"Hairspray" back at 5th Ave, on film

The movie version of the musical "Hairspray" starring John Travolta will have a special 7 p.m. July 16 benefit premiere at the place where the stage production was born: the 5th Avenue Theatre.

A Broadway hit based on the John Waters film comedy, "Hairspray" had a pre-New York preview run at 5th Avenue in 2002.

The benefit screening of the new "Hairspray" (before the movie's official Seattle opening July 20) benefits the landmark 5th Avenue and two other groups: the low-income housing organization Enterprise Community Partners and the Cascade Land Conservancy. The event includes a pre-movie reception, a big-hair contest and door prizes.

Tickets: $25 (or $100 for prime seating), available at 206-625-1900 or www.5thavenue.org.

Hugo House chooses resident theaters

Richard Hugo House has chosen groups for two-year residencies in its theater space: SiS Productions (producer of the long-running, Asian American "Sex in Seattle" serial) and The Next Stage, a new company.

The Hugo House's theater will no longer be available on an open-rental basis to such past users as Strawberry Theatre Workshop and ReAct , a fact causing concern in a drama community with a rapidly shrinking supply of rental venues.

Under the Hugo House's new policy, over two years SiS will present "Sex in the City" as well as other works, and Next Stage will mount six plays, at least three by Seattle writers.

Each resident company will pay a $10,000 user's fee per year to Hugo House.

More information: 206-322-7030.

Central District Forum looks ahead

Slated for the 2007-08 season of Seattle's Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas are two one-person shows of note.

A pre-Broadway run of the award-winning "Emergence — See!" by Daniel Beaty (Sept. 21-22) and "Chimurenga," a work by African dancer and former Urban Bush Women member Nora Chipaumire (Feb. 15-16, 2008), will make their Seattle debuts at Broadway Performance Hall on Capitol Hill.

In addition, the CD Forum is hosting The Creation Project, a yearlong, intensive pilot program of new works and profession development for African-American performing artists, starting this month and continuing through May 2008.

A stage reading of a Martin Luther King Jr. speech in January 2008, and a series of civic dialogues related to the black community, are also in the works.

Details: www.cdforum.org or 206-323-4032; advance sales are through Brown Paper Tickets at 800-838-3006 or www.brownpapertickets.com.

Misha Berson, Seattle Times theater critic