Past Events

Over the course of a multifaceted career spanning four decades, Grammy and Tony Award-winning jazz giant Dee Dee Bridgewater has ascended to the upper echelon of vocalists, putting her unique spin on standards, as well as taking intrepid leaps of faith in re-envisioning jazz classics. Ever the fearless voyager, explorer, pioneer and keeper of tradition, the three-time Grammy-winner recently won the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album for Eleanora Fagan (1915-1959): To Billie With Love From Dee Dee. Bridgewater’s career…

Fresh on the heels of the release of her hilarious new book, THE TOTALLY UNSCIENTIFIC STUDY OF THE SEARCH FOR HUMAN HAPPINESS, comedian Paula Poundstone is entertaining audiences around the country and leaving them complaining that their cheeks hurt from laughter and wondering if the random people she talks to are plants. Of course, they never are. Poundstone can be heard regularly on NPR’s #1 show, the Peabody-award winning weekly comedy news quiz Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me! On stage, Poundstone…

Heather McDonald is one of the most in-demand and multi-faceted comedians today, who not only juggles a career as a nationally touring stand-up, actress, and accomplished writer, but is also a devoted wife and mother…when the rest of her family isn’t driving her up the wall. Currently, Heather can be heard weekly on her sensational new podcast “Juicy Scoop” on PodcastOne.  Every week, Heather holds nothing back and gets the most surprising, scandalous, and intimate scoops from her celebrity guests.…

The 5th Avenue Theatre continues its annual partnership with its neighbor and collaborator, ACT – A Contemporary Theatre with the Pacific Northwest premiere of a new musical still in development, Ride the Cyclone (March 10 – May 20, 2018). When the St. Cassian High School Chamber Choir boarded the Cyclone roller coaster, the front axle broke, sending them to their tragic demise. Trapped in fantastical carnival-like purgatory, the recently deceased teens discover a mechanical fortune teller, who invites each of…

It was about 20 years ago when NPR’s Morning Edition said: “It’s not easy to categorize the music of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, except that it’s hot.” 2016 marks the 20th anniversary of the Squirrel Nut Zippers most celebrated and commercially successful album Hot.  Originally released in the summer of 1996, Hot was the follow up to the band’s critically acclaimed debut The Inevitable. By this time the group had already established a substantial live following across the country thanks to early support from NPR, college radio and non-commercial…

In the spring, The 5th will produce an exhilarating new production of Kiss Me, Kate (April 6-29, 2018) as a part of the city-wide Seattle Celebrates Shakespeare festival. Kiss Me, Kate is the multi-Tony Award®-winning Cole Porter masterpiece that set the standard for great musicals and then broke the mold. A play-within-a-play inspired by William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, this feisty sensation is a true battle of the sexes. A charming leading man and his superstar ex-wife are…

Mature themes and language. Adults only. Dixie Longate, the fast-talking Tupperware Lady, packed up her catalogues, left her children in an Alabama trailer park and took Off-Broadway by storm! Now, join Dixie as she travels the country throwing good ol'fashioned Tupperware Parties filled with outrageously funny tales, heartfelt accounts, FREE giveaways, audience participation and the most fabulous assortment of Tupperware ever sold on a theater stage. Loaded with laughs and the most up-to-date products available for purchase, see for yourself…

The final show of the 2017/18 season will be the Pacific Northwest premiere of the breathtaking musical masterpiece, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (June 1-24, 2018). This remarkable work complete with a 30-person choir is a tale of sweeping romance unfolds onstage on a grand scale. A glorious reimagining of Victor Hugo’s epic masterpiece, this powerful tale of love, faith and prejudice will leave audiences utterly spellbound. The lush, beautiful score is unlike anything in musical theater today, featuring songs…