Waiting for Lefty: Still Relevant After 80 Years
In April of last year, Seattle’s latest minimum wage ordinance went into effect, with wage increases appearing at the New Year. While Seattle might be ahead of a large majority of the country, it appears there are still some lessons to be learned about what exactly a “living wage” means.
You can’t take back what you’ve said; but if you believe in a multiverse, endless parallel dimensions exist where you
Mr. Guirgis has a gift for dialogue, The Ear. It’s bar and street dialogue, what you might hear in Hell’s Kitchen in New York in the late 90s, where this play is set. The language is rhythmic, even poetic at times, yet grating to middle-class sensibilities. Theater Schmeater’s Director Julia Griffin says the characters resonate with her and the script has been “living in her” for over ten years. With this northwest premiere of In Arabia we would all be Kings she has fulfilled her vision quite well.
It was a dark and stormy night . . . . Gawd, it felt good to write that. Every writer,
Titus Andronicus, in Shakespeare’s day, was one of his more popular works, detailing the bloody story of General Titus Andronicus, who returns from war with Queen Tamora of the Goths as his prisoner. After Titus sacrifices Tamora’s eldest son as recompense for the deaths of his own sons, she vows to seek revenge no matter the cost – and gains the advantage when Saturninus, newly crowned emperor of Rome, takes Tamora’s hand in marriage and makes her his empress. From there, it becomes an unstoppable cycle of revenge and retribution that can only end in loss.
This production at On the Boards from January 14 to 17 gave one a glimpse into the results of democracy practiced on a small scale. Six artists, scattered around the country (Seattle, San Francisco, Austin, and New York), collectively composed this show. Democracy is time consuming,
When you intentionally produce “dangerous works” as Washington Ensemble Theatre describes their mission, with dangerous titles, one is well advised to do them well. And the short verdict is: yes, This show is very well done. The credit goes to everyone involved with the three producing companies (Washington Ensemble Theatre, The Hansberry Project, and eSe Teatro) working together for the first time.
It helps that they have an airtight script by Stephen Adly Guirgis.
Michael Neff and Jodi-Paul Wooster organized their first 14/48 Festival in 1997 as a one-time event. Wooster is still at it, and 2 years from now this festival will be old enough to buy alcohol. Here’s a quick review of each play written to Saturday’s theme of “No Regrets.”
