New Staging of MAMMA MIA! Replaces INTERMISSION! in 5th Avenue Theatre's 2017-18 Season

The 5th Avenue Theatre, recognized nationally and internationally for the development of new musical theater, has announced a change to the 2017/18 season lineup.

The previously announced world premiere production of INTERMISSION!, a new musical with book by Jerry Zucker and music and lyrics by Michael Weiner and Alan Zachary will be delayed until the 2018/19 season. The show will be replaced by an exciting new and original 5th Avenue Theatre staging of the universal smash hit Mamma Mia!

Where new musicals are concerned, having the right creative team in place is a vital piece of the development process. INTERMISSION! will be directed by Jerry Zucker (film: Airplane, Naked Gun) and Christopher Gattelli (Broadway: South Pacific, Newsies). Gattelli will also choreograph. Gattelli, currently one of the hottest choreographers on Broadway, is committed to another show which unexpectedly landed a Broadway opening at the same time as INTERMISSION! was originally scheduled to rehearse. It was this existing commitment that necessitated the delay to The 5th Avenue production schedule.

"As one of the leading developers of new musicals in the U.S., The 5th understands that this kind of thing does happen on occasion," said Executive Producer and Artistic Director David Armstrong. "Our audiences have a thirst for the development of the best new musicals the theater can provide-not just the most expedient. The creation of a new musical is a voyage taken together between creators, artists, the institution and its audience. Because of the extraordinary track record The 5th has in creating the next great Broadway musical, both the company and its audiences know that it is better to get it right than to make it fast."

The production of Mamma Mia! will be a first for the Seattle-based theater titan and presents its own unique set of challenges. The 5th is thrilled to be the first theater company in the Pacific Northwest to be granted the rights to create a brand new, original version of the famed piece that has wowed audiences for nearly 20 years. The 5th's Producing Artistic Director Bill Berry (How to Success in Business, The Pajama Game, First Date) will direct this unique production of wonderful musical entertainment.

Subscribers to The 5th Avenue Theatre's 2017/18 season who hold tickets to INTERMISSION! will have their tickets replaced with those for Mamma Mia! Tickets to Mamma Mia! will go on sale to the general public later this summer.

The non-profit 5th Avenue Theatre is the nation's premier incubator for new musical theater. Since 2001, the Seattle-based company has produced 18 new musicals. To date, nine (including the sensational hit Disney's Aladdin) have moved on to Broadway premieres, earning a combined 15 Tony Awards, including two for Best Musical (Hairspray and Memphis). The 5th Avenue Theatre is also known for its world class, critically acclaimed productions of musicals chosen from both the contemporary canon and the Golden Age of Broadway.

Unique in its Chinese-inspired design, this exquisite theater opened in 1926 as a venue for vaudeville and film. Today, under the leadership of Executive Producer and Artistic Director David Armstrong, Managing Director Bernadine C. Griffin and Producing Artistic Director Bill Berry, this non-profit theater company attracts an annual attendance of more than 300,000, including over 20,000 subscribers-one of the largest theater subscriptions in North America. For more information about The 5th Avenue Theatre, its season and its programs, visit www.5thavenue.org.

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