Kate Rockwell and Hunter Foster Will Lead Premiere of THE GRISWOLDS' BROADWAY VACATION at 5th Avenue Theatre

The 5th Avenue Theatre has announced that Broadway's Kate Rockwell (Mean Girls, Bring it On: The Musical, Legally Blonde) and Hunter Foster (Little Shop of Horrors, The Producers, The Bridges of Madison County) will star as Ellen and Clark Griswold in the upcoming world premiere of the laugh-out-loud new musical comedy The Griswolds' Broadway Vacation. Playing September 10 - October 2, 2022, The Griswolds' Broadway Vacation, which is the first production in the 2022/23 Season and the 26th new musical produced by The 5th Avenue Theatre, features a book, music, and lyrics by David Rossmer and Steven Rosen (The Other Josh Cohen) and is directed and choreographed by Donna Feore (Seattle Rep's Bruce, Stratford Festival's Chicago). The Griswolds' Broadway Vacation is produced in association with Ken Davenport and Sandi Moran.

Tickets for The Griswolds' Broadway Vacation are on sale now and can be purchased over the phone at 206-625-1900, online at www.5thavenue.org, or in person at the Box Office at 1308 5th Avenue in Downtown Seattle. The Griswolds' Broadway Vacation is also available as part of 2022/23 Season subscription packages.

The Griswolds' Broadway Vacation will feature Jay Klaitz as Cousin Eddie, Livvy Marcus as Audrey, Alan H. Green as Naked Commando, and Nathan Levy as Rusty. The cast also includes Carol Angeli, Sydni Beaudoin, Sarah Bishop, Lindsay Nicole Chambers, Jennifer Cody, Merritt David Janes, Julian DeGuzman, Rohit Gopal, Olivia Griffin, Garett Hawe, Jaygee Macapugay, Heather Makalani, Jennifer Noble, Michael Olaribigbe, Julio Rey, Jody Reynard, Matthew Sims, Jr., Jonathan Wagner, and Brandon Whitmore.

The production will showcase scenic design by Jason Sherwood, lighting design by Jeff Croiter, sound design by Kai Harada, costume design by Tina McCartney, and hair and wig design by Liz Printz. Musical supervision is by Greg Anthony Rassen with music arrangements by Glen Kelly.

They've been to Wally World, they've been to Vegas, and now the Griswolds are going to... Broadway! Yes, the characters you know and love from the hit Warner Bros. Vacation movies are back-and they're taking their biggest vacation yet. So, get in your family truckster and join Clark, Ellen, Audrey, and Rusty on their big New York City adventure-where of course, everything goes exactly according to plan.

About Kate Rockell and Hunter Foster

Kate Rockwell (she/her) makes her debut at The 5th Avenue Theatre as Ellen Griswold. Rockwell starred as the original Karen Smith in Mean Girls: The Musical at the August Wilson Theatre, which garnered her a Drama Desk nomination. A natural brunette, her previous Broadway dumb blondes include originating the role of Skylar in Bring It On: The Musical, as well as roles in Rock of Ages, Hair, and Legally Blonde. She's been seen recently as Anna on Amazon Prime's Harlem, Nina Bennett on Fox's Almost Family, and on Blue Bloods, High Maintenance, Deadbeat, and Sex and the City: the Movie. Some select regional theater highlights include Maria Von Trapp in The Sound of Music (Muny), Carrie Piperidge in Carousel (Arena Stages), Belle in Beauty and the Beast (Muny), and Mabel Normand in the world premiere of Hollywood (La Jolla Playhouse). Rockwell released her debut solo album, Back To My Roots, in 2018 on Broadway Records, and has performed her solo concert by the same name at Birdland Jazz Club, City Winery, and other venues in NYC.

Hunter Foster (he/him) makes his debut at The 5th Avenue Theatre as Clark Griswold. Broadway: The Bridges of Madison County, Hands on a Hardbody, Million Dollar Quartet, The Producers, Little Shop of Horrors (Tony nomination), Urinetown, Footloose, King David, Les Misérables, and Grease. Off-Broadway: Ordinary Days (Roundabout), Pump Boys and Dinettes (Encores), Happiness (Lincoln Center), and Burning (The New Group). Regional: Mister Roberts (Kennedy Center), The Government Inspector (Guthrie), Kiss of The Spider Woman (Signature), and Spamalot (Geva). TV: Bunheads, Boardwalk Empire. As a director, he helmed the Off-Broadway production of the new musical, The Other Josh Cohen, and was named "Director of the Year' by The Wall Street Journal in 2018 for his productions of The Drowsy Chaperone (Goodspeed) and 42nd Street (The Bucks County Playhouse).

About the Writers

Steve Rosen (Book, Music, and Lyrics) (he/him) previously collaborated with David Rossmer on the book, music, and lyrics of The Other Josh Cohen which was nominated for six Drama Desk Awards, as well as the Lucille Lortel and Off-Broadway Alliance Awards for Best New Musical. They also co-created the long-running Broadway improv/variety show Don't Quit Your Night Job, devising original comedy material for artists like Sting, Zachary Levi, and Ariana Grande. Other co-writing credits include the musical The Secret of My Success (co-book, Joseph Jefferson nomination), the plays Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors, and Ebenezer Scrooge's BIG Christmas Show as well as podcasts Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors and Rolling Calls (Broadway Podcast Network). Regional theaters that have produced his work include The Old Globe (CA), Denver Center (CO), Paramount Theatre (IL), Paper Mill Playhouse (NJ), Maltz Theater (FL), Geva (NY), and Bucks County Playhouse (PA).

David Rossmer (Book, Music, and Lyrics) co-wrote (with Rosen) the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway hit The Other Josh Cohen, a NY Times Critic's Pick, nominated for six Drama Desks, the Lortel Award, and others. They co-created the hit show Don't Quit Your Night Job, which began at The Public Theater before a successful run Off-Broadway, and are currently developing projects in theater and TV with Radical Media, Sony, and others. Rossmer co-created Rated P, developed with Kelly Ripa's Milojo Productions and sold to ABC. With Dan Lipton, he wrote "Opera/Country" for Kelli O'Hara's Always album and performed by the Tony-winner at Carnegie Hall and across the country-her viral performance garnering over 6 million views. Rossmer's Audible Original play Alexa, Why Can't You Love Me is a five-star hit, commissioned by Amazon and starring Judd Hirsch.

About the Director and Choreographer

Donne Feore is fresh from her critically acclaimed, re-imagined 2022 production of Chicago on Stratford's Festival stage and makes her 5th Avenue Theatre debut. Recently, she directed and choreographed the world premiere of Bruce at Seattle Rep. Feore is one of Canada's most versatile creative talents. A director, choreographer, and producer, Feore has enjoyed remarkable success in Canada and internationally. As director/choreographer at the Stratford Festival, Feore's distinctive re-imagining of productions such as Billy Elliot, The Little Shop of Horrors, Music Man, The Rocky Horror Show (the longest running show in Festival history), Guys & Dolls, A Chorus Line, The Sound of Music, Crazy for You, Fiddler on The Roof, Cyrano de Bergerac, and The Madwoman of Chaillot, Oklahoma, and Oliver have achieved both popular and critical acclaim. For Canada's National Arts Center, Feore served as Creative Producer/Director for the NAC-commissioned multimedia collaboration Life Reflected which enjoyed enormous success at NAC, Luminato, as well as on Canadian and European tours. Feore was Creative Producer of the ground-breaking musical and visual series Undisrupted for NAC and CBC Gem and director of Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream, also for NAC. Some of Feore's other directing credits include Lecture on the Weather and A Soldier's Tale (Detroit Symphony); Tom Stoppard's Rock & Roll and It's a Wonderful Life (Canadian Stage); Bernhardt/Hamlet (Chicago's Goodman Theater); and the world premiere of The Hockey Sweater (Segal Centre). Feore's opera credits include staging for the Canadian Opera Company productions of Siegfried, Red Emma, Tosca, and Oedipus Rex (for which she won a Dora Award) which also premiered at the Edinburgh Festival. Select film and television credits include Mean Girls, Eloise, Martin and Lewis, and Stormy Weather.

Staff for The Griswolds' Broadway Vacation includes Rebecca Aparicio (Associate Director), Stephen Dickson (Associate Choreographer), Banji Aborisade (Assistant Director and Choreographer), Roberto Sinha (Associate Musical Director), Connor Munion (Associate Scenic Design), Amber Paul (Associate Costume Designer), Lauryn Terceira (Assistant Costume Designer), Gary Mickelson (Production Stage Manager), Sandy Franck (Stage Manager), and Sydney Golden (Assistant Stage Manager).

About The 5th Avenue Theatre

The 5th Avenue Theatre is one of America's leading musical theater companies. We enrich the community we love with the art form we love-giving the Pacific Northwest a front-row seat to original powerhouse productions that go on to light up marquees and audiences all the way to Broadway. From the page to the stage, we bring passion and epic scale to every musical we create. With big talent. Bigger-than-life productions. And did we mention dazzle? As a nonprofit theater company and our region's largest performing arts employer, we spread the joy of great musicals with people of all ages across our region and state. Each year, we reach 75,000 young people through our nationally acclaimed education programs. Programs designed to develop new musicals ensure that the next generation of great musicals will be there to tell the stories that captivate tomorrow's audiences. On the national stage, we are a leading voice for the power of this art form to lift the human spirit.For more information about The 5th Avenue Theatre, its season and its programs, please visit www.5thavenue.org.Special thanks to The Griswolds' Broadway Vacation restaurant sponsor Charlotte Restaurant & Lounge. Additional thanks to 2022/23 Season sponsor ArtsFund.