2022

Gaslighting :psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one’s emotional or mental health

Although the term “gaslighting” only came into use in the 1960’s, it originally derived from the British psychological thriller, Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton, first performed in 1938 in London, on the brink of the outbreak of World War II, when two nasty dictators, Hitler and Stalin were gaslighting the populations of their respective countries. Seattle’s esteemed theater; Sound Theatre Company has opened a production of Gaslight, directed by the equally esteemed Theresa Thurman at 12th Ave Arts.

Ukrainian Benefit Concerts-Klezmer Music

The Klein Party is organizing a series of benefit concerts, in Seattle, Kirkland, Vashon and Taco, to raise funds for organizations working on the ground in Ukraine and surrounding countries to aid refugees from the war. The concerts will feature klezmer and other music from Ukraine and will benefit five different highly rated charities: Direct Relief, Doctors Without Borders, Global Giving/Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund, HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society), and Save the Children Ukraine.

Macabre and sardonic tales!

If you ever thought that modern technology and high-tech CGI special effects had killed the magic of old-fashioned art of story-telling, the performance of three highly talented, Seattle based story-tellers will change you mind! Scott Auguston, Bret Fetzer and Kelleen Conway Blanchard delighted the audience at 18th and Union with three different tales ostensibly about animals, but essentially were tales about the foibles of human beings and their misadventures.

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
Leo Tolstoy

Although the title would suggest otherwise, God Said This, now running at Dukesbay Theater in Tacoma, is not a religious play. It is a play about how an alcoholic family reacts when the mother is dying from cancer. Despite the fact that the father is in recovery, it was not of his choosing; his liver and the onset of sclerosis chose it for him.

A Balm Comes to Gilead, in Wisconsin.

In these times of despair on so many fronts, Taproot Theatre opened The Spitfire Grill, this weekend, with a theme of hope for a small town, a failing business and the “sin-sick souls” who lived in the town and frequented the local diner, which resembled a darker version of The Chatterbox Café from Prairie Home Companion fame.

There are many tales that rely on a core story of three sisters. As a girl, I can remember my

ng>Annual Black Film Festival “We See You” now in person.

The 19th annual Seattle Black Film Festival will once again animate the halls of the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute in Seattle’s historically Black Central District, April 29-May 1. The three-day weekend of in-person and video on demand screenings, panels and events will host an international selection of over forty feature films, music videos, documentaries and short films; showcasing the range and depth of the Black experience on the big screen.

Seattle Black Film Festival, Fri Apr 29th 7 pm (Happy Hour at 6pm) to Sun. May 1. 104 -17th Ave S. Seattle, 98144 (Central District, corner of Yesler and 17th Ave S) Parking Lot and plenty of off street parking. Buses 14, 27, 60.

Festival trailer: https://vimeo.com/686488853
Festival passes on sale now: https://www.goelevent.com/LANGSTON/Pass/Sale

There are only two emotions
Love & Fear

Equally there are only two reactions to refugees: welcoming or unwelcoming, along with two reactions to living in a dying small town: staying or leaving. The 1995 play, EUOPE by Scottish playwright, David Grieg, at 12th Ave Arts, structured its themes and subplots around the above mentioned dichotomies. Also it demonstrated the results of approaching a hostile word with either love or hostility. EUROPE depicts the tragic circumstances of refugees, as well as the equally tragic circumstances of those who resent refugees: de-industrialization, the psychological consequences of unemployment and de-ruralification. Thalia’s Umbrella’s production, directed by Terry Edward Moore could not be more topical, or more enlightening.

A Two Person Whodunit? Huh?

Imagine a classic Agatha Christie Style whodunit, taking place in an isolated country house, (actually in NEW England, rather than its namesake) with the dead body of a famous writer of detective fiction, 13 suspects among them a resentful wife, a bespectacled niece, a ballerina mistress, a psychiatrist, who keeps or doesn’t keep everybody’s secrets and some poison tea. However, it is performed cabaret style with only two characters. One plays the investigating policeman, and the other plays all 13 suspects. Both play numerous songs on the piano without so much as one piece of sheet music. Well, folks this unique musical comedy, Murder for Two, by Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair, opened at Harlequin Productions in Olympia, this past weekend.