The 5th Avenue Theatre is seeking the best and brightest Washington high school musical theater students for a once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunity.

Following the success of last season’s Oklahoma! Project, which brought together more than 100 students to produce a staging of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!”, The 5th will remount the program around the American musical classic, Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man”.

Two weeks after the main stage production closes, the theater will present the musical again, this time performed and produced entirely by high school students via the Music Man Project.

“What makes this project truly unique is the opportunity students have to be mentored by professional artists, staff and crew,” said 5th Avenue Theatre Producing Director Bill Berry.

Talented young artists chosen from across Washington state will have the opportunity to use the sets, costumes, props, and lighting design from the theater’s professional production, as well as to recreate the original direction, choreography, and staging through a rigorous rehearsal process under the guidance and coaching of theater professionals.

Over the course of this project, students with diverse interests – ranging from performing arts to stage craft, business, finance, and marketing – will meet and work together to recreate The Music Man on the historic 5th Avenue stage.

The Music Man Project will perform March 22 and 23, 2013 for three performances at The 5th Avenue Theatre (1308 5th Avenue, Seattle).

Students interested in participating in The Music Man Project may download an application at www.5thavenue.org/education/youth-programs#the-music-man-project. Applications are due Oct. 12 and auditions will be held Oct. 22-24.