I believe Seattle musical theater aficionados will look back upon this season as a profound turning point in the trajectory of 5th Avenue Theatre productions. Two names will be spoken of when discussing this season: Sweeney Todd and Jay Woods. Jay Woods’ directorial excellence is on full display with her envisioning of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: […]
In 1978, as a six-year-old kid, I watched the movie The Wiz, in a mostly empty mall theater with my older brother and sister. The movie enthralled, traumatized, excited, and bored me. As a somewhat sheltered white kid from the Pacific Northwest, I had a very limited understanding of black artists, black entertainment, and black […]
The other day while driving with my 20-year-old son, I noticed an electric car I had never seen before. As we drove by the bright light blue sedan, we were unable to identify its make and model until we reached the front and saw its iconic emblem. Both of us responded with similar quizzical expressions: […]
By Pastor Douglas S. Bursch, D.Min I’ve decided it would be good for me to write down why I support same-sex marriage. I am not attempting to convince anyone to change their opinions or perspectives. Instead, I am trying to communicate why my opinions and ideas concerning same-sex relationships have changed. I hope this will […]
My Brain Contains Multitudes In Walt Whitman’s poem, Section 51, Song of Myself, we find this often-quoted stanza: “Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)” In the context of the poem, Whitman might be addressing how we exist in the past, present and future. Our present […]
Well, due to a prior engagement, I missed the opening night performance of Marie Dancing Still. Fortunately, Marie Dancing Still was still dancing still last night, which gave my wife and I the wonderful opportunity to see the most amazing dance sequence we have ever seen at Seattle’s 5thAvenue Theatre or really on any stage. If that seems […]
In an April 1st surprise, Facebook CEO and chairman Mark Zuckerberg announced today that his company will be launching a new social media platform geared towards elementary students and preschoolers, called Facebook Junior. Zuckerberg mentioned in today’s press conference that Facebook is trying to address the decline they have seen in high school and college […]
(Update: A day after posting this piece I searched my name and the problem has been fixed in America! I am no longer a Dog Brush on their American search engine! Their Canada search still doesn’t recognize my existence. Oh well, it is a start! Thank you Amazon and thanks to the power of social […]
Sometimes you don’t know how soul worn weary you are, until you stumble upon a momentary resting place. And sometimes you don’t realize how much you need music, art and beauty until your eyes are tearing up in a darkened 5th Avenue Theatre watching the opening night production of Ragtime The Musical. America’s current, or […]
When I first heard The 5th Avenue Theatre was mounting a production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, I prepared myself to write a somewhat cynical and sarcastic review lamenting the Disneyfication of musical theater. However, after watching The Little Mermaid’s opening night preview, I am reluctantly unable to do much more than just praise the […]