Seattle Repertory Theatre
Encyclopedia
Seattle Repertory Theatre (familiarly known as "The Rep") is a major regional theatre located in Seattle
, Washington, at the Seattle Center
. It is a member of Theatre Puget Sound
and Theatre Communications Group
. Founded in 1963, it is led by Artistic Director Jerry Manning and Managing Director Benjamin Moore. It received the 1990 Regional Theatre Tony Award
.
, Seattle's 1962 World's Fair
. The building, extant as of 2009, was renovated in 1987 as a home for the Intiman Theatre. Actor Hal Holbrook
had appeared at the Playhouse during the fair, and is believed to be the person who suggested it as a home for a repertory theater company. Seattle businessman and arts patron Bagley Wright
and others raised money and recruited artistic leadership to found what became the Seattle Repertory Theater ("The Rep"). Stuart Vaughan was the founding artistic director
and directed the first production, King Lear
, which opened the new company's first season on November 14, 1963. The original acting company included Seattle native Marjorie Nelson and a young associate member from the University of Washington
, John Gilbert. Both went on to become mainstays of Pacific Northwest
theater. Donald Foster came aboard as executive director in 1964. The first summer "Theater-in-the-Park" production was The Taming of the Shrew
. The first Northwest tour included Twelfth Night and Ah, Wilderness!
by Eugene O'Neill
. Peter Donnelly joined The Rep on a Ford Foundation
grant as a management intern. In 1966, Allen Fletcher became The Rep's second artistic director. The "Off-Center" series (held at other local theaters outside Seattle Center) focused on contemporary works. The first of "Off-Center" production, in 1967, featured The Death of Bessie Smith
and The American Dream, two one-act plays by Edward Albee
. The Rep was invited to the Bergen International Festival
in 1968.
. "The 2nd Stage" series began a year later with Max Frisch
's Biography. In 1975, a tour of the western states included Seven Keys to Baldpate by George M. Cohan
. Private funding and a city-wide bond issue raised $5.8 million for a new theater, which was begun in 1977 and completed in 1983. The first "Mobile Outreach Bunch" (MOB) toured Washington and Idaho schools with The Energy Show, launching The Rep's education programs in 1979. John Hirsch
joined as consulting artistic director with Daniel Sullivan
as resident director that same year, and "Plays-in-Progress," initiated by Daniel Sullivan, began developing new plays.
's The Ballad of Soapy Smith
, directed by Robert Egan. In 1984, Herb Gardner's I'm Not Rappaport
starring Harold Gould
, Cleavon Little
and David Strathairn
opened prior to its Broadway
run. That year also saw the start of "Dollar Theatre" with Big and Little (selections from Botho Strauß
). In 1985, Benjamin Moore was appointed The Rep's third managing director. In 1988, The Rep premiered Bill Irwin
's Largely/New York and Richard Greenberg
's Eastern Standard
. The following year Wendy Wasserstein
's Pulitzer Prize
winning The Heidi Chronicles
premiered there.
for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Inspecting Carol
, developed by Daniel Sullivan and the SRT company, premiered as part of the "Stage 2" productions in 1991. That same year Conversations With My Father by Herb Gardner premiered, and Inspecting Carol went on national tour the year after. The premieres of London Suite
by Neil Simon
and The Sisters Rosensweig
by Wendy Wasserstein
took place in 1994. The following year, in collaboration with Tom Hulce
and Jane Jones, The Rep developed The Cider House Rules
, adapted by Peter Parnell
from John Irving
's novel, which was then presented as part of the 'New Play Workshop Series'. In 1996, the Leo Kreielsheimer ("Leo K") Theatre opened after a successful fund-raising drive. Sharon Ott
became the artistic director in 1997. That year, in conjunction with the Leonardo exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum
, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, written and directed by Mary Zimmerman
, was staged in the new Leo K Theatre. Sisters Matsumoto by Philip Kan Gotanda
premiered in 1999, followed by the first "Stars and Stories" special event, featuring readings by community artists and leaders, for the benefit of SRT's education programs.
's one-woman show by Jane Wagner
, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, played at The Rep prior to its engagement on Broadway. In 2001, The Rep led a consortium of local theaters in presenting Peter Brook
's Hamlet
in the Mercer Arts Arena. That same year, Daniel Sullivan returned to direct Proof
, for which he won the Tony Award
on Broadway, launching its national tour, and a $15 million "Endowment Campaign" under the leadership of Chap Alvord and Janet True was also announced. The 40th Anniversary Season was celebrated in 2003. David Esbjornson
became artistic director in 2005. Ping Chong
's Cathay: Three Tales of China, Ariel Dorfman
's Purgatorio and Restoration Comedy, by Amy Freed
, (which went on to be nominated for Best New Play by the American Theatre Critics Association) were among the premieres in 2006. That year also saw a tribute to August Wilson
, featuring performances from all ten of his plays. Esbjornson departed in summer 2008, replaced in 2009 by Jerry Manning.
designed to help K–12 teachers integrate theater into their curricula. The program was made possible through a grant of $75,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts
. The theater also has an internship program for college students.
Leo K Theatre
Leo K Theatre
PONCHO Forum
Women Playwrights Festival
Leo K Theatre
Special Presentation
PONCHO Forum
Women Playwrights Festival
Theatre, named in honour of The Rep's first board of trustees president, opened on October 13, 1983 with the world premiere of Michael Weller
's The Ballad of Soapy Smith, directed by Robert Egan, and featuring a cast of Seattle actors including Dennis Arndt (in the title role), John Aylward
, Frank Corrado, Paul Hostetler, Richard Riehle
, Michael Santo, Marjorie Nelson, Ted D'Arms, Kurt Beattie, Clayton Corzatte, and William Ontiveros. Also in the cast were Kevin Tighe
and Kate Mulgrew
. The Bagley Wright Theatre is a city owned facility.
The theater has a proscenium stage and a seating capacity
of 842 seats; of these, 566 are on the orchestra level and 290 in the mezzanine level. The stage is approximately 65 feet (19.8 m) to the last row of the house. The center section of the orchestra level is 18 rows deep, in the center section, with 14 seats per row, plus 3-13 seats per row in 16 rows on each of the sides. There are, in addition, 12 locations for wheelchairs in the last row. The mezzanine level begins 32 feet (9.8 m) from the stage, and has 290 seats. Its center section has 7 rows, 14 seats per row; the sides have 8 rows, with 9-13 seats per row.
), plus 90 balcony and box seats. It is approximately 25 feet (7.6 m) from the stage to the rear wall. There are 5 wheelchair locations.
The orchestra seating consists of 139 seats in 9 rows, with 8-20 seats per row; the loge adds 51 seats, in 2 rows of 27 and 24 seats, respectively. The balcony provides an additional 88 seats, in 3 rows, with 29-30 seats per row; additionally, there are 4 box seats at balcony level.
.
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, Washington, at the Seattle Center
Seattle Center
Seattle Center is a park and arts and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington. The campus is the site used in 1962 by the Century 21 Exposition. It is located just north of Belltown in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood.-Attractions:...
. It is a member of Theatre Puget Sound
Theatre Puget Sound
Theatre Puget Sound is a not-for-profit organization devoted to supporting the performing arts in the Puget Sound area of Washington. It was founded in 1997.Both individuals and organizations can be members of Theatre Puget Sound...
and Theatre Communications Group
Theatre Communications Group
Theatre Communications Group is an organization dedicated to the promotion of non-profit professional theatre in the United States. TCG has over 450 member theatres located in 47 states; 17,000 individual members; and a growing number of University, Funder, Business and Trustee Affiliates...
. Founded in 1963, it is led by Artistic Director Jerry Manning and Managing Director Benjamin Moore. It received the 1990 Regional Theatre Tony Award
Regional Theatre Tony Award
The Regional Theatre Tony Award is a special non-competitive Tony Award given annually to a regional theatre company in the United States. Initially presented in 1948 to Robert Porterfield of the Virginia Barter Theatre for their Contribution To Development Of Regional Theatre, the Regional Theatre...
.
1960s
The first home of the Seattle Rep was the Seattle Playhouse, built as part of the fair grounds for the 1962 Century 21 ExpositionCentury 21 Exposition
The Century 21 Exposition was a World's Fair held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962 in Seattle, Washington.Nearly 10 million people attended the fair...
, Seattle's 1962 World's Fair
World's Fair
World's fair, World fair, Universal Exposition, and World Expo are various large public exhibitions held in different parts of the world. The first Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom, in 1851, under the title "Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All...
. The building, extant as of 2009, was renovated in 1987 as a home for the Intiman Theatre. Actor Hal Holbrook
Hal Holbrook
Harold Rowe "Hal" Holbrook, Jr. is an American actor. His television roles include Abraham Lincoln in the 1976 TV series Lincoln, Hays Stowe on The Bold Ones: The Senator and Capt. Lloyd Bucher on Pueblo. He is also known for his role in the 2007 film Into the Wild, for which he was nominated for...
had appeared at the Playhouse during the fair, and is believed to be the person who suggested it as a home for a repertory theater company. Seattle businessman and arts patron Bagley Wright
Bagley Wright
Bagley Wright , president of Bagley Wright Investments, was a developer of Seattle's landmark Space Needle and chair of Physio Control Corp. from 1968 until its acquisition by Eli Lilly and Company in 1980...
and others raised money and recruited artistic leadership to found what became the Seattle Repertory Theater ("The Rep"). Stuart Vaughan was the founding artistic director
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
and directed the first production, King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
, which opened the new company's first season on November 14, 1963. The original acting company included Seattle native Marjorie Nelson and a young associate member from the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, John Gilbert. Both went on to become mainstays of Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
theater. Donald Foster came aboard as executive director in 1964. The first summer "Theater-in-the-Park" production was The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1591.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself...
. The first Northwest tour included Twelfth Night and Ah, Wilderness!
Ah, Wilderness!
Ah, Wilderness! is a comedy by American playwright Eugene O'Neill that premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on 2 October 1933.-Plot summary:...
by Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
. Peter Donnelly joined The Rep on a Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
grant as a management intern. In 1966, Allen Fletcher became The Rep's second artistic director. The "Off-Center" series (held at other local theaters outside Seattle Center) focused on contemporary works. The first of "Off-Center" production, in 1967, featured The Death of Bessie Smith
The Death of Bessie Smith
The Death of Bessie Smith is a one-act play by American playwright Edward Albee, written in 1959 and premiered in West Berlin the following year. The play is based around a series of conversations...
and The American Dream, two one-act plays by Edward Albee
Edward Albee
Edward Franklin Albee III is an American playwright who is best known for The Zoo Story , The Sandbox , Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , and a rewrite of the screenplay for the unsuccessful musical version of Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's . His works are considered well-crafted, often...
. The Rep was invited to the Bergen International Festival
Bergen International Festival
Bergen International Festival is an annual international music and cultural festival in Bergen, Norway. The festival is the largest in the Nordic countries in its genre and has a large number of activities in music, dance, literature, visual arts, folklore etc...
in 1968.
1970s
In 1970, Peter Donnelly became producing director, and W. Duncan Ross became artistic director. In 1972, The Rep's artistic role in the state was acknowledged with the Washington State Governor's Arts Award. That same year was the beginning of "Rep ‘n' Rap", a summer tour program featuring Thurbermania. The following year, there was a special presentation of Promenade All directed by Hume CronynHume Cronyn
Hume Blake Cronyn, OC was a Canadian actor of stage and screen, who enjoyed a long career, often appearing professionally alongside his second wife, Jessica Tandy.-Early life:...
. "The 2nd Stage" series began a year later with Max Frisch
Max Frisch
Max Rudolf Frisch was a Swiss playwright and novelist, regarded as highly representative of German-language literature after World War II. In his creative works Frisch paid particular attention to issues relating to problems of human identity, individuality, responsibility, morality and political...
's Biography. In 1975, a tour of the western states included Seven Keys to Baldpate by George M. Cohan
George M. Cohan
George Michael Cohan , known professionally as George M. Cohan, was a major American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, and producer....
. Private funding and a city-wide bond issue raised $5.8 million for a new theater, which was begun in 1977 and completed in 1983. The first "Mobile Outreach Bunch" (MOB) toured Washington and Idaho schools with The Energy Show, launching The Rep's education programs in 1979. John Hirsch
John Hirsch
John Stephen Hirsch, OC was an Hungarian-Canadian theater director. He was born in Siófok, Hungary, and escaped Hungary during World War Two as a refugee orphan...
joined as consulting artistic director with Daniel Sullivan
Daniel J. Sullivan
Daniel J. Sullivan is an American theatre and film director and playwright.-Life and career:Sullivan was born in Wray, Colorado, the son of Mary Catherine and John Martin Sullivan. He was raised in San Francisco, where he graduated from San Francisco State University...
as resident director that same year, and "Plays-in-Progress," initiated by Daniel Sullivan, began developing new plays.
1980s
In 1981, Daniel Sullivan became artistic director and the Seattle Repertory Organization held the first "Elegant Elephant Sale", an event that continued for nearly two decades. On December 29, ground was broken for the new Bagley Wright Theatre, which opened in 1983 with the world premiere of Michael WellerMichael Weller
Michael Weller is a Brooklyn-based playwright who is best known for his plays Moonchildren and Loose Ends. Weller is one of the founders of the Cherry Lane Theatre's acclaimed Mentor Project, which pairs pre-eminent playwrights with emerging playwrights for a season-long mentorship...
's The Ballad of Soapy Smith
Soapy Smith
Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith II was an American con artist and gangster who had a major hand in the organized criminal operations of Denver, Colorado; Creede, Colorado; and Skagway, Alaska, from 1879 to 1898. He was killed in the famed Shootout on Juneau Wharf...
, directed by Robert Egan. In 1984, Herb Gardner's I'm Not Rappaport
I'm Not Rappaport
I'm Not Rappaport is a play by Herb Gardner originally staged by Seattle Repertory Theatre in 1984. Its Broadway debut production, directed by Daniel Sullivan, starring Judd Hirsch, Cleavon Little, Jace Alexander, and Mercedes Ruehl, opened on November 19, 1985 at the Booth Theatre, where it ran...
starring Harold Gould
Harold Gould
Harold V. Goldstein , best known by his stage name Harold Gould, was an American actor best known for playing Martin Morgenstern in the 1970s sitcoms Rhoda and The Mary Tyler Moore Show and as Miles Webber in The Golden Girls...
, Cleavon Little
Cleavon Little
Cleavon Jake Little was an American film and theatre actor.Little was widely known for his lead role as Sheriff Bart in the 1974 Mel Brooks comedy Blazing Saddles. He also was the irreverent Dr...
and David Strathairn
David Strathairn
David Russell Strathairn is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for portraying journalist Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck...
opened prior to its Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
run. That year also saw the start of "Dollar Theatre" with Big and Little (selections from Botho Strauß
Botho Strauß
Botho Strauss is a German playwright, novelist and essayist.-Biography:Botho Strauss's father was a chemist. After finishing his secondary education, Strauss studied German, History of the Theatre and Sociology in Cologne and Munich, but never finished his dissertation on Thomas Mann und das Theater...
). In 1985, Benjamin Moore was appointed The Rep's third managing director. In 1988, The Rep premiered Bill Irwin
Bill Irwin
William Mills "Bill" Irwin is an American actor and clown noted for his contribution to the renaissance of American circus during the 1970s. He is known for his vaudeville-style stage acts, but has made a number of appearances on film and television and won a Tony Award for a dramatic role on...
's Largely/New York and Richard Greenberg
Richard Greenberg
Richard Greenberg is an American playwright. He is the author of over 25 plays including eight South Coast Repertory world premieres: Our Mother's Brief Affair, The Injured Party, The Violet Hour, Everett Beekin, Hurrah at Last, Three Days of Rain Richard Greenberg (1958–present) is an American...
's Eastern Standard
Eastern Standard
Eastern Standard is a play by Richard Greenberg. Set in 1987, it focuses on yuppies, AIDS, the stock market and insider trading scandals, homelessness, and urban malaise.-Plot:...
. The following year Wendy Wasserstein
Wendy Wasserstein
Wendy Wasserstein was an American playwright and an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University...
's Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning The Heidi Chronicles
The Heidi Chronicles
The Heidi Chronicles is a 1988 play by Wendy Wasserstein. The play won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.-Production history:A workshop production at Seattle Repertory Theatre was held in April 1988, directed by Daniel J. Sullivan....
premiered there.
1990s
In 1990, The Rep was given a Tony AwardTony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Inspecting Carol
Inspecting Carol
Inspecting Carol is a comedic play by Daniel J. Sullivan, written in 1991 and produced by the Seattle Repertory Theatre. It is a variation on the play The Inspector General by Nikolai Gogol....
, developed by Daniel Sullivan and the SRT company, premiered as part of the "Stage 2" productions in 1991. That same year Conversations With My Father by Herb Gardner premiered, and Inspecting Carol went on national tour the year after. The premieres of London Suite
London Suite
London Suite is a play by Neil Simon, later made into a 1996 Made-for-TV movie. It is in a similar style to Simon's earlier works: Plaza Suite and California Suite....
by Neil Simon
Neil Simon
Neil Simon is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has written numerous Broadway plays, including Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and The Odd Couple. He won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Lost In Yonkers. He has written the screenplays for several of his plays that...
and The Sisters Rosensweig
The Sisters Rosensweig
The Sisters Rosensweig is a play by Wendy Wasserstein. The play focuses on three Jewish- American sisters and their lives. It "broke theatrical ground by concentrating on a non-traditional cast of three middle-aged women." Wasserstein received the William Inge Award for Distinguished Achievement in...
by Wendy Wasserstein
Wendy Wasserstein
Wendy Wasserstein was an American playwright and an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University...
took place in 1994. The following year, in collaboration with Tom Hulce
Tom Hulce
Thomas Edward "Tom" Hulce is an American actor and theater producer. As an actor, he is perhaps best known for his Oscar-nominated portrayal of Mozart in the movie Amadeus and his role as "Pinto" in National Lampoon's Animal House. Additional acting awards included a total of four Golden Globe...
and Jane Jones, The Rep developed The Cider House Rules
The Cider House Rules
The Cider House Rules is a 1985 novel by John Irving. It is Irving's sixth published novel, and has been adapted into a film of the same name and a stage play by Peter Parnell.-Plot:...
, adapted by Peter Parnell
Peter Parnell
Peter Parnell is an American playwright. His plays include The Cider House Rules, Flaubert's Latest, Hyde in Hollywood, An Imaginary Life, QED, Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket, Romance Language, Scooter Thomas Makes It to the Top of the World, and Sorrows of Stephen.Parnell is also noted for...
from John Irving
John Irving
John Winslow Irving is an American novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of The World According to Garp in 1978...
's novel, which was then presented as part of the 'New Play Workshop Series'. In 1996, the Leo Kreielsheimer ("Leo K") Theatre opened after a successful fund-raising drive. Sharon Ott
Sharon Ott (director)
Sharon Ott is an award-winning director, producer and educator who has worked in regional theaters and opera throughout the United States. Ott is currently the artistic director of the Performing Arts department at the Savannah College of Art and Design, where she also teaches...
became the artistic director in 1997. That year, in conjunction with the Leonardo exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum
Seattle Art Museum
The Seattle Art Museum is an art museum located in Seattle, Washington, USA. It maintains three major facilities: its main museum in downtown Seattle; the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill, and the Olympic Sculpture Park on the central Seattle waterfront, which opened on...
, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, written and directed by Mary Zimmerman
Mary Zimmerman
Mary Zimmerman is an American theatre director and playwright, born in Lincoln, Nebraska.-Career:Zimmerman is a member of the Lookingglass Theatre Company and is an Artistic Associate of the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. She received her BS, MA and PhD from Northwestern University, where...
, was staged in the new Leo K Theatre. Sisters Matsumoto by Philip Kan Gotanda
Philip Kan Gotanda
Philip Kan Gotanda is an American playwright and filmmaker. Much of his work deals with Asian American issues and experiences.- Biography :...
premiered in 1999, followed by the first "Stars and Stories" special event, featuring readings by community artists and leaders, for the benefit of SRT's education programs.
2000s
Lily TomlinLily Tomlin
Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin is an American actress, comedienne, writer, and producer. Tomlin has been a major force in American comedy since the late 1960's when she began a career as a stand up comedian and became a featured performer on television's Laugh-in...
's one-woman show by Jane Wagner
Jane Wagner
Jane Wagner is an American writer, director and producer. Wagner is best known as Lily Tomlin's comedy writer, collaborator and life partner....
, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, played at The Rep prior to its engagement on Broadway. In 2001, The Rep led a consortium of local theaters in presenting Peter Brook
Peter Brook
Peter Stephen Paul Brook CH, CBE is an English theatre and film director and innovator, who has been based in France since the early 1970s.-Life:...
's Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
in the Mercer Arts Arena. That same year, Daniel Sullivan returned to direct Proof
Proof (play)
Proof is a play by David Auburn originally produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club on 23 May 2000. It then went to Broadway on 24 October 2000 at the Walter Kerr Theatre, and was directed by Daniel J. Sullivan, with Mary-Louise Parker as Catherine, Larry Bryggman as Robert, Ben Shenkman as Hal, and...
, for which he won the Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
on Broadway, launching its national tour, and a $15 million "Endowment Campaign" under the leadership of Chap Alvord and Janet True was also announced. The 40th Anniversary Season was celebrated in 2003. David Esbjornson
David Esbjornson
David Esbjornson is an award-winning director and producer who has worked throughout the United States in regional theatres and on Broadway, and has established strong and productive relationships with some of the profession’s top playwrights, actors, and companies...
became artistic director in 2005. Ping Chong
Ping Chong
Ping Chong is an American contemporary theater director, choreographer, video and installation artist. He was born in Toronto and raised in the Chinatown section of New York City...
's Cathay: Three Tales of China, Ariel Dorfman
Ariel Dorfman
Vladimiro Ariel Dorfman is an Argentine-Chilean novelist, playwright, essayist, academic, and human rights activist. A citizen of the United States since 2004, he has been a professor of literature and Latin American Studies at Duke University, in Durham, North Carolina since 1985.-Personal...
's Purgatorio and Restoration Comedy, by Amy Freed
Amy Freed
Amy Freed is an American playwright. She was nominated as a finalist in the drama category of the 1998 Pulitzer Prizes for her play Freedomland. In addition to Freedomland, she is the author of The Beard of Avon , The Psychic Life of Savages, and other plays...
, (which went on to be nominated for Best New Play by the American Theatre Critics Association) were among the premieres in 2006. That year also saw a tribute to August Wilson
August Wilson
August Wilson was an American playwright whose work included a series of ten plays, The Pittsburgh Cycle, for which he received two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama...
, featuring performances from all ten of his plays. Esbjornson departed in summer 2008, replaced in 2009 by Jerry Manning.
Education programs
In 2007, Seattle Repertory Theatre started the program "Bringing Theatre into the Classroom" (BTiC), a partnership project with Seattle Children's TheatreSeattle Children's Theatre
Founded in 1975, Seattle Children's Theatre is the second-largest resident theatre for young audiences in North America and among the 20 largest regional theatres in the United States, with an annual operating budget of approximately $6.5 Million...
designed to help K–12 teachers integrate theater into their curricula. The program was made possible through a grant of $75,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
. The theater also has an internship program for college students.
2006–2007
Bagley Wright Theatre- DoubtDoubt (play)Doubt: A Parable is a 2004 play by John Patrick Shanley. Originally staged off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club on November 23, 2004, the production transferred to the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway in March 2005 and closed on July 2, 2006 after 525 performances and 25 previews...
by John Patrick ShanleyJohn Patrick ShanleyJohn Patrick Shanley is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director. He also contributed articles on the performing arts to The New York Times among other publications.-Life and career:...
; Director: Warner Shook - The Great GatsbyThe Great GatsbyThe Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published in1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City from spring to autumn of 1922....
by F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott FitzgeraldFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
, Adapted by Simon Levy; Director: David EsbjornsonDavid EsbjornsonDavid Esbjornson is an award-winning director and producer who has worked throughout the United States in regional theatres and on Broadway, and has established strong and productive relationships with some of the profession’s top playwrights, actors, and companies... - The Lady From DubuqueThe Lady From DubuqueThe Lady from Dubuque, a play by Edward Albee, opened on Broadway at the Morosco Theatre on January 31, 1980. It closed there after a mere 12 performances...
by Edward AlbeeEdward AlbeeEdward Franklin Albee III is an American playwright who is best known for The Zoo Story , The Sandbox , Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , and a rewrite of the screenplay for the unsuccessful musical version of Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's . His works are considered well-crafted, often...
; Director: David EsbjornsonDavid EsbjornsonDavid Esbjornson is an award-winning director and producer who has worked throughout the United States in regional theatres and on Broadway, and has established strong and productive relationships with some of the profession’s top playwrights, actors, and companies... - Fire on the Mountain by Randal Myler and Dan Wheetman
- Gem of the OceanGem of the OceanGem of the Ocean is a play by American playwright August Wilson. It is the first installment of his decade-by-decade, ten-play chronicle, The Pittsburgh Cycle, dramatizing the African-American experience in the twentieth century.-Plot :...
by August WilsonAugust WilsonAugust Wilson was an American playwright whose work included a series of ten plays, The Pittsburgh Cycle, for which he received two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama...
; Director: Phylicia RashadPhylicia RashadPhylicia Rashād is an American Tony Award winning actress and singer, best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show....
Leo K Theatre
- Thom Pain (based on nothing)Thom Pain (based on nothing)Thom Pain is a one man show written by Will Eno. It is a rambling monologue in which the protagonist, who has suffered a lot in his life, tells the story of a bee sting, a boy with a dog that died, and his experience with a woman. First performed in London at the Soho Theatre, it was taken to the...
by Will EnoWill EnoWill Eno is an American playwright based in Brooklyn, New York.His plays include Tragedy: a tragedy, The Flu Season, King: a problem play, Thom Pain , Middletown, Oh, the Humanity and other good intentions and an adaptation of Ibsen's Peer Gynt titled Gnit...
; Director: Jerry Manning - Memory House by Kathleen Tolan; Director: Allison Narver
- Blue Door by Tanya Barfield; Director: Leigh Silverman
- My Name is Rachel CorrieMy Name is Rachel CorrieMy Name is Rachel Corrie is a play based on the diaries and emails of Rachel Corrie, edited by Alan Rickman, who directed it, and journalist Katharine Viner. Rachel Aliene Corrie was an American Evergreen State College student and member of the International Solidarity Movement who traveled to...
by Alan RickmanAlan RickmanAlan Sidney Patrick Rickman is an English actor and theatre director. He is a renowned stage actor in modern and classical productions and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company...
and Katharine VinerKatharine VinerKatharine Viner is a British journalist who is deputy editor of The Guardian.Raised in Yorkshire, the daughter of teachers, she was educated at Ripon Grammar School and read English at Oxford University. Just before her finals, Viner won a competition organised by The Guardians women's page and...
; Director: Braden Abraham
2005–2006
Bagley Wright Theatre- The King Stag by Carlo GozziCarlo GozziCarlo, Count Gozzi was an Italian playwright.Born in Venice, he came from an old Venetian family from the Republic of Ragusa...
, Adapted by Shelley Berc and Andrei Belgrader - Purgatorio by Ariel DorfmanAriel DorfmanVladimiro Ariel Dorfman is an Argentine-Chilean novelist, playwright, essayist, academic, and human rights activist. A citizen of the United States since 2004, he has been a professor of literature and Latin American Studies at Duke University, in Durham, North Carolina since 1985.-Personal...
- Restoration Comedy by Amy FreedAmy FreedAmy Freed is an American playwright. She was nominated as a finalist in the drama category of the 1998 Pulitzer Prizes for her play Freedomland. In addition to Freedomland, she is the author of The Beard of Avon , The Psychic Life of Savages, and other plays...
- Radio GolfRadio GolfRadio Golf is a play by American playwright, August Wilson, the final installment in his ten-part series, The Pittsburgh Cycle. It was first performed in 2005 by the Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut and had its Broadway premiere in 2007 at the Cort Theatre...
by August WilsonAugust WilsonAugust Wilson was an American playwright whose work included a series of ten plays, The Pittsburgh Cycle, for which he received two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama... - Private LivesPrivate LivesPrivate Lives is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It focuses on a divorced couple who discover that they are honeymooning with their new spouses in neighbouring rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetually stormy relationship, they realise that they still have feelings for...
by Noel CowardNoël CowardSir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy... - Tuesdays with MorrieTuesdays With MorrieTuesdays with Morrie is a 1997 non-fiction novel by American writer Mitch Albom. The story was later adapted by Thomas Rickman into a TV movie of the same name directed by Mick Jackson, which aired on 5 December 1999 and starred Jack Lemmon and Hank Azaria...
by Jeffrey HatcherJeffrey HatcherJeffrey Hatcher is a playwright and screenwriter. He wrote the stage play Compleat Female Stage Beauty, which he later adapted into a screenplay, shortened to just Stage Beauty...
& Mitch AlbomMitch AlbomMitchell David "Mitch" Albom is an American best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, dramatist, radio and television broadcaster and musician. His books have sold over 30 million copies worldwide...
Leo K Theatre
- Cathay: 3 Tales of China by Ping ChongPing ChongPing Chong is an American contemporary theater director, choreographer, video and installation artist. He was born in Toronto and raised in the Chinatown section of New York City...
and Shaanxi Folk Art Theatre - 9 Parts of Desire by Heather RaffoHeather RaffoHeather Raffo is an Lucille Lortel Award-winning Iraqi American playwright and actress, best known for her leading role in the one-woman play 9 Parts of Desire.-Early life:...
PONCHO Forum
Women Playwrights Festival
- The Pork Chop Wars by Laurie Carlos
- My Wandering Boy by Julie Marie Myatt
- Twenty-six Miles by Quiara Alegria Hudes
- Scooping the Darkness Empty by Alva Rogers
2004–2005
Bagley Wright Theatre- Anna in the Tropics by Nilo CruzNilo CruzNilo Cruz is an Cuban-American playwright and pedagogue. With his award of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play, Anna in the Tropics, he became the first Latino so honored.-Early years:...
- Take Me Out by Richard GreenbergRichard GreenbergRichard Greenberg is an American playwright. He is the author of over 25 plays including eight South Coast Repertory world premieres: Our Mother's Brief Affair, The Injured Party, The Violet Hour, Everett Beekin, Hurrah at Last, Three Days of Rain Richard Greenberg (1958–present) is an American...
- Noises OffNoises OffNoises Off is a 1982 play by English playwright Michael Frayn. The idea for it was born in 1970, when Frayn was standing in the wings watching a performance of Chinamen, a farce that he had written for Lynn Redgrave...
by Michael FraynMichael FraynMichael J. Frayn is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce Noises Off and the dramas Copenhagen and Democracy... - Ma Rainey's Black BottomMa Rainey's Black BottomMa Rainey's Black Bottom is a 1982 play - one of the ten-play Pittsburgh Cycle by August Wilson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright - that chronicles the twentieth century African American experience...
by August WilsonAugust WilsonAugust Wilson was an American playwright whose work included a series of ten plays, The Pittsburgh Cycle, for which he received two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama... - The Secret in the Wings adapted by Mary ZimmermanMary ZimmermanMary Zimmerman is an American theatre director and playwright, born in Lincoln, Nebraska.-Career:Zimmerman is a member of the Lookingglass Theatre Company and is an Artistic Associate of the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. She received her BS, MA and PhD from Northwestern University, where...
- The Constant WifeThe Constant WifeThe Constant Wife, a comedy of manners, was written by W. Somerset Maugham in 1926 and later published for general sales in April 1927.- Plot :...
by W. Somerset MaughamW. Somerset MaughamWilliam Somerset Maugham , CH was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and, reputedly, the highest paid author during the 1930s.-Childhood and education:...
Leo K Theatre
- Bad Dates by Theresa RebeckTheresa RebeckTheresa Rebeck is an American playwright, television writer and novelist. Her work has appeared on the Broadway and Off-Broadway stage, in film, and on television. Among her awards are the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award.-Biography:...
- The ChosenThe Chosen (Chaim Potok)The Chosen is a novel written by Chaim Potok. It was published in 1969. It follows the main character Reuven Malter and his friend Daniel Saunders, as they grow up in New York in the 1940s. A sequel featuring Reuven's young adult years is titled The Promise.-Plot:The Chosen is set in the 1900s, in...
by Chaim PotokChaim PotokChaim Potok was an American Jewish author and rabbi. Potok is most famous for his first book The Chosen, a 1967 novel which was listed on The New York Times’ best seller list for 39 weeks and sold more than 3,400,000 copies.-Biography :Herman Harold Potok was born in The Bronx, New York City, to...
and Aaron Posner
Special Presentation
- Kate MulgrewKate MulgrewKatherine Kiernan Maria "Kate" Mulgrew is an American actress, most noted for her roles on Star Trek: Voyager as Captain Kathryn Janeway and Ryan's Hope as Mary Ryan...
in Tea at FiveTea at FiveTea at Five is a one-woman play, written by Matthew Lombardo, which tells the story of Katharine Hepburn in a monologue. It is based on Hepburn's book Me: Stories of My Life...
by Matthew Lombardo
PONCHO Forum
Women Playwrights Festival
- Sirius Rising by Gwendolyn Schwinke
- The Aerodynamics of Accident by Deborah Isobel Stein
- Courting Vampires by Laura Schellhardt
- Hardball by Victoria Stewart
Playwrights
- Edward AlbeeEdward AlbeeEdward Franklin Albee III is an American playwright who is best known for The Zoo Story , The Sandbox , Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , and a rewrite of the screenplay for the unsuccessful musical version of Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's . His works are considered well-crafted, often...
- Tanya Barfield
- Lynda BarryLynda BarryLynda Barry is an American cartoonist and author. One of the most successful non-mainstream American cartoonists, Barry is perhaps best known for her weekly comic strip Ernie Pook's Comeek. Barry's cartoons often view family life from the perspective of pre-teen girls from the wrong side of the...
- Steven DietzSteven DietzSteven Dietz is an American playwright whose work is largely performed regionally, i.e. outside of New York City...
- Amy FreedAmy FreedAmy Freed is an American playwright. She was nominated as a finalist in the drama category of the 1998 Pulitzer Prizes for her play Freedomland. In addition to Freedomland, she is the author of The Beard of Avon , The Psychic Life of Savages, and other plays...
- Anne Galjour
- Herb Gardner
- Philip Kan GotandaPhilip Kan GotandaPhilip Kan Gotanda is an American playwright and filmmaker. Much of his work deals with Asian American issues and experiences.- Biography :...
- Doug HughesDoug HughesDouglas Hughes is an American theatre and film director. He is the son of acting couple Barnard Hughes and Helen Stenborg.-References:-External links:...
- Harry Kondoleon
- Sandra Tsing LohSandra Tsing LohSandra Tsing Loh is a Los Angeles, California-based writer, actress, performance-artist, pop-culture analyst, and radio commentator.-Biography:Loh is the daughter of a Chinese father and a German mother...
- Craig LucasCraig LucasCraig Lucas is an American playwright, screenwriter, theatre director, musical actor, and film director.-Biography:...
- William MastrosimoneWilliam MastrosimoneWilliam Mastrosimone is an American playwright and screenwriter from Trenton, New Jersey. He attended high school at The Pennington School and received a graduate degree in playwrighting from Mason Gross School of the Arts, a part of Rutgers University....
- Tim Blake NelsonTim Blake NelsonTim Blake Nelson is an American director, writer, singer, and actor.-Early life:Nelson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Ruth Kaiser Nelson, who is a noted social activist and philanthropist in Tulsa, and a geologist father...
- Theresa Rebeck
- Mark O'Donnell
- John Patrick ShanleyJohn Patrick ShanleyJohn Patrick Shanley is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director. He also contributed articles on the performing arts to The New York Times among other publications.-Life and career:...
- Neil SimonNeil SimonNeil Simon is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has written numerous Broadway plays, including Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and The Odd Couple. He won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Lost In Yonkers. He has written the screenplays for several of his plays that...
- Kathleen Tolan
- Stephen Wadsworth
- Wendy WassersteinWendy WassersteinWendy Wasserstein was an American playwright and an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University...
- Michael WellerMichael WellerMichael Weller is a Brooklyn-based playwright who is best known for his plays Moonchildren and Loose Ends. Weller is one of the founders of the Cherry Lane Theatre's acclaimed Mentor Project, which pairs pre-eminent playwrights with emerging playwrights for a season-long mentorship...
- Cheryl L. West
- August WilsonAugust WilsonAugust Wilson was an American playwright whose work included a series of ten plays, The Pittsburgh Cycle, for which he received two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama...
- Mary ZimmermanMary ZimmermanMary Zimmerman is an American theatre director and playwright, born in Lincoln, Nebraska.-Career:Zimmerman is a member of the Lookingglass Theatre Company and is an Artistic Associate of the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. She received her BS, MA and PhD from Northwestern University, where...
Directors
- Braden Abraham
- Gabriel Barre
- Kurt Beattie
- Ping ChongPing ChongPing Chong is an American contemporary theater director, choreographer, video and installation artist. He was born in Toronto and raised in the Chinatown section of New York City...
- Kyle Donnelly
- Robert Egan
- Sheldon Epps
- David EsbjornsonDavid EsbjornsonDavid Esbjornson is an award-winning director and producer who has worked throughout the United States in regional theatres and on Broadway, and has established strong and productive relationships with some of the profession’s top playwrights, actors, and companies...
- John Hirsch
- Doug Hughes
- Tina Landau
- Kenny LeonKenny LeonKenny Leon is an African-American director notable for his work on Broadway and in regional theater. His success on Broadway has made him one of its foremost African-American directors....
- Robert Loper
- Jerry Manning
- Joe MantelloJoe MantelloJoseph Mantello is an American actor and director best known for his work on Broadway productions of Wicked, Take Me Out and Assassins, as well as earlier in his career being one of the original Broadway cast of Angels in America...
- Gilbert McCauley
- Marion McClinton
- Sharon Ott
- Duncan Ross
- David Saint
- Richard Seyd
- Ted Sod
- Daniel Sullivan
- Christine Sumption
- Kevin Tighe
- Stuart Vaughan
- Stephen Wadsworth
- Doug Wager
- Richard E.T. White
- Jonathan Wilson
- George C. WolfeGeorge C. WolfeGeorge Costello Wolfe is an American playwright and director of theater and film. He won a Tony Award in 1993 for directing Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and another Tony Award in 1996 for his direction of the musical, Bring in 'da Noise/Bring in 'da Funk.-Early life and...
- Mary Zimmerman
Actors
- Denis Arndt
- John AylwardJohn AylwardJohn Aylward is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for playing the former DNC chairman Barry Goodwin on the NBC television series The West Wing and for playing Dr. Donald Anspaugh on the NBC television series ER. He also supplied his voice for Dr. Arne Magnusson in Half-Life 2: Episode...
- John Billingsley
- Suzanne Bouchard
- Jeanne Carson
- Richard ChamberlainRichard ChamberlainGeorge Richard Chamberlain is an American actor of stage and screen who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show Dr. Kildare .-Early life:...
- Megan Cole
- Ted D'Arms
- Alvin Epstein
- Anna FarisAnna FarisAnna Kay Faris is an American actress, singer and comedienne. She is known for her starring role in the Scary Movie film series, as well as roles in The Hot Chick , Lost in Translation , Just Friends , My Super Ex-Girlfriend , Smiley Face , and The House Bunny...
- Laurence FishburneLaurence FishburneLaurence John Fishburne III is an American film and stage actor, playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, as Cowboy Curtis on the 1980's television show Pee-wee's Playhouse, and as singer-musician Ike Turner...
- John Gilbert
- Paul Hostetler
- Geoff HoyleGeoff HoyleGeoff Hoyle is a British performer who originated the role of Zazu in the Broadway theatre production of The Lion King. Hoyle has also performed in vaudeville shows, worked with Bill Irwin in "The Pickle Family Circus", performed with Cirque Du Soleil's Nouvelle Expérience, and performed with the...
- Bill IrwinBill IrwinWilliam Mills "Bill" Irwin is an American actor and clown noted for his contribution to the renaissance of American circus during the 1970s. He is known for his vaudeville-style stage acts, but has made a number of appearances on film and television and won a Tony Award for a dramatic role on...
- Samuel L. JacksonSamuel L. JacksonSamuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
- Laura Kenny
- Lori Larsen
- Judith LightJudith LightJudith Ellen Light is an American actress. Her television roles include Karen Wolek on the soap opera One Life to Live, Angela Bower on the sitcom Who's the Boss?, Claire Meade on ABC's TV series Ugly Betty and Judge Elizabeth "Liz" Donnelly on Law & Order Special Victims Unit.-Early life:Light...
- Ella JoyceElla JoyceElla Joyce is an American actress.Born Cherron Hoye in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Joyce graduated from the Performing Arts Curriculum at Cass Technical High School, and went on to attend the Dramatic Arts program at Eastern Michigan University...
- Robert Loper
- William "Biff" McGuire
- Kate MulgrewKate MulgrewKatherine Kiernan Maria "Kate" Mulgrew is an American actress, most noted for her roles on Star Trek: Voyager as Captain Kathryn Janeway and Ryan's Hope as Mary Ryan...
- Marjorie Nelson
- Faith PrinceFaith PrinceFaith Prince is an American actress and singer known primarily for her work on Broadway. Prince has won the Tony Award as Best Actress in a Musical and received three Tony nominations.-Life and career:...
- Eve Roberts
- Ken Ruta
- Tony ShalhoubTony ShalhoubAnthony Marcus "Tony" Shalhoub is an American actor of Lebanese descent. His television work includes the roles of Antonio Scarpacci on Wings and sleuth Adrian Monk on the TV series Monk. He has won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his work in Monk...
- Jean SmartJean SmartJean E. Smart is an American film, television, and stage actress. She is known for her comedic roles, one of the best known being her role as Charlene Frazier Stillfield on the CBS sitcom Designing Women. She later gained critical acclaim for dramatic work, with her portrayal of Martha Logan on 24...
- Jeff Steitzer
- Jessica TandyJessica TandyJessie Alice "Jessica" Tandy was an English-American stage and film actress.She first appeared on the London stage in 1926 at the age of 16, playing, among others, Katherine opposite Laurence Olivier's Henry V, and Cordelia opposite John Gielgud's King Lear. She also worked in British films...
- Kevin TigheKevin TigheKevin Tighe is an American character actor primarily known for his roles on television. Tighe is best known for his role as Roy DeSoto, a senior paramedic, on the NBC series Emergency! . He and Randolph Mantooth, his partner in the series, have remained close friends...
- Lily TomlinLily TomlinMary Jean "Lily" Tomlin is an American actress, comedienne, writer, and producer. Tomlin has been a major force in American comedy since the late 1960's when she began a career as a stand up comedian and became a featured performer on television's Laugh-in...
- Christopher WalkenChristopher WalkenChristopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
- R. Hamilton Wright
- Wendel Wright
Bagley Wright Theatre
The Bagley WrightBagley Wright
Bagley Wright , president of Bagley Wright Investments, was a developer of Seattle's landmark Space Needle and chair of Physio Control Corp. from 1968 until its acquisition by Eli Lilly and Company in 1980...
Theatre, named in honour of The Rep's first board of trustees president, opened on October 13, 1983 with the world premiere of Michael Weller
Michael Weller
Michael Weller is a Brooklyn-based playwright who is best known for his plays Moonchildren and Loose Ends. Weller is one of the founders of the Cherry Lane Theatre's acclaimed Mentor Project, which pairs pre-eminent playwrights with emerging playwrights for a season-long mentorship...
's The Ballad of Soapy Smith, directed by Robert Egan, and featuring a cast of Seattle actors including Dennis Arndt (in the title role), John Aylward
John Aylward
John Aylward is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for playing the former DNC chairman Barry Goodwin on the NBC television series The West Wing and for playing Dr. Donald Anspaugh on the NBC television series ER. He also supplied his voice for Dr. Arne Magnusson in Half-Life 2: Episode...
, Frank Corrado, Paul Hostetler, Richard Riehle
Richard Riehle
-Life and career:Riehle was born in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, the son of Mary Margaret , a nurse, and Herbert John Riehle , an assistant postmaster. He attended the University of Notre Dame....
, Michael Santo, Marjorie Nelson, Ted D'Arms, Kurt Beattie, Clayton Corzatte, and William Ontiveros. Also in the cast were Kevin Tighe
Kevin Tighe
Kevin Tighe is an American character actor primarily known for his roles on television. Tighe is best known for his role as Roy DeSoto, a senior paramedic, on the NBC series Emergency! . He and Randolph Mantooth, his partner in the series, have remained close friends...
and Kate Mulgrew
Kate Mulgrew
Katherine Kiernan Maria "Kate" Mulgrew is an American actress, most noted for her roles on Star Trek: Voyager as Captain Kathryn Janeway and Ryan's Hope as Mary Ryan...
. The Bagley Wright Theatre is a city owned facility.
The theater has a proscenium stage and a seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
of 842 seats; of these, 566 are on the orchestra level and 290 in the mezzanine level. The stage is approximately 65 feet (19.8 m) to the last row of the house. The center section of the orchestra level is 18 rows deep, in the center section, with 14 seats per row, plus 3-13 seats per row in 16 rows on each of the sides. There are, in addition, 12 locations for wheelchairs in the last row. The mezzanine level begins 32 feet (9.8 m) from the stage, and has 290 seats. Its center section has 7 rows, 14 seats per row; the sides have 8 rows, with 9-13 seats per row.
Leo Kreielsheimer Theatre
The Leo Kreielsheimer Theatre ("Leo K") opened in December 1996 as The Rep's "second stage." The Leo K was made possible in great part to a US$2 million gift from The Kreielsheimer Foundation, a US$1 million gift from then board chair Marsha S. Glazer, and the leadership of Capital Campaign chairs Ann Ramsay-Jenkins and Stanley Savage. There are 282 seats total: 192 on the orchestra level (including logeLoge
Loge may refer to:Geography*Loge-Fougereuse, a village and commune in the Vendée department of France*La Loge, a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department of France*La Loge-Pomblin, a commune in the Aube department of France...
), plus 90 balcony and box seats. It is approximately 25 feet (7.6 m) from the stage to the rear wall. There are 5 wheelchair locations.
The orchestra seating consists of 139 seats in 9 rows, with 8-20 seats per row; the loge adds 51 seats, in 2 rows of 27 and 24 seats, respectively. The balcony provides an additional 88 seats, in 3 rows, with 29-30 seats per row; additionally, there are 4 box seats at balcony level.
PONCHO Forum
The PONCHO Forum has a capacity of 99 seats and is set up for general admission, with stadium seatingStadium seating
Stadium seating or theater seating is a characteristic seating arrangement that is most commonly associated with performing-arts venues, and derives its name from stadiums, which typically use this arrangement...
.
External links
- Seattle Repertory Theatre official website
- Douglas Q. Barnett, The Seattle Repertory Theatre Affair by Douglas Q. Barnett, HistoryLink, June 25, 2009.