5th Avenue Theatre Information and Schedule

The 5th Avenue Theatre is amongst the country's premier hotbeds for new musical theater. Since 2001,

The 5th has premiered 17 new works, nine  later  opened on Broadway. They

include Disney’s Aladdin; First Date; A Christmas Story, The Musical; Scandalous; Shrek; Catch Me If You

Can; The Wedding Singer; and Best Musical Tony Award-winners, Hairspray and Memphis. The 5th

Avenue Theatre is additionally known for its first class, critically-acclaimed productions of musicals

chosen from both the contemporary canon and the Golden Age of Broadway, as well as the latest

touring offerings from New York.

Unique in its Chinese-inspired design, this exquisite theater opened in 1926 as a venue for vaudeville

and film. Back in the day, people eagerly lined up for first-class vaudeville shows, featuring the top

touring entertainers of the day. The Theatre later transformed itself into a popular movie palace. In the

late 1970s, The 5th Avenue Theatre fell on hard times, but was saved from a wrecking ball by a visionary

group of businesses and community leaders. In 1980, the non-profit 5th Avenue Theatre began

producing and presenting top-quality live musical theater.

Today, under the leadership of Executive Producer and Artistic Director David Armstrong, Managing

Director Bernadine C. Griffin and Producing Artistic Director Bill Berry, The 5th Avenue Theatre attracts

an annual attendance of more than 300,000 and ranks among the nation’s largest and most respected

musical theater companies.

In addition to its main stage productions, The 5th Avenue Theatre is also dedicated to encouraging the

next generation of theatergoers through its extensive educational outreach program that serves more

than 74,000 each year through programs including The Adventure Musical Theatre Touring Company,

The 5th Avenue Awards Honoring High School Musical Theater and the Rising Star Project. For adults,

The 5th offers free-to- the-public events such as the popular Spotlight Night series, and pre-performance

Show Talks with Albert Evans.