‘Mean Girls,’ ‘Frozen’ and More Coming to Seattle

No matter how much Seattle theaters have mined the oeuvre of Jane Austen in recent seasons—either in straightforward adaptations (Seattle Rep’s Pride and Prejudice, Taproot’s musicalized Persuasion) or fanciful extrapolations (Taproot’s Christmas at Pemberley)—there’s plenty of ore left. The 5th Avenue Theatre, assiduous in nurturing new work, is opening its 2019–20 season with a musical in development, Austen’s Pride (Oct. 4–27; dates are 2019 except where noted). Lindsay Warren Baker and Amanda Jacobs (book, music and lyrics) reimagine her working on her most famous novel and interacting with its characters. A project of the 5th’s New Musical Development Program, this staging is the piece’s next step after workshop productions both here and in New York.

Also born in Seattle is the musical Stu for Silverton (Jan. 31–Feb. 23, 2020), the tale of the Oregon town that was the first in the nation to elect an openly transgender mayor, first staged by Intiman in 2013 and continuing its evolution here. Original 5th Avenue stagings of familiar properties include two film reworkings, Shrek the Musical (Nov. 26–Dec. 29) and Sister Act (March 13–April 5, 2020), plus Andrew Lloyd Webber’s best musical ever, Evita (June 12–July 3, 2020). They’re also hosting touring productions of Jersey Boys (April 14–19, 2020) and Once on This Island (May 12–24, 2020). See 5thavenue.org for ticket info.

The Paramount, too, is offering new (if not homegrown) musicals in its Broadway season. Summer: the Donna Summer Musical (Dec. 31–Jan. 5, 2020) uses the Jersey Boys formula of grafting together a biopic and a jukebox musical; Anastasia (June 16–21, 2020) reunites Once on This Island composer and lyricist Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens to tell the story of a woman who may be a missing Romanoff; and, probably most eagerly anticipated, is Tina Fey’s conversion of her cult classic Mean Girls (Aug. 4–9, 2020) into a musical with songs by her husband Jeff Richmond. Remember, on Wednesday, Aug. 5, we wear pink!

Classics include the brilliantly cynical Jazz Age musical Chicago (Sept. 19–22) and Fiddler on the Roof (Jan. 14–19, 2020). Guaranteed sell-outs are The Book of Mormon (May 19–31, 2020) and a stage version of Frozen (Feb. 7–March 1, 2020), which will pull in every 9-year-old within 200 miles. Rounding out the season are Miss Saigon (Oct. 29–Nov. 3), the disaster farce The Play That Goes Wrong (April 21–26, 2020), and—which of these things is not like the other?—Mark Morris’s edgy Nutcracker adaptation The Hard Nut (Dec. 6–15). stgpresents.org is where you go for more info.