Photo Flash: The Studios Inaugurates with Richard Gray's HERE'S TO THE LADIES

The new performance/rehearsal/training space in town launched last night with their inaugural performance by hosting an evening of the works of local musical theater composer Richard Gray with "Here's to the Ladies". Gray and some of the most talented women in town got together to explore Gray's work and send off this new space with a bang. And all those in attendance knew they were watching something extra special.

First off there's the opening of this new space founded by Shanna and Ryan Waite. Filling a need for more performance and creative venues, the Waites have created a very open and gorgeous space with multiple rooms available for creative development and performance. And it's open and highly visible main floor space which looks out onto 5th Avenue is quite reminiscent of the open feel of the huge window behind the performance space at Lincoln Center as we were able to watch passersby stop and check out what we were all enjoying. Obviously it's only a one way view at Lincoln Center but here that view out of and into the space really brought the entertainment further into the area and I feel will add just another visible element of the arts to our already arts driven city.

And what better way to send it off than with some amazing musical theater songs written by the incredible Richard Gray. Delivering all kinds of tunes; funny, sweet, thoughtful, raucous; Gray's tunes all have one thing in common in that they are consummate musical theater and tell such vibrant and complete stories. And when sung by the cream of the crop of Seattle's female performers such as Kendra Kassebaum, Jessica Skerritt, Bobbie Kotula, Vickielee Wohlbach, Leslie Law, Mary Jo Dugaw, Kirsten Helland, Beth DeVries, Billie Wildrick, Jayne Muirhead, Julie Briskman, Anna Lauris Boynton, Shaunyce Omar, Lisa Koch, Michelle Gray Ankrim, Laura Griffith and Karen Kay Cody you couldn't ask for a better evening. Every song a winner with a full narrative and every performance a killer.

Unfortunately for those that weren't there, it was only for one night but below find some shots from the evening for the next best thing. And if you want to catch more of Gray's work you'll be able to see his work in the new musical version of "Dick Whittington and His Cat", written by Gray and local writer Jeff Church, at Seattle Children's Theatre this November and December. For more information on that show check out the Seattle Children's Theatre web site at www.sct.org or for more information on Gray and his other work check out www.wsfilms.com/people/richard-gray. And for more information on the new space The Studios, visit them at www.thestudios.org.

Photo credit: Jared Michael Brown