Seattle Rep Announces Line-Up…Includes “The Vaudevillians” and “Lizard Boy”

THE VAUDEVILLIANS, are Richard/Scales/Dan (left( and Jerick/Jinkx/Kitty (right) and ALL of them are coming to the Seattle Rep for a month long run in October of 2014. Photo: Brian Buck

One of Seattle’s most prestigious theater companies, the Tony Award winning SEATTLE REPERTORY THEATRE announced the productions for their 2014/2015 season and they range from a very ambitious staging of two monumental new works about President Lyndon Johnson to a surprise return of the Jinkx Monsoon cabaret/musical THE VAUDEVILLIANS.

In fact, THE VAUDEVILLIANS will open Seattle Rep’s season on October 3, 2014 in the Leo K. Theatre. For those of you living under a big gay rock, THE VAUDEVILLIANS is the creation of Jerick Hoffer and Richard Andriessen…better known as “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 5 winning drag superstar Jinkx Monsoon and her creative partner Major Scales. Hoffer and Andriessen met while attending Seattle’s prestigious Cornish College for the Arts where they created the show, which focuses on an vaudevillian act dating from the era who are mysteriously frozen in a avalanche decades ago, only to be defrosted in the modern era to discover that many of the songs they created have been purloined and made famous by other artists. This witty look at the last 80 years or so of popular music was originally staged at small venues all over Seattle. After Hoffer/Monsoon attained star status via “RuPaul’s Drag Race” they acquired a booking at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in New York City where they received glowing reviews from The New York Times. They followed up their extended NYC run with an Australian tour and the pair will spend the summer of 2014 in Provincetown, MA performing the show in the popular gay resort community. The month long engagement at Seattle Rep will mark the longest continuous run of the show in Seattle.

There’s a second queer themed show as well…local actor, musician, writer and composer Justin Huertas will receive a fully staged production of his original musical work LIZARD BOY at the Leo K. Theatre from March 27 to April 26, 2015. Mr. Huertas and his work received a commission from the Seattle Rep and a staged reading of this work earlier this year. From the press release:

From the ashes of Mount St. Helens emerged a monster with mysterious powers—powers that changed one boy’s life forever. Superhero or freak? Not even he was sure until one fated night of adventure, music and love on the streets of Seattle. Triple-threat Seattle artist Justin Huertas brings his breakout hit of the 2013 New Play Festival to the mainstage in this world premiere production. Equal parts comic book lore, coming-of-age love story and irrepressible tunes, audiences can expect the unexpected in this original rock musical. Ka-Pow!!

It’s exciting and interesting to note that Mr. Huertas, Mr. Hoffer and Mr. Andriessen are all around the same age (26/27) and creating these amazing new works. (Note: Mr. Huertas and Mr. Hoffer co-starred together in Balagan’s production of SPRING AWAKENING in 2012.)

The Rep also has World Premiere plays from Laura Schellhardt and Robert Schenkkan plus the regional premiere of John Patrick Shanley’s most recent play, OUTSIDE MULLINGAR and a remounting of August Wilson’s THE PIANO LESSON scheduled for the coming season.

To check out all the shows for 2014/15 and to buy a season subscription or renew one, go to the Seattle Rep website. Single tickets will go on sale on August 19, 2014.

Seattle Rep’s final production for THIS season is the eagerly awaited staging of Edward Albee’s WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? which begins April 18, 2014 for a month long run. It stars R. Hamilton Wright and Pamela Reed as “George and Martha”. Grab tickets HERE!