After Hours at Artswest- Musical Cabaret
Cabaret at Artswest After Hours with Mathew Wright at Artswest takes place Fri and Sat evenings April 14 and 15th […]
2023
The Standby Lear: Beautiful Rumination on Fear and Opportunity
The Standby Lear, directed by Terry Edward Moore, is a beautiful story of a husband and wife in the acting world, providing opportunity for intense reflection on what living life on standby entails. While starting out as a lighthearted comedy based upon the Shakespearean tragedy, the show quickly transforms into an emotional examination of love and fear in an actor’s life.
Playborhood: An Improvised Neighborhood with Styles-Completely Unexpected at Unexpected Productions
Creativity and Humor at Unexpected Productions.
It was with great pleasure that I was able to see and participate in a full-length improvised play at Unexpected Productions last night, called Playborhood-An Improvised Neighborhood with Style. Its rather zany concept engendered one of the most creative and stimulating premises of any improvisational act or for that matter, polished performance, I have seen in a long time.
Refugees in the Garden City Stands Out at Taproot Theatre
A Domestic Play on Interracial Marriage, Parenthood and Immigration
Theatre that matters is the objective of both ReAct Theatre and Pratidhwani, something that shows in their productions. Refugees in the Garden City is a human and well-grounded play that shows the struggles of a couple whose life gets very suddenly turned upside down. Rhiannon and Arjun are forced to pack up and move from the United States to Canada in a very short amount of time. They cling to a new job that will grant them their dream lives but have to struggle through hardships, trauma, financial insecurity and relationship struggles, all while taking care of their baby.
A Beach, or a Strange Place Called Grief
A Story of Grief and Self-Discovery by Radial Theatre Project
When Eurydice died Orpheus was so overcome by grief that he descended into the underworld to bring her back. He charmed Cerberus and Hades himself into letting his lover live again and only failed because of his own doubt. It’s this loss on which this play is based, a feeling so intense “all the rules are changed.” Zinnie Harris wrote the story of Robyn and Helen, two lovers who get marooned after a boating accident and are forced to confront their grief.
As it is in Heaven, A Story of The Shakers
Strangely interesting history of an American religious communtiy
Originally written by Arlene Hutton, director Marianna Savell brings a production of “As it is in Heaven” to Taproot Theatre. Rising perplexing questions about the nature of community and personal beliefs and faith, “As it is in Heaven” shares with the audience the story through changes in communities like The Shakers.
Another Classic Made Anew at Seattle Shakespeare
Henry IV, A Historical Play
Seattle Shakespeare’s all-BIPOC project, Drum and Colours, shows amazing visual storytelling in a Shakespeare classic, brewing a mix of Star Wars aesthetics, epic fight choreography and Shakespeare’s lengthy yet time-tested dialogue. It’s 15th century England and King Henry IV has usurped the throne from Richard II and subsequently turned his back on some powerful allies. The Percy family (which includes the Lord of Northumberland and his son Hotspur, known that way for his fierceness and impulsivity), Mortimer, and Owen Glendower (a Welsh Prince), feeling betrayed, start a rebellion against Henry VI and chaos ensues.
60 Years of “110 in the Shade” with Reboot Theatre Company
110 in the Shade, the musical adaptation of the play The Rainmaker making its way to Seattle Public Theatre.
Reboot Theatre Company welcomes the community to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of 110 in the Shade at Seattle Public Theatre. A production that is truly worth celebrating with its excellent and charismatic rendition of the original musical. Filled with comedy, sympathy, and musical talents, Reboot Theatre Company shined bright with their production of 110 in the Shade. Based on the play The Rainmaker, 110 in the Shade takes a musical rendition to the production, with the book written by N. Richard Nash, lyrics by Tom Jones, and music by Harvey Schmidt, director Scot Charles Anderson, music director Mark Rabe, and the cast delivers excellent singing, fun choreography and heartfelt messages about love and self-worth.
Building Madness-A 1930’s Screwball Comedy at Harlequin
Building Madness, a Double-Entendre if there ever was one.
The title of Kate Danley’s play, which just opened at Harlequin Productions, Building Madness, can be read two ways. Building can be a noun, meaning a “building” that is to say a structural edifice of bricks and mortar or other materials) or it can mean to develop, foster, encourage, or create. Both are applicable to this excellent script, a revival of 1930’s screwball comedy.
Let Me Hamlet: A Monologue on the Forgotten Artist by Koo Park
Exit Hamlet, Enter the Unseen Artist
Prince Hamlet, son of King Hamlet and nephew to Usurper Claudius, is the popular protagonist of Shakespeare’s longest tragedy, Hamlet. This is the role that Let Me Hamlet’s main character has been after for the last twelve years. Yet despite his consistency and work ethic, he gets stuck with Horatio, who everyone only knows as Hamlet’s friend. Horatio is there for all the most important moments in the play, from the opening to the ever-famous “to be or not to be” soliloquy, and all the way to the tragic ending. Yet he remains unseen both by his fellow characters and by audience members who can barely recall his name, even though his story is also worth telling. This is the point that Koo Park attempts to make in his solo show, Let Me Hamlet, except the story is bigger than Horatio (once again) and reflects the unseen artist’s struggle.
