth was called "Stage Road".

"Stage Road" can be found on cdbaby.com, iTunes and amazon.com.

Win two seats to private reading of A Christmas Story!

Update: Winner has been chosen: Michelle J.F. Congrats Michelle!

On Friday June 11th at 11:30am, a selection of fantastic local actors will be doing a read-through selection from Act 1 of A Christmas Story, which premieres at The 5th Avenue Theatre November 30th - December 19, 2010.

One lucky winner will receive two passes to this private event - you can't buy a seat, you only can win them! Be one of the first of your friends to hear the songs and script of this exciting new musical.

To enter, simply

• post a comment on this blog entry


• write a comment on our facebook wall


• or write a tweet that uses @5thavetheatre in the body of the tweet, such as "You'll shoot your eye out, @5thavetheatre - I want to win!"

One entry per person - entries must be posted by 3pm Thursday June 10th (winner will be contacted by 4pm).

Please note, this is a special reading - elements to the show may be added or removed before performances begin. As this show has not been officially cast, the actors in the reading may not be the actors you see on stage.

Watch the 2010 High School Musical Theatre Awards

Free Event - part of Seattle Celebrates Bernstein festival

Monday June 7, 2010 7:30pm

FREE !
STG Presents WEST SIDE STORY Stories – Memories of Lenny by Martin Charnin on Monday, June 7, 2010 at 7:30pm in STG’s Paramount Theatre lobby. This free event includes Martin Charnin's (one of the original Jets) personal reminiscences of Leonard Bernstein, and features a never-before heard reading of a 1987 conversation recorded at the Dramatist Guild in New York between Bernstein, Sondheim, Lawrence and Robbins, with Seattle actors portraying the four giants. Bernstein songs performed by Showtunes cast members will round out the event. This free event is part of the Seattle Celebrates Bernstein Festival. To learn more, visit http://www.seattlecelebratesbernstein.org/

Learn more about Summer School programs and enter to win!

Want to know more about Summer Musical Theatre Schools this August at The 5th Avenue Theatre for ages 11 - 20?

Email contest@5thavenue.org with the subject line Summer to receive more information on summer camps and be entered to win 2 tickets to A Christmas Story November 30 – Dec 3. One entry per person, contest ends June 10th.

For more on Summer Musical Theatre School, click here.

Glowing Reviews & Great Offers for Candide!

We've been so appreciative of all the glowing reviews we've recieved from press, bloggers and fans on our social media sites, so we've decided to extend our social media discount offer for Candide!

Use promotion code FANS to receive 50% off all remaining Sunday evening - Friday evening performances.

Buy tickets over the phone at 206-625-1900, in person at the box office or online using promotion code FANS. When ordering online, be sure to sign in to your account and use the promotion code FANS at that time, before choosing your seats.

Click here for more info on the show, which ends June 13.

Find us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date with all our offers, contests, news and more!

Not valid on previously purchased tickets or in conjunction with any other offer. Not valid on Pearl or Side Balcony seats.


The reviews:
From the Seattle Times: "Candide is a celebration of how far Seattle's musical theater scene has come - and what, at full strength, it is capable of." Read the full review here.
From Broadway World: "...perfect staging, soaring voices, hysterical and touching performances and of course that brilliant Bernstein score, the 5th Avenue has definitely turned this diamond in the rough into the sparking gem it was always meant to be and has proved that this production truly is the best of all possible worlds." Read the full review here.
From Seattle Metropolitan: "...a smart, salacious epic with a booming score and voices to match." Read the full review here.
From The Examiner: "...Candide the musical is wholly unexpected and bitterly insightful; therein lies its genius and fascination." Read the full review here.
From The P-I Blogs: "...an enchanting evening that is a fitting tribute to arguably the greatest musical talent America has ever produced." Read the full review here.

About the show:

Having been taught by his beloved tutor, Dr. Pangloss, that "everything is for the best in this best of all possible worlds" our handsome, yet hapless, hero Candide sets off on an epic journey to find his one true love -- the beautiful Cunegonde. Along the way he encounters wars, plagues, shipwrecks, earthquakes, pirates, swindlers, the Old World, the New World, the fabled lost city of Eldorado, and the Spanish Inquisition! Inspired by Voltaire’s classic satire this legendary musical features a sparkling score by the great Leonard Bernstein that includes the famous "Candide Overture", the hilarious and bravura showstopper "Glitter And Be Gay", and the moving and inspiring anthem "Make Our Garden Grow". This Seattle professional première offers you the rare opportunity to experience one of "the best musicals you’ve never seen!"

Music by Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics by Richard Wilbur, with additional lyrics by Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker, John Latouche, Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein
Book adapted from Voltaire’s novel by Hugh Wheeler, in a new version by John Caird
Directed by David Armstrong