October 2017

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Dukesbay Theater “Calligraphy” Review

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  Any fan of grassroots, independent theater would root for Dukesbay Theater’s production of Calligraphy by Velina Hasu Houston. The play’s premise is interesting and fits Dukesbay’s mission “to give a voice to artists of all ethnicities.” Plus, this is a production of a work by a little-known playwright being put on in downtown Tacoma. Unfortunately, Dukesbay Theater’s production of Calligraphy has just enough enjoyable moments to leave one wondering what exactly went wrong in this endeavor to tell a worthy story.
Calligraphy tells the story of a divided Japanese family. Younger sister Noriko married an Afro-Cuban American G.I. and emigrated to the United States…

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“The Government Inspector” at Seattle Shakespeare Company Review

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When town officials learn that an incognito government inspector has arrived in their town, they scramble to cover up evidence of their corruption. A broke, free-loading traveler mistaken fr the inspector takes full advantage of their greed and panic with hilarious results. Seattle Shakespeare Company’s production of The Government Inspector is a laugh-out-loud funny comedy of errors.

Past

Deers or is it Cheers

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For their last Mid-week show of their 30th Season, Annex Theatre, presented Deers by Marcus Gorman, an entertaining spoof of the long running TV Sit-com Cheers. In four episodes spread over 11 years, they “aired” the pilot from Season 1, jumped to Season 5 in the next scene, and showed scenes from Season 8 and 11 after the intermission. However, instead of humans inhabiting a bar, there was a tight-knit group of friends, all of whom were animals, from different species, having various kinds of healthy and unhealthy social bar-like interaction.

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Powerful Crucible Arrives at the ACT

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Director John Langs has gathered an all-star cast to present one gut-punch of a show with his current production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Written in 1953 and set in 17th century Salem, Massachusetts, the play, with its laser focus on the horrors of fanaticism and paranoia successfully echoes the tumult and angst of the current state of US affairs. Miller lays out a tough road for his audience, allowing the final moral redemption of his hero to become all the more satisfying. For its final production of the season, ACT is offering an essential and powerful night of theater.

Past

3-2-1 BATTLE!’s Weirder Steel Powerbombed My Heart (In a Good Way)

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Nerds, gimps, and cheating Canadians could all be found kicking ass for an enthusiastic audience at Evolv Fitness on Friday. 3-2-1 BATTLE!’s Weirder Steel was funny, thrilling, and bizarre, and set up one of their biggest shows of the year.
Professional wrestling as a whole taps into an element of the Western theatre tradition that is rarely found elsewhere the dramatic arts: the Dionysian. Anyone who has looked into the history of theatre has probably heard of the Dionysia, a festival in ancient Athens that honored the god Dionysus and featured three days of dramatic performances. Dionysus, also known as Bacchus, is the god of wine, theatre, fertility, and ritual madness and ecstasy. When one sees a play these days, wine is likely to be available, but the madness and ecstasy tend to be in short supply…

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