The Spotlight’s on Lenny!

The 5th Avenue’s Spotlight Night kicks off City-wide Bernstein Festival and provides a sneak peek at both On The Townand Candide

SEATTLE, WA –The 5th Avenue’s enormously popular Spotlight Night series, a free event that continues to attract record crowds, finishes up the 2009-2010 seasonon Monday, March 22 by focusing on the genius of Leonard Bernstein, composer of our two upcoming shows On The Town and Candide, and providing a sneak peek at the many events coming up in the city-wide Seattle Celebrates Bernstein! Festival.

Hosted by The 5th Avenue’s Executive Producer and Artistic Director David Armstrong, the evening includes the backstage histories of these two landmark works by Bernstein, one his first musical from 1944 and the other his mid-career masterpiece, composed in 1956 but only finding success on the Broadway stage in 1974. The evening will also function as an unofficial “kick-off” to Seattle Celebrates Bernstein!, a festival where an unprecedented consortium of 19 of the region’s leading arts organizations have joined forces to celebrate the life and music of the legendary American composer/conductor/writer/activist. Armstrong will provide a sneak peek of the incredible potpourri of concerts, theatrical performances, lectures, film screenings and special events that make up this unique, first-of-its-kind arts festival.

Then in the second part of the evening, a host of Seattle’s finest singers help us review the life and glorious songs of Bernstein’s theatrical works, including selections fromWest Side Story, Wonderful Town, Trouble In Tahiti, Mass, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, On The Town and Candide. Joining us on the stage are a number of Seattle performers beloved by audiences at The 5th, including Greg McCormick Allen, Anne Allgood, Candice Donehoo, Mary Jo DuGaw, Brandon O’Neill, Matt Owen, Sarah Rudinoff, Billie Wildrick and guest artists Laura Griffith, Joe Aaron Reid and the Seattle Women’s Chorus.

Finally Armstrong is joined by On The Town’s director Billy Berry and musical director Ian Eisendrath to provide an inside look at how they approach the challenges and rewards of translating a musical from the ’40s to the tastes of a contemporary audience.

Spotlight Night begins at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, March 22. The event is free, but attendees must reserve their tickets. They can do so over the phone by calling 206-625-1900/toll-free 888-5TH-4TIX (584-4849), in person at the box office at 1308 5th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101, or online at www.5thavenue.org.

Spotlight Night is sponsored by US Bank. Performances and guest appearances are subject to change.