SEATTLE — After more than a year of closures and restrictions due to the coronavirus, Washington state reopened Wednesday, which was music to the ears of local performers and entertainment venues.
From music to comedy, and everything in between, talent is seemingly bursting at the seams to finally put on a show for big audiences again.
In Seattle, the historic 5th Avenue Theatre is a landmark and was one of the most lavishly decorated venues when it opened back in 1926.
Producing Artistic Director Bill Berry said he’s excited to see traffic and people walking the streets of downtown Seattle again, especially now that they have a chance to start planning for full productions once again.
The staff at 5th Avenue Theatre have been working remotely for over a year and Berry said Wednesday was life changing for the performers, technicians and designers.
“It’s just such a great moment to realize we can begin making plans for a show and people can think about coming back in to work so we can entertain Seattle and the great Pacific Northwest community again!” said Berry.
Currently, the 5th Avenue Theatre is teaming up with the Seattle Downtown Association to appear on some of their summer concerts in the park.
Pike Place Market is also expecting bigger crowds and that’s vital to the return of live improv comedy at the market.
The Market Theater has been the host to Unexpected Productions and Theatre Sports for over three decades. Stars like Joel McHale were once improvisors on the same stage. Performer Ron Hippe said the venue relies on the audience interaction and the roster of talented improvisors were giddy about opening to a full house Wednesday night.
Singer Benicio Bryant, of Maple Valley, is a teenage sensation that has been writing and producing music from his basement for the last year. A far cry from the live shows he was planning after appearing on America’s Got Talent in 2019, but fortunately, 2020 did include a record contract for Benicio and he’s preparing for a live performance in front of a crowd this Friday in Snoqualmie.
In Tacoma, Nate Jackson doesn’t need to brag about his comedy club because he has headliners to do that for him. George Lopez and D.L. Hughley are among the big names that rave about ‘Nate Jackson’s Super Funny Comedy Club.’ The club was opened and swiftly closed in 2020 due to the pandemic.
After months of being open at just 25% capacity, Jackson is excited to welcome a big crowd so his club can reach its full potential. “The more people that come, the more laughs, the more we heal the city, the more Tacoma benefits,” said Jackson.
He’s excited to open the club to full capacity Wednesday night as a comedy competition is underway.
With so many talented local performers in limbo over the past year, a 16-person cast has developed a fully produced musical that they will debut on the new “Stage B” at Cave B winery in Quincy along the cliffs of the Columbia river.
Director Eric Ankrim said many of his performers are regulars at Village Theatre, Seattle Rep, ACT and 5th Avenue, so celebrating the triumphant return of live theatre to Washington state is an important milestone.
“The entire reason for the Ancient Lakes Theatre festival is to celebrate the return to live theatre," said Ankrim. "Two weekends in a row starting July 15 and we are going to highlight all of the major regional theatre and their attempt to comeback with their new version of live performance.”
Actress Iris Elton stars in “How Can I Love You” and said she can’t believe that after more than 400 days she’s getting the opportunity to get back on stage again.
“It’s going to be fantastic, emotional and exciting," she said.