Porgy, Reno, Audrey, Oliver And Knights Who Say NI Are All Headed To The 5th Avenue

The 5th Avenue Theatre announced their 2013/2014 schedule Sunday night with a big party/presentation at their  gorgeous home on..uh, 5th Avenue in downtown Seattle and the seven show line-up features an interesting variety of musicals ranging from beloved but revised old classics, to brand spanking new works…based on old movies.

First up is a shiny new piece based oddly enough on an unsuccessful film from a decade ago. “Secondhand Lions” is the new musical from the team behind “First Date”, the headed to Broadway show that debuted as a 5th Avenue/ACT co-production a year ago. “Lions” is based on the film of the same name that starred Robert Duvall, Michael Caine and Haley Joel Osment as two old Texas coots suddenly in charge of their young nephew. The adaptation features:

a book by Rupert Holmes (The Mystery of Edwin Drood) and featuring music and lyrics from Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner, (the songwriters behind First Date, the smash hit collaboration between The 5th Avenue and ACT – A Contemporary Theatre), this show is sure to be another runaway hit!  The show will be helmed by award-winning director Scott Schwartz, whose Off-Broadway and Broadway credits include Tick, Tick, Boom,  and Batboy: The Musical.

“Secondhand Lions” will kick off the 33rd season for the 5th Avenue and run from September 10 to October 6, 2013.

It will be followed up by the national tour of the hot Broadway revival of Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes” from October 15 to November 3, 2013. Featuring a buttload of classic Porter standards including “You’re the Top” and “It’s De-Lovely”, this Tony winner for Best Musical Revival of 2011 features a new book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman with direction by Kathleen Marshall.

You’ll want “More” when Lionel Bart’s beloved “Oliver!” returns to the 5th Avenue in time for the holidays, from November 29 to December 31, 2013. This year is the 50th anniversary of the original Broadway production based on the classic novel by Charles Dickens and featuring such standards as “Consider Yourself” and “Where is Love?” This 5th Avenue produced production will feature local talent…and the work of its very gay creator Lionel Bart.

2014 kicks off with the 5th Avenue’s production of “Monty Python’s Spamalot”, the zany musical re-telling of the British comedy troupe’s 1975 film, “Monty Python and The Holy Grail” from January 30, 2014 to March 2nd. The brainchild of Python Eric Idle, the stage version of the film won accolades and Tony Awards, and the 5th Avenue’s production will feature local Seattle comedic actors in the principal roles.

The mood turns romantic, lush and literary for the 5th Avenue’s debut of the new musical, “A Room With A View” based on the novel by British writer E.M. Forster and made most famous to contemporary audiences with the gorgeous Merchant/Ivory film from the 80’s that introduced the then young talents of Helena Bonham-Carter and Daniel Day-Lewis to the world. The Edwardian romance which takes place in both Florence, Italy and bucolic England features:

 music and lyrics are by Jeffrey Stock, with book and additional lyrics by Marc Acito.  The 5th’s Executive Producer and Artistic Director David Armstrong will step into the role of director for this Seattle premiere production.

This musical romance will bloom from April 8 to May 4, 2014.

Meanwhile, the 5th Avenue’s annual co-production with ACT will be running concurrently for much of that run and into the end of June but it’s an entirely different kind of show…“Little Shop of Horrors” will occupy the stage at ACT from April 12 to June 29, 2014 where the monstrous killer plant known as ‘Audrey’ will terrorize the denizens of Skid Row to the music & lyrics of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. The popular pop musical featuring such songs as “Suddenly, Seymour” and “Somewhere It’s Green” was based on Roger Corman’s classic B movie of the 60’s and will be directed on stage by Bill Berry.

The 5th Avenue wraps up Season 33 with the touring company of the recent hit Broadway revival of “The Gershwins’ Porgy & Bess” the classic “masterwork” about poor crippled Porgy and his love for the downtrodden Bess in the black Charleston South Carolina slum known as “Catfish Row” during the 1920’s. The music and lyrics hailed as classic American songs and features “Summertime”, “I Got Plenty of Nuthin'” and “Bess You Is My Woman Now”. The tour hits Seattle from June 11 to June 29, 2014 and features the revised book of the musical by Suzan-Lori Parks.

Subscription Packages for the 2013/14 are available at the 5th Avenue website. Individual tickets will be available at a later date.