Donald Byrd To Choreograph 5th Avenue's OKLAHOMA!, Opens 7/8/2011

The director, choreographer and design team for Oklahoma!, the classic Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein musical, have been announced. Playing at The 5th Avenue from July 8 through August 6, 2011, the musical will be directed by The 5th's Producing Director Bill Berry (On The Town, West Side Story, Cabaret), with scenic design by Walt Spangler, costumes by Alejo Vietta, lights by Tom Sturge, and sound by Zach Williamson. The show will be choreographed by Donald Byrd, the Artistic Director of Spectrum Dance Company.

From 1978 until 2002, Byrd was Artistic Director of Donald Byrd/The Group, a critically-acclaimed contemporary dance company. He has created more than 80 works for modern dance companies including Spectrum, the Ailey Company, the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and Philadelphia Dance Company (Philadanco). He has choreographed for classical companies such as Pacific North west Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, Aterballetto, MaggioDanza diFirenze, and Oregon Ballet Theater. He has also worked extensively with theater and opera companies including New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, Intiman Theater, San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera and New York City Opera. In 2006, he was nominated for a Tony Award for his choreography of the Broadway production of The Color Purple.

Byrd has led Spectrum Dance Company since 2002. His most recent work for the company was Farewell: A Fantastical Contemplation on America's Relationship with China, which premiered earlier this year at the Moore Theatre, where Spectrum Dance Theater is the resident dance company. Other notable productions include Interrupted Narratives/War and The Theater of Needless Talents, which toured nationally in 2009; The Sleeping Beauty Notebook, which toured to New York and the Spoleto Festival in Italy; Bhangra Fever, performed by Spectrum in PNB's April 2007 Celebrate Seattle Festival, and Petruchska/Miraculous Mandarin.

"This season at Spectrum Dance Theater I have been exploring the theme of relationships, love and obsession," says Byrd. "I was excited to be approached by The 5th Avenue Theatre to work on Oklahoma! The Rogers and Hammerstein classic offers a unique perspective on these themes and provides fertile ground for fresh interpretations."

Byrd also has a personal connection to the original choreographer of Oklahoma, Agnes De Mille. "I met Agnes De Mille when I was a student at the Harvard Summer Dance Program. She was there giving a talk and observing classes. I was speaking with her one evening after she had observed me in class earlier in the day and she said to me, ‘You, young man, should go to New York!..Go to Ballet Arts at Carnegie Hall and tell them I sent you.' So I did. I had been on the fence about making a life of dance and could not commit to a move to New York which seemed like the next logical step if I was going to dance. But hearing that ‘command,' and it felt like a command coming from de Mille, was the push I needed."

While this is the first time that Byrd has worked with The 5th as a choreographer, the Spectrum company has previously collaborated with The 5th Avenue on West Side Story and most recently On The Town, both also directed by Berry. "Using the Spectrum Company in our productions brought such depth and emotional power to the dancing that I am excited to be able to continue this collaboration," says Berry. "Working with Donald as a choreographer is exciting to me as an artist, as his work is so emotionally rich and dense it's a natural fit for Oklahoma."

Tickets for Oklahoma!, as well as season ticket packages to the 2010-2011 Season, are available by calling 206-625-1900/toll-free 888-5TH-4TIX (584-4849), in person at the box office located at 1308 5th Avenue in downtown Seattle, or online at 5thavenue.org.

Special thanks to The 5th's 2010-2011 Season Co-Sponsors Safeco Insurance and US Bank.

Established in 1982, Spectrum Dance Theater is the largest professional contemporary dance company in Washington, presenting work by Artistic Director Donald Byrd and guest artists. With a particular focus on Northwest choreographers, the company's mission is to produce and present contemporary dance that challenges expectations and calls forth strong emotions, deep feelings and thoughtful responses. Three organizational components comprise Spectrum: the Professional Company, the School (serving over 500 students), and Outreach Programs. The School provides expert dance instruction in diverse dance forms to all. Through its outreach programs, Spectrum Dance Theater seeks to educate the community about dance as an art form and as a social/civic instrument.

The 5th Avenue Theatre is Seattle's premier musical theater. In 1980, the non-profit 5th Avenue Theatre began producing and presenting top-quality live musical theater for the cultural enrichment of the Northwest community. The 5th Avenue Theatre maintains a season ticket audience of over 25,000 and has an annual attendance of more than 287,000. It ranks among the nation's largest and most respected musical theater companies. The Theatre is committed to encouraging the next generation of theatergoers through its Educational Outreach Program which includes: The Adventure Musical Theatre Touring Company, The 5th Avenue High School Musical Theatre Awards, the Student Matinee Program and Spotlight Nights. Unique in its Chinese-inspired design, the 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 Bernie Griffin and Producing Director Bill Berry, The 5th Avenue Theatre continues to achieve the highest standards in all aspects of artistic endeavors and facility operations, while preserving its artistic, architectural and historic legacy. Visit www.5thavenue.org.