HUGE NEWS FOR REP - ESBJORNSON NOT RENEWING CONTRACT

SEATTLE, WA - Seattle Repertory Theatre today announced that Artistic Director David Esbjornson has informed the Board of Trustees that he will not renew his current contract, which expires June 30, 2009. Esbjornson joined Seattle Rep in the 2005.

"Though we are genuinely disappointed with David's decision, we understand that a complex series of factors informed his thinking." said Marty Taucher, President of the Board of Trustees. "David is well into developing the 2008-2009 season and will continue working through to its successful completion. David has been a tremendous asset to the Rep and the broader theatre community in Seattle," said Taucher. "The seasons he has produced have provided audiences with an exciting array of theatrical and artistic experiences, in keeping with the finest offerings Seattle Rep has produced. In the coming months, we look forward to engaging in a conversation about the future with the staff, our audience and the Seattle community, before launching a search for a new artistic director."

In a statement made by Esbjornson today he comments, "I have been extremely grateful for the opportunity to work at the Seattle Repertory Theatre, and want to thank the Board of Trustees, subscribers, donors and the staff for their support during my tenure. I also want to acknowledge the world-class talent from Seattle and elsewhere who have brought the highest quality work to our stage."

The next season will celebrate Seattle's vibrant artistic community. I look forward to presenting an exciting lineup of plays and continue what promises to be a rich and important dialogue about the future."

Weekly Update - 4/17/2008

The Broadway Hour
KSUB Seattle
THE BROADWAY HOUR IS AT A NEW TIME!!!
**Listen in to hear Nigel Andrews, Rick Skyler and Jack Jarden**
WEDNESDAY's from 8-10pm

Open Circle Theater
at Theater Schmeater
ON SALE NOW
Ghost Sonata >April 11 - May 10, 2008
*STARRING NIGEL ANDREWS (aka. Andrew Perez) and LIA MORGAN (aka. Kenna Kettrick)*

Seattle Shakespeare
ON SALE NOW
All's Well That Ends Well >June 5 - 29, 2008

Seattle Children's Theater
ON SALE NOW
According to Cyote >March 14 - May 11, 2008
Busytown >April 25 - June 15, 2008

Intiman Theater
ON SALE NOW
The Diary of Anne Frank >March 26 - May 17, 2008
Namaste Man (Lost and Found in Kathmandu) >June 4 - 22, 2008
A Streetcar Named Desire >July 9 - August 2, 2008
The Little Dog Laughed >August 20 - September 13, 2008
All the King's Men >October 3 - November 8, 2008

Seattle Repertory Theatre
ON SALE NOW
How? How? Why? Why? Why? >March 13 - April 19, 2008
The Cure at Troy >April 3 - May 3, 2008
Aurelia's Oratoria >May 7 - 11, 2008

ACT Theater
ON SALE NOW
Ilkhom Theatre Festival >March 14 - April 13, 2008
Fathers and Sons >May 1-25, 2008
A Marvelous Party: The Noel Coward Review >June 19 - July 13, 2008
Intimate Exchanges >August 21 - September 14, 2008
Eurydice >September 11 - October 5, 2008
Becky's New Car >October 23 - November 16, 2008

Seattle Opera
ON SALE NOW
Il Puritani >May 3 - 17, 2008

Paramount
Tickets and Information
Avenue Q >June 10 - 22, 2008
A Chorus Line >August 5 - 10, 2008
The Phantom of the Opera >September 10 - October 4, 2008
Spring Awakening >October 14 - 19, 2008
The Color Purple >December 16 - 28, 2008

The 5th Avenue Theatre
Tickets and Information
Cabaret >March 25 - April 13, 2008
SEASON SUBSCRIPTIONS ON SALE NOW!
Shrek The Musical >August 14 - September 21, 2008 - ON SALE JUNE 13, 2008
The Drowsy Chaperone >October 28 - November 16, 2008
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers >December 3 - 28, 2008
Memphis >January 27 - February 15, 2008, 2009
Hello, Dolly! >March 8 - 29, 2009
Sunday in the Park With George >April 21 - May 10, 2009
Grease >May 12 - 30, 2009

__________________________________________________________

Dimitrou's Jazz Alley
Tickets and Information

Looking for a Great Read?
Brett Dean McGibbon's Different Fish Bookstore

INTIMAN THEATRE HOSTS PANEL, “NEVER AGAIN, AGAIN: THE DARFUR CRISIS,” ON SATURDAY, MAY 3 AT 4:30 PM

Free event is presented in association with Intiman’s production of The Diary of Anne Frank

SEATTLE— Intiman Theatre, under the leadership of Artistic Director Bartlett Sher and Interim Managing Director Kevin Maifeld, will host “Never Again, Again: The Darfur Crisis,” a free panel discussion on the genocide in Darfur on Saturday, May 3 at 4:30 pm. This event is presented in association with Intiman’s critically acclaimed production of The Diary of Anne Frank, and is part of Intiman’s ongoing commitment to engaging our community in issues relevant both to the work on stage and our contemporary world.

Guests on the panel are Diane Roseman Baer, co-founder of Save Darfur Washington State; Mawut Mayen, one of the “Lost Boys” from Southern Sudan and a founding member of the Southern Sudanese Community of Washington; and Ben Weintraub, a founding member of the University of Washington chapter of STAND, an international student anti-genocide coalition. Each will have the opportunity to speak about their personal story as well as consider how others can take personal action to help end the genocide in Sudan . The panel will be moderated by Leticia Lopez, Intiman’s Director of Education & Community Programs.

Panelist Bios

Diane Roseman Baer is a co-founder and currently serves as Secretary/Treasurer of the Board of Save Darfur Washington State (SDWS). SDWS, founded in June 2005, is a grassroots not-for-profit organization committed to raising awareness about the crisis in Darfur and—through education, advocacy and outreach—enhancing community and public policy efforts to end the genocide and crimes against humanity there. Baer, a public health research professional, has been a community activist in the Seattle area for more than 20 years. In addition to her work on Darfur she serves on the Boards of the Pacific Northwest Region Anti-Defamation League and Rodef Tzedek, the Center for the Pursuit of Justice. She is also on the Pacific Northwest Council of the Union for Reform Judaism and a member of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism. She currently serves as 1^st Vice-President of the Board of Trustees of Temple Beth Am, a north end Reform Jewish Congregation where she and her family have been members for 30 years.

Mawut Mayen was born in Southern Sudan . When he was three years old, soldiers arrived in his village, shooting people at random; he and his eight-year-old brother were separated from their parents in the jungle. Mayen and his brother walked nearly 1000 miles to Ethiopia , where they lived in a refugee camp. After the forced expulsion of refugees by the government, they made their way to another refugee camp in Kenya . In 2000, he moved to Seattle after being selected to relocate to America through the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He graduated from Seattle Pacific University with a degree in Economics, and serves on the Board of the Southern Sudanese Community of Washington as the Director of Membership. He recently returned to Africa and was reunited with his brother and their parents.

Ben Weintraub is a senior at the University of Washington and a founding member of the UW chapter of STAND, an international student anti-genocide coalition. STAND (Students Taking Action Now for Darfur) currently has more than 700 chapters worldwide dedicated to ending the genocide in Darfur, Sudan, and to creating a permanent anti-genocide political constituency. He has been working with STAND at the University of Washington since 2005, and played a key role in lobbying UW to divest its endowment funds from companies helping to fund the Sudanese government’s military campaign in Darfur . He has also participated in several other STAND projects, including teaching about Darfur and genocide in local middle and high schools. Weintraub, whose grandfather survived the Holocaust, became involved with Darfur activism after learning about the Rwandan genocide as a high school senior in Portland , Oregon .

The panel is free and open to the public. For more information, patrons should visit www.intiman.org.

INTIMAN THEATRE ANNOUNCES COMPLETE FRONT PORCH THEATER SCHEDULE FOR THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK

Five dramatic readings will be offered in venues that encourage collaborations between young people and/or interfaith gatherings; all events are free and open to the public

SEATTLE— Intiman Theatre, under the leadership of Artistic Director Bartlett Sher and Interim Managing Director Kevin Maifeld, announces the complete schedule for Front Porch Theater, one of the free community programs being offered in association with Intiman’s critically acclaimed production of The Diary of Anne Frank.

Front Porch Theater will give members of the public the opportunity to experience the story of The Diary of Anne Frank through intimate dramatic readings performed in storytelling circles. Roles are assigned through on-the-spot casting to anyone who wishes to participate. Those who do not choose to read are encouraged to attend as members of the audience and to participate in a post-reading community dialogue.

Developed for Intiman’s American Cycle, Front Porch Theater will continue later this season with dramatic readings excerpted from Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men, adapted by Adrian Hall, which will be produced at Intiman in the fall.

The Front Porch Theater schedule for The Diary of Anne Frank, curated by Intiman’s Department of Education & Community Programs, includes partnerships with local religious institutions (Temple Beth Am and Mount Zion Baptist Church ), youth groups and schools. The venues were selected to encourage collaborations between young people and interfaith gatherings.

The schedule is as follows:

Sunday, April 27, 10:00am, in partnership with Temple Beth Am

Temple Beth Am Sanctuary, 2632 NE 80th St

Monday, April 28, 7:00pm, in partnership with Hillel UW

Café LeVine at Hillel UW, 4745 17th Ave NE

Thursday, May 1, 6:30pm, in partnership with Mount Zion Baptist Church Youth Ministry

Mount Zion Baptist Church, Fellowship Hall, 1634 19th Ave

Friday, May 2, 1:00pm, in partnership with Arts Corps & Southwest Interagency Academy

Youngstown Cultural Arts Center , 4408 Delridge Way SW

Wednesday, May 7, 6:00pm, in partnership with Meany Middle School

Meany Middle School, 301 21st Ave E

Each Front Porch Theater event is free and open to the public. For more information, patrons should visit www.intiman.org.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Diary of Anne Frank, dramatized by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett and directed by Sari Ketter, runs through Saturday, May 17 at the Intiman Playhouse at Seattle Center .

Tickets range in price from $10 to $50, with discounts available for students and groups. Patrons aged 25 and under can purchase tickets to any performance for $10, pending availability. A limited number of $20 rush tickets may be available for purchase 15 minutes before curtain time, pending availability. Tickets are available from www.intiman.org or 206.269.1900. This production is sponsored by the Intiman Theatre Foundation and the Mayor’s Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs.

The Cure at Troy: Humans, Heros, Gods.

Seattle Repertory Theatre
April 3-May 3 2008
Tickets and Information

For the theatre-goer attending Seattle Rep’s last show of the season, “The Cure at Troy” must live up to a whole lot of expectations. Based on the plot and characters of Homer’s “The Iliad,” this show must bring forth something new and fresh to the age-old classic Greek epic. With the drive of a creative director, Tina Landau, and the passion of an engaging cast, something new is certainly presented. Whether you like it or not depends on your ability to stay until the end.

The show opens in utter darkness. Flashlights are the only source of illumination as the crew of the great commander Odysseus searches a remote, desolate Greek island for its sole inhabitant, Philoctetes. The story is unveiled to the audience (through the use of a lot of clunky, homophonic Greek names) that at the beginning of the Trojan War, Odysseus had abandoned his fellow warrior Philoctetes on this island of Lemnos with only one weapon: the bow and arrows of Hercules. With this divine bow, the arrows “never miss and always kill.” Now, in the ninth year of the Trojan War and with no clear victory for the Greeks in sight, Odysseus uses the son of Achilles, Neoptolemus, an honest sailor under his command, as a pawn to steal the bow from Philoctetes. Neoptolemus is instructed to lie to Philoctetes and befriend him in order to gain his trust. The conflict arises, however, when honest Neoptolemus is caught in conflict between obedience to his superior and his conscience.


(L-R) Seth Numrich as Neoptolemus and Boris McGiver as Philoctetes handling the bow of Hercules. Photo copyright Chris Bennion 2008.

The cast is led by Boris McGiver as Philoctetes, clearly the strongest and most engaging actor of the bunch. His character is afflicted by an infected snake bite, inhibiting all use of his left leg. McGiver’s portrayal of this pain is the most intense and moving performance of the show. Seth Numrich’s honest performance does his character justice, but lacks the intensity needed to be seen in the same light as McGiver. Hans Altwies as Odysseus is lackluster. The three remaining cast members comprise the chorus, an essential element in Greek theater. In keeping with this classic tradition, the chorus members bring something certainly surprising to the show: song. The first time the chorus erupts into intense chanting against an '80s hip hop bass sound, the audience member may feel the need to escape through the nearest exit. However, the maturity and beauty of the melodies evolve and the clear voices move the audience to a new dimension.

The technical aspects of the show do not disappoint. The set (Blythe Quinlan) is constructed as a section of the island in which the rocky physical features aptly compliment the action. However, the lighting (Scott Zielinski) is showy and over-dramatic, exaggerating significant moments in the play to the likes of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” or “American Idol.”

“The Cure at Troy” is an interesting show that takes risks and admiringly presents a new view of Greek theater. The plot is steeped with that nice Greek tragic tension, and the acting and set demand the audience’s respect. The music and drastic lighting choices disorient the audience at first, but the themes of honor, betrayal, war, friendship, and truth carry the show, bringing this ancient myth into the hearts of Seattleites today.

Reviewed by Natasha Rae

Weekly Update - 4/11/2008

The Broadway Hour
KSUB Seattle
THE BROADWAY HOUR IS AT A NEW TIME!!!
**Listen in to hear Nigel Andrews, Rick Skyler and Jack Jarden**
WEDNESDAY's from 4-6pm

Open Circle Theater
at Theater Schmeater
ON SALE NOW
Ghost Sonata >April 11 - May 10, 2008
*STARRING NIGEL ANDREWS (aka. Andrew Perez) and LIA MORGAN (aka. Kenna Kettrick)*

Seattle Shakespeare
ON SALE NOW
All's Well That Ends Well >June 5 - 29, 2008

Seattle Children's Theater
ON SALE NOW
According to Cyote >March 14 - May 11, 2008
Busytown >April 25 - June 15, 2008

Intiman Theater
ON SALE NOW
The Diary of Anne Frank >March 26 - May 17, 2008
Namaste Man (Lost and Found in Kathmandu) >June 4 - 22, 2008
A Streetcar Named Desire >July 9 - August 2, 2008
The Little Dog Laughed >August 20 - September 13, 2008
All the King's Men >October 3 - November 8, 2008

Seattle Repertory Theatre
ON SALE NOW
How? How? Why? Why? Why? >March 13 - April 19, 2008
The Cure at Troy >April 3 - May 3, 2008
Aurelia's Oratoria >May 7 - 11, 2008

ACT Theater
ON SALE NOW
Ilkhom Theatre Festival >March 14 - April 13, 2008
Fathers and Sons >May 1-25, 2008
A Marvelous Party: The Noel Coward Review >June 19 - July 13, 2008
Intimate Exchanges >August 21 - September 14, 2008
Eurydice >September 11 - October 5, 2008
Becky's New Car >October 23 - November 16, 2008

Seattle Opera
ON SALE NOW
Il Puritani >May 3 - 17, 2008

Paramount
Tickets and Information
Avenue Q >June 10 - 22, 2008
A Chorus Line >August 5 - 10, 2008
The Phantom of the Opera >September 10 - October 4, 2008
Spring Awakening >October 14 - 19, 2008
The Color Purple >December 16 - 28, 2008

The 5th Avenue Theatre
Tickets and Information
Cabaret >March 25 - April 13, 2008
SEASON SUBSCRIPTIONS ON SALE NOW!
Shrek The Musical >August 14 - September 21, 2008 - ON SALE JUNE 13, 2008
The Drowsy Chaperone >October 28 - November 16, 2008
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers >December 3 - 28, 2008
Memphis >January 27 - February 15, 2008, 2009
Hello, Dolly! >March 8 - 29, 2009
Sunday in the Park With George >April 21 - May 10, 2009
Grease >May 12 - 30, 2009

The Little Theater
ON SALE NOW
The Wake >through April 13

Dimitrou's Jazz Alley

Seattle Shakespeare Company and Wooden O Theatre

to create state-wide, year-round resource

for Shakespeare

Programs to include indoor subscription season, free outdoor theatre in the parks, regional touring productions, and education programs

SEATTLE, WA, -- Seattle Shakespeare Company and Wooden O Theatre Productions announce mutual board approval to merger their two organizations. Wooden O will become the outdoor performance arm of Seattle Shakespeare Company retaining its distinct identity of free, outdoor summer performances. Seattle Shakespeare Company’s programs will now include: main stage indoor productions, education programs for students and adults, regional touring productions, and free, outdoor summer performances.

Seattle Shakespeare Company will continue to be led by Artistic Director Stephanie Shine and Managing Director John Bradshaw . Wooden O Founder and Artistic Director George Mount will transition to Director of Outdoor and Touring Performances functioning as Artistic Director for the free, outdoor summer performances for Seattle Shakespeare Company.

“I’m inspired by this endeavor!” says Shine. “Both companies are doing so well and the time is ripe for us to re-imagine how we can create exponential participation and exposure to Shakespeare. It will be great to bring what we do al fresco, and with the unique strengths and assets of both organizations we have a tremendous opportunity to achieve even greater community and statewide impact not previously possible if both companies were operating separately.”

“Audiences will experience the same artistic integrity that they’ve come to expect from both organizations,” says Mount. “In the Puget Sound region, audiences will now have a year-round resource to turn to for quality Shakespeare and classic theatre performances. People throughout Washington will now get to experience professional Shakespeare productions through the company’s expanded touring efforts.”

“Both companies come to this merger in a strong financial position,” says Bradshaw. “Through streamlined administrative efforts and shared resources we are creating a stronger, unified organization that can redirect resources into community programs and performances.” Leaders of the combined organization expect to:

· Expand touring in both the number of performances and geographically in audiences served

· Evolve into a year-round resource for Shakespeare and other classic plays for school districts and others interested in expanding their knowledge of Shakespeare.

· Increase opportunities for artists in terms of lengths of employment contracts and increased pay scale

The merged organization will begin operating as one immediately and will strategically add positions based upon the emerging needs of the company. Since October of 2007 K&L Gates has lent their expertise on a pro bono basis to assist with merger process.

According to Coyote - Seattle Children's Theatre

According to Coyote
Seattle Children’s Theatre
Tickets and Information
March 14 – May 11, 2008

Every culture has stories; how the world was formed, how humans came to be, why the vultures circle their prey before landing. Few, however, continue to tell the stories in the same way that they have for centuries. Few, that is, other than the Native Americans – especially here in the Pacific Northwest. This area is abundantly rich with Native American history and heritage. Even Seattle University has a bust of Chief Seattle on the Broadway side of their campus. So what of the stories? What of this history do we know as a community?

After According to Coyote, a whole lot more. John Kauffman’s play tells the stories of Coyote as seen through the eyes of the Plains and Plateau Indian tribes of the western United States. Coyote is the trickster but simultaneously the hero of these people. Much like Loki in Norse mythology or perhaps more appropriately, Prometheus from the Greek, Coyote gives great gifts to the human race but also finds himself in sticky situations quite frequently and has to trick his way out of them.

Gene Tagaban. Photo by Chris Bennion, 2008.

Kauffman’s writing flows effortlessly, especially through Gene Tagaban. This one-man show could easily become what so many one-man shows become: one-dimensional, flat and long. However, According to Coyote, clocking in at just under an hour, felt like I had just sat down when I left and I never once was away from the edge of my seat. The stories are beautiful and Tagaban presents them marvelously. His physical action is precise and magnificent and his ability to really make each new story a new story brings all of the stories to life.

One of the major factors in the vividness of the show, aside, of course, from Tagaban’s skill, were the costumes, props and lights (Lee Barnette Dombroski and Tim Wratten). The use of light and costume pieces added onto Tagaban throughout the stories create the world on the stage. Slowly, Tagaban is transformed from a man in jeans and a black shirt into Coyote and one can hardly track the transformation.

According to Coyote is a fantastic way to spend an hour of an afternoon with your kids or even alone. Yes, the show is specifically geared to children, but we could all use a little untainted fun in our lives.

Review by Nigel Andrews

Cabaret - 5th Avenue Theatre

Cabaret
5th Avenue Theatre
Tickets and Information
March 25 - April 13

The events of Cabaret take place immediately before and after the rise of the Nazi Party to power in 1930’s Germany. The flow of the plot reflects this: it begins with an emphasis on decadence, particularly within the Kit Kat Club and its leading attraction, Miss Sally Bowles (Tari Kelly), but over time, there is no way for the characters to avoid the influence of the Third Reich and it inevitably changes their lives forever. The beauty of Cabaret as it has been written is that the line between the real world and the cabaret is consistently “blurred,” and it is this aspect that 5^th Avenue Theatre executes perfectly. Not only is the line between the Kit Kat Club and the rest of Berlin unclear in the storyline, the line between the audience and the show of Cabaret through a combination of many elements.

There are simply not enough kind words that can be given to the actors of this production. Led by Nick Garrison (Emcee), Tari Kelly, Louis Hobson (Cliff Bradshaw), Suzy Hunt (Fraulein Schneider), and Allen Fitzpatrick (Herr Schultz), every performer in Cabaret is extremely talented. Garrison and Kelly lead the rest of the class in song and dance, and both are gifted with great voices and stage presence. Of course, the show would be nothing without its supporting cast, who are also exceptional. The actors work well together; Kelly and Hobson’s chemistry on stage is undeniable, and Garrison consistently works with everyone, switching roles a few times and even speaking directly to the audience. Every single performer can sing, dance, and act, and they all contribute greatly to this show.

As a musical, there is more than one director involved in the process. From what has been displayed on stage, they have all worked well together. Bob Richard’s choreography is both important to the story and very entertaining to watch as he understands that standing still at times can be more powerful than movement. The set (Tom Sturge) manages to be not only adaptable, thus enabling many set changes to be done effectively and quickly, but beautiful in its own respect. Ian Eisendrath, the musical director, helps to further the “blurring” of the play with the rest of the orchestra by playing on stage during the performance in very appropriate attire. He also has done a great job of fully embracing John Kander and Fred Ebb’s unique musical flavor, which audience members will recognize from Chicago. Finally, it is all tied together by Bill Berry, whose experience with other 5^th Avenue shows, such as West Side Story and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, has served him well in helping to prepare great musicals.

Truly, this is a spectacular show. The music is addicting, the actors are charming, and truly, when you go to see this musical, “life is a cabaret.” Please hurry and watch this show before its time is done.

SPOTLIGHT NIGHT: SHREK THE MUSICAL

Broadway Creative Team, Cast & Producers Travel to Seattle

to Reveal Behind-the-Scenes of World Premiere Musical

Sunday, April 27 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.

SEATTLE – The 5th Avenue presents a Spotlight Night unlike any other when members of the Broadway creative team, cast and producers of SHREK THE MUSICAL visit Seattle to reveal the behind-the-scenes development of this world premiere on Sunday, April 27 at 3 p.m. at The 5th Avenue Theatre.

At SPOTLIGHT NIGHT: SHREK THE MUSICAL, director Jason Moore, book writer and lyricist David Lindsay-Abaire and composer Jeanine Tesori will share how this new musical is taking shape – a sneak peek at the music, casting, staging and design. Tesori, along with select cast members, will perform songs from the show. President of DreamWorks Theatricals Bill Damaschke and Neal Street Productions’ Caro Newling will discuss the development of Shrek from page to film to stage.

SPOTLIGHT NIGHT, sponsored by US Bank, is free and open to the public. To guarantee admission, register online at www.5thavenue.org/spotlight or call 206-625-1900 / 888-5TH-4TIX (584-4849). Seating is general admission. Reserved priority seating is available for donors of $250 or more. For more information, call 206-315-4681 or email devo@5thavenue.org.