Even the Orchestra is Beautiful
in The 5th Avenue Theatre's CABARET
Starring Broadway's Tari Kelly,
Seattle Favorites Louis Hobson, Suzy Hunt and Allen Fitzpatrick,
and Fringe Star Nick Garrison as the Emcee
Performances: March 25 - April 13, 2008
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SEATTLE - The 5th Avenue invites Seattle to "leave your troubles outside" and experience the scintillating entertainment of CABARET. "Life is beautiful, the girls are beautiful, even the orchestra is beautiful" in this brand new production, featuring an all-star cast and an "all-girl" band made up of The 5th Avenue's male pit musicians - on stage, in heels and fishnets. The 5th co-produces this landmark musical with the American Musical Theatre of San Jose and St. Paul's Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
The decadent world of 1930s Berlin comes to life in this Tony Award-winning musical masterpiece. Based on Christopher Isherwood's novel "Berlin Stories" and John Van Druten's play I Am a Camera, CABARET follows an English nightclub singer, an American writer, a German landlady and a Jewish shopkeeper who find their destinies linked and their futures uncertain on the eve of the Third Reich. By turns defiant and melancholy, brazen and gleeful, CABARET sizzles with show-stopping songs, including "Willkommen," "Maybe This Time," "Money, Money," "Don't Tell Mama" and the explosive title tune.
Considered one of the defining musicals of the postwar era, CABARET broke the mold of musicals by presenting the audience with a highly "conceptualized" production - instead of integrating songs that stemmed organically from each situation, director Harold Prince envisioned a musical with the actors commenting on the action as it happened. CABARET won eight 1967 Tony Awards (including Best Musical and Best Score) and ran for 1,165 performances. It launched Kander and Ebb's (Chicago, Kiss of the Spider Woman) success and place in musical theater history. In 1972, the musical was adapted for the screen in one of the greatest movie musical hits of all time, winning eight Oscars, including Best Actress for Liza Minnelli.
The cast of The 5th Avenue's production of CABARET features Tari Kelly (B'way: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Boy from Oz, Show Boat, 5th Avenue: White Christmas) as Sally Bowles, Seattle natives Nick Garrison (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The Rocky Horror Show) as the Emcee, Louis Hobson (5th Avenue: West Side Story, Miss Saigon) as Cliff Bradshaw, Suzy Hunt (B'way: Execution of Justice, 5th Avenue: Singin' in the Rain, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum) as Fraulein Schneider and Broadway veteran Allen Fitzpatrick (B'way: Les Misérables, 42nd Street, Sweet Smell of Success, 5th Avenue: Sweeney Todd) as Herr Schultz. The cast includes Alexandra Ausman, Lisa Bartholomew-Given, Nicole Boote, Scott Brateng, Ross Cornell, Dannul Dailey, Jadd Davis, Tyson Forbes (Ernst Ludwig), Kirsten E. Gerding, Angie Louise (Fraulein Kost), Carrie Madsen, Ellyn Marie Marsh, Melody McArtor, Brandon O'Neill, Maya RS Perkins, Troy L. Wageman and Aaron Young.
CABARET is directed by 5th Avenue Associate Producing Artistic Director Bill Berry (West Side Story, The Wizard of Oz, Smokey Joe's Café, Wonderful Town) and choreographed by Bob Richard (West Side Story, B'way: How the Grinch Stole Christmas). Ian Eisendrath (Into the Woods, West Side Story) serves as the conductor/musical director, the set and lighting designer is Tom Sturge (West Side Story lighting, Wonderful Town sets & lights), the costume designer is Thomas G. Marquez, the hair and make-up designer is Sharon Ridge and the sound designer is Jeremy J. Lee. Bret Torbeck is the production stage manager.
Audiences can get a behind-the-scenes look at CABARET before it opens at SPOTLIGHT NIGHT on Tuesday, March 11 from 7 - 8:30 p.m. at The 5th Avenue Theatre. This free event, sponsored by US Bank, will feature special guest Eric D. Weitz, author of the critically-acclaimed new release "Weimar Germany: Promise and Tragedy," from which CABARET director Bill Berry drew inspiration for this production. Visit www.5thavenue.org/spotlight
TARI KELLY (Sally Bowles) has starred on Broadway in How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Mama Who), The Boy from Oz (u.s./performed Liza Minnelli) and the Harold Prince revival of Show Boat, as well as the national tours of Little Shop of Horrors (Audrey), Show Boat (Ellie) and Disney's Beauty and the Beast (Babette). Off-Broadway: Streakin' (Chrissie). Regional: The 5th Avenue's White Christmas (Judy Haynes), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Millie - Jeff nomination), Once Upon a Mattress (Winnifred). www.TariKelly.com
NICK GARRISON (Emcee) played the titular role in Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Re-bar (2000, 2004), in San Francisco, Chicago (Joseph Jefferson Best Actor Award) and in the U.K. Seattle Rep: Twelfe Night, The Beard Of Avon. Intiman: Loot. 5th Avenue: Rocky Horror Show. Empty Space: Valley Of The Dolls, Vera Wilde, Project X, (L)Imitations Of Life. Re-Bar: Dirty Little Showtunes, Randee Sparks: Semi-Precious, Deflowered In The Attic, The Misanthrope, What You Sing Might Save You. In New York: Mae West's Sex. Humana Festival: Aloha, Say The Pretty Girls and Life Under Thirty. Film/Television: Deadline, Strangers With Candy, Creatures From The Pink Lagoon.
BILL BERRY (Director) is the Associate Producing Artistic Director and resident Casting Director for The 5th Avenue Theatre, as well as the Producing Director for The 5th Avenue's Adventure Musical Theatre Touring Company (AMT), which develops and tours original musicals to schools throughout Washington State. For The 5th Avenue, he directed West Side Story (Seattle Times Footlight Award), Wonderful Town (Seattle Times Footlight Award), the high-octane Smokey Joe's Café and the 2004 holiday hit The Wizard of Oz, and served as Associate Director for The Rocky Horror Show. Other directing credits include: Songs For a New World (Raggedy Z Productions, NW Premiere), Godspell (in concert as a benefit for BCEFA), Reading Rainbow and A Christmas Carol (Theatreworks/USA). For The 5th Avenue's AMT, he directed and co-wrote Klondike! The Alaskan Gold Rush Story and Journey West!, a musical re-telling of the Lewis and Clark expedition; he also directed Northwest Bookshelf and Baseball Saved Us.
Tickets to CABARET are priced from $20 - $77. Higher-priced prime seating may be available for select performances. Tickets are available over the phone by calling 206-625-1900 (toll free 888-5TH-4TIX), online at www.5thavenue.org or in person at the box office in downtown Seattle. There is no service charge when purchasing tickets in person at The 5th Avenue Theatre Box Office.
CABARET plays the American Musical Theatre of San Jose March 4 - 16. After its Seattle engagement March 25 - April 13, CABARET plays the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul, Minnesota, May 2 - 18.
The 5th Avenue Theatre is Seattle's premier musical theater. In 1980, the non-profit 5th Avenue Theatre began producing and presenting top-quality live musical theater for the cultural enrichment of the Northwest community. The 5th Avenue Theatre maintains a subscription audience of nearly 24,000 and an annual attendance of more than 287,000. It ranks among the nation’s largest and most respected musical theater companies. The Theatre is committed to encouraging the next generation of theatergoers through its Educational Outreach Program which includes: The Adventure Musical Theatre Touring Company, The 5th Avenue High School Musical Theatre Awards, the Student Matinee Program and Spotlight Nights. Unique in its Chinese-inspired design, the exquisite theater opened in 1926 as a venue for vaudeville and film. Today, under the leadership of Managing Director Marilynn Sheldon and Producing Artistic Director David Armstrong, The 5th Avenue Theatre continues to achieve the highest standards in all aspects of artistic endeavors and facility operations, while preserving its artistic, architectural and historic legacy. Visit www.5thavenue.org.
CABARET SHOWTIMES
March 25 - April 13, 2008
(Previews: March 25-26)
- Tuesday Evening 7:30 pm
- Wednesday Evening 7:30 pm
- Thursday Evening 8:00 pm
- Friday Evening 8:00 pm
- Saturday Matinee 2:00 pm
- Saturday Evening 8:00 pm
- Sunday Matinee 1:30 pm
- Sunday Evening 7:00 pm
Please contact Molly Fortin, Public Relations Manager, at (206) 625-1418 with questions or to schedule individual interviews.
2007-2008 SEASON SPONSOR: Puget Sound Energy
SHOW SPONSORS: The Mayor's Offic of Arts & Cultural Affairs, Harbor Steps Apartments