Electric run continues for Issaquah’s Brian Yorkey
June 8, 2010
Not long before the Pulitzer Prize board announced the awards in early April, the team behind the musical “Next to Normal” — including Issaquah native Brian Yorkey, the writer and lyricist — heard the show might be under consideration for the drama prize.
Columbia University President Lee Bollinger (left) stands alongside Pulitzer Prize for Drama honorees Tom Kitt (center) and Issaquah native Brian Yorkey. By Eileen Barroso
Like he had before the musical picked up three Tony Awards last spring, Yorkey attempted to shut out the chatter.
Until he received a call from “Next to Normal” producer David Stone on April 12, the day the Pulitzer board announced the honorees.
“Is this Pulitzer Prize winner Brian Yorkey?” he asked.
The creative team dashed through a dozen media interviews, and then joined the cast to celebrate during “one more amazing night in a series of amazing nights,” Yorkey said.
The prize marked the latest milestone for a rock musical about a suburban family strained by bipolar disorder. “Next to Normal” originated at Village Theatre in downtown Issaquah eight years ago as “Feeling Electric.”
“It’s an unusual show,” Yorkey said. “It feels dark in some ways, it feels small in some ways. It doesn’t feel like a blockbuster, award-winning musical.”
The production became the eighth musical to be honored since the prizes added a drama category 92 years ago, and the first musical since “Rent” in 1996. Sober plays — such as “Doubt” and “August: Osage County” — dominated the category during the past decade.
“One of the things I’ve learned about ‘Next to Normal’ is that it has a group of fans in the theater world who are very dedicated, but it also touches people who may not like musicals,” Yorkey said.
The prize jury had submitted three finalists — “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity,” by Kristoffer Diaz, “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo,” by Rajiv Joseph and “In the Next Room, or the vibrator play,” by Sarah Ruhl — but the Pulitzer board eschewed the selections and picked the musical instead. (The jury included three theater critics, a playwright and a member of academia.)
The board praised “Next to Normal” as “a powerful rock musical” and a groundbreaking piece. The prize goes to the playwright, although the Pulitzer judges factor the performance into the decision.
Only the public service honoree receives the iconic Pulitzer medal. Everyone else takes home a $10,000 prize, a crystal paperweight and a certificate in a light blue folder — Columbia blue, because Columbia University administers the prizes. Read more
Village Theatre musical ‘Stunt Girl’ makes Big Apple debut
June 8, 2010
“Stunt Girl” — a musical account of groundbreaking journalist Nellie Bly — has become the latest Village Theatre production to make the journey from Issaquah to the Big Apple.
The musical received a reading at the Manhattan Theatre Club on June 7. “Stunt Girl” premiered at Village Theatre last March.
Issaquah native Brian Yorkey — the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and lyricist behind another Village Theatre original musical, “Next to Normal” — directed the “Stunt Girl” reading.
The presentation featured other Village Theatre alumni.
R.J. Tancioco, music director for the Village Theatre production, filled the same role for the Big Apple piece. John Patrick Lowrie played newspaper publisher and prize namesake Joseph Pulitzer, a role he originated in Issaquah. “Next to Normal” cast member Louis Hobson portrayed reporter Arthur Brisbane. Hobson originated the role in the Festival of New Musicals reading presented by Village Theatre in 2005.
“Stunt Girl” followed “Next to Normal” and “Million Dollar Quartet” from Issaquah to New York City.
Disney composer David Friedman conceived “Stunt Girl” and Tony Award nominee Peter Kellogg wrote the book and lyrics.
Village Theatre musical ‘Stunt Girl’ readies for Big Apple debut
June 2, 2010
NEW — 1:35 p.m. June 2, 2010
“Stunt Girl” — a musical account of groundbreaking journalist Nellie Bly — will become the latest Village Theatre production to make the journey from Issaquah to New York City.
The musical will receive a reading at the Manhattan Theatre Club on Monday. “Stunt Girl” premiered at Village Theatre last March.
Issaquah native Brian Yorkey — the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and lyricist behind another Village Theatre original musical, “Next to Normal” — will direct the “Stunt Girl” reading.
Village Theatre musical earns Tony nominations
May 11, 2010
“Million Dollar Quartet” — a musical about the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll and developed at Village Theatre — has been nominated for three Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
“Million Dollar Quartet” tells the true story of a chance meeting in December 1956 of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis. The legendary entertainers jammed together at the Sun Records studio in Memphis.
Eager for the attention the impromptu jam session could attract, Sun Records owner Sam Phillips contacted local journalists to document the occasion. The subsequent newspaper account referred to the assembled performers as a “million dollar quartet.”
The production also received nods for Best Book of a Musical — for the spoken storyline of the production — and Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for Levi Kreis, the actor who portrays Lewis. Kreis originated the role in Issaquah.
The nominations from the American Theatre Wing on May 4 marked another milestone for the musical.
“Million Dollar Quartet” opened on Broadway last month to solid reviews and enthusiastic audiences.
Village Theatre Executive Producer Robb Hunt attended the opening. He said the creative team amped up the glitz for Broadway, but “Million Dollar Quartet” in the Big Apple remains “very much the same show people saw in Issaquah and Everett.”
Besides Kreis, the Broadway production includes performers from the Issaquah run: Lance Guest as Cash, Rob Lyons as Perkins and bassist Corey Kaiser.
Musical developed in Issaquah earns three Tony nominations
May 4, 2010
NEW — 9:52 a.m. May 4, 2010
“Million Dollar Quartet” — a musical about the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll and developed at Village Theatre — has been nominated for three Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
The musical tells the true story of a chance meeting in December 1956 of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis. The legendary entertainers jammed together at the Sun Records studio in Memphis, Tenn.
“Million Dollar Quartet” also received nods for Best Book of a Musical — for the spoken-word storyline of the production — and Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for Levi Kreis, the actor who portrays Lewis. Kreis originated the role in Issaquah.
The musical opened at Village Theatre in September 2007. The theater extended the run to 10 weeks to meet demand. Writers Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux developed the show as part of the Village Originals program to foster musicals at the Issaquah theater.
Issaquah playwright Brian Yorkey wins Pulitzer Prize
April 13, 2010
Brian Yorkey
The musical “Next to Normal” — a daring look into bipolar disorder penned by Issaquah native Brian Yorkey and nurtured at Village Theatre — has won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Read more
‘Next to Normal’ wins Pulitzer Prize for Drama
April 12, 2010
UPDATED — 3:20 p.m. April 12, 2010
The musical “Next to Normal” — a daring look into bipolar disorder penned by Issaquah native Brian Yorkey and nurtured at Village Theatre — has won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
The prize jury lauded the edgy, dysfunctional-family-drama as “a powerful rock musical that grapples with mental illness in a suburban family and expands the scope of subject matter for musicals.” The jury announced the award Monday.
Yorkey — a former Village Theatre associate artistic director and Issaquah High School alumnus — will share the honor with writing partner Tom Kitt. Yorkey wrote the lyrics; Kitt wrote the music. The duo will share a $10,000 prize.
Musical with roots at Village Theatre and written by Issaquah native will tour to Seattle
March 7, 2010
NEW — 6 a.m. March 7, 2010
The first national tour of “Next to Normal” — the Tony Award-winning musical penned by Issaquah native Brian Yorkey and originated at Village Theatre — will come to Seattle next February.
5th Avenue Theatre and Village Theatre will collaborate to bring “Next to Normal” to the Emerald City from Feb. 22 to March 13, 2011. Village Theatre and Seattle Theatre Group subscribers will be able to buy tickets to the show at a discount.
Tickets for the 2010-11 season at the 5th will be available Monday by phone at 206-625-1900, online or at the box office, 1308 Fifth Ave., Seattle.
Lose yourself in ‘Yonkers’ fine performances
January 26, 2010
Jennifer Lee Taylor (center) and Suzy Hunt enact the climactic confrontation between Aunt Bella and Grandma Kurnitz, as (from left) Mike Dooley, Nick Robinson, Collin Morris and Karen Skrinde, as Uncle Louie, Arty, Jay and Gert, look on in a scene from ‘Lost in Yonkers.’ By Jay Koh/Village Theatre
Silently, Arty and Jay Kurnitz wait in their grandmother’s living room. They question why they’ve come so far to see a woman they barely know and they plot their escape.
But leaving isn’t on the agenda.
What unfolds onstage in the next two and a half hours is nothing short of dramatic perfection and well-timed comedic relief, provided by a talented cast who embrace the irony of one of Neil Simon’s best-known plays — “Lost in Yonkers.”
Typically, reviewers find time to take light notes in the margins of their program during a play, but “Lost in Yonkers” proved so captivating that it didn’t happen this time.
Comfortable suspense — if there is such a thing — kept everyone in the audience waiting for the next character to unravel.
As the son’s broken father, Eddie, played by Bradford Farwell, tries to heal himself and the family bank account after his wife’s death, the boys are faced with the realities of adulthood.
The touching coming-of-age story is marked by realism, not simplicity or comfort. Rather, the two boys — Jay, played by Collin Morris, and Arty, played by Nick Robinson — learn no matter how simple they may seem, familial relationships are messy, complex and laden with history. Read more
Tony Award winner adjusts to new normal
January 19, 2010
Tony Award winner Brian Yorkey (left) directs Suzy Hunt as she portrays Grandma Kurnitz, a main character in ‘Lost in Yonkers’ at Village Theatre. Village Theatre photo
Brian Yorkey returns to direct ‘Lost in Yonkers’
Everybody knew the odds — the cast, the producers, the director, the composer and, especially, the writer and lyricist.
Bookies and bloggers predicted a sweep. The feel-good “Billy Eliot” seemed poised for glory, not “Next to Normal” — a musical built around electro-shock therapy, raw emotions and even rawer nerves.
Everybody knew the odds at the Tony Awards last June — but nobody envisioned the upset to come, especially not the writer and lyricist, Issaquah native Brian Yorkey.
Nobody expected the odds to be so miscalculated, yet Yorkey and composer Tom Kitt toppled “Billy Eliot” to win the Tony for Best Original Score. The other nominees included songwriting titans Sir Elton John and Dolly Parton.
Yorkey, a Village Theatre alumnus stunned about the unexpected win, accepted the award from the presenter, comedian Will Ferrell, and mentioned the Issaquah playhouse during the national broadcast.
“We kind of went into it sort of expecting that ‘Billy Eliot’ would sweep, and that’s a great show, they deserve it, and just to be here is amazing,” Yorkey recalled in early January. “Then, to add on the win was kind of unbelievable. It was a little bit out of body. It didn’t sink in for a few days, I don’t think — if it has at all.”
Next came the dizzying sequence of congratulations, interviews and countless thank-yous from the humble Yorkey, who recalled, “all the clichés apply.” “Next to Normal” won another pair of Tony statuettes, for best orchestrations and best actress in a musical. Read more
