Behind The Scenes at The 5th: 7 Brides Photo Shoot

Last week we had a publicity photo shoot for our upcoming production of 7 Brides for 7 Brothers. Under the watchful camera eye of photographer Bootsy Holler our cast flipped, twirled, posed and smiled. It was a long and exhausting day but everyone kept their spirits up — and then they went to rehearsal!

Here are some behind the scenes shots (not taken by Bootsy) of the process.

A Bride For Seven Brothers!

That was the original title of the classic MGM film musical but the studio censors thought it might give the audience the wrong idea.

It is my pleasure to introduce you to our Bride and Seven Brothers — and what an amazingly talented group they are! This is one of the most difficult musicals to cast. The leading roles of Adam and Millie demand dynamic spirited actors with glorious voices. And the Brothers have to be fine singers, remarkable actors, and be able to jump, tumble, spin and kick up a ruckus as they flawlessly execute the show’s legendary daredevil style of dancing.

Here is a brief look at our talented titular stars:

Laura Griffith has been seen on the 5th Avenue stage as Janet in The Rocky Horror Show, Anne in A Little Night Music and Rose in The Secret Garden. On Broadway, she has been seen in the original casts of South Pacific (2008 revival), The Light in the Piazza, Sweet Smell of Success and Oklahoma! (2002 revival).

Ed Watts returns to the role of Adam after playing it in the recent national tour. He has performed regionally at Music Theatre of Wichita, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma and Theatre of the Stars to name a few, as well as in New York at Manhattan Theatre Club, New York City Opera and more.

Karl Warden has toured the world in such productions as Fosse starring Ben Vereen and Ruthie Henshall, Cats and The Pajama Game. A veteran of 7 Brides, Karl appeared in the Goodspeed and national touring productions and is the assistant choreographer and dance captain for our production.

Demian Boergardine has had a varied career as a dancer having appeared on TV shows like "Malcolm in the Middle" and "Days of our Live," in commercials for products like Dr. Pepper, or on stage with Val Kilmer in the world premiere of The Ten Commandments.

Mo Brady has been a recent rising star at the 5th Avenue Theatre having started in our Adventure Musical Theatre tour At the World’s Fair a few seasons ago, moving to ensemble in Sweeney Todd to A-Rab in West Side Story and next to Barnaby in Hello, Dolly! A northwest native, Mo has also been seen around town in shows at Seattle Children’s Theatre, ACT Theatre, and Village Theatre.

Wes Hart is new to the 5th Avenue stage having appeared at Paper Mill Playhouse, Goodspeed Opera House, Alabama Shakespeare Festival and North Carolina Theatre, among others.

Luke Longacre has been seen on Broadway in Stephen Sondheim’s The Frogs as well as in the movie of Mel Brooks’ The Producers, both starring Nathan Lane. Luke is another veteran of 7 Brides having been in productions at Paper Mill Playhouse, North Shore Music Theatre and Theatre Under the Stars.

Kyle Patrick Vaughn has been in the national tours of All Shook Up and Fame as well as in the recent all-star production of The Who’s Tommy in LA.

Here Come “The Suitors”

On Wednesday “The Suitors” arrived to begin rehearsals for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

These talented young men play the town boys who find themselves pitted in dance combat against the rough-and-tumble Pontipee Brothers as they all compete for the affections of “the Brides.”

To play a “Suitor” in this show you have to be able to act, sing and dance in equal measure as well as have the stamina to perfect and perform the show’s challenging and athletic choreography (created by our master choreographer Patti Colombo) eight times a week. These guys have all that in spades. Some of them are 5th Avenue vets and others are exciting new additions to our company. Take a look:

Daniel Cruz is a very familiar face to our audience having appeared in West Side Story, A Chorus Line, Pippin, Wonderful Town, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (and the upcoming Hello, Dolly!). Daniel is also an accomplished hip hop dancer and choreographer. He has performed with Prince, *NSYNC and Michael Jackson and leads his own dance company called Cruz Control.

David Alewine recently made the leap from concert dance to musical theater after appearing in our acclaimed productions of West Side Story and MAME. Previously he danced with the Atlanta Ballet, Dance Kaleidescope and Seattle’s own Spectrum Dance Theater.

Ross Cornell has been seen on our stage in White Christmas and Cabaret. Ross also teaches children’s jazz and tap classes through the 5th’s education programs.

James Scheider returns to The 5th after MAME last season. While James is a fantastic dancer, he received his degree from University of Washington in classical voice and spent a summer performing at the Aspen Opera Theatre Company.


Christian Duhamel is making his mainstage debut after appearing in the 5th’s Adventure Musical Theatre touring show Klondike! In addition to his life as a performer, Christian is also a talented composer currently at work on developing a few new musicals.



Justin Ramsey makes his professional debut with us after being a Performance Intern in our production of Singin’ in the Rain a few seasons ago. He received the 2007 5th Avenue High School Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Featured Ensemble Role for his high school’s production of CATS. His 13 years of dance training has certainly paid off!

Here come the brides!

Rehearsals began yesterday for our new production of Seven Brides For Seven Brothers the rollicking, high kicking musical comedy inspired by the classic MGM film.

In order to maximize the amount of rehearsal time we have for each production we often stagger the actor’s rehearsal start dates. Throughout this first week new groups of cast members will add in each day and begin working with our artistic and stage management teams in our new
Downstairs at The 5th: The Marilynn Sheldon Rehearsal and Education Center.

We started with The Brides — or at least six of the seven. (Laura Griffith who will star in the show as “Millie” will join us later in the week.) Most of these talented ladies have appeared many times on the 5th Avenue stage and we are excited to have them back -- but we are thrilled to be welcoming a few new faces. Here is a brief peek at our stunning group of titular heroines:

Maya RS Perkins is a familiar dancer to 5th Avenue audiences having seen her in productions of Cabaret, West Side Story, Miss Saigon, Singin’ in the Rain, A Chorus Line, Wonderful Town, Pippin and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. You can also spot her in commercials for Tullalip Casino!

Amanda Paulson, a recent transplant to New York City, has appeared on 5th Ave’s stage in White Christmas, Yankee Doodle Dandy and My Fair Lady. She’ll be back at The 5th later this season for Sunday in the Park with George.

Brittany Jamieson has danced at 5th Avenue in MAME, White Christmas and Yankee Doodle Dandy and will be back for Hello, Dolly! later this season. When not performing, she teaches jazz, tap and Broadway Fit dance classes for the 5th’s education programs.

Shanna Palmer is making her mainstage debut after appearing in our Adventure Musical Theatre touring school show Klondike! in 2007. She is also a choreographer for Kentlake High School that participates in the 5th Avenue High School Musical Theatre Awards.

Sara Christine Parish is making her 5th Avenue debut! New to the area, Sara has an MFA in Dance from Arizona State University and has appeared in shows as diverse as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Oklahoma! and Jesus Christ Superstar.

Meagan Foy, still in high school at Seattle Prep, appeared in MAME and Prince and the Pauper and will also be in our upcoming production of Memphis. Quite the busy 16-year old!

Seattle Loves The Drowsy Chaperone

Well audiences and critics agree that The Drowsy Chaperone is one of the most hilarious and original musical comedies ever seen on Broadway or here at The 5th.

We are the last stop on the show’s national tour so be sure to tell your friends that this is their only chance to see the original Tony Award-winning production. And isn’t Georgia Engel a treasure? You can’t help but smile every moment she is on the stage.

Here are links to some of the great reviews: The Seattle P-I, The Seattle Times, Seattle Weekly, News Tribune, and Seattle Actor Be sure to pass along this special link to our great ticket offer.

Bill Berry’s Production of Cabaret Wins Ivey Award

I am thrilled to announce that our recent production of Cabaret, directed by our Associate Producing Artistic Director Bill Berry and co-produced with the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in Minneapolis and the American Musical Theatre of San Jose, was awarded a 2008 Ivey Award at a ceremony held in Minneapolis on September 24.

Cabaret was one of only five productions honored at the awards presentation and it was singled out for its outstanding costume design, scenic design and choreography. The Ordway Center’s Artistic Director (and great friend of The 5th) James Rocco accepted the award on behalf of the three co-producing theaters. The evaluator who presented him with the award commented that this production's "sets and costumes transported the audience back to a different time.”

Bill Berry’s bold new take on the classic musical was inspired by extensive research into the look, feel and performance style of actual Berlin cabarets during the Weimar period in which Cabaret is set. (See my earlier blog entry below)

Kudos must go out to choreographer Bob Richard, musical director (and-not-so-pretty girl) Ian Eisendrath, set and lighting designer Tom Sturge, costume designer Thomas G. Marquez, and hair and make-up designers Sharon Ridge and Mary Pyanowski.
As you may know, Minneapolis-St. Paul is home to 68 professional theater organizations, including such luminaries as The Guthrie Theatre.

The Ivey Awards were established in 2004, and serve to recognize and reward the best in Twin Cities theater. Unlike other similar ceremonies, The Ivey Awards feature no nominees, predetermined award categories or set numbers of awards - instead, honorees are selected, based solely on merit, by evaluators who've seen nearly 200 theatrical productions in the Twin Cities during the past year. More information can be found at their website: iveyawards.com.

Don’t Miss This Spotlight Night!

I couldn’t be more excited about our next Spotlight Night coming up this Friday. This time we will focus on our two upcoming productions — the Tony Award-winning Broadway hit The Drowsy Chaperone and the high-kicking musical comedy Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

In the first segment my special guest will be Bob Martin, who not only wrote Drowsy’s Tony Award-winning book but took home another Tony for his original portrayal of its lead character “Man In Chair.” He will tell us how the show evolved from a 20-minute skit created as a wedding present into a big Broadway musical. Bob will be joined by one of the show’s leading producers, Roy Miller, who despite years of struggle in getting this show on Broadway, always remained convinced that this musical comedy with the weird name would prove to be a major hit. Boy was he right.

Later we will shine the spotlight on Seven Brides’ amazing lyricist — the great Johnny Mercer. No songwriter created more hits than Mercer, and with the help of singers Jeannette D’Armand, Candice Donehoo and Rich Gray we have put together a killer medley that will knock your socks off.

I can assure you this is one not to be missed — and, as always, it’s free!

For more information on Spotlight Night, visit www.5thavenue.org