Last year the 5th Avenue Musical Theatre Company weathered a nasty musicians strike that postponed the much-anticipated Seattle run of the national touring company of Beauty and the Beast. Now it faces its second postponement of the Julie Andrews vehicle Victor/Victoria, due to the star's unexpectedly lengthy recovery from a throat procedure she receive last summer.

In a statement released by the theatre, Andrews said "For the last several months my vocal recovery has been a frustrating process. I had hoped to perform Victor/Victoria in Feb. and Mar., but alas I cannot make the current schedule. In light of this unpredictably slow vocal recovery, I fear it will be another few months before I am able to perform Victor/Victoria again. From my heart, I thank you so much for your support and understanding."

Frank M. Young, Executive Director of the 5th Avenue Musical Theatre Company said, "Victor/Victoria is the first production we have had to postpone, and for many of our subscribers this will be the second postponement of this show with Miss Andrews. . . We apologize for any inconvenience this delay may cause but trust another few months' delay will only add to the anticipation of Miss Andrews' long-awaited Seattle debut."

Tickets for Victor/Victoria have been temporarily withdrawn from sale. The theatre's 36,000 season subscribers have been notified of the change in the season schedule. Single ticketholders can hold onto their tickets until notified of the new performance dates or may return their ticket to the point of purchase for a complete refund.

So far, with the two Victor/Victoria cancellations, 5th Avenue patrons and subscribers have seen only one of the scheduled shows originally announced, the Cathy Rigby touring Peter Pan which was in town for the holidays. Next up, the Broadway bound tuner Hot Shoe Shuffle, running March 31-April 19. It was to be followed by the pre-Broadway Tommy Tune/Sandy Duncan Easter Parade, which has since announced that it is going to Australia this summer. But, since the Seattle dates for that are still TBA, one cannot help wondering whether The 5th Avenue may be facing another cancellation. The production was to have played in Houston as well.