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
See KIDSTAGE original ‘The Last Shot’ on Monday only
April 10, 2010
NEW — 6 a.m. April 10, 2010
Village Theatre’s KIDSTAGE Company Originals has written and produced its seventh musical in Issaquah.
This new work, “The Last Shot,” will have only one reading at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Francis J. Gaudette Theatre, 303 Front St. N.
Set in present-day Western Washington, “The Last Shot” explores how the healing power of art can help people overcome fears and find strength and peace, while telling the story of a high school senior/aspiring filmmaker who takes a cast of fellow students to shoot a movie over Memorial Day weekend.
Kidstage Company Originals cast members take part in a rehearsal reading of ‘The Last Shot.’ — Photo by Jean Johnson/Village Theatre
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
‘Lost in Yonkers’ readying for Village Theatre debut
January 19, 2010
Collin Morris, Nick Robinson and Jennifer Lee Taylor (from left) appear as Jay, Arty and Bella in the Village Theatre production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Neil Simon play ‘Lost in Yonkers.’By Jay Koh /Village Theatre
The skeletons hidden in the closet rattle loose in “Lost in Yonkers,” as the Neil Simon dramedy plumbs deep into the emotional trauma buried by the Kurnitz clan, a family led by a ruthless grandmother.
Enter Jay and Arty, teenage boys, the youngest family members and the latest to be thrust into the emotional maelstrom at Grandma Kurnitz’s apartment. “Lost in Yonkers” unfolds above a candy store where the stern grandmother is the proprietor, but the setting is saccharine only in the literal sense.
Village Theatre alumnus Brian Yorkey will direct the ensemble cast when the theater revives the period piece Jan. 20. The tale recounts the tense times after serious Jay and wisecracking Arty move in with Grandma Kurnitz. The boys arrive at the apartment after their mother dies and their father takes work out of town to pay back a bad debt.
Jay and Arty also share the apartment with dim-witted Aunt Bella. The scarred Kurnitz brood also includes Uncle Louie, a small-time thug.
“Lost in Yonkers” shares DNA with “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” “Biloxi Blues” and “Broadway Bound” — other semi-autobiographical works in the Simon canon.
“He really, I think, dug deep for this one,” Yorkey said. “It’s one of his best, and the chance to work with a cast of some of Seattle’s best actors on a play this meaty, you can’t pass that up.” Read more
Village Theatre picks up pieces after cold-related damage
December 11, 2009
NEW — 11:21 a.m. Dec. 11, 2009
A near-disaster brought on by old pipes and below-freezing temperatures brought the house down at Village Theatre First Stage Theatre building earlier in the week.
Crews started clean-up efforts Thursday to remove insulation frozen by leaking water, which then fell from the ceiling.
The damage claimed KIDSTAGE costumes, a soundboard and other equipment. Michelle Sanders, the theater spokeswoman, said theater managers did not yet have cost estimates for the damage.
The facilities manager discovered the damage earlier in the week after temperatures in the teens caused pipes to burst and prompted alerts from local emergency management agencies.
‘The Wiz’ opens today at Village Theatre
August 1, 2009
NEW — 6 a.m. Aug. 1, 2009
Ease on down to “The Wiz.” The production, part of Village Theatre’s KIDSTAGE SummerStock program, opens today at the Francis J. Gaudette Theatre.
“The Wiz” features young actors from across the Puget Sound region, including Issaquah, Newcastle, Sammamish and Snoqualmie.
“The Wiz” is a modern, urban adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” It takes Dorothy’s story and spices it up with a 1970’s sound, blending rock, soul, gospel and funk.
Ease on down to see KIDSTAGE’s ‘The Wiz’
July 28, 2009
Keaton Whittaker (left) stars as Dorothy and Sarah Russell is Addaperle, together in a scene from Village Theatre’s KIDSTAGE production of ‘The Wiz.’ Photo by Jean Johnson?Property of Village Theatre.
Much of America grew up on the MGM movie version of “The Wizard of Oz” starring Judy Garland. Joel Waage wants people to forget what they think they know and rediscover the tale through Village Theatre’s KIDSTAGE SummerStock production of “The Wiz.”
“The challenge is retelling such an iconic story,” said Waage, director of the summer production. “There was so much of the book not in the movie that this is a nice opportunity to invent some things and do-over others.”
“The Wiz” is a modern, urban adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” It takes Dorothy’s story and spices it up with a 1970’s sound, blending rock, soul, gospel and Read more
Village Theatre veteran readies musical for Broadway
April 6, 2009
Brian Yorkey discusses his Broadway project ‘Next to Normal’ debuting April 15. By Greg Farrar
While growing up, Brian Yorkey dreamed of going to Broadway to appear on one of the world’s largest stages in front of more than 1,000 people.
At Village Theatre in Issaquah, he was a long way away.
But his dreams will be realized this spring, as his musical, “Next to Normal,” heads to Broadway April 15 at the Longacre Theatre.
“I hate to admit it’s a dream I had when I was 12, but it’s true,” he said. “Words can’t describe it, ironically, even though words are my job.”
The achievement comes after 10 years of work on the musical for Yorkey and co-writer Tom Kitt. Yorkey wrote the script and lyrics; Kitt composed the music.
Though they took breaks over the long period of time to work on other shows, the two always came back together to collaborate on their shared brainchild.
“The crux of the show is really about Brian and I and our friendship,” Kitt said.
The two met while attending Columbia University in New York City. They began work on “Next to Normal” as an assignment for a Broadcast Music Inc. workshop. Read more
Get your sweet tooth on at ‘Willy Wonka, Jr.’
April 3, 2009
NEW — 10 a.m. April 3, 2009
Come one, come all. Satisfy your sweet tooth with “Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka, Jr. at the First Stage Theatre.
This musical features fourth- through eighth-grade students who were selected through a competitive audition process. The show is directed, choreographed and musically directed by skilled professionals and features professionally-designed costumes, sets, lights and sound.
Sarah Dennis (as Augustus Gloop) and the KIDSTAGE ensemble perform the number 'I Eat More,' in 'Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka, Jr.' — By Jean Johnson/Village Theatre
KIDSTAGE debuts play ‘Save as…’
March 2, 2009
Advice columnist Jason (Isaiah Parker) helps teens Elvira (Sarah Oates) and Ryan (Kenta Murakami) in Village Theatre’s KIDSTAGE original production of ‘Save as…’ At left, Jason next helps Natalie (Kendyl Morris). By Jean Johnson
In the fall, 17 amateur theater students in Village Theatre’s KIDSTAGE Company Program join forces with professionals from the arts, many veterans of the theater’s main stage. Starting literally with a blank page, their goal is to have a completely original musical production to showcase to their peers at the end of four months .
“In the professional world, this would be impossible,” said Orlando Morales.
Morales, who’s 25 and working toward his master’s teaching degree at the University of Washington, is a veteran of the KIDSTAGE Summer Rep Program. He signed on as musical director and, with the help of lyric mentor Suzy Conn, steered the students’ improvisational sessions into actual characters, songs and a plot.
The fruit of their efforts, “Save as…,” debuts March 6 at First Stage.
“There’s a lot of trepidation to the process,” Morales said. “To somehow make this work and see your efforts up on the stage is a most rewarding experience.”
